This is also true with food contamination. Diabetic immune systems don't function as well as when they're healthy, making them more vulnerable to harmful bacteria and pathogens passed from fruit, vegetables and animal products such as meat, chicken, eggs, fish and their juices.

In addition to lowered overall immunity, damaged cells in the intestinal track and kidneys are slower at digesting food and beverages, giving toxins, such as salmonella, listeria and cryptosporideum a longer time to incubate in the body.

That's why food safety is most important with Type 2 diabetics.

According to the Center for Disease Control, 76 million Americans annually suffer from food contamination or food poisoning, many of them Type 2 diabetics.

In response, the U.S. Department of Agriculture produced the BE FOOD SAFE guide to help diabetics fight against food borne contamination.

Available online from the USDA site (www.fsis.usda.gov) BE FOOD SAFE gives readers a 24 page guide to resisting food contamination, that's increasingly important.

BE SAFE FOOD contains a lot of practical advice and suggestions for diabetics.

Specifically, it offers a four step process to minimize contamination and possibly death.

These practical steps include:

#1 Clean

Wash hands, wash food preparation surfaces, wash can lids before opening.

#2 Separate

To avoid cross-contamination, the USDA recommends that all food purchase, storage and preparation be kept in separate areas as much as possible. Keep meats, fish and dairy products away from other foods in your shopping cart, store them separately in the refrigerator and do not co-mingle food preparation areas.

#3 Cook

A full guide to proper food cooking is provided, listing foods and required heating temperatures to fully kill off pathogens.

#4 Chill

Proper refrigeration, freezing and thawing instructions are provided to lower contamination levels before, during and after refrigeration.

Additionally, the BE FOOD SAFE provides a listing of pathogens and their descriptions, related symptoms and an action plan in the event food poisoning does occur.

Overall, BE FOOD SAFE is a very useful guide for Type 2 diabetics in buying, storing, preparing and eating healthy.

Additionally when people are trying to get their hands around their diabetes, one of the most difficult areas to understand is what is a good diabetic diet. Learn how to make this specialized diet your first Line of attack. Complex carbohydrates can be the key to Success. Weight loss and exercise will follow naturally. Discover the cutting edge in this battle to reverse the symptoms of type 2 Diabetes.

For more information on supplements and diabetes click on the link below and type the word "diet articles" into the search box.