Our first week together in November brings us to American Diabetes Month and a blog post from Sweetlife Wellness that helps promote awareness of Diabetes and prevention strategies as we look at making healthy food choices during the holiday season! Join DC Metro area dietitian Kay Loughrey as she participates in diabetes awareness month and shares helpful tips for keeping on track with a healthy lifestyle that will help you continue your journey of building a healthy relationship with food. As we approach the season of end-of-year holidays in November and December, these tips can help you to have a full and joyful life while being intentional to make healthy choices!
Diabetes can occur in two ways in the body, first as Type 1 and second as Type 2. Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin. With Type 2 Diabetes, often connected to obesity yet not exclusively a weight issue, the body does not interact with or use insulin well. Type 1 is not as common as Type 2, which can develop later in life. Diabetes can cause various symptoms including vision issues, thirst, urination concerns, and fatigue. These symptoms can lead to further complications such as increased risk for stroke or heart attack, kidney problems, weakened immune systems, and nerve damage. Knowing all those complications, we want to do our best to pursue healthy lifestyle choices that will prevent diabetes from developing!
The end-of-year holiday season can be the hardest time of the year to make healthy choices that will keep your body thriving. Yet Sweet Life Wellness would like to offer you the following tips as encouragement to be able to fully enjoy your holidays and still take care of your body!
1) Choose foods that balance blood sugar levels!
For people with diabetes or those trying to prevent it, blood sugar balance is especially important to consider, and with it the fact that some foods can imbalance blood sugar levels in a more negative way than others. Choose foods that are known to be “low-glycemic,” meaning low on the impact they will have on your blood sugar levels. Foods such as beans, citrus fruits, dark green veggies, berries, nuts, and whole grains are all considered low glycemic foods.
2) Do not go without food… eat regularly, throughout the day!
Not eating regularly enough throughout the day can also cause blood sugar levels to be imbalanced. The most common symptom that occurs in not eating regularly enough is fatigue and sometimes losing consciousness. An effortless way to avoid this is to keep small healthy snacks on hand such as nuts and seeds, berries, and whole wheat bread.
3) Eat smaller meals/snacks more often instead of three large meals!
Like eating regularly throughout the day is a helpful tip of eating smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day instead of the traditional three larger meals. This can look like having hearty healthy snacks in between the traditional three meals
4) Sleep, hydrate, and move!
During the holiday season, it can be quite easy to fall away from healthy habits such as a regular sleep routine, hydrating well, and making sure to move your body every day! All of these can impact diabetes symptoms as well as diabetes prevention. Make sure to get enough sleep for your body (everyone is different!), hydrate well throughout the day, and keep active with your favorite active hobby!
5) Maintain a healthy weight!
While not always a factor, overweight status is often found to be linked to diabetes, and this excess weight can also contribute to blood sugar level imbalances. While there is no perfect weight number, even losing 5-10% of your body weight can lessen symptoms and increase your ability to prevent diabetes all together!
The holiday season can be challenging for those who are diabetic or pre-diabetic. Yet it does not mean your holiday season cannot be joyful as you thrive in your journey towards a healthier you! With these few tips, your holiday season will be even more enjoyable as you navigate it with the mindset of healthy choices! Learn more about navigating the holidays with diabetes here!
Resources
American Diabetes Association. “November is American Diabetes Month.” https://www2.diabetes.org/get-involved/community/american-diabetes-month. Accessed October 26, 2023.
National Library of Medicine. “Diabetes.” MedlinePlus. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/001214.htm. February 10, 2023. Accessed October 26, 2023.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. “National Diabetes Month 2023.” https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/community-health-outreach/national-diabetes-month. Accessed October 26, 2023.
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. “Prevent Type 2 Diabetes.” https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/prevent-type-2/index.html. September 30, 2022. Accessed October 26, 2023.
National Library of Medicine. “How to Prevent Diabetes.” MedlinePlus. https://medlineplus.gov/howtopreventdiabetes.html. October 25, 2017. Accessed October 26, 2023.
American Diabetes Association. “Get smart about risks and diabetes prevention.” https://diabetes.org/about-diabetes/diabetes-prevention. Accessed October 26, 2023.
American Diabetes Association. “What superstar foods are good for diabetes?” https://diabetes.org/food-nutrition/food-and-blood-sugar/diabetes-superstar-foods. Accessed October 26, 2023.
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Kay Loughrey, MPH, RDN, LDN
Transformational Speaker, Breakthrough Coach, Nutritionist-Dietitian
Karis N. Hicks
North Carolina Central University
M.S. – Nutrition Studies
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