• One palm (woman’s) or deck of playing cards = three ounces of cooked meat (any type), poultry, or fish
• Two handfuls = two ounces of pretzels
How can a person with diabetes cope with eating at holiday parties?
There are some ways for people with diabetes to help themselves cope at a holiday, or any other, party. The following are some suggestions (note: not all suggestions can be fulfilled before or during a party, but most understanding hosts/hostesses will try to make the person with diabetes more comfortable):
• If the party or celebration will include a dinner at a certain time, a person with diabetes can call and ask when the meal will be served. This way, if the person is taking insulin, then he or she can plan on when to administer an injection before eating.
• Eat a regular meal before attending the party or grab a snack.
This can include foods that are high in fiber and low in sugar and fat, such as crackers, soup, a vegetable salad, or yogurt.
This way, the person with diabetes will not be hungry and/or tempted to eat snacks and sweets that may make the blood glucose levels fluctuate.
It is also not a good idea to skip a meal the day of a party in order to “save up” for overeating at the party.
This, too, will more often than not cause a dramatic fluctuation in blood glucose levels.
• Eat slowly in order to keep from consuming more than needed, or enough to make blood glucose levels become imbalanced.
• After eating a plate of food at a party, wait around 20 minutes before going back for more (or don’t go back at all). This is because it takes at least 20 minutes for the brain to know that a person has eaten enough to make him or her feel full. If after 20 minutes a person is still hungry, then he or she could go back for one more serving of one type of food instead of filling the plate again.
• It may be a good idea to stand away from the food tables, especially the appetizers and desserts. That way, the temptation to graze or eat before a meal (or after) will not be as great. Depending on the party, a person with diabetes can keep far from the food table by engaging in conversations, sharing stories, watching movies, or participating in activities, such as badminton or lawn darts.
• Drink plenty of water before the party. It makes a person feel full and consequently eat less. (Drinking alcohol and sugary beverages will only add calories and can cause problems with blood sugar levels.)
• Don’t be afraid to ask the host/hostess about the types of foods and drinks that will be served, and be sure to ask before the party. (Preferably ask days before, not the day before or day of the party!) After all, it is better to ask than to have a bad hypoglycemic or hyperglycemic episode.
• If, after asking the host/hostess what will be served, the person with diabetes finds nothing to eat, then he or she may want to suggest bringing some of his or her own food and drink to the party, especially low-fat and/or low-sugar dishes. Not only will it help to control portions, but the person will not be tempted to eat foods that may be unhealthful to consume.
• After eating, keep moving, if possible. Not only will it keep one’s mind off food, but light physical activity, such as a stroll or playing games such as badminton, also speeds up metabolism, burns calories, helps with blood glucose, and is good for digestion.
• Know that not everyone understands what life with diabetes entails. Don’t be tempted to eat something at a party that may send blood glucose levels too high (or low). If someone asks the person with diabetes to eat something that will cause a blood glucose problem, then the person should gently refuse and explain about blood sugar. It may be a chance for the person without diabetes to better understand the challenges faced by a person with diabetes!
How can a party host help a person with diabetes, especially in terms of food and drinks?
If a host/hostess knows that someone with diabetes is attending the party, then he or she can help in several ways, and most of the foods and drinks won’t be that much different from what is usually offered at parties. The following lists a few of the ways to help if a person with diabetes attends a celebration or special party:
• Ask whether the person with diabetes can bring some of his or her own foods, especially any low-fat foods and/or low-sugar desserts. Most parties include high-fat, high-sugar desserts that can wreak havoc with a diabetic’s blood glucose levels. Also be sure to let other guests know which dishes do not have sugar if it is not obvious.
• Ask what foods would be best to offer the person who has diabetes. Most people with diabetes would be grateful to know that they won’t have to guess at what to eat when they get to a party. It may also help if the host/hostess explains how some of the foods are prepared, for example, if they are steamed or fried, especially if the foods are high in fat or sugar.
• Be careful when showing people with diabetes the foods they can or cannot eat at the party. Some people do not believe it is anyone’s business that they have diabetes, mainly because they do not want to be treated “differently.” Others will be fine with its being known that they have diabetes and may even want to educate others as to the challenges of having diabetes.
• Have water, tea, and coffee, non-sugar drinks, available. Some people with diabetes also drink sugar-free beverages, so have some of those on hand, too (or ask the person what types of drinks he or she prefers).
• Offer low-fat and low-sugar foods such as fruits (grapes, apple wedges, or strawberries), vegetables (carrots, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, celery, cucumbers, or summer squash sticks), some breads and starches (low-fat offerings are best, and if purchased, those with lower carbohydrates listed on the label), and dips (such as tomato salsas or black bean dips).
