Sugar Turned On Me

Halloween goes with candy like Christmas and toys, like Easter and eggs. Half the reason I used to look forward to giving out candy was the fact that I knew we’d have some left over. This year, my first year living with diabetes, not so much. But as diabetes doesn’t automatically equal never touching sugar again, I did go looking for what candy I could have. Here are three candies worth considering:

1. Dove Promises Dark: Chocolate is the undisputed king of candy. All it takes is a taste and your whole day improves. Dark chocolate has a lot of antioxidants in it, so as a snack, it’s got some advantages over lesser confections. Four pieces of Dove Dark comes to about 16-17 grams of carbs. Personally, I find them so rich that I don’t do more than one or two at a time.
2. Ginger Chews: A friend with more severe diabetes than mine introduced me to these. She keeps them on hand for when her sugar bottoms out. The Ginger People make these and they have nothing you can’t pronounce in them. While they are addictive, one at a time is usually sufficient. At 5g carbs per, they are potent, but definitely reasonable.
3. Reese’s Cups: Ah yes, the two great tastes etc, etc. One of the best things ever to come out of Hershey, PA, the peanut butter cup has a fair bit of sugar but also has 3g of protein and even a gram or so of dietary fiber. While they don’t qualify with health food, if you can summon the willpower to eat just one, then you’ve got a doable snack.  Around this time of year, they are sold individually wrapped, helping remove temptation.

With any candy, I try to remember that moderation is the key. Read the labels and make sure you know what is going into it and if doing a diabetes safe portion is just a tease, it’s better to skip it than to risk overindulgence. But if you can accept the small servings, then the bowl of candy by the door on All Hallows Eve seems like less of a horror and more of a sweet promise to come.

A friend of mine recently was diagnosed as pre-diabetic. I’d been wondering in days previous what exactly it means to be pre-diabetic and how does it differ from mild diabetes. After talking to him and checking around on the internet, I got some answers.

If you have a blood glucose level of 80-100 or below after 12 hours of fasting, you’re normal. Above 125, and you’re most certainly diabetic. In between those numbers is the murky land of pre-diabetes.

What being pre-diabetic means is that your body is signaling the warning that you may be headed for real live diabetes and that some damage may already be occurring because of it. It’s a serious enough condition that it requires some life changes. It’s unlikely your doctor would diagnose medication for it but it’s enough that you should pay attention.

The treatment is much the same for mild diabetes: exercise, hydrate, 45-60g of carbs per meal and regular meals with snacks to keep your body on an even keel. Pre-diabetics might not be advised to monitor their blood sugar daily, instead checking in with their doctor at regular intervals.

In truth, unless medication is involved, there’s little difference between the diets and regimens of diabetics, pre-diabetics and people just trying to stay healthy on a low carb diet.

I’m glad my friend found out about his condition when he did. It’s not pleasant news, but it’s better than it could be. It’s estimated that as much as 57 million people fall into the pre-diabetic category and with only a little adjustment, they could minimize the risks and impact of the condition on their lives.

But first, you have to know.

So if you don’t know… ask you doctor next time you’re in their office. Knowing you’re pre-diabetic may bite, but it’s better than finding out you’re straight up diabetic. And both are better than going undiagnosed, only finding out once the damage is done.

A while back, I suggested using a spreadsheet to keep track of your diet and diabetes. As much access as the average American has to computers, keeping your blood sugar diary in an electronic format is convenient and makes it easier to search for individual dates, food items or blood sugar numbers.  I didn’t elaborate on what one might use to make a spreadsheet, so I thought I might offer a few places and mention other electronic options.

Excel, a Microsoft product, is an excellent spreadsheet application. Learning to use it, if you’re not already familiar, does take a little time. One you do get used to it,  it’s a very flexible, powerful tool.

If you’re not looking to pay for anything, then check out OpenOffice . It’s a free set of applications similar to Microsoft Office and has it’s own spreadsheet application. I’ve not used it, but it has gotten some thumbs up from the community at large.

If you’re not intrested in using an application at all, take a look at Google Documents . Google offers a number of online applications. The advantage of them is that they are always accessible online. The downside is that, well, they’re online. Don’t have internet access? Too bad.

So say you don’t want to pay for anything, don’t want to install anything and don’t want to use the internet. If you have a computer running Windows, you can use an application that comes as part of the operating system, Notepad. This is a text editor, not a spreadsheet, but it does have a cool function that will let you use it as a diary:

1. Open the application. It’s usually under the start menu> all programs > accessories.
2. On the first line, with nothing else typed out, put in .LOG and save the document. Typing it in upper case matters.
3. Open the saved document again. You’ll notice that it adds the date and time you opened it up.
4. Type what you want to type, save and close the document.
5. Each time you open it, it should add the time and date.

Now admittedly, you could take the extra ten seconds to type the time and date out by hand, but it’s still convenient.

