Can't Stop Eating Late at Night
Eating late at night isn't the best habit. Especially if you are snacking on high calorie, high carbohydrate foods. It's is also a really hard habit to break. But, with time and perseverance you figure out a way to change your behavior and create a new, healthy one - where there is a will there is a way. You can do it!Can't Stop Eating Late at Night originally appeared on About.com Diabetes on Saturday, May 31st, 2014 at 08:00:38.Permalink | Comment | Email this (Source: About Diabetes)
Source: About Diabetes - May 31, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Can I Be a Vegetarian and Have Type 2 Diabetes?
Many of my patients fear that they cannot follow a vegetarian diet if they have Type 2 diabetes because the diet is carbohydrate dense. The opposite is true, in fact, many people with Type 2 diabetes are very successful in following a vegetarian diet. Vegetarian diets include higher intakes of vegetables, whole-grain foods, starchy vegetables like corn and sweet potatoes, legumes, and nuts. These types of foods are rich in fiber, healthy fat and good carbohydrates. They are low in saturated and trans fat, sodium, and sugar. The key to eating a vegetarian diet when having diabetes is to make sure you eat adequate amoun...
Source: About Diabetes - May 28, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Enjoy Your Memorial Day with Good Food and Drink
It's almost Memorial Day - time to get prepared for good food, family, friends, and fun. While there may be lots of temptation coming your way - snack foods, sweet treats and festive cocktails, I encourage you not to worry. You have the tools to make good decisions and you are in control when it comes to your diabetes. People may want to remind you of things you cannot eat - corn, watermelon, and other fruit. Politely tell them that they are incorrect. You can incorporate these foods into your diet with some planning. Typically, there is something to eat for everyone at a barbecue. And if you're hosting it's even better - ...
Source: About Diabetes - May 22, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Diabetes Can Affect Kids Too - Are Your Children at Risk?
I began my career as a dietitian and diabetes educator working with children with both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. I have not worked with this population for about two years, but recently I ran into one of my old colleagues and we started chatting about the pediatric world. She told me that although the obesity epidemic has appeared to level off, the incidence of Type 2 diabetes in children is increasing. And the children appear to be heavier at younger ages.
I left the conversation feeling a bit sad - how could this be? As an educator for adults with Type 2 diabetes, I now know how hard it is for adults to manage their d...
Source: About Diabetes - May 22, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Metformin - Take it Right and Prevent Side Effects
Last week, one of my patients abruptly stopped taking his Metformin without alerting his physician or anyone else. He was having diarrhea and stomach cramps and thought it would be best to just stop his medicine. Diabetes is tough enough as it is - the last thing you need is to have unbearable side effects of a medication. But you shouldn't stop taking a medicine without telling anyone. Metformin should be taken with food - it helps to ease stomach discomfort and food helps with its absorption. My patient was taking Metformin on an empty stomach. We talked about how and when to take it during our session - he opted to give...
Source: About Diabetes - May 12, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Great Resources for all the Mommy's-to-Be with Gestational Diabetes
In honor of Mother's Day, I thought it would be appropriate to help all the mommy's-to-be with gestational diabetes find reliable, credible information on how to plan and cook simple meals, carbohydrate count, and dine out healthfully. If you have gestational diabetes, additional tools can help add variety to your diet. Once you've found things that work for you you you can share your info with someone else. I have learned from other educators and patients that having a good cook book, a reliable carbohydrate counting app and snack ideas, makes meal planning so much easier. As a mother myself I know how tough it can be to ...
Source: About Diabetes - May 12, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
The Other Diabetes
We know a tremendous amount information about Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and our efforts to manage the disease seem to continue to develop and expand. But, there is another type of diabetes that we still don't know enough about. Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults, aka, LADA is topic I certainly don't fully understand. LADA is an autoimmune disease characterized by age, positive antibodies, a gradual increase in insulin requirements and decreasing ability to make insulin as indicated by a low C-peptide. People with LADA eventually need to use insulin as a form of managing there blood sugars.
I have only come across a ...
Source: About Diabetes - April 29, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
4 Surprising Foods You Should Avoid with Type 2 Diabetes
I don't enjoy telling people what not to eat. It makes me feel judgmental, but the reality is that it's part of my job. And sometimes people appreciate it - especially when we discover something that they had no idea was bad for them. In fact, just yesterday,I counseled a patient with multiple heath issues, including Type 2 diabetes, who takes pride in bringing me his food and blood sugar log at each visit, but this week he was perplexed. He couldn't figure out why his pre-dinner blood sugars were so high. He said: "I don't understand I am eating whole wheat pretzels for a snack." The light bulb turned on in my head. I hat...
