It might be too late for this year, but when the holidays roll around, Dr. Ramachandra Chemitiganti recommends planning ahead for people with diabetes.
Chemitiganti, who is an endocrinologist and associate professor at Texas Tech University Health Science Center, said when you look at holidays like Christmas, and especially Thanksgiving, there some common health risks like getting hurt putting up the decorations.
“But one thing about diabetes is the holidays are a season for stress, celebration and overeating. The overeating affects the diabetes as much as the stress associated with it — planning, hosting, traveling; everything that goes with it. So I tell my diabetes patients going in you should know what different kinds of foods do to your sugars and you must have strategies,” Chemitiganti said.
Everyone can’t eat right all the time; we are human so there are times when you get the urge to overindulge.
“If you plan for that meal, then there are tricks and strategies that we do in terms of adjusting your medications … that we can make sure the sugars won’t go high. You might end up getting a little plumper or fatter, but the sugars will be under control,” he said.
He added that people should make sure they have adequate refills on their medications and your testing supplies during the holidays.
“A lot of people kind of realize on Christmas Eve that they’re out of their medication, or they’re traveling and they didn’t carry medication, or they got misplaced in their bag,” Chemitiganti said. “I think they have to be very deliberate in making sure because guess what nobody’s open. The doctor’s office is going to be closed; some of the pharmacies will be closed, so that is another easier thing that is fixed.”
The tougher thing is to manage your diet and check your supplies.
“Thankfully, there are technologies where you don’t have to prick yourself. You can wear a patch on your … arm or your belly where new technology will keep checking your sugar … If it notices trends, it will give you alerts on your phone so you don’t have to be miserable pricking your own fingers,” Chemitiganti said.
The machine understands that you’re eating and provides feedback. Adjustments can be made to insulin or pills.
Most of the time, he noted, people don’t plan for the holidays.
“A lot of them try to wing it and nothing bad happens. But you will eventually have a couple or three patients that end up in the hospital, which is totally avoidable. Holidays is not the season to be around other sick people,” Chemitiganti said.
He added that he always says diabetes is not like any other disease we know.
“It’s like everything we do impacts the sugars. If you’re sick too long, that impacts the sugars. If you’re exercising too long, it impacts your sugars. If you don’t eat your meal on time, it impacts your sugars,” Chemitiganti said.
Just being a diabetic can increase worry and worsen stress, he added.
“The better prepared we are, the easier it gets,” he said.
Asked if people should exercise more during the holidays, Chemitiganti said it doesn’t do much to offset the amount of sugar you eat.
“I give the example of one order of Fettucine Alfredo at our favorite Olive Garden which is almost like 2,000 calories. You have to do almost 20 hours of treadmill to burn it. One hour of medium-paced treadmill will burn about 100 calories. Exercise helps regulate your sugar, but you have to watch the calorie content in the food you’re eating,” Chemitiganti said.
Diabetics should typically eat anywhere from 1,800 to 2,000 calories a day, depending on their body weight. “We rarely need more than that,” Chemitiganti added.
Drinking is another problem during the holidays.
“We talked about injuries, overeating, stress; but binge drinking is probably one of the worst things you can do if you’re a diabetic because there are a couple of things that happen. … All the carbohydrate content from the alcohol spikes your sugar, but then alcohol inhibits some of the liver function; it impairs liver function so later on, your sugars might fluctuate and go down. They bounce around all over the place. Those are, again, easy calories that just spike your diabetes,” he said.
“If you’re drinking you, again, don’t know how much you’re eating so you overeat. If you over drink, you go for the fast food. It’s a vicious cycle. Moderation is the key … Do things in moderation and plan your meals; plan your exercise … and make sure you have all the supplies and treatment going into the holidays,” Chemitiganti said.
Drugs to combat diabetes are effective, but they are expensive.
“Depending on your insurance plan, they might be covered or they might not,” he said. He added that you should talk to your doctor.
People should identify the things that stress them out most and recognize situations that stress them out most.
“When we stress … our body craves calories and other ways of distraction like drinking, so if you know what causes stress you can be prepared for it. I know you’ll still get upset, but you might have a technique to get past it without reaching for the pecan pie or another glass of beer,” Chemitiganti said.