If you’re using  a desktop application like Excel or Notepad and you want to carry your information with you, you can pick up a portable USB drive for as little as $5 at Target. These plug into your computer’s USB ports and act as a detachable hard drive. Even the smallest available capacity is enough to carry a lot of text.

I was using an Excel spreadsheet at first. I’m thinking about either using the Notepad version or perhaps going back and seeing what else I can make the Excel spreasheet do for me. Either way, it’s good to be able to make additional use of the tools available to keep watch on my diabetes.

By many accounts, I’m a pretty laid back guy. When I find myself bickering, I usually have to take a step back and ask myself what the cause is and if there are any outside influences to my demeanor. Recently, due to some conversations where I was a lot shorter tempered than I should have been, I wondered if one outside influence might lie in diabetes.

The American Diabetes Association lists irritability as a symptom. Separate studies have been done for both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes to see if they effect moods. Results showed that there were correlations between hypoglycemia and memory as well as between hyperglycemia and aggression.

Depression also accompanies getting diagnosed. This is true for most chronic illnesses though, so no big surprise.

What information I found pointed out that one’s sugar needs to be significantly out of whack for it to affect your moods. Some people were suggesting that your blood sugar would need to be in the over 180 range before you’d start seeing problems. I’m willing to bet, in my very not at all an expert opinion, that lesser numbers will still effect your moods, but more exasperating minor issues rather than creating them all on their own.

I have yet one more reason to keep a blood sugar diary again, to track my blood sugar vs. my moods. This is recommended to get a more concrete picture of what your diabetes is doing to your state mind. But even before I start, it’s nice to know that I’m not crazy; there really is a connection.

One of the first things my doctor said to me after telling me I had diabetes was to not eat something just because “it was put in front of me”. I thought to myself,  What, Lady? Do you think I’m two and I get hand fed spoonfuls accompanied by airplane noises? I already was working on reasonable portion control. Did she think I was just indiscriminate and would suck down anything within reach?

It wasn’t until later I realized there was a bit of conflict for me. I hate wasting food. I’ll get cravings for things I’ve tossed, even if I had no desire to consume it the week before it lost it’s freshness. And while I do try to be good about this when I’m out, I don’t always get to choose a smaller portion when I’m not preparing the food myself.

Economics make it worse, as smaller portions at restaurants usually mean higher prices per unit for what you’re getting. Upsizing is only 20 cents more, but the inital package is three bucks and half the size. It doesn’t help that when I’m broke, my metabolism starts going into overdrive, my body demanding food like I need to build up a layer of fat to survive a winter’s hibernation.

There is an actual struggle in me to not eat what’s available while it’s there as to not be wasteful. I’ve learned answers to this problem. At home, it’s best to prepare my own food, preferably making things I can freeze. When eating out, I try to eat slowly, stop before I feel full (to let my body catch up) and then plan out how much of my meal I’m bringing home. But that doesn’t mean I’m good at it.

Eating safe with diabetes isn’t just about eating less sugar, but by watching the amounts of everything I eat to control my blood sugar more effectively. Most of the time, this isn’t a huge problem but when I remember that there are still starving kids in Asia, I can’t bring myself to waste something still safely edible. I can’t even do it remembering that there will be a mildy hungry adult in my clothes next week.

If I had to advise someone else on how to avoid this pitfall, I’d start by telling them that awareness is key. Know what your body needs versus what it wants. Don’t panic. Eat if you’re hungry and don’t worry too much about overdoing it, but suspect any impulse that starts with “Well, I could have just one more.” Know what you’re putting into your body and why it’s going in there.

Diabetes teaches you a lot of lessons about less being more. The trick is figuring out when less is just right.

In addition to being a diabetic, a blogger and devilishly handsome man, I’m a big ‘ol geek. Part of my geekery is attending renaissance fairs, complete with costume, bad accent and everything. I attended one of the larger ones recently and  had a lovely time, part of which was partaking of ye olde food.

Renaissance fairs, state fairs,  carnivals, fall festivals and the like all make money off of good eats on sticks. I paid attention to this more than I have in previous years because I was having to look at the menus through the lens of hyperglycemia.

I stuck to high protein items as often as I could.  I went for unbreaded items over those with a coating.  If I had potatoes or breads, I did so in just a few bites, usually splitting them with my wife.

A fair of any sort involves a lot of walking. This means buring energy which meant I could afford to eat a little more food I might not otherwise. I didn’t dive for the fried twinkies or anything,  but I was less concerned about the occasional bite of something sweet. I also remembered to stay hydrated and to pay attention for my sugar crashing.

I don’t get out to fairs, renaissence or modern, as much as I’d like to. I don’t intend to let diabetes keep me from enjoying the edible delights when I do go. If I make good choices, there’s not a reason to. After all… everything is better on a stick.

