When you're first diagnosed with diabetes you may feel overwhelmed. You know you should always follow your doctor's advice when you find out you're diabetic, and these tips may help you to stay on the right track. Ask your doctor before trying any new program or advice.

1. Test your blood sugar (blood glucose) levels. Your doctor will explain when and how often to do the testing.
2. Always take your diabetes medicine exactly as prescribed.
3. Visit a dietitian who can design a meal plan that's right for you.
4. Be careful to eat the right foods to control your blood sugar.
5. If your test shows you have low blood sugar, treat it quickly with your prescribed diabetes medication.
6. Keep accurate records (like a journal or diary) of all your blood tests, medicines you take, and your daily events. Always have your doctor look over your records.
7. Maintain a weight that is right for you. Your doctor will help you learn how much you should weigh.
8. Ask your doctor if you can exercise, then make sure to get physical activity.
9. If you haven't been very active for awhile, be sure and inform your doctor, then start slowly.
10. Two recommended activities are walking and swimming.
11. Check your feet everyday for any sores, blisters, cuts, red spots or swelling. Tell your doctor immediately about any sores that don't heal.
12. Don't smoke cigarettes, cigars or a pipe.
13. Continue to learn more about diabetes and diabetes self-care. Ask your family and friends for support. There are even diabetes support groups you can join.
14. You will always have questions about diabetes, but will you remember to ask your doctor about them?
    
15. Get important health tests done regularly: Hemoglobin A1c test, Blood pressure check, Cholesterol and other blood fat test, Foot, eye, and kidney exams
16. Don't forget to tell your dentist you have diabetes.
17. Set healthy goals for your life and break them into small steps to help you succeed.
18. Don't forget - you can control your diabetes instead of letting it control you.
19. Watch out for temptation! Stay away from foods or activities that you know can make you sick.
20. Reward yourself for following your doctor's plans and for staying in control of your blood sugar levels. Treat yourself to a new book, time with special friends or a drive in the country.

You can live a good life with diabetes!

Food Therapy should be followed under the supervision from your doctor. Check your sugar level frequently so that sugar levels do not go beyond the recommended level.

Foods to avoid
It is always advisable to avoid some foods if you are diabetic such as refined sugar, sweets, syrups, glucose, jam, molasses, fruit sugar, ice-cream, cakes, pastries, sweet biscuits, chocolates, soft drinks, condensed milk, cream and fried foods. Fats like butter, ghee and hydrogenated vegetable oil should also be avoided. White sugar and white flour should be reduced drastically. Avoid all processed foods, junk food, pastries, cookies, canned and preserved foods. They contain harmful preservatives and lot of salt. Avoid soft drinks since these have a lot of sugar. Try to avoid fried foods from your diet. Smoking results in the using up of oxygen in the body. So smoking should be avoided.

Foods to be limited
Salt consumption should be reduced to a minimum. You will get enough salt form the vegetables and fruits you eat. Reduce animal foods especially red meats. Reduce poultry and egg. Reduce caffeine and alcohol. Do not drink tea and coffee more than 2 cups a day. Try to replace it with green tea or herbal teas like Parsley tea, Blueberry leaf, Tea made of tender walnut tree leaves, Water in which kidney bean pods have been cooked is good diabetes.

Do not consume alcohol in empty stomach. Alcohol on an empty stomach can cause low blood glucose or hypoglycemia.Foods that should be consumed in moderation are honey and other natural sugars like palm sugar, dates which can be used instead of white sugar. Remember these should be consumed in very little quantity only.Pasta, coconut, other nuts, unsweetened juices, eggs should be limited. You can replace it with whole grain, unpolished rice and Soya products. Try to eat whole grain bread instead of white flour. Fats like olive oil and peanut oil are more advisable that hydrogenated fats. Low fat food like skimmed milk and low fat home made cottage cheese can be taken in moderation. Sea food and fish also can be taken in moderation.

Foods to be taken
Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.
An alkaline diet with natural food is recommended. Wholegrain, fruits, nuts, vegetables, and dairy products form a good diet for the diabetic. Raw vegetables can be taken in high quantities. It has been found that cooked foods raise blood glucose higher than raw, unpeeled foods. Cooking destroys many of the enzymes and some vitamins and minerals.

Eat at least five fruits every day. Fruits like grape fruit, pomegranate juice, Indian blackberry, banana, granny smith apples, fig, cranberries, black berry, kiwi fruits, and citrus fruits are highly recommended. Cucumber, Lettuce, onion, garlic string beans cucumber radish, tomato, carrot, leaves; spinach turnip, cabbage and Jerusalem artichoke are good for diabetes. Colorful vegetables are good for the functioning of pancreas. Drink Fruit juices without sugar. Brewer’s yeast and sprouted alfalfa and mung beans are good for the body. Unripe banana also can be cooked and eaten.

