I have been compensated by Glucerna for this post; however, I am sharing my own thoughts. All opinions are my own. Talk with your healthcare provider about a diabetes management plan that’s right for you. #GlucernaChallenge #CollectiveBias #Ad
I never thought I would have a lifelong relation with diabetes. Sadly, my mom had developed it and passed away due to complications from it. Now my hubby has it, was diagnosed with it 10 years ago. Diabetes is a disease that once you get it, it cannot be cured, but can be maintained with proper diet and exercise. My hubby tries to keep his blood sugar under control with food, exercise and medicine.
90 day Recap of Glucerna® challenge in hubby’s own words.
I started the Glucerna®90 Challenge to make healthy choices, including adding Glucerna® Shakes and mini snacks in my diet. Three months ago my HbA1C was 7.8. That is when, with my wife’s help, I started including Glucerna® HungerSmart™ Shakes and Glucerna® Mini Snacks in my diet. I have been checking overnight fasting blood sugar numbers once or thrice a week and they are in the 85 – 95 mmol/dL range indicating very good control. Previously I would get numbers in the range of 100 – 115. I have also started feeling more energetic throughout the day and sleeping better at night. A few days ago I had a wellness test at work which showed that my body weight, BMI index, blood pressure and cholesterol levels are in the optimum range.
These are my results, which I am pleased with.
Please contact your physician or nutritionist before making any changes in your diet plan as blood glucose responses can vary from person to person based on their body.
Today I will be discussing how to control diabetes with healthy food habits featuring Glucerna® HungerSmart™ Shakes and Glucerna® Mini Snacks.
You can take good care of yourself and control diabetes if you learn to follow these three golden rules: a) what to eat b) how much to eat (portion control) and c) when to eat. The amazing thing is you can you can continue to eat the things you enjoy/love as long as you. want as long you control the amounts that you eat.
Keep in mind, your food choices should make you feel good, and (if needed) help you to maintain or lose weight to lower your risk for heart disease, stroke and other problems caused by diabetes.
How to test your blood sugar:
- The overnight fasting sugar (8-12 h after eating) for someone with diabetes: 80–130 mg/dl (4.5–7.2 mmol/L) (according to the American Diabetic Association).
- The sugar level two hours after a meals should be less than 180 mg/dl (10.0 mmol/L) .
- HbA1c test which is done once every month and is a measure of glycosylated sugar should be 7.0% or less ( American Diabetic Association recommendation).
The key to controlling diabetes is to eat small portions of food several times a day. Secondly, you can choose foods that you love to eat according to their glycemic index values. The glycemic index is a value in the range of 0-100 given to foods depending upon how fast it will raise your blood sugar. A sudden rise in blood sugar levels beyond normal levels can be toxic leading to major complications.
The glycemic index of most foods can be easily found on the internet or given to you by your doctor. By choosing various foods carefully according to your taste buds, you can develop good eating habits to control diabetes or to prevent diabetes (if you are high in risk factors).
My hubby’s usual food plan is as follows:
He usually starts the day with bowl of old fashioned oats and food with milk, crasins, and raisin, dry fruits like cashew, almond or walnuts.
Lunch is ¾ cup boiled rice, curry made with lentils, yogurt and mixed veggie stir fry.
Dinner includes a whole wheat bread, beans and salad.
He also varies from this plan to include chicken curry, fish curry, or enjoy his favorite meals like pizza ( 2 slices) or burgers. In addition hubby has also been incorporating Glucerna® products for his meal and snacking plans. Glucerna® HungerSmart™ Shakes or Glucerna® Mini Snacks for his afternoon snack. Glucerna® Mini Snacks taste great and are loaded with nutrition! With just 80 calories and 21 essential vitamins and minerals, they make snacking on-the-go easy.
Each Glucerna® Mini Snack has 3 grams of protein to help manage hunger. Plus, they feature CARBSTEADY® which is scientifically formulated to help minimize blood sugar spikes*. They also provide a good source of fiber* to help support digestive tract health, and are an excellent source of antioxidant vitamins C and E.
You can find these Glucerna® products in the Diabetic care aisle in Walmart.
Hubby checks his overnight fasting blood glucose levels three times a week. And with the changes that he has been making his fasting blood sugar level have been less than 95 mg/dl. In addition to eating well, including incorporating Glucerna® products into his diet plan, he is feeling energetic, losing weight and sleeping better. Everyday he’s waking up with a lot of energy and is not as tired by the end of the day.
With the added energy he is experiencing, he tries to get in his 7,500 – 10,000 steps (which is about 3 – 4 miles).
An example meal for a diabetic:
On average - men and female can consume 1500-2500 calories per day. Given below is an approximate 1,500 calorie meal plan.
Breakfast: 1 cup cookies oatmeal (with fat free milk) mixed with 1 tablespoon raisin, 1 tablespoon dried cranberries, 1 hard boiled egg, black coffee.
Mid morning snack: 1 medium pear / 1 Glucerna® Mini Snacks
Lunch: whole wheat-apple-turkey –cheese sandwich, 1 cup carrot sticks, 2 tablespoon plain low-fat Greek yogurt, water.
Afternoon snack: 1 cup apple slices with 1 tablespoon peanut butter or 1 Glucerna® HungerSmart™ Shake
Dinner: 1 serving of Fish / lean meat with small portion of rice,1 orange, 8 oz fat free milk
Dessert: 1 slice of your favorite brownies (made with less fat and sugar free or you can even skip the sugar by making with fruits)
Here are 5 quick snack ideas for people with diabetes
- 15 almonds or 8 olives
- 10 goldfish crackers
- ¼ cup of blueberries (less than 5 grams of carbohydrates)
- 1 small apple (10-20 grams of carbohydrates)
- A medium banana with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter which is good before exercise (about 30 grams of carbohydrates according to American Diabetes Association)
For people with diabetes, the following quick exercises are doable:*
- Walking: at least 30 minutes a day.
- One hour of swimming burns about 350 to 420 calories per hour. It helps to achieve better control of blood sugar and strengthens muscles and is great for your cardiovascular health.
- Jogging for 30 min
- Biking for 30 min
- Hiking
- Playing games such as tennis, basketball for 30 min
- Or when you lots of time (around 3 hours) doing activities such as gardening
Will you be trying Glucerna® products? Do you or your loved ones have diabetes?
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*Use under medical supervision. Do consult with your healthcare provider or nutritionist regarding which diet / lifestyle is appropriate for your condition.
*Compared to high glycemic carbohydrates.
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This is Swathi ( Dr. Ambujom Saraswathy Ph.D) from Zesty South Indian Kitchen who loves to explore cuisines from all over the world. Whenever possible I try to to give an Indian touch to several of the world cuisine, and has weakness for freshly baked bread. All the recipes you see here are created by me and approved after taste-test by my family.
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