Diabetic Digest - Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Readers:

I'm off to Texas for a few days, but before I go I would like to share a few things that I learned about caring for myself while on the road.

First off, I'm not a traveler. I don't really travel too often or too far. I'm always in the same timezone for the vast majority of the time. So when my wife and I headed to Hawaii, Las Vegas, Florida... I became acutely aware of time and when I say time I mean 'mealtime'.

With the flights, timezones, time changes, quick meals, and insulin injections, I had to be very aware of my blood sugar, my insulin and when to eat. I'm keep my health very controlled, but this trip threw me for a loop.

Usually on vacation my blood sugar numbers read like the number of Spartans that fought against the Persians forces. It could have been for all sorts of reasons.

Reasons like:
1. Travelers Stress
2. Lack of Sleep
3. Odd Meal Times
4. Time Differences

It typically takes me about a day to get back on track, but I'm always worried about how quickly things can get out of control.

That's the thing about vacations and long distance trips, you have to keep a close eye on yourself. Your mind and your body can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Eventually, you'll get into a habit that settles everything the way it needs to be and that way you can feel great and enjoy your time away.

Regards,
Steve

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+-- Diabetes News --+
Gestational diabetes risk can be ID'd up to 7 years before pregnancy: Study
From: Toronto Sun

The risk a woman runs of developing diabetes during pregnancy can be identified as early as seven years before she gets pregnant based on measurements of blood sugar and body weight, a new study says.

The study, published in the online issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, looked at data from 580 ethnically diverse women who participated in a multi-phased health checkup in northern California between 1984 and 1996.

Researchers examined data from women who had a subsequent pregnancy and compared those who developed gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) during pregnancy to those who didn't develop the condition. GDM is a glucose intolerance that typically occurs in the second or third trimester, and causes complications in as many as 7% of pregnancies in the U.S.

The risk of developing GDM increased with the number of risk factors associated with diabetes and heart disease present before pregnancy. Those risk factors are high blood sugar, hypertension and being overweight.

High blood sugar levels and body weight were associated with a 4.6-fold increased risk of developing GDM compared to women with normal blood sugar levels and body weight, the study found.

"Our study indicates that a woman's cardio-metabolic risk profile for factors routinely assessed at medical visits such as blood sugar, high blood pressure, cholesterol and body weight can help clinicians identify high-risk women to target for primary prevention or early management of GDM," said researcher Monique Hedderson.

Previous research has shown that women who develop GDM are more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes after pregnancy.

The established risk factors for developing GDM -- older maternal age, obesity, a non-white race or ethnicity, giving birth to a very large baby previously and a family history of diabetes -- are absent in up to half of women who develop the condition.

For the Original Article: Check Here


+-- Diabetic Recipe --+
Frozen Strawberry Pops
Servings: 8
Prep time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
- 8 large ripe strawberries, hulled and cut into quarters
- 2/3 cup frozen pineapple juice concentrate, slightly thawed
- 2 8-ounce cans sugar-free lemon-lime soda

Directions:
1. Place the strawberries in a food processor or blender. Add the pineapple juice concentrate and pulse until fairly smooth. (If you don't have a food process or a blender, you can do this with a handmixer.)
2. Stir in the sugar-free soda until well blended.
3. Pour mixture into eight 6-ounce paper cups. Freeze for 30 minutes, then stick a clean wooden stick into the middle of each pop.
4. Freeze overnight.
5. To serve, let stand at room temperature just until you can peel off the paper cup. Eat at once.

Nutrition Information:
Per Serving: 49 calories (0% calories from fat), 1 g protein, 0 total fat (0 saturated fat) 12 g carbohydrate, 1 g dietary fiber, 0 cholesterol, 3 mg sodium

Diabetic Exchanges: 1 carbohydrate (1 fruit)

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