Managing Blood Sugar is Key
There's no cure for type 2 diabetes, but you can manage — or even prevent — the condition. Start by eating healthy foods, exercising and maintaining a healthy weight. If diet and exercise aren't enough, you may need diabetes medications or insulin therapy to manage your blood sugar.
Contrary to popular perception, there's no diabetes diet. You won't be restricted to a lifetime of boring, bland foods. Instead, you'll need plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. These foods are high in nutrition and low in fat and calories. You'll also need to eat fewer animal products and sweets.
Everyone needs regular aerobic exercise, and people who have type 2 diabetes are no exception. Aim for at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise most days of the week. Stretching and strength training exercises are important, too. In fact, a combination of aerobic exercise and strength training is more effective at controlling blood sugar than either exercise on its own. If you haven't been active for a while, start slowly and build up gradually. Remember that physical activity lowers blood sugar. Check your blood sugar level before any activity. You might need to eat a snack before exercising to help prevent low blood sugar if you take diabetes medications that lower your blood sugar or insulin.
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There is no cure for Type 1 diabetes , but Type 2 can be reversed. You need to eat foods that are low in refined sugars and other carbohydrates as carbohydrates and simple refined sugar raise insulin , causing insulin resistance and further raising insulin levels. The advice to eat less fats and less animal products has the affect of increasing carbohydrate intake! The exact opposite of what a person who has Type 2 diabetes wants. Hitting the gym helps to lower sugar levels in the blood by causing your muscles to use up the sugar in the form of glycogen. But then what happens? You feel the need to eat again and if you are following the advice of the Mayo Clinic you are going to eat more complex carbohydrates and less proteins and fats. Complex carbohydrates breakdown into sugars, which, as any dietitian, doctor , or other health specialist will tell you, raises insulin levels which increases insulin resistance etc. Yet they will increasingly advice you to do just that!