Lean times sometimes make for ingenious food creations. A roommate introduced me to the following recipe which has a less than appetizing name and is basically a taco salad minus the lettuce and tortilla shell:

1 Lb Ground Sirloin
1 Can of refried beans (preferably low sodium)
1 small Onion
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
Chili seasoning, Salt, Pepper
Hot sauce
Corn chips

First, sweat the onions in a little olive oil using a frying pan or saucepan. Once they are translucent, add the beef and half the seasonings. Brown the meat. Add your can of refried beans, the rest of the seasonings and cook until warm. If the beans dry out a little, add a bit of water.

Serve in a bowl with a dash of hot sauce. Eat with a spoon or corn chips. Don’t overdo it on the corn chips and you can add some sour cream. Makes 2 servings.

This dish, before the chips or sour cream, is high in protein, low in carbs (like 17g) and has a bit of fiber to it (which reduces the carbs to effectively 12g). It also tastes good and is filling. Depending on the price of meat, it’s also cheap. You could easily substitute ground turkey and still come out with a good product.

Necessity is the mother of invention. Apparently, she’s also a cook.

Item the First:
Aspirin can help with heart health. People who take aspirin regularly have a lowered risk of heart attack or stroke. If you didn’t already know this, then Bayer is not spending enough on TV commercials.

New research shows that people who have no heart disease, however, show no added benefit from taking aspirin regularly. In Britian, doubt is rising that diabetics and people in other high risk groups  should take regular doses as a preventative measure.

But don’t just take my word for it: Diabetes Aspirin Use Questioned

Item the Second:
Saying that diabetics benefit from controlling their blood sugar is kind of like saying that hungry people benefit from eating. A study released in early September of 2008 elaborates on the obvious by showing that Type 2 diabetics who keep their blood sugar under control in the first 10 years of discovering they have the disease significantly lower their risks of heart disease, eye disease and kidney damage.

Additional words about this subtle but interesting discovery are to be found here: Blood-sugar control lowers diabetics’ risks.

Item the Third and Last:
Type 1 diabetics know better than anyone about the irritation of having to stick yourself with sharp objects multiple times a day. In a development that might keep save those with Type 1 some suffering as well as give them the opportunity to tell people that they are cyborgs, doctors have developed implanted monitors, worn under the skin. Using such a device on a constant basis has shown promise in better keeping their diabetes under control.

The salient facts can be found here: Under-The-Skin Blood Sugar Monitor Boosts Diabetes Control.

I went back on a deal I’d made myself and actually took my blood sugar the morning after I had cake in celebration of my birthday. The number was 111; higher than I’d like, but no worse than some mornings where I felt like I did everything right the night before. So not too bad.

Things I had going for me included having walked a lot that day, having a pretty light dinner and a reasonably sized slice. The cake that was accquired for the celebration was gotten from a bakery that uses fresh and pronounceable ingredients.  As predicted, I paired it was a short glass of 2% milk.

If I did anything wrong, I had it once I was pretty sedintary and shortly before bed. I should have been a little more active and that would have probably used a little more the sugar gained. I’ll keep this in mind for birthday’s to come.

The important thing for me was that I got to celebrate my birthday without stressing about my infirmity. My diabetes was a factor in planning but didn’t feel like a limitation. I was mindful of it and by having some awareness, managed to keep it from impinging on the things I wanted to do.

While I doubt anyone reading this was on the edge of their seat, waiting to see what a slice of cake would do to my blood sugar, I wanted to chronicle this event because it’s one example of how my life requires more attention to detail. A year ago, my biggest concern about my birthday cake would have been if I wanted the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Pirates of the Carribean on the top. Now, even things as simple as dessert are important for me to map out if I don’t want them to hurt me.

I don’t mind my blood sugar being 10 or 12 points higher than I would have liked for a slice of my birthday cake. It was worth it and I would have thought that if it had been wildly higher. Still, I’m glad it was only 10 or 12 points higher, because I’d like to have a lot more birthday cakes to concern myself in the future.

Though I’d not like to be concerned about the Turtles vs. Pirates again. From now on, I think when in doubt, I’ll just go with Transformers.

On this day, 37 rotations of the Earth around the Sun earlier, I came from my mother’s womb. The intervening time has been pretty cool and it is with no small amount of joy that I will get together with friends to celebrate. It will, however, be the first such celebration in which I’ve been diagnosed as diabetic and that leads me to a potential snag.

I’m afraid of my birthday cake.

Others have  feared seeing their prefered birthday confection, but usually it’s for the number of candles on it. I have no fear of the tiny little flames, but what lies under the butter cream. It’s not a paralyzing fear nor is it one for which I feel the need to be comforted, but it’s there. It’s also not enough of a fear that I’d make myself or my guests face a sugarless confection.

I intend to confront this fear with a fork and a small glass of milk. I understand how to enjoy sweets in moderation, in such a way as to not totally skyrocket my blood sugar. I will have my cake and enjoy it, too.  There is no reason to fear the cake. I will face my fear one rasberry filled slice at a time and when all that is left is crumbs, I will stand victorious.

Though it’s okay if I don’t take my blood sugar the next morning, right?