The most important of all is eating high fiber diet which lowers need for insulin. It releases energy into the body slowly. It has also been found that diabetes decreases and may even disappear in people eating a high fiber or whole food diet. High fiber diet has more chromium and chromium is very good for people with diabetes.

Eat lot of potassium rich foods like raw peanuts, tomato, bananas, melons, dried peas, potatoes, apple cider vinegar, skimmed milk powder, wheat but do not take potassium supplements.
Include soluble fiber in your meals like barley, oatmeal, almond meal, dried beans, kidney beans, cooked black beans, peas, cereals, chickpeas, Bengal gram which has low glycemic index, , Black gram, lentils and corn or garbanzo beans to helps considerably in reducing blood sugar levels. Soy products like tofu, tempeh, soymilk, soya powder, soy bean sprouts, nuggets etc are also very good in containing neurological complications in diabetes. When you eat lots of bread, cereal and starchy vegetables you will get enough of starches which is very helpful for diabetes. Insoluble fibers, found in bran (oat bran, wheat bran), whole grain breads, whole grains and nuts, act as intestinal scrubbers by cleaning out the lower gastrointestinal tract. Butter milk and yoghurt diet are very beneficial.

Helpful herbs and vegetables

1. Bitter Gourd (Karela): Bitter gourd Momordica-charantia or bitter melon juice contains plant insulin and should be taken 2 ounce 2 times daily on an empty stomach. Take bitter gourd powder I teaspoon daily in empty stomach.
2. Taking half a teaspoon of cinnamon a day may help prevent the onset of diabetes.
3. 30 gram fenugreek seeds can be soaked in a glass of water at night and after 12 hours take it and grind it into a paste with the soaked water and drink it on a empty stomach Or 2 teaspoon if powdered seeds can be taken with water or milk.
4. Eating upto 3 grapefruits a day has also been helpful.
5. 1 tablespoon of amla (Emblica officinalis) after removing the seeds extract the juice and mix with a cup of bitter gourd juice and take daily for 2months in a empty stomach.
6. Indian blackberry seeds or Jamun seed powder (scientific name of Jamun is Eugenia jambolana or Syzygium cumini L and) is very good for diabetes. Take 1/4th teaspoon with 1 teasoon honey for 50 days.
7. Eating freshly crushed raw garlic 3-4 grams a day lowers blood sugar.
8. Neem seeds daily 2 times a pinch. Taking a gram of neem leaf daily helps in diabetes.
9. Bael (Aegle marmelos) : The leave of the bael tree when chewed are very useful in diabetes. Pulp of this fruit could be dried and taken in doses of 5 to 10 gms a day.
10. A pinch of pure turmeric powders mixed in amla juice (Indian goose berry) and eat daily in empty stomach.
11. Use of turmeric and gooseberry in equal quantities in powder form taken with warm water is very useful in this behalf. These activate the pancreatic cells and more insulin is produced.
12. Wild jeerakam cumin seeds black colored 60 gm in 1 liter and boil a reduce it ti 1/4th liter and take half divide it into two equal parts and drink one part in the morning and one in the evening 2 times daily.
13. Grind (Bacopa monnieri )Bhrahmi and add a teaspoon of it to milk and drink.

Vitamins that help
Supplements in natural forms are more conducive to the body.
Magnesium supplementation has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity.
Vitamin C: 500 mg is recommended.
Vitamin E: This vitamin is very valuable for diabetes.
Chromium: Whole grains, seeds, mushrooms, corn oil and brewer’s yeast are relatively good sources of biologically valuable chromium.
Vitamin A: Take A dose of 15,000i.u. on alternate days.
Vitamin B: Avoid large dosage of vitamin B because this vitamin interferes with the absorption of insulin by cells.

Controlling your Weight is the best way to treat diabetes. Exercise improves the body's response to insulin. Walking, light games, jogging and swimming are also good.

Yoga can help a lot. Yogic asanas like Siddhasana, Vajrasana, Talasana, Yastikasana,, like Yogamudra, Hastapadasana, Paschimottanasana, Chakrasana, Ustrasana, Bhujangasana, Sarvangasana and Viparitakarani, as halasana, shalabhasana, dhanurasana, Pratipaksabhavana and shavasana will also be beneficial.

Current research from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts, shows that women that were more physically active and exercised on a regular basis prior to becoming pregnant and while pregnant are less likely to develop diabetes during their pregnancy.

Gestational Diabetes
Women in the study of over 21,765 individuals that were physically active prior to the pregnancy were 23 percent less likely to develop gestational diabetes. This number is significant in the control and prevention of this condition. In addition to controlling the gestational diabetes there are other health benefits for both the mother and the baby that are identified with a safe and effective exercise program prior to and during pregnancy.

