Q: My 63 years old mother has been suffering from high blood pressure for the last 15 years. Since about a month, her blood sugar levels have risen to 200 mg/dl. How can she control her sugar levels? What diet should she take? What kind of physical exercise she can do?

A:Get the following tests done for your mother:-

1. HbA1c
2. KFT - Blood urea, Serum creatinine, urine routine/microscopy
3. LFT - Serum bilirubin, SGOT, SGPT, Alkaline phosphatase, serum proteins
4. Lipid profile
5. Fasting and PP blood glucose
6. Urine examination
7. Fundus examination from eye specialist

If fasting blood glucose < 200 mg/dl and PP < 250 mg/dl then a trial of diet therapy and exercise 40 minutes brisk walk should be good enough. Get a diet chart from dietitian. Otherwise restrict calories, free sugars like sugar, honey, sweets, low fat diet. She should take small but frequent meals like three major meals and three small snacks. Get the results of above tests for further advice.