Diabetes mellitus is an instance of distorted blood glucose levels. The normal range for blood sugar is 70mg (milligram)/dl (deciliter) to 100mg/dl when measured on an empty stomach. These readings typically rise from 130mg/dl to 150mg/dl in the average body an hour and a half after a meal.

If there is no diabetes, then the above blood glucose levels are distorted, and the extreme values ​​in these two ranges are different. This is, in principle, one of the indicators of the presence of diabetes in a person’s blood.

How to detect diabetic blood sugar levels is our main question that needs to be discussed in detail. There are two methods for measuring blood sugar levels for good healthcare. The classic method is the chemical one, which has been in vogue for a long time. The second is identified as an enzymatic method based on a recently developed concept.

 

Method I: The chemical method is self-explanatory since the name suggests that chemicals are used as indicators for determining blood glucose levels. This method is based on the so-called “glucose elimination process.” But the disadvantage of this method is that it involves eliminating other compounds such as urea and sodium at the same time for the same chemicals used for diagnosis. Thus, the chemical method has a limitation since testing has shown that the result can be unstable from time to time.

 

Method II: The enzymatic method is more accurate than the chemical method because the enzymatic test is specially designed with enzymes. It uses enzymes such as glucose oxidase and hexokinase to measure glucose readings by eliminating blood sugar.

Whatever the method, if you have diabetic blood sugar, your primary concern should be to check your blood glucose levels and start treatment immediately. Maintaining diabetic blood sugar levels in everyday life involves reducing the amount of sugar consumed. You should worry not only about the method of diagnosing the condition of your body but also about the use of sugar.

 

The doctor will offer a prescription, after proper examination, to measure insulin blood sugar levels using various methods in the laboratory as follows:

– fasting blood glucose level;

– Urinalysis for glucose levels;

– oral glucose tolerance test;

– intravenous glucose tolerance test;

– a two-hour postprandial blood sugar test.

 

Diet therapy for diabetes

 

Diet is the foundation on which the lifelong complex therapy of patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) is based. Approaches to diet in type 1 and type 2 diabetes are fundamentally different. With type 1 diabetes, we are talking about diet therapy, the main goal of which is to normalize body weight. Diet in type 2 diabetes – diet and lifestyle help maintain optimal compensation for diabetes. The main problem, in this case, is teaching the patient to change the dose of insulin according to the food consumed.

In general, dietary management of diabetic patients requires:

• compliance with indicators of a physiological diet, the energy value of which corresponds to the nature of work against the background of maintaining the physiological ratios of carbohydrates (60%), proteins (20-24%), and fats (16-20%);
• exclusion from the diet of easily digestible carbohydrates;
• restriction of animal fats and foods with a high content of cholesterol, the introduction of lipotropic substances, oils into the diet;
• frequent, fractional meals, especially when treated with insulin;
• Maintenance of physiological body weight and prevention of obesity.

The energy value of the diet is formed at the rate of 30-40 kcal/kg, with heavy physical labor – 60 kcal/kg. In this case, the amount of proteins should be 1.5 g / kg, fat – 0.75 g / kg, carbohydrates – 6-12 g / kg.

Foods with a significant glycemic index (about 100%), and easily digestible (refined) carbohydrates, should be avoided. The patient is taught to calculate the exchange units (XE) and change the insulin dose accordingly.

One of the principles of dietary treatment is fractional food intake. The third or fourth part of the daily carbohydrate requirement should be vegetables and fruits rich in vitamins (mainly ascorbic acid and retinol), potassium, trace elements, and dietary fiber. To improve food palatability, it is recommended to use fructose and other sweeteners that produce anti-ketogenic, choleretic, and laxative effects and enhance liver function.

 

The introduction of foods rich in dietary fiber (coarse-fiber carbohydrates, 20-40 g per day) helps reduce basal hyperglycemia and blood glucose levels during the day, plasma cholesterol levels, and glucose tolerance, enhancing adsorption and excretion of bile acids, normalization of bowel function. In addition, fiber enhances the endogenous synthesis of B vitamins, contains vitamins, micro-and macroelements, and gives a lipotropic effect.

In the daily diet of elderly and senile people, unsaturated fatty acids should be 30-40%, of mature age – 15%. The daily requirement for them is 4-8 g. Preference is also given to vegetable oils, mainly containing polyunsaturated fatty acids.

According to pharmacotherapeutic characteristics and phytochemical composition, all herbal remedies that are used in the diet therapy of diabetes are divided into several groups:

1. Plants of general strengthening action that stimulate high regulatory neurohumoral systems (ginseng, golden root, Samantha).
2. Plants containing insulin-like and other hormone-like substances (elecampane, stinging nettle, peony, burdock, medicinal dandelion, clover).
3. Plants – cleaners, regulators of metabolism (bearberry, knotweed, St. John’s wort, couch grass, plantain, linden, blueberries, flax).
4. Plants and fruits are rich in easily digestible carbohydrates, due to which the total need for insulin is likely to decrease (strawberries, chicory, dogwood, raspberries, pears, pomegranates, grapes). This group also includes honey.
5. Plants containing vitamins, organic acids, and other valuable substances enhance the body’s protective functions (rose hips, mountain ash, lingonberries). This group also includes brewer’s yeast.
6. Vegetables and cereals as a source of vitamins and organic acids. They have cleansing properties and regulate metabolic processes (legumes, onions, green garlic, lettuce, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, celery, spinach, oats, barley).

Final Thoughts:

This is the basic information about diabetes that everyone must know. I hope this article will be helpful for all to know about diabetes.