When you are initially diagnosed with diabetes, there are so many new things to understand and take in, that it's overwhelming.

Not surprising then, that often some of the important information can pass you by unwittingly.

So, just why is that your doctors are keen for you to have good blood sugar levels and monitor them at your regular checkup?

You already know that having high sugar levels can make you feel ill, nauseous and lethargic.  Did you know just how quickly you can get so ill that you need to be hospitalised?  Within a short space of time, say 24 hours, it's possible for your sugar level to go so high that your body starts creating ketones, this is just one of the reasons you feel ill and very thirsty.  This is what can land you in hospital if you don't take immediate steps to manage it.

If you are the parent of a child with juvenile diabetes, it's especially important that you understand what's happening with your child's body, as they may not realise it quickly, to allow you to respond and safeguard their health.

In the long term, allowing or ignoring raised sugar levels is what can bring on a number of unpleasant complications.  These can affect your eyes, heart, kidneys, nerves and feet over a long period of time, so it's very important to manage and keep your sugar levels as low as you can maintain them.

One of the ways of doing this is to eat well, finding low sugar recipes to replace sugary cookies and desserts and to limit your carbohydrate intake.  Learning to eat for diabetes should be a family affair, as healthy eating for one, will mean healthy eating for all.  So investing in a good low carb cookbook and carefully managing portion sizes can really help improve your health and give you the best chance of living a long & healthy life.