Tips For Diabetic Seniors to Enjoy Holiday Dinners
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
As a practicing Registered Nurse, Etelka was keenly aware of a void in quality patient care that could be provided in the home. She embarked upon a journey to develop a home health care agency that would exceed all expectations and become a trusted partner to physicians and patients.
A Distinguished Career From Nurse to Director of Nursing to President of Home Services Unlimited
Etelka’s distinguished career followed a logical progression to her position as President of Home Services Unlimited. She graduated as a nurse practitioner with a Bachelor of Nursing (RN) in 1972 from Meshgorya University in the Ukraine, close to where she lived with her family. She married her husband Phil in 1973 and decided in 1977 that they would relocate to the United States to be closer to family and to come to this land of opportunity. With an eagerness to continue her budding career, Etelka sat for and passed her Boards in the U.S. in 1979.
A Love and Talent for Working with the Elderly
Etelka began her nursing career in the U.S. at Colonial Crest, now part of Golden Living, where she was the In-service Coordinator, the Director of Training and Education and Director of Nursing, a position she occupied for several years.
With a group of partners, she co-founded Adept Corporation, which operated group homes for the mentally challenged. The business was successful and in 1996, Etelka sold her share to return to her roots, caring for the elderly.
In January of 1997, Etelka opened Home Services Unlimited as a fully licensed business to provide home health care. In her quest to learn to do better for her patients, she had already obtained a Masters in Healthcare Administration (MHA) in May of 1990 from the College of St. Francis. As President of Home Services Unlimited, Inc., Etelka guides the trusted, experienced care model Home Services Unlimited uses to continue providing excellent home health care.
Giving Back to the Community of Indianapolis
Volunteering for community services is a high priority for Etelka. Her memberships include the Indiana Association of Rehabilitation Facilities, Executive Women in Health Care and the Indiana Association for Home and Hospice Care, where she is a member of the Board of Directors.
Etelka has also served on the Board of Directors with Hooverwood Home, a highly regarded geriatric facility, since 1997 and as the President for 2005-2006. Through her community work, she has received several awards and accolades, including the Nora McFarland award in 2002, from the Indiana Association of Home and Hospice Care.
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