Wishing a happy, healthy Christmas to all

TUESDAY, DEC. 18: Debbie Jones is currently a vice president of the International Diabetes Federation and a diabetes nurse educator at the Bermuda Hospitals Board’s Diabetes Education Centre. She writes a monthly diabetes column for the Bermuda Sun to help educate people about one of the island’s biggest killers.

‘Tis the season — the holidays are just around the corner and people are beginning to think turkey and all the trimmings.

Remember the holidays are a time to catch up with friends and family.

It does not have to revolve around food. Suggest to your guests that everyone go for a walk before sitting down to tuck in. Play some games after the meal. What about a game of football or cricket?

It’s not the last supper. You don’t have to wolf down your food as if it’s the last meal you will have. Slow down. Enjoy your meal. Talk to your family. Remember the faster you eat the more you can eat. Slow down and taste it. Pay attention to portion size. You all know what that means. Portion size is important.

Don’t skip meals to enjoy the one big meal of the day. Often people will skip breakfast and lunch and then eat so much at supper they might as well have eaten enough for three! If you arrive for dinner hungry, chances are you are going to eat more.

If you are worried your hostess might not have healthy snacks on hand, take them with you to the party.

Bring a tray of cut up vegetables and low fat dip as a present and then you will be sure there are healthy foods on hand.

Drink alcohol in moderation and if you are on diabetes medication, make sure you do not drink in excess or drink on an empty stomach. Drinking alcohol can initially raise blood sugar levels but later on that evening or even during the night can cause blood sugar levels to drop too low.

Think active. Just because it’s a holiday, does not mean you don’t need to go for a walk, bike ride or swim.

Try to keep to your schedule of daily physical activity. Encourage your family and friends to join in. Often people feel that they don’t have diabetes and therefore do not need to be active. Use the holidays as an opportunity to educate others about the benefits of physical activity and its effect on preventing diabetes and heart disease.

Most important though, is to remember to enjoy yourself. Get festive. Decorate the tree and the house. Put on some festive music and dance.

Dancing is good for the soul but dancing is exercise and guess what? Exercise helps control blood sugar levels.

Don’t be shy about telling your hostess you have diabetes. Most people would like to know if there are any restrictions. Often people think that a diabetes diet is full of restrictions. They don’t realize that a diabetes diet is actually a healthy diet. Take some sugar substitute with you as households without diabetes may not have sugar substitutes on hand.

The holidays are also a time when people travel. Busy airports and train stations may be a place where it is easy to pick up a cold or cough.

Think ahead and have on hand some sugar-free cough syrup and sugar-free lozenges. Make sure you have some cold remedy on hand, but check the label, as many cold and cough remedies contain sugar. If in doubt, speak with the pharmacist.

Make sure you have enough supplies on hand for the holidays such as extra test strips and batteries. Test a little more often over the holiday season to make sure you keep on track.

Finally — no guilt. If you indulge more than you expected to, you can get back on track, but do not feel guilty.

Most of all, enjoy the festive season.