Diabetic Diet & Blood Gluecose

My Sweeties Mom is a Diabetic and her sugar has to be tested several times a day. Someone mentioned that there is a meeter out there that will test without piercing the skin. Has anyone heard about this? If so what is the name and does anyone know how accurate it is. Thank you so much. Her fingers are so caloused from testing so much.

There is not one approved by the FDA right now but is in the works. It’s called the Glucoband. It uses a" bio-electromagnetic resonance phenomenon" to measure glucose levels. It’s accuracy is within the governments +/-20%. Also, unlike the other continuous monitoring systems there are no other sensors or expensive batteries to purchase. It’s a one time expense, I’m sure it won’t be cheap! You can read about it here…

http://www.calistomedical.com/eng/?p=glucoband

Some things your mother can do to help with the callusing is to use a new lancet each time she tests and rotate fingers. Use the right sides on one day and the left sides the next. Using a meter that requires small amounts of blood don’t need as deep a puncture so you can use lancets devices that allow you to adjust the setting so that you’re not puncturing deeper than you need to. Also most of the meters these days can be used in alternate places, like the forearm. These work great for times when glucose levels are not rapidly changing, like for a fasting or before a meal reading. She can compare a few alternate test sites with her finger tests to see how close they are. Within 20% is good.

I would like to test my glucose everyday, but it would be great to have a meter rather than pricking the blood. I thought I saw one of these available. Does it work well?

Currently, in the US, there is only one FDA approved method for self-testing your glucose level, (That is trusted by Doctors), and that is using a meter and test blood. The most accurate readings come from finger prick’s, but some meters allow you to get blood from your arm rather than always sticking your fingers. Take a look at the ADA Site, and be careful about any Diab. Supplies that claim to be free. This is a serious disease and should be treated by professionals only, using the best supplies and testing devices available. Cutting corners will get you in a heap of trouble. The systems that "look through skin" are not only expensive, they tend to be in-accurate if not used in a near-perfect setting. IE: Controlled environment.

My doc said I’m borderline diabetic and that I should lose weight. Didn’t say anything about changing my diet though.

Yep, you bet! The basis of low GI diet is a numeric value on the carbs in most common foods. Get a copy of the GI Index 2009 and it will help you to see what foods are considered low, medium, high and at what exact amounts. It will surprise you!

If you are borderline diabetic take this seriously and as a wake up call to change your life while you can through diet and exercise. Invest in a few books (see below) that will help you in knowing great food choices versus the ones making you sick (refined, processed sugars and carbs). Switch to all Whole Grains and go easy (majorly easy!!!!) on brown rice and other rice containing foods. Also, stay away from corn…it has a ridiculously high GI value!

No artificial sweeteners (they do further damage to your insulin production), no sugars, no alcohol, and stay away from "no sugar, low sugar, or sugar free" products as they can certainly contain sugar, just not the FDA allowed Sucrose therefore they are allowed to advertise as sugar free!