Holiday Health: Managing Diabetes over the holidays

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – For many people, managing their diabetes is an every day task, but often during the holidays with the increased amounts of sugar and fats that we all love to consume managing blood sugar can become much more difficult.

Sarah Widener, a dietician at Med Center Health, says that there are a variety of ways to help both eat some of what you want while still maintaining a healthy blood sugar level.

“Some of the things you can do are make sure that you get your protein and first and your fiber. So really make sure you get a healthy if it’s Thanksgiving and you’re having turkey healthy portion of turkey, get some high fiber vegetables in and then have that higher sugar food that’s going to slow the absorption so that you have a slower rise in your blood sugar,” Widener said.

Widener recommends looking for recipes that may be more diabetes friendly from the American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association and EatingWell.com. She also recommends ensuring that you are getting enough sleep during the holidays.

“Prioritizing sleep and stress management during the holidays are really important and two things that most people don’t prioritize. When we don’t get enough sleep, it actually decreases our insulin sensitivity, making it harder to maintain our blood sugar. So it’s really important to still get a good night’s sleep. And then also stress management,” Widener said.