When you think of blood glucose levels, you probably immediately think of people diagnosed with diabetes. However, the incidence of diabetes is definitely on the rise, particularly here in the U.S. Are you aware that today, even children in grade school are now being diagnosed with type-2 diabetes, in ever-increasing rates?

Many experts describe childhood type-2 diabetes as being ‘epidemic’ in our society. This is alarming news indeed. This is why all of us need to monitor our sugar consumption as well as blood sugar levels in children.

You might well ask why diabetes is becoming so common, across all age groups and ethnicities. Type-2 diabetes is essentially a disease manifested by an inability of the body to manage high blood sugar levels, due to an overtaxed pancreas which cannot keep up with the amount of sugar being processed.

While modern life has provided us with many time-saving food production and processing techniques, in the form of convenience foods and ready to eat meals, therein lies the rub. When you rely on packaged, refined, highly processed foods for a significant portion of your diet, you are automatically increasing your sugar intake and thus, your blood sugar levels reading, exponentially.

Sodas have become the beverage of choice with kids and adults alike. Candy bars, cookies and pastries are put in the lunch bag for ‘dessert’. A typical school kid’s lunch may consist of a baloney sandwich, a bag of chips, a soda and dessert.

Read the label on the packaged baloney to see if it doesn’t contain added sugar, usually in the form of ‘fructose corn syrup’, used commercially as a ‘taste enhancer’, which makes it more appealing to the taste buds. The chips, while usually not containing added sugar, contain a lot of salt, which causes the body to retain water, contributing to weight gain and even obesity.

The soda speaks for itself, as does the candy bar or other unhealthy ‘dessert’. While this lunch is quick to assemble and convenient, the cumulative effect of this sort of lunch is an overworked pancreas and increased sugar levels in blood.

If you’re an adult, on the run with a busy schedule, eating in this manner on a regular basis puts you at greater risk of developing type-2 diabetes.

The moral to this story?

Try to get into the habit of developing menus made with fresh produce and meats. Make up a big batch of homemade spaghetti sauce to freeze in meal sized portions, instead of reaching for the more expensive and sugar added commercial jars.

Choose juice instead of soda, looking for those with labeling declaring ‘no sugar added – natural fruit sugar only’. A piece of fruit is a far better dessert choice than sweet treats.

Diabetes carries with it so many dietary restrictions and life-threatening complications. A preventative approach to your diet for blood sugar control can save you and your family members from falling victim to this devastating disease.

Watch your sugar intake now, so you won’t find yourself having to monitor your diabetic sugar levels four times a day in the future. Good health to you!

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