I have been a type II diabetic for 4 years now. I have found the best results from what james7136 spoke about...The Glycemic Index diet. And....gman007 is right on the money with staying away from the white foods AND processed foods. Try the occasional red potato or brown rice for your starch/carb fix. I have just started cooking with organic 100% whole wheat pasta...I am always learning new things. At first I felt soooo overwhelmed by the prospects of finding something to eat. But I have found perimeter grocery shopping the easiest most foolproof way to eat the right things...along with portion control and exercise. Best wishes to you....YOU CAN DO IT!
you're definately on the right track - stick with it. Smoothing out the spikes and adapting to and even enjoying a normalized diet minus processed sugars will help. Mediterranean diet is good - but some items have a surprisingly high gi. try checking out foods glycemic index levels at glycemicinde.com or http://www.glycemicedge.com
You may find these links helpful -
The American Diabetes Assoc.
http://tinyurl.com/6pxbe
The Mayo Clininc
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/diabetes-diet/DA00027
MedlinePlus
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/diabeticdiet.html
Diagnosed last week. Fasting level was 210. Ac1 8.5. Doctor said if it's white, don't bite. Potatoes, rice, etc. Started on Glipizide eight days ago. Morning level is now 170. No more cereal for breakfast. Fruits and low carb toasted bread. 1% milk. I try to get to Subway a few times a week for their low fat sandwiches. Evening is skinless chicken or fish, maybe a small steak. I have followed a "Mediterranean" diet for most of my adult life...lots of veggies (dark green) fruit chicken and fish. My cholesterol, blood pressure heart rate are "Excellent!", according to my doctors. I apparently inherited this from my mother, who lived with type 2 for thirty years. I am told the most important thing about controlling blood sugar levels is to get it evened out...get to a safe level and manage it well. From personal experience, I have known three people with diabetes, all of them from my childhood. Two of them did nothing to control their disease, and tried to compensate for high sugar levels by "adjusting" their medication. The third person developed a pattern of good diet and regular exercise. The first two people died in their early forties. My mother lived to be 77.