Treatment of Diabetes

New treatment plans for diabetes today have certain things in common that apply to both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes

With the help of their physician and other members of their diabetes team, people with diabetes can live normal, healthy lives by combining the elements of diet, exercise and medicine (if needed), along with regular blood glucose testing.

Nutrition
People with diabetes have the same nutritional needs as anyone else. You don't have to be on a strict diet. By eating well-balanced meals in the correct amounts, you can keep your blood glucose level as close to normal (non-diabetes level) as possible. There are plenty of great choices.

The main things to watch are:

The types of food you choose
The amount of food you eat
The spacing of your meals and snacks

Having diabetes used to mean a lifetime of meals that lacked the most pleasant aspect of taste: sweetness. Today, the rules for avoiding sugar have been relaxed. New artificial sweeteners can give you sweetness that tastes as good as sugar, without sugar's effect on your weight.

Exercise
We have learned that regular exercise helps insulin to work better. It also keeps you healthier and able to fight off illness. Exercise is a great help if you're trying to lose weight.

Medicine
Insulin today is much safer and easier to use than when it was first developed in 1921.There are new ways of taking injections that are relatively painless and so simple that you can actually carry the equipment with you, just like you would a pen.
Some people with type 2 diabetes take oral medication or pills to control their blood sugar levels. The pills are not insulin but they work by helping make your own natural insulin work better.

Blood glucose testing
These tests are simple to do and can be done anytime you need to know your glucose level. It will help you find out how well your treatment is working.
With proper education and guidance from your doctor and diabetes educator, you can learn to take care of diabetes yourself.