Controlling Diabetes During the Holidays

1. Controlling Diabetes During the Holidays Janine Freeman, RD,LD,CDE UGA Extension Nutrition Specialist

2. ‘Tis The Season For Temptation • Out-of-control blood sugars • Extra pounds

3. Holidays Are A Time To: • Share with family and loved ones • Become spiritually connected • Shop, decorate the house, wrap gifts • Bake and cook • Eat, eat, eat...

4. Focus On Holiday Activities That Don’t Involve Food • Decorating for the holidays • Attending holiday musicals or plays • Christmas caroling • Shopping • Gift-giving

5. Make Time for Physical Activity • Relieves your stress • Improves your mood • Lowers your blood glucose levels • Helps with weight control

6. Fit Physical Activity Into Your Busy Schedule • Split your activity into 2 or 3 intervals of 10-15 minutes each • Make physical activity a family event • Walk around the neighborhood after dinner • Go mall-walking • Park farther from your destination

7. Stay Active While Travelling • Wear walking shoes • Get to airport early and walk concourses • Take very little carry-on luggage and walk during layovers • Look for hotels with exercise facilities

8. Lighten Up Your Favorite Holiday Foods Make changes in recipes to: • lower the carbohydrate • less effect on blood glucose • lower the fat or change the type of fat • healthier for your heart • fewer calories

9. Holiday Baking Desserts can be made with: • sugar • low-calorie sweeteners

10. Use of Sugar in Diabetes Meal Plan • Raises blood glucose levels in similar way to starches • Can be used in moderation

11. Use of Sugar in the Meal Plan • Substitute sweets for other carbohydrate in the same meal • Check effect on your blood glucose after meals

12. Role of Sugar in Baking • Sugar provides volume, texture, moistness, and browning • Low-calorie sweeteners only provide sweet taste

13. Sugar in Baking • Sugar is needed in yeast breads to raise • The quality of many cakes and cookies suffer with reduced sugar or no sugar

14. Low-calorie Sweeteners in Baking • Sucralose (Splenda) • Aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet) • Acesulfame-K (Sweet-One) • Saccharin (Sweet ‘n Low, Sugar-Twin) • Neotame (recently approved by FDA)

15. Sucralose (Splenda) • 600 times sweeter than sugar • Stable at high cooking temperatures • Recipes available on web site • www.splenda.com

16. Consider Heat Stability of Sweeteners for Cooking or Baking • Unstable at high temperatures • Aspartame (loses sweetness) • Saccharin (becomes bitter) • Stable in cooking and baking • Sucralose • Acesulfame-K

17. Increase Stability of Aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet, store brands) • Add to food after cooking • Combine with more stable sweetener • Add acidic ingredient

18. Low-calorie Sweeteners • In general, use when sugar is primarily for sweet taste • Fruit fillings (pies, cobblers) • Custards • Puddings • Beverages • Frozen desserts • Sauces and marinades

19. Low-calorie Sweeteners Do not work well as the sole sweetener in these foods: • Meringues • Angel food cake • Pecan pies • Pound cake

20. Tips for Using Low Calorie Sweeteners in Baking • Cookies, muffins, quickbreads: • Honey or molasses will add some flavor and moistness • Add baking soda • Check for doneness early

21. Tips for Using Low Calorie Sweeteners in Baking • Cakes: • Use molasses or cocoa for browning • Add 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk and 1/2 tsp baking soda for every cup of sugar replaced • Combine sugar with low calorie sweetener

22. Tips for Using Low Calorie Sweeteners in Baking • Fruit fillings, sauces, puddings, custards • Add thickening • Reduce cooking time

23. Choose A Sweetener for Pumpkin Pie • What is the purpose of sugar in pumpkin pie? • Primarily sweet taste • Which sweeteners could be used? • Equal, Splenda, Sweet-One, or others

24. Choose a Sweetener for Red Velvet Cake • What is the purpose of sugar in a red velvet cake? • Volume, texture, tenderness, moistness • Would you use a sweetener? If so, which one? • Sugar would work best

