Like many holidays, Thanksgiving often centers around family and food. The Baltimore Sun recently ran an article featuring tips for people with diabetes and people preparing Thanksgiving dinner on how to successfully navigate the day without too many worries. The tips came from Nora Saul, manager for nutrition services for the adult division of the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston.
* It’s OK to indulge on the holiday dinner, but don’t skip meals earlier in the day to keep your daily calorie count down. Instead, eat foods with good sources of fiber. This will help people feel a little less hungry when dinnertime comes around.
* Think ahead of time which of your favorite foods you are likely to encounter at dinnertime. Avoid taking on calories from items you aren’t so thrilled about and eat the ones you like, albeit in moderation. Your carb count for the day may still be a little high, but at least it won’t skyrocket.
* Even though it’s a holiday, try and find some time for a little exercise, even if its just a walk after dinner. Exercise helps lower blood sugar levels.
* For cooks, using low-fat ingredients and lean cuts of meat are not only good for people with diabetes, but for everyone.
* For cooks, offering low-fat desserts and alternatives to the super sweet cookies and cakes, such as fruits, can be a good choice. Also, cooks can use sugar substitutes. However, many people do not like the taste of sugar substitutes and may instead simply prefer to eat a sliver of a sugar filled cake than a larger slice of a cake or a cookie made with a sugar substitute.
However, most of all, Saul says to enjoy the Thanksgiving meal and do not feel bad about breaking a little bit from your diabetic meal plan for one day.
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