Taking Care of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes Through Diet and Self-Monitoring.
Almost sixteen million Americans have a disease that affects their daily lives, this disease, known as diabetes, has a severe impact on the life of a diabetic patient and involves different diseases. Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile-onset diabetes, is an insulin-dependent disease. The pancreas no longer produces insulin, thus, resulting in the individual injecting insulin into their body. Type 2 diabetic patients need extra insulin to overcome their body's resistence to the insulin already being made by the pancreas. Although Type 1 diabetes normally effects teenagers, the disease can effect adults. Successful diabetes management is composed of several factors. Diet and self-monitoring are two elements that need to be evaluated to maintain a healthy lifestyle while dealing with diabetes.
Diet is the most important key to balance diabetes. As diet is the most important factor, it also remains the most difficult . Sticking to a diet may be one of the most difficult facets of diabetes (Fellows, 1999). Type 1 diabetics and Type 2 diabetics differ in their diet. Those who have Type 2 diabetes may try to accomplish better blood glucose control while those who have Type 1 need to learn food balance with insulin injections (Kelley, 1996). A study conducted on whole-grain products show that consuming whole-grain foods have beneficial effects in decreasing the risk of Type 2 diabetes in United States Women. Consuming foods, such as bran and brown rice, produce less glucose, therefore decreasing the risk (Liu, 2000). A healthy diet is essential in the proper care of Type 1 or 2. Type 1 diabetics need to calculate the amount of carbohydrates that are consumed to ensure hyperglycemia (too much sugar) or .
hypoglycemia (too little sugar) does not occur. .
The meal consumed by the patient must be closely monitored by the diabetic and the doctor.
