Eat a balanced diet and in moderation on Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving Day is a special day -- a time to express our thanks and to feast. There is much to be thankful for. Each one of you has your special things for which to give thanks thanks on your list.

We are thankful for our family and our friends. Things we are thankful for include our community, our form of government, the many people that serve us, such as those in the health professions and law enforcement. We are grateful for the men and women in the military who are serving us to defend our freedom. The list goes much further. Giving thanks to the Lord should not be just one day of the year. It should be done daily. Still, it is good that we set one day aside for this special observance.

It is easy to take everything for granted and not fully realize all the ways we have been blessed. God has been good to us and with those blessings we have responsibilities to others, ourselves and our maker.

Personally, among the things I am especially thankful for is you as readers. Many have made nice compliments and give me encouragement to continue writing these columns.

I am thankful that this area has a diabetes educator. This is of great benefit to those who are diabetic and to their families. The group diabetic education programs are a place to obtain information about diabetic care and other information concerning the deadly disease of diabetes. I am thankful for this group and for those who attend and share with others their ideas and concerns.

It is a blessing that we can share with others a Thanksgiving feast. Still, in many ways it can be hazardous. During the holiday season, it becomes a challenge to diabetics to eat properly and not to overdo it. Caution and moderation should be practiced by diabetics and others as well. If everyone would eat the way that diabetics should eat, everyone would be healthier.

It really is not hard to eat properly, but it is often easier to yield to temptation and over get the blood count too high. There are no vacations for diabetics. It is a constant challenge.

It has been a tradition in our family to have German Chocolate Cakes for birthdays. It is a favorite food of mine. Last summer I had a piece (small piece) for my birthday. When a physician was going over my daily sugar reading, it was obvious that I had one that was somewhat high. I explained that I had some German Chocolate Cake -- I was trying to explain that it is a tradition.

The physician commented, "Tell me something, did you get a letter from the American Diabetic Association that you do not have diabetes anymore?"

Obviously the answer was no, but may not have been expressed verbally.

There is always more to learn concerning diabetes and the proper care. Monday the monthly group diabetes education program was held at the Vernon County Senior Center, the discussion was on proper snacks. This was a good learning experience for those of us in attendance. Darla Englebrecht led the discussion.

She started the discussion with the idea that you are not limited on what you eat, but when something is eaten; there need to trade the exchange. For instance, if a carb exchange is eaten, that needs to be exchanged with another carb that would have been eaten.

Protein is needed with every snack and meal to stabilize the blood sugar.

When carbohydrates are eaten, the blood sugar goes up and then goes down to a lower level then it had been. Protein keeps the blood sugar up for a longer period. Seven grams of protein is a protein exchange. This may be obtained from an egg, one ounce of meet, 1/2 cup of beans, or a tablespoon of peanut butter. Nuts provide fat -- the good fat -- and will provide seven ounces of protein with 1/2 cup of pecans or almonds.

Darla said, "There is no food you can not have. All foods are legal with balance and moderation. A carb can replace any other carb. Fat is needed to make hormones. The body needs fat, protein and carbs to get the right balance. She suggested eating healthy fiber foods. Fat has double calories Sugar substitutes can cause irritation of the bladder according to an urologist. Sugar alcohol is considered as being sugar free, yet it has the same grams of carbs as sugar. Eating sugar free does not always mean that there are less carbs."

According to Darla a diabetic should not go any longer then five hour after a meal with out a snack. Regular schedule meals should be eaten. Which have the most carbs, a pumpkin pie or an apple pie? With each piece of 1/8 of a pie, there is one carb exchange for the crust. An apple pie with a top crust will have three carbs, and a pumpkin pie has two carbs.

At this time of the year it is easy to slip up, according to Darla. Diabetics need to stay on the healthy plan 80 percent of the time.

It is important to be well hydrated -- drink six to eight glasses of water. Coffee causes the body to lose water.

This holiday season, eat a balanced diet and in moderation and it will be a happier Thanksgiving.