Navigating the Holidays with Diabetes

With the holidays approaching, many of your residents are likely making plans to spend time at home with their families. For residents with diabetes, this will bring the added challenge of navigating meals served at festivities. Family members who are unaccustomed to preparing food for diabetic loved ones might also be unsure of their specific nutritional needs.

Luckily, there are resources available to help ease worry over holiday meals. You might want to share the following strategies (courtesy of the CDC) for sticking to a healthy diabetic meal plan with your residents and their families:

• Eat a healthy snack before a party to avoid overeating.
• Choose smaller portions.
• Ask beforehand what food will be served so that you can see how it fits into your meal plan.
• Choose low-calorie drinks such as sparkling water, unsweetened tea and diet beverages.
• Alcohol should only be consumed with a meal and should be limited to one drink a day for women and two for men.
• Choose fresh fruit instead of pies, cakes and other fat- and sugar-laden desserts.
• Watch out for sauces such as a gravy and sugar glazes that can add calories to otherwise healthy foods.
• Focus on friends, family and activities instead of food.

Residents should also make sure that they have any items that they might need during their time away from the facility, including blood glucose monitoring supplies and a glucagon emergency kit for those who use insulin.

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