Forget the presents, forget the decorations, forget the snow. For some of us, the holidays are all about food.
For people with diabetes, all those treats add up to a hefty challenge as they try to navigate the holiday atmosphere and manage their health.
Julie Shapero, a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator with the Northern Kentucky Health Department, said there are no forbidden foods – except for regular soda – regardless of the time of year. “It’s all about the portion sizes.”
But just because it’s a holiday, that doesn’t mean people with diabetes can stop counting carbs and calories or measuring their blood sugar levels.
“While most people are concerned about what they are going to eat between Thanksgiving and New Years, I’m more concerned with what you eat from New Years to Thanksgiving,” said Shapero.
Managing diabetes means sticking to a consistent regimen day in and day out so your blood sugar levels stay on an even keel. If your blood sugar spikes too high or drops too low, dangerous health problems can result.
Here are Shapero’s tips for managing diabetes during the holidays:
- Plan ahead. Make a calendar of all the holiday events you’ll be attending.
- Pick your treat and plan around it. Some foods on the holiday table are available year-round, like mashed potatoes. So, why not have a taste or two of a special treat that’s only on the menu during the holidays? Just remember to count the calories and carbohydrates.
- Don’t skip one meal and splurge on the next. Successful diabetes management means keeping calories, carbs and medications coming consistently ““ the same amounts of everything at the same time every day. That means you can’t save up all your calories and carbohydrates from breakfast and add them to your tally for dinner, Shapero said.”If you skip a meal, it is not advised to splurge instead on the next meal,” she said. “Skipping meals also makes for poor food choices because you will be hungrier later. By eating the carbs all later, you will overwhelm your pancreas, and there won’t be enough insulin to cover all those carbs. Additionally, if you skip a meal, your liver will still put out sugar, thinking it’s saving you from starvation, and your blood sugar may actually go high.”
- Understand carbs aren’t the only culprit. You have to look at your foods’ total calories, as well as fat content. Stick to foods made with healthy fats, such as canola or olive oil, or fats from nuts or fish, like salmon or mackerel, and skip the fried stuff. Choose healthy carbs, such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables, instead of sugary treats.
- Know “sugar-free” isn’t necessarily your friend. You need to count all carbohydrates, not just sugars, Shapero said.”We are not sure who most sugar-free treats were invented for, but it certainly wasn’t for people with diabetes,” she said. “Some sugar-free products such as diet soft drinks, yogurt, Jell-o and pudding are great additions. However, in many products, sugar alcohols are added and the end result is that the carbohydrate count may be the same in the sugar-free product as the regular product. Sugar alcohols end in ‘itol,’ such as mannitol, sorbitol, etc. They can cause stomach distress. Keep in mind that we look at total carbohydrates, not sugar, in a food.”
- Remember the holiday lasts only 24 hours. Even though the cookies and fudge seem to be out for months.”It’s called a holiday, not a holimonth,” Shapero said. “Enjoy smaller portions of your favorite foods. Work in time to exercise, such as going for a walk. And get back on track at the next meal.”