Source: About Diabetes - April 24, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Tired of Insulin Injections
A colleague of mine recently started two patients on the V-Go - an insulin patch pump. The V-go is a disposable insulin delivery system that acts similarly to a pump without extensive programming. My colleagues intentions were to potentially help these patients with Type 2 diabetes whose blood sugars were constantly elevated get their blood sugars in control. These patients previously prescribed a diabetes regiment that required them to take multiple daily insulin injections.The problem was that they were not taking their medicine as prescribed - often they would miss injections because they would forget or felt it was inc...
Source: About Diabetes - April 24, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Easter Candy Binging?
Now that Easter is over, the question is: What have you done with all the candy? The parents of the children I used to work with with Type 1 diabetes would get creative - kids would trade in candy for games, movies and excursions. As adults with Type 2 diabetes - the solution is up to you. It can be nearly impossible to regulate blood sugars when you are constantly snacking on candy. But, you can get creative too - learn how!Easter Candy Binging? originally appeared on About.com Diabetes on Thursday, April 24th, 2014 at 20:54:03.Permalink | Comment | Email this (Source: About Diabetes)
Source: About Diabetes - April 24, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Take Care of Your Feet
My mentor would always say, "you can tell a great deal about someone's health by looking at their feet." It didn't take me long in the field of diabetes to understand what she meant by that. I have seen patients with amputated toes, foot injuries, fungal infections, bunions, ulcers, hammer toes, and corns. I have also seen people with beautiful feet-healthy, soft and peachy colored feet. The difference between the two? Chronically high blood sugars, elevated blood pressure, smoking and obesity can negatively impact your feet. If you are someone with diabetes, you are more susceptible to peripheral neuropathy and other foot...
Source: About Diabetes - April 17, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Tools for Detecting Low Blood Sugars
This week one of my patients was feeling a bit lethargic, but thought that she was just tired because she didn't sleep well the night before. The first thought that came to my mind was that her blood sugar was low. I asked her to take out her meter and test her blood sugar. Sure enough, it was low - 60. She was shocked. I gave her a 4oz juice box and we re-tested 15 minutes later. Her blood sugar had risen to a safe level - 85. After some talking, we pinpointed the reason her sugar dropped - she took her diabetes medicine without eating. The medication she takes sends a signal to her pancreas to make insulin, therefore I...
Source: About Diabetes - March 30, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Diabetes Risk Factors
March 25th was Diabetes Alert Day. The American Diabetes Association estimates that nearly 7 million people have diabetes and don't know it. Early detection of diabetes is important for preventing complications. Last week, I was working with a gentlemen referred to me for weight loss. He has a family history of diabetes and heart disease, and takes medicine for blood pressure and cholesterol. Because his doctor never tested him for diabetes, we arranged for him to have blood work this week. In the event that he has diabetes, we can start to treat it. Or, if his blood work indicates that he has prediabetes, we can make effo...
Source: About Diabetes - March 30, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
What Should You Eat for Lunch?
Lunch can be a tough meal, especially if your work days are hectic. Packing a lunch is a good idea, because bringing your own food saves on calories, fat, sodium, carbohydrates and money. Leftovers are one of the best lunch options - convenient, tasty and efficient. I like to pack my lunch while serving dinner. I set aside a portion for the next day and don't have to think about it in the morning when I am pressed for time. Make it a goal to bring lunch at least three days a week.What Should You Eat for Lunch? originally appeared on About.com Diabetes on Sunday, March 30th, 2014 at 19:00:19.Permalink | Comment | Email t...
Source: About Diabetes - March 30, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Top Diet Resources You Need if You Have Type 2 Diabetes
Healthy eating and diabetes isn't always easy. Aside from having the food police knocking on your door, you are bombarded with perhaps too many resources. I know that may sound odd, but sometimes too many options is not a good thing. With thousands of resources, it can be a tough job to weed out the credible ones from the gimmicks. The reality is that healthy eating and blood sugar control is specific to each individual. Everyone responds differently to certain foods. While one person may have a blood sugar spike when eating melon, another person does just fine. Experimenting with food combinations is important. Having t...
Source: About Diabetes - March 20, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
