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Diabetes Mellitus : A Group Of Metabolic Diseases That Affect How Your Body Uses Blood Glucose

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Diabetes mellitus refers to a group of metabolic diseases that affect how your body uses blood glucose. Glucose is important to health because it is the source of energy for the cells that make up muscles and tissues. It is also the brain 's main source of fuel. The disease is characterized by hyperglycemia that results from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action or both. It is estimated that 8.3% of the United States population have diabetes and another 7 million are undiagnosed (Huether and McCance, 2012).
A diabetes diagnosis is based on Glycosylated Hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels >/= 6.5%, Fasting Plasma Glucose (FPG) levels >/= 126 mg/dl, 2-hour plasma glucose levels during Oral Glucose Tolerance Testing (OGTT) >/= 200 mg/dl,…show more content…
Effective management of diabetes requires that a meal plan, education and counseling programs be individualized for each client. A nurse, dietician, family, as well as the client must work together on all aspects of meal planning. Diet therapy involves keeping blood glucose and HbA1c, serum lipid levels, and blood pressure as near normal as possible. These factors will help prevent complications of diabetes, which include renal disease, neuropathy, and cardiovascular disease (Huether and McCance, 2012). .
Diabetic clients must follow a day-to-day consistency in the timing and amount of food eaten to help control blood glucose. Clients receiving insulin therapy must eat at a consistent time that coordinates with the timed action of insulin. The daily caloric intake is spread among three main meals and any between-meal or bedtime snack. 15% to 20% of daily caloric intake must consist of protein. Of the remaining 80% to 90% of calories, less than 10% should be from saturated fat and up to 10% should be from polyunsaturated fat. The remaining 60% to70% should come from monounsaturated fat and carbohydrates. High fiber diets are recommended to improve carbohydrate metabolism and lower cholesterol levels. Intake of 20 to 35 g of dietary per day is
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