Gestational diabetes occurs in approximately 4% of all pregnant women, and will result in over 135, 000 reported cases of this condition per year. It is not exactly known what causes gestational diabetes, but it is believed that the hormones produced by the placenta prevent the mother’s body from being able to absorb insulin. This insulin resistance may cause the mother to need up to three times as much insulin to have the same metabolic functioning.

Gestational diabetes usually goes away after the baby is born, but once you have had gestational diabetes you have a 2 in 3 chance of having it again in future pregnancies. Gestational diabetes is also a risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes later in life.

Effects on the baby
Gestational diabetes begins late in the pregnancy, after the baby’s body has already formed. The effects of the high levels of insulin in the mother are directly related to the way that the baby begins to produce insulin. Many babies will develop macrosomia, which is a condition that causes the baby to store all the extra sugar as fat, and leads to birthing problems, low blood glucose levels and respiratory problems.

How much exercise is needed?
Women that exercised vigorously by walking very briskly, cycling, swimming or other strenuous physical activity were the least likely to develop gestational diabetes. This group was 34 percent less likely to develop gestational diabetes than those that walked at an easy pace for the same amount of time. It is interesting to note that women that reported watching TV for more than twenty hours per week were 2.3 times more likely to develop gestational diabetes than those women that reported watching less than 2 hours of TV per week.

Since gestational diabetes can lead to type 2 diabetes, and further incidents of gestational diabetes it is important for women to be aware of these findings.

Indeed, many sufferers of diabetes have an interest in learning all about vitamins and herbs for diabetics in order to help or ward off the risk of complications that can arise if insulin levels are not maintained at a constant level. However, before we delve into vitamins and herbs for diabetics, we would be remiss if we didn't make a few dietary recommendations.

Become good friends with fiber-rich plant foods. Eat a diet rich in fiber as it seems to be helpful in reducing blood sugar surges.

Trim the saturated fat and cholesterol. Put simply, eat less or eliminate animal products and eat more whole grains, beans, fruits and vegetables.

Say hello to antioxidant-rich foods. Antioxidants are disease-fighting substances that mop up the continuous onslaught of free radicals. Free radicals are unstable oxygen molecules that damage cells as they travel through the body and are responsible for laying the groundwork for the most serious complications of diabetes if left unchecked. Plant-derived foods are rich in antioxidant nutrients.

Get nuts and seeds. Include in your diet nuts and seeds.

Slash the refined sugars. Your diet should be low in refined sugars.

Now, before we discuss vitamins and herbs for diabetics it's important that we make a few comments. Indeed, there are many nutrients that may help aid a person who suffers from diabetes, but one should never stop taking their insulin or any medication prescribed. However, it may be possible to take these vitamins and herbs for diabetics as well as other nutrients in conjunction with your prescription medications or insulin if you consult your physician first. Moreover, you need to make sure these herbs or nutrients are appropriate for your condition.
That said, let's delve into vitamins and herbs for diabetics. In fact, let's begin with the herbal kingdom.

Become familiar with Ayurvedic medicine. Bitter melon (Momordica charantia), gudmar (Gymnema sylvestre), and gulvel (Tinospora cordifo), are highly respected herbal remedies used to regulate blood sugar levels in Ayurvedic medicine. In addition, gudmar (Gymnema sylvestre) reduces the cravings for sweet foods.

Look into this exciting new herbal called Banaba Leaf. Banaba is a medicinal plant grown in the Philippines and Asia where its leaves have long been used as a folk remedy for treating diabetes as well as kidney disease. New research has shown this medicinal plant can lower unwanted levels of glucose in the blood.

Meet the berry family. Cedar berries are excellent nourishment for the pancreas and huckleberry may help promote insulin production. Juniper berries have been found to lower blood glucose levels and bilberry helps prevent diabetic eye damage. In addition, bilberry has shown to reduce blood sugar levels.

Stop! Dandelion root is a liver protector, which converts nutrients into glucose. Moreover, some studies have found that it may lower blood sugar levels and, as such, possibly benefiting those with diabetes.

Fill up on fenugreek seeds. Fenugreek seeds have been shown to reduce cholesterol and blood sugar levels in studies. However, there is a one drawback to this herb.
Discover Gingko biloba. Ginkgo is a well-known powerful antioxidant that is prized for its ability to enhance circulation.

Other herbs that may possibly help lower or improve blood-sugar levels include: Garlic, Ginseng, Psyllium, and Nopal (prickly pear cactus).
Now, let's move forward on our topic of this article, vitamins and herbs for diabetics and discuss vitamins.

