Q: Is taking Metformin alone sufficient for diabetes?
A: Metformin is used with a proper diet and exercise program. Single drug therapy with metformin can be given in pre-diabetes or at the onset of diabetes. In diabetic at a later stage insulin production itself becomes very poor and a drug from other group of antidiabetics needs to be added to control high blood sugar.
Q: What should I tell the healthcare provider before I start treatment with metformin?
Q: What kind of food should I include in my diet?
A diet should be high in fibre, low in fat with adequate protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals
Diet should include boiled, steamed, or baked food
Ensure moderate use of edible oils (groundnut oil, olive oil)
Maintain the regular meal timings and try to have 2-3 healthy snacks between meals like soups and salads
Q: What should I avoid doing, being a diabetic patient?
Do not shop when you are hungry. You could be tempted to buy oil and fried food
Avoid cream soups, carrot juice, deep fried vegetables, vegetable curries with excess oil
Avoid white bread, potato, noodles, corn flakes, biryani, naan, fried rice etc
Avoid cheese, milkshakes, ice creams
Try to avoid pork, beef, soft drinks, sugarcane juice, sweetened health drinks and beverages