I’ve been reading a lot lately about glycation. This is nothing new to diabetics. We all know about the hemoglobin A1c test which simply tests the glycation of the hemoglobin in the body. Or in other words, how much glucose has attached itself to those cells. But lately I’ve been reading more about glycation of the blood vessels. This glycation can cause the blood vessel walls to become less elastic. That in turn leads to high blood pressure and all it its associated problems.

Well, as I’ve been imagining my blood vessel walls becoming harder and less flexible, I started thinking of ways to fight it. (Now, of course, the first line of defense is good blood sugar control.) So I decided that what I needed was a way to increase circulation, increase flexibility, and relax. And I came up with the perfect solution: massage therapy. I visit a local spa once a week (oh, how I’d like to go more often!). I get a full body massage. It feels great. But I hope more than feeling great, it helps me in my battle to preserve the blood vessels that I expect to keep me healthy well into my old age.

So my son is at that age where he’s starting to consider colleges and career choices. So this recent headline really got our attention: “Diabetes Discrimination: A New Headache for Employers.” Obviously, we would never want our son to be the victim of discrimination due to a disease that he had no choice about getting.

So we read the article. And though the article contained some insights about issues employers are dealing with when it comes to diabetes, it was more insightful to see how terribly uninformed people are about this prevalent disease. The reporter failed to acknowledge any difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The recent court rulings seemed to place diabetics in two categories. Either they have the disease under control and are therefore, not protected under the American’s with Disabilities Act, or they are out of control and can be fired because they are a liability to the company.

As my son embarks on higher education and making a career choice, it certainly doesn’t help to have these perceptions in the marketplace. Though he has less than perfect control, he’s never missed a day of work or been unable to fill an assignment with his current employer. We can only hope that the next few years brings more understanding to the workplace.

I’ve been thinking a lot about food choices recently. I decided to write down a few of my favorite healthy eating tips.

1. Stop buying white bread and white rice. Plain and simple, if you don’t have it in your house, you will eat a lot less of it. These white carbohydrates have very little nutritional benefits and a whole lot of blood sugar spikes.

2. Check your plate for color before you start eating. If your plate is all one color (usually brown or white), you need to make drastic changes. You should have greens, yellows, reds, and oranges on your plate as often as possible.

3. Avoid toppings and condiments that you don’t need. Why does everyone put butter on their bread? Why do we have to have cream cheese on a bagel? Why add 200 calories to a sandwich with a spread that you don’t need? Ask yourself if you can simply leave it off. Choose low-calories/low-carb alternatives like mustard and balsamic vinegar.

4. Fresh raw vegetables are your best friend. When you’re planning your meals, start envisioning building your meal from crisp, fresh, dark-green lettuce or cruciferous veggies (like broccoli, cabbage, and collared greens). Then add your favorites: carrots, squash, cucumbers, peppers, onions, whatever.

5. Lean proteins are your next best friend. Chicken breast, turkey breast, and fish. These proteins provide good sustained energy without spiking your blood sugar. Beef and pork (and other red meats) will do the same but the lean meats have much lower fat and cholesterol.

6. Use carbohydrates as a garnish. We have to change our thinking. The “bowl” of mashed potatoes filled with gravy was the center-piece of the dinner plate for our grand parents. We simply can’t rely on starchy vegetables or breads to be the foundation of our diet any more.

7. If it comes in a sealed plastic wrapper, it most likely shouldn’t go in your mouth. There’s a reason why we use the same word to describe garbage and highly processed high-calorie packaged foods: JUNK.

8. When you do choose carbohydrates, choose healthy ones. Whole grain breads. Brown and wild rice. Fresh fruits.

Diabetes and diet soda seem to go hand in hand. So whenever diet soda is in the news, you know every diabetic is paying attention. Here’s an excerpt and a link about a recent study that looked at links between soda drinking and weight gain.

News About Diet Soda
By John Crowley Father of a teenage diabetic

You probably saw the article from Reuters under the headline, “No Safe Haven: Diet Sodas Linked with Health Risks.” It was as if I heard a collective “Oh, great!” from the whole diabetic community. You’ve tried to be good. You’ve avoided those full-sugar sodas for years thinking that you were making the healthy choice. And now this news. What does it mean?

Click here to read the full article.