Befriend vitamins A, B, C, and E. First, vitamins A, C, and E are antioxidants. Vitamin A with carotenoids is needed to maintain eye health. The B vitamins help produce enzymes that convert glucose to energy. In addition, the Bs may be helpful as an aid in preventing diabetic nerve damage. A deficiency in vitamin C may lead to vascular problems for diabetes sufferers. Vitamin C with bioflavonoids may slow or prevent complications that occur in this condition. Vitamin E improves circulation and helps prevent complications as well.

Check out Inositol. Get real acquainted with Alpha-lipoic acid. Alpha-lipoic acid is a potent antioxidant that helps control blood sugar levels. It has been used as a supplement to treat diabetic neuropathy, the nerve pain or tingling or numbness in the hands and feet that is common among individuals with diabetes. In fact, alpha lipoic acid is approved in Germany as an effective prescription drug for diabetic neuropathy.

Lean on chromium, the sugar regulator. Chromium is a mineral that's essential for normal insulin function and, as such, chromium improves insulin efficiency, which helps lower blood sugar levels. Diabetes sufferers are often deficient in this mineral.
Diabetes sufferers are often deficient in these minerals.

Diabetes Mellitus is one of the most costly burdensome chronic diseases of our time and is condition that is increasing in epidemic population in the whole world. The complications resulting from the diseases are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality and are associated with failure of various organs such as the eyes, kidneys and nerves. Diabetics are also at a significantly higher risk for coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease and stroke and they have a greater likelihood of having hypertension dyslipidemia and obesity.

What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a serious disorder of the glands, of pancreas to be exact, called Madhumeha in Ayurveda.

What are the types of Diabetes?
According to Ayurveda Diabetes is of two types: Diabetes Mellitus- Insulin dependent Juvenile Diabetes (IDDM-Type I) in which the body is unable to produce insulin and Non Insulin Dependent Adult Onset Diabetes (NIDDM-Type II) in which the pancreas produces insulin, but it is insufficient for reducing the blood glucose to normal levels.

What are the common symptoms of Type- 1 Diabetes?
Some of the common symptoms of Type- 1 Diabetes are:
• Excessive Thirst
• Frequent urination
• Unexplained weight loss
• Irritability
• Weakness
• Fatigue

What are the common symptoms of Type- 2 Diabetes?
• Loss off weight
• Numbness in hands or feet.
• Uncontrolled infections
• Pain in the limbs
• Inflammatory chest infections
• Dimness of vision, contrast
• Excessive thirst
• Body weakness

What are the different tests for Diabetes?
Urine Test: Some chemicals are added to a few drops of urine. Colour change indicates presence of glucose in urine.
Blood Test: In this, blood is taken to test the glucose level. This is more accurate test to confirm diabetes

Which parts of my body are affected by Diabetes?
Blood Vessels: Higher level of glucose damage the blood vessels. As a result of this most of the diabetic complications occur in blood vessels.
Heart: Diabetes affects the heart by: Increasing the amount of fat in blood and increasing the amount of homocysteine in blood.
Kidney: In diabetes because of increased levels of glucose, kidneys have to do extra work to retain essential substances and separate waste products to produce urine. This affects the small blood vessels and their capacity to filter.
Eyes: Diabetes affects blood vessels of the eyes. Damage to these blood vessels leads to eye problems like: Damage to retina, Cataract or total loss of vision
Foot: Damage to blood vessels reduces blood flow to the feet and increases risk of developing foot ulcers and infections.
Nerves: High glucose level for a long time damages nerves. Nerve damage reduces sensation in some parts of body which may lead to: Numbness and tingling, Fainting and dizziness

How do I know if my diabetes medicines are working?
Learn to test your blood glucose. After you test your blood glucose, write down your blood glucose test results. Then ask your doctor teacher if your diabetes medicines are working. A good blood glucose reading before meals is between 70 and 140 mg/dL.

Ask your doctor about how low or how high your blood glucose should get before you take action. For many people, blood glucose is too low below 70 mg/dL and too high above 240 mg/dL.

One other number to know is the result of a blood test your doctor does called the A1C. It shows your blood glucose control during the past 2 to 3 months. Home Remedies for Diabetes:
Amla, due to its vitamin C content is effective in controlling diabetes. A tablespoon of its juice, mixed with a cup of fresh bitter-gourd juice, taken daily for two months will secrete the pancreas and enable it to secrete insulin.

Take ten tulsi leaves, ten neem leaves and ten belpatras with a glass of water early morning on an empty stomach. It will work wonders in keeping your sugar levels under control.
The leaves of Butea tree are very useful in diabetes. They reduce blood sugar and are useful in glycousia.

Take two teaspoons of powdered Fenugreek seeds with milk. Eat 10 fresh fully grown curry leaves every morning for three months. It prevent diabetes due to heredity factors. It also cures diabetes due to obesity.