Disease Care

Treatment includes controlling blood glucose levels, taking diabetes medicines, making wise food choices and exercising regularly.

Insulin

When the body no longer makes enough insulin, a person needs to take insulin. Whether or not the person must inject insulin depends on the type of diabetes they have and the severity. For many people, it is possible to control type 2 diabetes with medication, rather than daily injections. There are several methods that people with diabetes use to take insulin:

• Injections. Using a needle and syringe, the person takes insulin as a shot.
• Insulin pump. A small machine (the size of a cell phone) is worn outside the body, with a pump connected to a small plastic tube and small needle. The needle is inserted under the skin and stays in for several days. Insulin is pumped from the machine into the body.
• Insulin jet injector. The jet injector, which looks like a large pen, sends a fine spray of insulin through the skin with high-pressure air instead of a needle.

Medication

Many types of diabetes medications can help people with type 2 diabetes to lower blood glucose. Doctors prescribe medication from one or more of these groups:

• Sulfonylureas stimulate the pancreas to make more insulin.
• Biguanides decrease the amount of glucose made by the liver.
• Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors slow the absorption of the starches.
• Thiazolidinediones make the person more sensitive to insulin.
• Meglitinides stimulate the pancreas to make more insulin.
• D-phenylalanine derivatives help the pancreas make more insulin quickly.

Diet

Healthy eating helps keep blood glucose in the target range. People with diabetes should talk to their doctors about a healthy eating plan. Here are a few tips:

• Eat lots of vegetables and fruits, especially non-starchy types, such as spinach, carrots, broccoli or green beans.
• Choose whole grain foods over processed grain products.
• Eat dried beans (like kidney or pinto beans) and lentils
• Eat fish 2 to 3 times a week.
• Choose lean meats like cuts of beef and pork that end in "loin" such as pork loin and sirloin. Remove the skin from chicken and turkey.
• Choose non-fat dairy such as skim milk, non-fat yogurt and non-fat cheese.
• Choose water and calorie-free "diet" drinks instead of regular soda, fruit punch, sweet tea and other sugar-sweetened drinks.

Exercise

Physical activity is an important part of staying healthy and controlling blood glucose. People with diabetes should talk to a doctor about which activities are safe. The health care provider's advice will depend on the condition of the person's heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, feet, and nervous system. Everyone's blood glucose response to exercise is different, so people with diabetes should check their blood glucose before and after exercise.

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