• The host/hostess may also want to ask the person with diabetes for meat preferences (low fat, such as turkey, lean roast beef, or chicken) if it will be offered.
• If the host/hostess’s house is large enough, then have a nearby room or room extension away from food tables where people can gather.
• If a guest has diabetes and needs to take insulin before a meal, plan on telling the person when food will be served. This is important in order to keep the diabetic’s blood glucose levels balanced. (In addition, the host/hostess may want to know whether the person with diabetes, especially someone taking insulin injections, has a glucagon kit in case of a hypoglycemic episode at the party.)
The Handy Diabetes Answer Book
THE FUTURE OF DIABETES
HEALTH CARE AND DIABETES
Why is health care so costly for treating diabetes?
There are many reasons that health care for diabetes is so costly.
Many experts cite the spending policies of the health care system.
In particular, little is spent to keep people healthy through preventive care.
Great sums are spent when a person becomes sick or disabled, which is truly necessary, but not for chronic diseases such as diabetes.
In addition, other costs are associated with diabetes because it is not a disease that “goes away” as readily as some other ailments; these costs include purchases of needles for insulin, medications, test strips, etc.
The prices of these necessities continue to rise, and as the number of people with diabetes rises (as most agree it will), demand for such items will rise.
Instead of helping, most health care insurance plans choose to ignore the extra costs of living with diabetes.
These extra costs may be one of the reasons that people often choose to ignore the fact that they have the disease.
How can governments handle the number of people projected to have diabetes in the next decade?
The number of people projected to develop diabetes, both type 1 and type 2, will no doubt rise in the next decade, and some say beyond.
Several organizations are addressing this problem.
For example, the International Diabetes Federation launched the Global Diabetes Plan in 2011 after the world leaders met at the United Nations in New York to agree to actions concerning diabetes and other non-communicable diseases.
Several countries, including Australia, have their own plans to help understand what needs to be accomplished in terms of helping people with diabetes or even trying to reduce the number of people who develop the disease.
There are also programs using digital means to collect information and data from people with the disease as a step toward providing education and access to information to the public. (For more information about organizations helping the diabetes effort, see the chapter “Resources, Websites, and Apps.”)
MITIGATING DIABETES
What is the ultimate goal for those who research diabetes, and, especially, for people who have diabetes?
Of course, the main goal not only for diabetes research, but also for people who have diabetes, is to restore the body’s ability to manufacture its own insulin. For many people with diabetes, that also means eliminating the need for injections or diabetes medications.
What recent research involves helping people with diabetes produce their own insulin?
In 2016, researchers at the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI, under the University of Miami in Florida) announced they were one step closer to the goal of enabling people with type 1 diabetes to produce their own insulin instead of relying on injections. The first person to receive the new method of transplanting insulin-producing cells was a woman who developed type 1 diabetes in her teens. She was a prime candidate, as she has what is called severe hypoglycemia unawareness, or the inability to sense that her blood glucose levels are dropping to a dangerously low level (for more about severe hypoglycemia unawareness, see the chapter “Type 1 Diabetes”).
The researchers used what is called a “biodegradable scaffold” that was implanted on the surface of the omentum (the sheet of protective tissue that hangs down from the stomach and covers the abdominal organs).
In a new technique, they implanted donor islet cells, those that produce insulin, into the scaffold.
The old technique used islet cells infused into the liver, but because the liver is not an ideal site for transplantation, mainly because inflammation can develop, the researchers implanted the cells in the omentum.
The results so far are promising: to date, the woman is no longer injecting insulin for her diabetes.
NEW TESTS FOR DIABETES
Why are so many people with diabetes undiagnosed?
According to recent research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 28 percent of the people (or about eight million people) who have diabetes are undiagnosed.
One of the major reasons is understandable to many people.
The CDC found that because the screening test for diabetes involves drawing blood with a needle, many people avoid the procedure.
In addition, a person is required to fast before the test, usually for more than 12 hours, something that makes the procedure even more uncomfortable for many people.
Are researchers working on a device that uses light to measure glucose levels?
O ne of the most sought-after devices for people with diabetes is one that would measure glucose levels without having to prick a finger to get blood.
One such device that may be offered in the future uses light to measure glucose levels through the skin.
The research is based on chemistry.
The researchers shine light on different substances to determine which ones absorb light and how much is absorbed.
In the case of glucose, researchers are trying to detect the sugar molecule’s signature absorption of infrared light, but so far, the measurements only track the glucose levels closely, but not in as detailed a way as needed.