Diabetes - How To Diagnose & Treat It?

For a diabetic patient, high glycemic foods can spell doom, aggravating the condition further. Thus, one should consume more of low glycemic and low-fat foods. Include more of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and high fibre foods in the diet. Avoid starchy vegetables, potatoes, parsnips, carrots, beets, ripened banana, and mangoes, processed foods, white flour, pastries, alcoholic and aerated beverages and drinks. Lack of physical activity can worsen the condition of diabetes and blood glucose level. Thus, a diabetic patient should exercise regularly. Diabetic patients should monitor their blood glucose level often. Keeping a glucometer comes in handy.

The Fasting Blood Sugar test goes a long way in the diagnosis of diabetes. In the case of the fasting blood sugar test, the blood sample of the patient is collected in the morning and examined for the blood glucose level. Normal Range is less than 100 mg/dL, in case of prediabetic patients- 100 mg/dL to 125 mg/dL and in people suffering from diabetes, the blood sugar level will be 126 mg/dL or higher. The blood sample for the test should always be taken on an empty stomach.

For OGTT, a person is made to drink a solution containing glucose. The blood glucose level is then measured and analyzed for the next 3 hours, at every 30-50 minutes interval. Normal range is 140 mg/dL after 2 hours and in case of Diabetes is 200 mg/dL or more after 2 hours Before the OGTT, a person must undergo the fasting blood sugar test.

Administration of insulin (in the form of injections or pumps) is often recommended for patients with Type-1 Diabetes. The insulin administered through injections include a combination of long-acting insulin (shows its effect within 1-2 hours that lasts for 24 hours and more) with rapid-acting insulin (shows its effect within few minutes that lasts for 2-4 hours). This combination of insulin when used goes a long way to keep the blood glucose level within control. In most of the cases, the doctors recommend the use of insulin injections 2-3 times daily.