25. Choose a Sweetener for Christmas Cookies • What is the purpose of sugar in cookies? • Texture, tenderness, browning, moistness, taste, volume • What sweetener would you use? • Sugar alone or sugar with Splenda, Equal, Sweet-One

26. Pumpkin pie with sugar 38 grams carb Pumpkin pie with low-calorie sweetener 20 grams carb Sugar vs Low-calorie Sweetener

27. 12 ounces Iced Tea with Sugar 33 grams carb 12 ounces Iced Tea with Low Calorie Sweetener 0 grams carb Sugar vs Low-calorie Sweetener

28. Reduce Fat in Recipes Non-baked foods: • Substitute fat with non-fat or low-fat ingredients • Reduce the fat

29. Reduce Fat in Recipes In baking: • Some fat needed for flavor, moisture, and tenderness

30. Reduce Fat in Recipes In baking: • Use low-fat yogurt or sour cream in place of regular sour cream in cookies and muffins • Replace fat with 1/2 amount of fruit puree or applesauce • 1/2 cup prune or banana puree in place of 1 cup margarine

31. Traditional vs Healthy Pumpkin Pie

32. Holiday Meals

33. Holiday Meal Tips • Identify carbohydrate foods: (carbohydrates raise the blood glucose the most) Starches bread and rolls, stuffing, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, peas, butter beans Sugars fruit, candy, desserts, milk, sodas, sweet tea, eggnog

34. Holiday Meal Tips • Eat usual daily amount of carbohydrate • Space out carbohydrate based on timing of holiday meal • Adjust insulin based on carbohydrate if you’ve been trained • Check blood glucose regularly

35. Holiday Meal Tips • Fill up on low-calorie salads and vegetables • Avoid second helpings • Use high-fat condiments sparingly • Small portion of dessert can be eaten in place of other carbohydrate foods

36. Estimating Portion Sizes • 1 cup pasta = woman’s clenched fist • ½ cup vegs = ½ tennis ball • 1 fruit serving = 1 tennis ball • 3 ounces meat = deck of cards • 1 teaspoon = thumb-tip • 1 tablespoon = 2 thumbs pressed together

37. 63 grams carb 1 piece pecan pie (1/8 of pie) 58 grams carb 1/2 cup mashed potatoes 1/2 cup stuffing 1 roll 1/2 cup green beans 3 ounces turkey 2 Tbs. gravy Tossed salad with Italian dressing Make Smart Food Choices

38. Holiday Meal • 3 ounces turkey • 1/2 cup stuffing (20 grams carb) • 2 Tbs. gravy • 1/2 cup green beans (5 grams carb) • Tossed salad with Italian dressing • 1 slice pumpkin pie (38 g carb - sugar) • (20 g carb with sweetener) Total carb: 63 grams (45 grams)

39. Traditional Waldorf Salad Roast Turkey/gravy Green Bean Casserole Mashed Potatoes/Gravy Sausage Stuffing/gravy Cranberry Sauce Dinner rolls with butter Pecan Pie Alternative Low-fat mayonnaise Without gravy Plain beans or ff soup Eliminate gravy Avoid sausage SF cranberry relish Eliminate butter Pumpkin Pie Traditional Holiday Dinner

40. Attending Holiday Parties • Plan ahead what you will eat • Offer to bring a healthy dish • Eat something light at home to curb your appetite

41. Attending Holiday Parties • Skip second helpings • Avoid lingering near buffet table • Mingle with guests - you’ll eat less

42. Limit Alcoholic Beverages • Reduces willpower • Adds extra pounds • Can cause hypoglycemia if taking insulin • Always eat something when drinking

43. Holiday Entertaining • Reduce stress by planning ahead • Ask people to bring a dish • Don’t try to be a Martha Stewart • Get enough sleep

44. Reduce Your Stress • Plan ahead • Make a shopping list • Take a vacation day to do your shopping or holiday baking • Schedule physical activity

45. Enjoy Your Holidays • Don’t set your expectations too high • Enjoy your holiday festivities

46. Happy Holidays!

47. Practical Non-food Gifts to Give or Receive • Pedometer • Exercise video • Walking shoes • Exercise clothes • Fitness class • Gift certificate to spa • Healthy cookbook