Tips For Diabetic Seniors to Enjoy Holiday Dinners

Senior Home Care in Carmel

Senior Home Care in Carmel

More than 15 million seniors have diabetes, and diabetes can make it tough for seniors to enjoy the holidays. For most families, the holidays have many traditions centered on food, usually sweet and high carb foods. They’re delicious, but they’re also foods that seniors with diabetes shouldn’t be eating.

If your senior loved one has diabetes, they need to be careful of what they eat during the holiday. But they don’t want to give up all their favorite holiday foods. They can use these tips to manage their diabetes and still enjoy some of those holiday treats:

Exercise More

Exercising more can help regulate your blood sugar and offset some extra calories you’re eating during the holidays. Plan extra time into your schedule to accommodate more exercise. Also, prioritize going for walks or doing other activities instead of sitting in front of the TV. Keeping exercise a priority throughout the holidays will also help you avoid gaining weight.

Make Smart Choices

Even though it can be difficult, it’s important to make smart choices during the holidays. Making good choices means you can have some traditional treats that you can’t get any other time of the year.

For example, if you love pumpkin pie, skip the mashed potatoes, or swap in mashed cauliflower. Then have the pie. Or, skip having a glass of wine with dinner, so that you can have stuffing. Prioritizing what foods you want to enjoy and making smart choices about other foods will allow you to have a few special treats without causing your blood sugar to go haywire.

Don’t Skip Meals

Seniors might be tempted to skip meals to compensate for the extra calories that they’re going to eat during the holiday meal, but that’s a bad idea. It’s important for diabetics to eat regularly and simultaneously each day. If your senior parent has senior home care, make sure the senior home care provider knows that your senior loved one should at least eat a snack at their regular mealtime, so their blood sugar stays consistent.

Eat Small Portions

Have the treats you want, but just have small portions of them. That way, you don’t need to deny yourself the seasonal treats that you look forward to each year, but you can also keep your blood sugar in a safe range. Instead of having a piece of pumpkin pie, have just half a piece, so that you can also have something else. Or have just a small serving of mashed potatoes, so that you can also have candied yams.

By eating half size or smaller portions of all traditional foods, you can enjoy those holiday classics and not make yourself sick in the process. Seniors with diabetes can enjoy the holiday foods they love, as long as they are making smart trade-offs and choices while doing it.

If you or an aging loved one are considering Senior Home Care in Carmel, IN, please call the caring staff at Home Services Unlimited. Serving the Greater Indianapolis Area. Call for Immediate Info & Assistance: (317) 471-0760.

Source:

https://diabetes.org/about-us/statistics/about-diabetes

Etelka Froymovich, RN, MHA
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