Food for Thought : November is National Diabetes Month

Have Type 2 Diabetes? Get Up and Get Active!
By American Association of Diabetes Educators
JBardsleyBy Joan Bardsley, MBA, BSN, RN, CDE

If you are living with type 2 diabetes, regular physical activity can help you maintain your health and manage your blood sugar (glucose) levels.

Physical activity – particularly regular, sustained exercise – causes your muscles to absorb glucose, helping your body manage its blood sugar levels. Exercise can also help improve your mood, reduce stress, and fight depression.

3 Tips for Picking Your Fitness Activity
There is no one program for people with type 

Choosing a program or creating a routine depends more on your current physical ability and health. Here are three tips to help you get started:

1 .    See your diabetes educator and discuss the types and levels of physical activity that would be most beneficial. Also, ask your diabetes educator about the types of food you should eat before and after a workout.
Choose an activity that you enjoy, begin moderately, set goals, and chart your progress.
2 .   Monitor your blood sugar levels. This is always important, but even more so before and after exercise. As your muscles absorb glucose, there is an increased risk of hypoglycemia, making monitoring more important than ever.
3 .   According the National Institutes of Health, you should aim for 30 to 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity most days of the week. Children and teens between 10 to 17 years old who have type 2 diabetes should aim for 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity every day.

Enjoy Yourself!
Between blood glucose monitoring, insulin injections, taking your medications, and changing your eating habits, you may feel hesitant or too burnt out to add another method of self-care to your routine. But don’t look at physical activity as a chore. Instead, look at it as universally beneficial and an opportunity to socialize with others who are want to be active.

Regular activity is one of the AADE7 core areas of self-management care that make up the basis of diabetes self-management education (DSME). The others are healthy eating, monitoring, taking medication, problem-solving, reducing risks, and healthy coping.

Physical activity can be a fun, fulfilling, and effective way to fight diabetes. For more information about the AADE7 and to find a diabetes educator who can help design the most effective physical activity program for you, visit the AADE website.

Joan Bardsley, MBA, BSN, RN, CDE, is 2014 president of the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE), and assistant vice-president of core scientific services for the MedStar Health Research Institute (MHRI). A registered nurse and certified diabetes educator, Bardsley has done diabetes management research; develops and implements training activities for MHRI’s clinical research coordinators throughout the MedStar Health system; and serves as a representative to MedStar’s Chief Nursing Council and Nursing Research Consortium.
Louisiana Chicken Drumsticks and  Tomatoes 

This dish  is healthy  for  people  with diabetes , heart problems  , high blood pressure  , it is  a great all around  meal .
Makes: 4 servings         Serving Size: 2 drumsticks, 1/2 cup sauce and 1/2 cup noodles

Nonstick cooking spray
8            chicken drumsticks, skinned
1            14 1/2 - ounce can no salt added stewed  tomatoes
1            cup frozen cut okra
1            teaspoon dried thyme, ground
1            1/2 tablespoons Louisiana hot sauce, such as Frank's®
1/4         teaspoon salt
1/4         teaspoon  black pepper
2            cups hot cooked whole grain noodles

1. Lightly coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and place over medium-high heat until hot. Brown chicken on all sides, about 6 minutes, turning occasionally. Top with stewed 1. tomatoes, okra, dried thyme, 1 tablespoon of the hot sauce, the salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 30 minutes or until no longer pink in center. 
2. Place the chicken pieces on a serving platter. Stir the remaining hot sauce into skillet and spoon sauce over all. Serve with noodles. 

Words of Wisdom :

If you want to know the taste of a pear, you must change the pear by eating it yourself. If you want to know the theory and methods of revolution, you must take part in revolution. All genuine knowledge originates in direct experience.

One of the most beautiful qualities of  true  friendship  is to understand  and be understood .

It is  one of the blessing  of  old friends  that you  can afford  to be  stupid with them .

We  are not human beings  having  a spiritual experience . We are spiritual  beings having  a  human experience .

There was a time when men thought it was sexy to have a housewife waiting for him to come home from work in her slippers, but in modern society, I think an independent woman is even more sexy.

Thanks  Joan




A proud grand-poppa            G.