1-At the restaurant, we manage his diabetes like a pro
The restaurant is not forbidden to diabetics, we follow just a few simple rules. As a starter, we prefer crudités or crustaceans. In main course, we go for fish and grilled meats, more "diabetes-compatible" than dishes in sauce, fried or marinated. A dessert made from fruits or dairy products, and you're done. In fast-food, when you have diabetes, you skip the french fries and order two burgers or cheeseburgers with a salad and a light soda.
2-Festive meal diabetes: stop at the puzzle
When one is diabetic and invited, some recommendations: one limits his consumption of greasy foods to the aperitif (petits-fours, crackers, sausage), one makes the impasse on the plate of cheese and one does not resseres , even if everything is very good. At home, we learn to cook light, healthy and tasty. It is quite easy to spot sugars and unnecessary fats: sauces, mayonnaise, butter, pastry ... In any case, you control your blood sugar just before the meal so you can adjust your treatment if necessary.
3-With diabetes, very soft on alcohol and tobacco
Some alcoholic drinks contain a lot of sugars very quickly assimilated by the body: sweet wines like Muscat (185 kcal per glass), Martini-style baked wines, (110 kcal per glass), beer (110 kcal per glass). Even in the event of evening, one limits oneself to 4 maximum glasses to avoid a high hyperglycemia at a distance and one never drinks on an empty stomach. Cigarettes are also kept to a minimum because the risks associated with diabetes and tobacco do not add up but multiply. In addition, tobacco hinders the action of insulin and promotes hyperglycemia.
4-Even diabetic, we go on a trip with peace of mind
Before the trip, we learn about the glycemic index * of the most common foods in the country visited, so as to anticipate what foods can be taken (or not). Your doctor is asked for a complete and detailed prescription of the usual diabetes treatments and you take enough medication, insulin and equipment (lancing device, reader and test strips). If necessary, one adapts its medical treatment in case of jet lag: when one travels towards the west, one lengthens somehow the time, it will therefore take more insulin than usual. Conversely, when you travel east, and you have diabetes, it will take less insulin than usual.
* It is the ability of a food to raise the level of sugars in the blood. It is considered low, below 55, moderate from 56 to 74 and high from 75 to 100.
5-Before the sport, one adapts his treatment of the diabetes
Your blood glucose is measured before the session: if it is less than 0.90 g / l, a snack of 15 to 30 g of carbohydrates may be necessary, to be repeated every hour for an intense activity. If blood glucose is above 2.9 g / l, insulin must be adjusted before starting and, in some cases, waited before starting the activity. Moreover, for the meal before the sport, one increases its ration of starchy foods. And ideally, we practice an hour after the meal.
To read: "The big book of diabetes", Pr Jean-Jacques Altman, Dr. Roxane Ducloux and Dr. Laurence Lévy-Dutel, Eyrolles editions.
