DemocraSay

As someone who has developed Type II diabetes, I can speak from personal experience. One of the keys is not just to keep your blood sugar low, but to keep it as well-regulated (level) as you can. There will be peaks and valleys, but try to keep the peaks as low and the valleys as high as you can.

The program is multi-faceted. I am on medication (soon to be re-evaluated), but I do not rely totally on the medication to control the blood sugar. Diet is my biggest tool. Low carb for sure. Avoid dairy and starches, and control complex carbs. Careful reading of the nutrition labels on packages of prepared foods helps greatly.

Creating an eating 'budget' and sticking to it allows you to be flexible. If you know you are going to be eating something normally 'off the diet' (for instance a piece of wedding or birthday cake), leave room for that in your budget. Minimize your risk - ask for a piece from the middle, with the least amount of frosting; scrape off as much frosting as you can stand (if you have that much self-control). The sugar in the cake and what frosting you eat may spike your sugars, but having minimized the risk will keep it lower than it might have been.

Consult with a dietitian, because every person is different, and diabetes should really be treated and handled on a case-by-case basis. There is no one-size-fits-all treatment or diet. One person can safely eat a small portion of potatoes, while another person's blood sugar spikes to unacceptable levels after one forkful of mashed potatoes.

I avoid sodium as well as complex carbs and sugars. I also avoid 'sugar-free' items that contain aspartame. Diabetis are susceptible to kidney problems, and aspartame exacerbates that situation. Stick to things that say 'no sugar added' (but read the nutrition information carefully).

Pay attention to the Hemoglobin A1C number on your quarterly blood test. (If you don't know what this is, it's a sort of 'average' of your blood sugar for those three months.) Ask your doctor what a good number is for you.

And - exercise! Your cardio-vascular system is also at risk, so good, solid aerobic exercise helps keep that in good shape.

You have my best wishes for a successful control of your internal system.

DER-Wordsmith

Although I AM a science guy, I don't expect you to trust my knowledge learned from school. I expect you to trust my experience with a patient with such disorder. Hopefully you are familiar with how Diabetes mellitus type 2 works. This is a metabolic disorder caused by either insulin resistance or relative insulin deficiency. And as you know insulin is a hormone that when present, causes body cells to take up glucose from the blood and store as glycogen in liver and muscle, so that fat is not used up as an energy source. Type 1 can be treated with relative ease with injection of insulin, since type 1 can only be caused by insulin deficiency. However, since type 2 can also be caused by resistance or even hyperglycemia, simple injection of insulin will not work.
Now, with the treatment. The best general treatment for any diabetics is to control their diet. Of course, the general rule is to avoid carbs, meaning avoid any "white food" (potatoe, white bread, white rice, white pasta, etc) But this DOES NOT mean you can't eat rice or pasta. Brown rice and whole multi-grain breads, and even yams are OK. The patient I dealt with had oatmeal with fruits as breakfast, and had absolutely no problem with it. One thing to avoid when buyng food is "High Fructose Corn Syrup". It is present in many foods sold in the market, this IS NOT GOOD for diabetics. And as you might know protein is always welcome for diabetics. Just remember that NO FRIED MEAT. The stuff around the fried meat as well as the fat are never good. Consider diabetes as a simple allergy to carbs, just like any other allergies other people may have. And there are so many other options of food you can have.
I'm aware that there are diabetic drugs that you can take. But they also have risks and side-effects. If you are familiar with the medical trend, MANY disorders and diseases are now being treated with simple diet control. And diabetes is a quintessential example. For more information, contact shinw@rpi.edu. Thank you.