Ideal treatment is a combination of balanced diet, medicines and adequate exercise. All diabetics require diet therapy because good blood sugar control is difficult with medicines alone. Some patients achieve good sugar control with dietary adjustment alone and do not require medicines.

The diet of a diabetic is no different from the healthy diet advised for the rest of the population. It should consist of a source of unrefined carbohydrate providing 50-55% of the total caloric requirement. Complex carbohydrates are absorbed relatively slowly and there by prevents the rapid fluctuations of blood sugar levels. The balance calories should come from a protein source (15%) and fats (30-35%).

When prescribing a diet for a diabetic, the eating habits and life style of the individual should be considered in order to minimize the interference with the patient's life. Diabetics should try to eat the same amount of food at around the same time every day. They will need snacks in between if on insulin. They are allowed a limited quantity of alcohol but be mindful of the calories.


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Medical Treatment

Patients who have type I diabetes and who are under the age of 40 years, are usually treated with insulin. Others are treated with tablets, depending on the individual, considering their blood sugar status, obesity, life style etc. Tablets are contraindicated in pregnancy and usually avoided in younger patients.
There are various groups of drugs with different actions and potency. When diet alone fails to achieve control, thin patients are treated with a sulphonylurea drug and obese patients are put on biguanides.

Patients who have type I diabetes and younger patients are treated with insulin. Insulin is an injectable preparation derived from animals with a backbone, mainly from pigs and cows. There is also a human insulin made by DNA coding of yeast cells and bacteria.

Needles used to inject insulin are very fine and sharp and nowadays there are insulin pen injection devices, which are very convenient, and user friendly. It can be injected to the skin, thigh, upper arm and abdomen. The type of insulin and frequency of injections vary depending on the individual.