Confessions of a Person With Type 2 Diabetes

As a type 2 diabetic, I seem to be the topic of interest and intrigue by a lot of people I meet who when they discover I have diabetes often ask me what it's like having diabetes. My response is usually the same: I feel as good as the next person, and I'm not different than someone who has some other illness. Diabetes isn't an illness to be feared. It's actually a disease that you should embrace as another one of life's little challenges that it throws us all from time to time.

The great thing about having diabetes is that it is a never ending reminder for me to be aware of what I eat, to focus on doing some exercise almost every day, and to ensure that whenever I have an occasional drink, to take it in moderation. Sure, I could completely binge myself stupid at a party one night, or eat all the wrong foods till I'm bursting at the seams, but I know that there would be a cost to me (healthwise) often within a couple of hours that I'm not prepared to pay.

You see having diabetes is one thing. Living with it day in, day out is another. Day to day, I control my blood sugars well, and I now have my blood pressure under control. It did start getting out of control for a couple of years sometime back, when it started climbing to the point where my doctor wanted to put me on blood pressure medication, but I resisted, and started taking resveratrol instead. I'm glad I did, I still take 250mg of resveratrol daily, and my blood pressure is now normal, and has been for the past 18 months.

Exercise seems to be one of those really difficult lifestyle things to fit in. A lot of other people tell me that too. I endeavor to exercise every day, usually a walk for 30-45 minutes, or in the weekends, I'll try a bike ride. Occasionally I'll head down to a local swimming pool, and spend about a half hour swimming lengths. One thing I do enjoy though (and is excellent fro diabetics) is lifting a few weights. I've been told this helps build muscle mass which is excellent for using up any blood sugar in your blood, as well as helps boost your metabolism which helps you burn up the extra calories, and consequently keep the weight off (or lose it depending on which side you're coming from)

When it comes to meal times, some of my favorite foods, man of which are also low glycemic foods and digest slowly providing me wit that sustained energy are; avocados, fresh raw tomatoes, blueberries, cranberries, apricots, cooked mushrooms, porridge with some low fat soy milk, low fat cheese grilled on multigrain toast (with some red onion underneath) salmon sushi, some low fat curries (yes, it is possible to make an almost fat free curry in a non stick frypan) with basmati rice, and of course you cant go past a good old home made thick vegetable soup in the winter, with the occasional glass of red wine.

I hope this has helped anyone who has just been diagnosed with diabetes, and is looking for some inspiration, and hope that it definitely isn't all doom and gloom with this disease. Grab life and seize the day!

Maintaining good type 2 diabetes control is essential to minimize the damage high blood sugar can do to your body. It's not rocket science, but from the time become diagnosed as a type 2 diabetic, it becomes important to take a concerted and focussed awareness of most things you eat and do in life. Having type 2 diabetes is definitely a life changing disease, but it needn't be a life sentence, because it really does provide the opportunity for you to start living a healthy, fulfilling life. If you want to get on top of your type 2 diabetes naturally, there are natural ways to control and normalize your blood sugar levels that definitely work. To find out how this can help you to control your pre diabetes, or type 2 diabetes condition, go to Type2 Diabetes Control