The precise amount of sugar in food can be determined from the nutrition fact label found on packaged food or from USDA food charts. However, you can also determine the amount of sugar in foods by performing an easy science experiment. Doctors use...
According to the American Diabetes Association's 2010 Standards of Care, checking blood glucose at home is an important component of effective diabetes therapy. Blood glucose numbers give important information about how well diet, medications and...
The American Diabetes Association has found that diabetics whose blood sugar levels are kept under tight control have fewer complications. Diabetes test strips enable diabetics to monitor their blood sugar levels at home. This allows patients to...
Insulin is produced in the beta cells of the pancreas and removes glucose from the bloodstream. Problems with insulin leads to diabetes, a disease in which there is an abnormally high level of glucose in the blood. It is caused by insufficient...
Glucose monitoring helps you to manage your diabetes and avoid the symptoms of high or low blood glucose. Abbott Diabetes Care manufacturers the FreeStyle Lite and FreeStyle Freedom Lite glucose monitors. The FreeStyle Lite is a smaller model than...
Hypoglycemia occurs when blood glucose dips below the normal range of 70 mg/dL to 130 mg/dL. Many diabetics suffer from occasional bouts of the condition, but it may be due to other causes such as medication, excessive alcohol consumption or other...
Medicare will pay 80 percent of the cost of diabetes supplies once approved, but it only pays for specific supplies. Supplemental insurance can cover the other 20 percent. The 20 percent co-pay also is subject to any deductible required by...
Blood glucose monitors are medical devices that help people with prediabetes or diabetes keep track of their daily blood sugar levels at home. The blood sugar measurements can help a person decide whether meals, exercise or insulin dosages require...
Diabetes is a disease that prevents the body from making or using insulin well enough to prevent high blood glucose levels. The three types of diabetes -- type 1, type 2 and gestational -- can cause serious conditions and life-threatening...
High blood glucose, also known as hyperglycemia, occurs when your body has difficulty producing enough insulin or is not using insulin properly, according to the American Diabetes Association. If left untreated, it can develop into a condition...
For someone with diabetes, both excessively high and excessively low blood sugar can represent an emergency. Hyperglycemia, or high-blood sugar, is typically defined as blood sugar at or above 240 mg per deciliter. The symptoms of hyperglycemia...
Knowing when to test blood glucose levels is an important part of keeping your diabetes stable. Most diabetics should test their blood glucose levels every morning before eating. People who are newly diagnosed diabetics should test their blood...
If you're diabetic, the most important part of your day should be monitoring your blood glucose. Unmanaged diabetes can lead to a number of other complications, including kidney failure, coronary artery disease, blindness and even loss of limbs....
Diabetes suffers know that complications related to their condition could leave them visually impaired or even blind. According to the National Institutes of Health, uncontrolled blood sugar levels can lead to bleeding in the retina of your eye, a...
Most individuals without an underlying disease have very little reason to ever need to check their own blood sugar levels. Diabetics, however, need to do so regularly. Diabetes, explains Dr. Lauralee Sherwood in her book "Human Physiology," is a...
Carbohydrates, fats and proteins provide the body with energy for growth and basic bodily functions. From carbohydrates, the body takes glucose as a source of energy. The right level of blood glucose is essential for good health. Although a...
Monitoring your blood sugar regularly as you exercise and diet toward a better you will help the fight against diabetes, MayoClinic.com indicates. Diabetes can cause many health problems such as stroke, heart disease and kidney failure. Lower...
Most people who track their blood glucose levels do so to manage their diabetes, a disease that prevents the body from making enough insulin or using insulin properly. Normally, sugar in your bloodstream is moved into your cells. In people with...
In healthy individuals blood sugar levels will naturally fluctuate during exercise. These fluctuations are within the normal range -- 100 mg/dL to 200 mg/dL -- and are the result of the energy demands exercise places on your body. Diabetics have...
When food is consumed, the body breaks it down into glucose, which is a source of energy for the body. Insulin is a hormone made in the pancreas that moves glucose from the bloodstream into the cells, where it is utilized. Diabetes is a disorder...
The two essential parts of a glucose meter are the testing strip (which is single-use) and the monitor itself. The testing strip is a small piece of paper that has certain chemicals on it, which allow it to react with sugar in the blood. The...
The American Diabetes Association recommends self-monitoring of blood glucose levels for all people with diabetes, especially those who take medications, who are having trouble controlling their blood glucose levels or who are pregnant. Your...
You directly affect your glucose or sugar levels when you eat. As glucose is absorbed from the small intestine into the bloodstream, beta islet cells in the pancreas secrete a hormone called insulin. This hormone transports glucose into the...
Modern glucose monitors require only a small sample of blood to effectively measure glucose levels. Glucose levels are screened multiple times a day and even during the night for some users. The sample is obtained by piercing the skin with a...
People with diabetes must monitor their blood sugar closely throughout every day to make sure that it remains within a normal range. EndocrineWeb explains that a fasting blood sugar--that is, a blood sugar measurement taken when the individual...
Diabetes affects 26.3 million individuals in the United States, costs $174 billion and is the seventh leading cause of disease-related death in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Despite new drugs that have...
The OneTouch Ultra 2 is a compact blood glucose monitoring system that allows you to quickly and effectively check your blood sugar levels after meals and throughout the day. Doing so helps monitor the impact that your diet and medications have on...
Diabetes is a chronic condition that affects how your body handles sugar, or glucose. Type 1 diabetes often presents in childhood as a result of the pancreas producing no or little insulin. Type 2 diabetes presents when your body becomes resistant...
OneTouch manufactures blood glucose meters for individual use in the home setting. By checking blood sugar frequently, diabetics are able to monitor their blood sugar trends related to eating, exercise and stress. OneTouch meters are simple to use...
