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If you are a diabetic, you should realize the importance of insulin and the role it plays in the workings of your body. Insulin controls your blood sugar. A person with diabetes either does not produce enough insulin, or has lost the ability to use the insulin naturally present in the body.

Insulin is available in 4 different formulations. They are

Your doctor takes many things into consideration before he prescribes a certain type of insulin for your diabetes and decides the dosage. Such variables as how fast the insulin begins to work, when the insulin reaches its highest level in the body, and how long one injection of the insulin will last are all based upon each individual’s own body chemistry, the type of food he is eating and how often, and when and how he gets his daily exercise. Most of the time, you will have to take a mixture of these types in order to better control your diabetes.

Insulin for a person with diabetes must sometimes be used more than once a day. You can give yourself insulin by an injection with a needle and syringe, or an insulin pen, which looks rather like a large writing instrument, using insulin in a cartridge made like the ink cartridges for these pens, and comes with disposable needles. There is also a device called an insulin pump which is the most modern way to get the insulin you need.

Insulin pumps are small, about the size of a cassette tape. They are made from plastic and designed to work as much like the actual human pancreas as possible. An insulin pump is made to hold enough insulin to last for several days. It supplies insulin to the body in two different ways. One way mimics the human pancreas in that it sends insulin in a small dose every couple of minutes. The other way sends a much larger dose. This large does is normally used right before a meal. You can also control and program the pump yourself, adjusting the amount of any extra insulin you might need, based on the results of testing your blood sugar, the amount of exercise you may have gotten, or how much extra food you may have eaten. These pumps do an excellent job at controlling diabetes.

Other than the genes you inherited, there are two primary causes of insulin resistance:

• A long-term diet that has been high in carbohydrates
• Nutritional deficiencies

When you eat, your body breaks the food down into sugar (glucose), which then enters your blood stream. When the glucose in the blood increases, the body produces insulin to push the sugar out of your bloodstream and into the cells where it can be used. When insulin is doing its job, it will keep your blood sugar in normal range.

The human body evolved eating meat, fat and high fiber vegetables, with some roots and tubers.

Eight thousand years ago the “agricultural revolution” took place, with man learning how to domesticate grain. Virtually overnight, man became dependant upon carbohydrates as the main source of food. Archeologists point to that exact time period that the average height of man drops by two inches and all of the degenerative diseases we have today became prevalent in the society of that time.

Carbohydrates are simply long chains of sugar molecules hooked end-to-end. When a person eats carbohydrates their normal digestive process breaks up these chains into the individual sugar molecules, and they pass right through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream, and load up the bloodstream with sugar.

If this happened every once in a while it would not be a problem. But as diets today are so high in carbohydrates, people have a constant high level of sugar pouring into their bloodstream year after year.
This requires the body to continuously produce high levels of insulin to keep that sugar level down. (Remember, Insulin’s job is to push sugar out of the bloodstream into the cells where it is used for energy.)

Eventually the cells in the body become insensitive to the effects of the insulin. There are little doors to the cell (called “cell receptors”) where insulin pushes the glucose into the cell. When these cell receptors become insensitive to the insulin, insulin cannot open these doors. This is called insulin resistance.

To handle this problem the body begins to produce even higher levels of insulin. This continues until their pancreas (where insulin is made) reaches the maximum amount of insulin it can produce, and when the insulin resistance of the cells increases again, the blood sugar begins to rise out of control.

The result is type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is actually an extreme case of insulin resistance.

When the body has become insulin resistant, the body needs a low carb pre diabetes diet to maintain normal bloods sugars and needs specific nutrients supplements to re-sensitize the cell receptors of the body to the insulin the body is making.

The stomach and intestines breaks down the carbohydrate in food into sugar called glucose. After digestion, the glucose is used by the body to make energy. Then, the glucose in your blood needs a pancreatic hormone called insulin to enable the cells of the body to absorb it. When your body doesn’t make enough insulin, or when the cells can’t use the blood glucose in your body, then you have a condition called Diabetes. To ensure the safety and the health of the mother and the baby, a diet for gestational diabetes must be followed.

Gestational diabetes happens to 1% to 3% of all pregnant women. It usually begins in the second trimester of pregnancy. In most cases, gestational diabetes disappears after the woman gives birth.
High sugar levels in the pregnant woman’s blood can be risky for her and the baby. If gestational diabetes isn’t treated, the baby would be more likely get sickly at birth. The baby may have low blood sugar levels, jaundice, or macrosomia, a case when the baby weighs much more than normal. Gestational diabetes may also affect the difficulty of the delivery. When the baby is very large, the pregnant woman with gestational diabetes must ideally undergo cesarean section.
Women with gestational diabetes must follow a diet that suits their pregnancy needs as well. A diabetes diet based on weight, height, daily energy consumption and the nutritional need of the unborn baby must be well computed.

The American Diabetes Association recommends a well balanced diet for gestational diabetes. In this diet, they must eat a variety of foods with fewer carbohydrates and evenly distribute small meals throughout the day. Although your meal plan may contain fewer carbohydrates, a high-fiber meal can normally replace the satisfaction carbohydrates do to fill the hunger. High-fiber foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grain breads and cereals, and dried peas, beans, and legumes must be considered. These foods are slow to digest compared to simple carbohydrates, which may help maintain a stable blood sugar level even after meals.

Blood glucose levels are mostly high in the early morning hours. To keep a healthy blood glucose level, lessen carbohydrates such as white breads, cereals and milk. Most importantly for the growing baby, a high-protein intake is more preferable.

Avoid beverages that contain high sugar such as soda, fruit juice, flavored teas, and most desserts. Seek the advice of dietitians in choosing the artificial sweetener that is best for pregnancy. Daily exercise, preferably in moderation, is also a good way to burn calories caused by a sugary diet.

A diet for gestational diabetes is also about eating on time. Be particular with the time of eating since this maintains the right interval of food and energy consumption.