Tips for the New Year holidays from diazhena and diamama

There is still Christmas and several New Year holidays ahead. Such a long fun season poses a huge threat to the sugars. Gastronomic delights and a mountain of sweets, evening feasts and alcohol. I share the secrets of our family, how to “survive” a diabetic at this time.

diawife and diamother , founder of the public organization ” DiaPrimorye “

Of course, I do not know a universal remedy! Everyone has diabetes. But there are a number of simple truths that will help reduce the risks.

1. Friendly cuisine

It is very difficult to remember about self-control when there are so many favorite dishes in the house. And when it comes to a small child with diabetes, the psychological pressure is many times stronger.

I try to provide a delicious holiday, but I adapt the dishes to compensate for the needs. This can be done by removing those ingredients that raise sugar a lot or foods that, in my opinion, are of little benefit. For example, mayonnaise is perfectly replaced with sour cream, and in desserts, part of the sugar can be replaced with a natural sweetener. Some classic dishes for our country can be completely removed from the menu. Mayonnaise salads with potatoes in the composition are not the friendliest dishes for blood glucose levels. Fresh salads with lemon-olive dressing (for example, Caesar or salad with celery and tuna) can decorate the table just as well.

If you are cooking potatoes as a side dish, then it is better to boil them than to bake or fry them. Baked potatoes raise glycemia much faster.
We in the family try to make a table on which protein and fiber predominate. Although we also do not refuse the usual Olivier and herring under a fur coat. The main thing is to carefully calculate the bolus and the time of administration.

2. Insulin and meal times

Dinner time

And on New Year’s Eve we have dinner long before the chiming clock, and on the rest of the days we try to determine the festive table for such a time in order to end up with a smooth and calm night. This is more important, and the holidays are not only about food!

Our scheme

Insulin is more difficult to calculate, since our food is not only carbohydrate, but also rich in protein and fat. In addition, add the duration of the gatherings, and for adults – alcohol, as a risk factor for hypoglycemia.
We use the following scheme: we inject insulin and wait a bit, we start the meal with vegetables, and then move on to carbohydrates. You can also divide the bolus into two parts if the feast is very long.

For pumps

If you are using an insulin pump, it is best to set up a square wave bolus or dual wave bolus (multiwave in Accu -Chek). They have different tasks, you can read more in: “Guide to setting up a bolus for a festive feast”.

The amount of insulin depends on your carbohydrate ratio. In food, you need to consider not only carbohydrates, but also proteins with fats. Read more : “Proteins and fats in diabetes diet: how they affect glycemic levels.”

You can use protein-fat units (FAUs) to calculate how long to set a square bolus. You need to count the carbohydrates in food, as well as the number of calories that give proteins and fats. 1 BJE is equal to 100 kcal from proteins and fats. For 1 FFU, we stretch the bolus for 3 hours, for 2 FFU – 4 hours, for 3 FFU – for 5 hours, and if the food contains more than 4 FFU, then we adjust the square bolus for 7-8 hours.

Alcohol

Alcohol increases the load on the liver. While she is trying to get rid of the strong drink, like a poison, other functions slow down. This means that for some time after the ingestion of alcohol, the liver cannot process glucose normally, and the risk of hypoglycemia increases significantly.

Therefore, in my opinion, alcohol is the most difficult. It is difficult to guess here, and with each drink everything goes differently. Of course, never drink alcohol on an empty stomach! Always only for a good snack, with frequent monitoring of blood sugar.
My husband injects insulin for food, but a little less than the ratio. For more on the effects of alcohol, read: Diabetes and Alcohol: Safe Eating Rules.

Be vigilant, friends! And I want to wish everyone good compensation and smooth lines on the monitoring in the New Year 2019! And I have the most cherished desire – a breakthrough in medicine, which will rid the entire planet of diabetes.

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