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Healthful Eating - Why Bother?

Many people think that having diabetes means following a strict "diet" that is tasteless and boring. This is not true. With planning and the help of a dietitian or diabetes educator, you can still have many of the foods you like.

Foods give you the energy to do the things you enjoy and take care of yourself. After a meal, food is broken down into glucose (sugar) and carried by the blood throughout the body. Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas. It moves glucose from the blood into the body where the glucose is used for energy. When there is not enough insulin, glucose stays in the blood. This makes blood glucose levels high.

When you have diabetes, balancing the food you eat with your physical activity and medicines keeps your blood glucose on target. This helps you feel your best day to day. Eating too much food or not enough upsets the balance, causing high or low blood glucose. High blood glucose increases your chances of long-term problems.