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Diabetes Management During Festivities is easier with CGM

Diabetes Management During Festivities is easier with CGM 

The festive season is here and it’s that time of the year when we don’t mind going a little extra over food, shopping or even partying for our celebrations.

However, for my parents living with diabetes, I always have to remind them to not go overboard with sweets. Managing diabetes during festivities seems like walking a tight rope.

For people with diabetes it’s easier to throw caution to the wind and indulge in the gaiety of sweets only to find themselves having high blood glucose levels. On the other hand, fasting during festivals too may lead to low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia).

So, it is crucial to maintain a balance between celebrating with family and friends, and also keeping one’s glucose levels in check. This is only possible through proper diabetes management and regular monitoring.

Diabetes Management During Festivities

I recently attended an informative FB Live session organized by Blogchatter on #LivingFullyWithDiabetes in association with a doctor and a nutritionist, to highlight proper diabetes management and care especially during festivities. Both the experts shared so many wonderful and practical tips that we can follow while enjoying & celebrating

1. Eat Natural Sugar Foods – To prevent blood glucose from fluctuating, it’s best to avoid sugar-laden and deep-fried foods. This includes foods such as kachoris, jalebi, rasgullas, and so on. It can be replaced with healthy snacks and sweet options like dates, roasted nuts etc

2. Follow Portion Control – Heavy feasting without control can lead to health issues. As the Nutritionist suggested- practicing moderation as the best approach. Setting a limit and eating small portion sizes at regular intervals helps a lot.

3. Don’t miss medication & exercise– It’s important to not skip the medication even for a single day. Also not to change the usual routine or skip daily exercises, as this can negatively impact blood glucose levels.

4. Carry your own pack– My mom always carries some nuts or other healthy snacks with her to take care of any hunger pangs. It’s advised not to skip or delay meals. In case of food delays one’s own box of nuts and seeds comes really handy.

5. Choose Meals Wisely – Instead of sugary drinks, opt for fruit juices, sugar-free lime water or even water. Foods rich in carbohydrates have the biggest impact on blood sugar. So best is to go with low glycemic foods and choose fiber-rich whole foods such as apples, carrots, beans, and oats.

6. Avoid long fasting during festivity– If fasting, limit your fasting period to 12 to 16 hours. Avoid eating sugary or fatty foods before or after fasts, as they can cause sharp spikes in the blood sugar levels.

7. Regularly Monitor Glucose Levels – As per the discussion I attended, monitoring is super crucial during festive times. If the glucose levels are in a healthy range one can think of indulging in moderation.

Personally we have been using the state-of-art Continuous Glucose Monitoring systems with which one can check the glucose levels without any painful pricks, see glucose trends, and accordingly adjust food intake.

Diabetes Management is easier with CGM 

Managing diabetes begins with understanding what causes diabetes, what we can or can’t eat and the everyday lifestyle pattern we follow. This helps us understand what triggers or spikes our glucose levels and what our target blood sugar level should be. Especially so, when there is a change in our routine, say during festivities or vacations, it’s even more important to continuously monitor our glucose levels. This can help us take charge of our health while enjoying and celebrating with our closed ones.

Sensor-based monitoring devices like continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices are very effective in such cases as they present real-time information about glucose level trends, enabling users to check their readings frequently throughout the day. 

This can help them respond immediately to high or low blood glucose levels, and make informed decisions, thus improving their quality of life and preventing diabetes-related complications.

You can read more about Continuous Glucose Monitoring here.

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Disclaimer: The information mentioned in this document is only suggestive/for patient education and shall not be considered as a substitute for doctor’s advice or recommendations from Abbott. Please consult your doctor for more information

Any photos displayed are for illustrative purposes only. Any person depicted in such photos is a model.

 

 

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