Diabetes During the Holiday Season

It's officially holiday season. Halloween--a diabetic's favorite holiday --was a week ago, my mother has already ordered a turkey for Thanksgiving, and the stores have started to sell Christmas decorations. Whatever holidays your family celebrates in the winter months, it's sure that food is a large part of tradition. For us, "sleeping off" a holiday meal like the rest of the world doesn't cut it; food is still food, and even carbs from Christmas cookies factor into the blood sugar equation. 

If you try to erase the food out of your holiday memories, what would these memories consist of? For me, my holiday memories would include basking in front of the woodstove reading my cousins a story, snowball fights at an hour when I would otherwise be in school, and mellow nights of conversation with my grandmother. Try to enjoy holidays for the nonmaterial happiness you get from being with family and friends and taking a break from school. Just like the song "It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Christmas," there is something magical about the holiday season that doesn't involve food.

That said, in reality, food is an inevitable part of life. I have a few tips for keeping your blood sugar in line during the holiday season.

At the "Santa Sweater" Parties

My family holds a holiday party where certain people from my neighborhood, who will remain anonymous, wear ugly Christmas-themed sweaters. Also present at the yearly get-together is a wide array of food. With every food from sweet-and-sour meatballs to bread pudding, the holiday smorgasbord requires that I pay close attention to my blood sugar. The key is to put the food I am about to eat on a plate. I would love to have a camera that could automatically capture and track carbs of finger-food throughout the night, but for now, it's easiest to dose by putting food on a plate and picking from the plate throughout the night.

Don't Give (It) Up!

There is no reason to deprive yourself of holiday food or even to resign yourself to eating only low-sugar alternatives. The crucial point is to use moderation and control. Choose one holiday food you love, and have a serving, or even just half a serving, of this treat. For example, my Thanksgiving wouldn't be complete without a spoonful of my mother's mashed sweet potatoes. The dish is really dessert in disguise: sweet potatoes whipped with butter and topped with brown sugar and nuts. Since there's so much added sugar in addition to the potatoes, I use a measuring cup to calculate the carbs. At the end of the meal, I've had my sweet potato fix for the year, and am not tempted to sneak a bite (or 5) from the leftovers.

Gotta Love the Turkey

I think that Thanksgiving turkey was created specifically for diabetics. At any meal, you're sure to find some low-carb and/or healthy alternatives. Ginger has written numerous posts about how awesome protein is, and we all know that vegetables are a delicious, not to mention easy-on-the-blood-sugar, part of the diet. Whether you're at a holiday party or at dinner with your family, seek out foods like lean meats and simply prepared vegetables. If you fill up on healthy foods, you'll become full enough to be satisfied with just a small bite of carb-rich foods like cranberry sauce or fruitcake.