Diabetes Patients - Recent News

There are many innovations for diabetes patients, among them the continuous monitoring device, the insulin pump, and new inhaled insulin treatments. These are great advancements for those who have been diagnosed with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. Among the new treatments for diabetes is a special diet that lowers blood glucose levels.

A Report by New England Journal of Medicine

The New England Journal of Medicine reports both a new ADA diet and an experimental diet. The ADA diet did maintain blood sugar levels under control, but the new experimental diet reduced levels by 10 percent. The experimental diet includes 50 grams of fiber each day. This is about seven or eight servings of fruit and vegetables or other high fiber foods.

This is about double the recommended fiber intake from the American Diabetes Association.

New Products for Diabetics

One more new product for diabetics is the bars and drinks that are readily available for diabetics to improve blood level controls and help avoid nighttime hypoglycemia. They are rapid and easy to use, a great take along when you are a busy person. They also can be used as part of a meal, or used prior or after exercise to maintain your levels under control.

Some of these bars and drinks are starch resistant or uncooked cornstarch, which assist the body to slow the digestion process. Another bar contains high fiber content, which effectively acts like a second pill for managing blood glucose levels. These new snack bars and drinks can be helpful to use if you are distant from home, and often contain many more vitamins and minerals than snacks you normally consume.

If you find yourself confused by what you've read to this point, don't despair. Everything should be crystal clear by the time you finish.

Snacks for Diabetes Patients

You must plan your snacks to be just that, a snack, and not a new meal. If you are eating the right amount of snacks at the same time each day, it will keep you from overeating when you sit down to a usual meal. In order to keep you from overeating at snack and mealtimes, snack bars and drinks are a healthy substitute.

There is a cost aspect when considering snack bars and drinks for diabetics. The individual products usually sell for around $1.50 per bar or drink, so can run into some additional money.

There are numerous companies making a huge variety of tasty snack bars and drinks. You will need to verify they are helping your blood sugar level, so testing before and after eating a snack bar is recommended. You must confirm blood sugar levels again after three to four hours to check what your blood sugar levels are.

Final Words

Once you have strong-minded that these bars or drinks work for you, keep quite a few on hand, or with you when you are distant from home. They make a good snack, or a meal substitute. They have slower acting carbohydrates and won’t bring your sugar levels soar as fast as regular sugar carbohydrates. You should control the amount you consume each time, as they do have calories, and too many calories can nourish your weight problems.