It’s about that time of year when many of us are planning our summer vacations. Preparing for a vacation can add unnecessary stress. Stress is unhealthy and can impact your blood sugar levels so it’s time to put yourself at ease with your preparation and let the fun begin right now! Start enjoying your vacation even before you leave with these packing tips. Below are some tools you may consider using on your next excursion!
Finding our way around the kitchen can be challenging whether you have diabetes or not. There are healthy choices, not so healthy choices and unhealthy choices. We all need to be cognizant of the amount of saturated or trans fat (those artery clogging, cholesterol producing fats), sodium (can be harmful to your heart, blood pressure and kidneys), and processed sugar we allow into our bodies.
Each week I meet with my patients to discuss the impact of their food choices on glucose control. The top 5 most common questions I have about reading a food label.
Sugar free items or no sugar added items remove the processed sugar (sugar, corn syrup, brown rice syrup, molasses, etc.) and replace it will a slower digesting carbohydrate known as "sugar alcohol”. Some familiar names of sugar alcohols are sorbitol, xylitol, mannitol and lactitol. Most of them end in "ol” just like alcohol. These sugar alcohols will still have an impact on your blood sugar, however, because they digest more slowly you may see less of a spike.
On March 22nd, the American Diabetes Association is recognizing “Diabetes Alert Day” as the time to find out if you are the 1 in 3 American Adults who are at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. There is a simple test that assesses your risk for Type 2 diabetes; family history, weight, age, activity, etc.
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It can be very challenging to keep portions in control. At times it seems nearly impossible not to eat everything on our plate. Didn’t our parents encourage us to “clean our plates”? We now know how important portion control is for blood sugar control as well as weight/calorie control. Yet, we still need a little help!
Here are some examples of portion controlled items that we carry to help you stay within your calorie and glucose “budget”:
As of January 26, 2011, the National Diabetes Fact Sheet released new statistics. In 2007, there were approximately 24 million Americans of all ages with diabetes and 57 million with pre-diabetes (over age 20). These numbers have increased to approximately 26 million Americans of all ages with diabetes and 79 million Americans with pre-diabetes over age 20. This does not account for the children who have pre-diabetes due to their obesity and inactivity.
A new year represents a fresh start for all of us. It is a great time to start the year off on the right foot. January 1st is a date to think of all the things we could improve and begin to implement them. However, after a few months, if that long, reality sets in and we are back to our old habits. With diabetes, not following through on good self care can result in potentially harmful health complications. Now is the time to make a commitment to your health today and for the next 360 days, and beyond. I recommend these essential and easy-to-keep steps for all-year-round care.
The increased number of lower sugar and sugar-free foods can help you reduce the "sugar-cravings" and their lower calories help you meet your calorie budget. Diabetes-friendly products such as Sans Sucre baking mixes allow you to consume delicious and decadent treats.
The bottom line is that we need to be most concerned with how much fat, sugar, processed/refined carbohydrates, and salt we consume daily... ... Many processed and prepared foods can be hiding very high amounts of one or all of these.