One of the biggest challenges for diabetics is learning how to manage their blood glucose levels. Diet, exercise and medication all play a role in glucose levels and must be balanced. A good way to start is by learning how to use the glycemic index (GI) of carbohydrates. After a few weeks, you'll learn to avoid foods that make glucose levels spike and choose foods that help stabilize the blood glucose.
Step 1
Have your blood glucose tested at your doctor's office or a clinical laboratory. You may also want to consider having your hemoglobin A1c tested. Hemoglobin A1c represents the long-term management of your blood glucose, while a single blood glucose test only represents your glucose level at that point in time. Both values will be of value after you have made changes to your diet. File the test results so that you can refer to them later.
Step 2
Analyze your current eating habits by completing a food diary for a week. Write down everything you eat and drink for seven days, including the quantities. Be honest.
Step 3
Next to the carbohydrates in your food diary, write down the glycemic index number for each food. Carbohydrates are found in baked goods, pasta, rice, fruits and hundreds of other foods. Refer to the chart in the link at the bottom of this article. Low GI foods rate between zero and 54. Intermediate GI foods rate between 55 and 70. High GI foods rate over 70.
Step 4
Highlight the high GI foods in your food inventory with a yellow highlighter. Look for lower GI foods that can take their place. Foods rated higher than 70 should be replaced. You can swap them with low or intermediate GI foods.
Step 5
Work other low to intermediate GI foods into your diet, taking the place of foods with a higher rating. If you are not in a position to exchange foods (when you're eating out or at a friend's house) try adding some extra protein or fat to your meal to average the glucose ratings for the entire meal.
Step 6
Retest your blood glucose after several months and compare the results against your original blood test results. Share the results with your physician or registered dietitian and ask for guidance if your blood glucose levels have not dropped as you anticipated.
Tips and Warnings
- Test your blood at a clinical laboratory and not with a home glucose monitor. Keep careful records of what you eat, the quantities and other factors that affect blood glucose levels.
