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November marks Diabetes awareness month so it seemed like a perfect opportunity to post on this topic. People diagnosed with diabetes are often told to be on a “diabetic diet”. But the dietary management of diabetes is the same as managing a healthy body weight so it seems unnecessary to give it an exclusive name and single out diabetes.

Obviously the big difference is that it is more dangerous and higher risk for a diabetic to not manage a healthy body weight and control blood sugar levels.

It is essential to learn how to best manage your diabetes and control your blood sugar levels to avoid any complications.

So key tips to manage your diabetes:

• Make the most of your glucometer and use it as a tool to figure out which foods affect your blood sugar levels.
• Do not skip or miss meals, and maintain regular meal times. Not following this can cause chaos for your body and negatively impact your metabolism.
• Include carbohydrates with most meals and match the amount to your medication/insulin regime. If you are uncertain what carbohydrates are, where they come from, how they impact your blood sugar levels and how to make them suit your treatment plan, you can make a booking here, and I can provide you with a personalized plan for this.
• Avoid/limit food and drinks that are high in refined sugar e.g. fruit juices, cold drinks, sweets, chocolates, biscuits, cakes and desserts.
• Limit your intake of fried, fatty oily foods especially baked goods and pastries.
• Control your alcohol intake and choose not more than 1 standard drink a day for a female and 2 for males.
• Exercise is useful for controlling your blood sugar levels and maintaining an ideal body weight so keep active! Find which exercises you enjoy and commit to it. Consistency is key for best results.
• Educate yourself and understand the physiology behind diabetes and how it affects your blood sugar levels. You may find this will make self-management a lot easier.

A Registered Dietitian can assist you with an individualised meal plan unique to your condition and help to manage it optimally. If you are interested, you can make a booking here.

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