AF&A Blog

With Thanksgiving fresh in our memories, Christmas is fast approaching. We hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving meal and spent a little time throughout the month to educate yourself about diabetes. Dr. Thomajan has written a book to help you learn more about this disease and if you still don’t have it, be sure to get a copy of this free book with this weblink.

We have talked before about wearing the proper footwear for the activity you engage in. With the fast approaching holidays and New Year, it is a fairly safe bet to assume that most of us will be doing some traveling to be with family and friends. Whether you travel by car, plane, or train, it is important to wear comfortable and supportive footwear. A comfortable pair of ‘tennis shoes’ are likely the best option as discussed in the AFAS e-newsletter. Sign up to receive it here under inquiry type.

Two things to keep in mind when wearing for comfort are size and lacing.

Our bodies are always changing and your foot size is something you should check periodically. If there is not a thumbs width of space between your toes and the tip of your shoe, you need to find a larger size. Those funny looking devices you stand on at shoe stores, are called Brannock devices, and are made to measure your foot. As you should stand upright, their use requires a second person and the measurement should be from the heel to the ‘ball’ of your foot. Make sure whoever measures you does it accurately, or better yet, next time you visit AFAS be sure to have your foot measured properly. Once you have the right shoe size, you may want to consider an alternative lacing pattern. The ‘normal’ lacing pattern, or what you might see out of the box, is perfectly fine most of the time. When you are sitting for long periods of time, such as an airplane flight or long car ride, you feet may swell. Consider lacing your shoes to help better accommodate these changes. You can find information on lacing patterns here.

Take a moment to sign up for out E-newsletter while you are here and check back with us throughout the month as we talk about different things to keep in mind while you’re traveling this holiday season. Until next time, keep those feet happy and healthy, Austin!

While most holidays involve some component of gathering with others for a meal, Thanksgiving, by far, focuses the most on eating. This holiday typically conjures up images of feeling stuffed, ‘turkey coma’, or post meal naps. Unfortunately, this type of gorging isn’t healthy for anyone. Living with diabetes should mean that you focus on what you eat. Your body’s inability to keep the sugars in your blood at the appropriate levels translates into you changing the when you eat, what you eat, and the level of activity you get.

It may be helpful to think of diet as all the good things you can eat and not the limiting of other not so good things you may be used to eating. If you have any input into the types of foods you’ll be eating this holiday, visit the American Diabetes Association website. This is an excellent organization to be a part of if you live with diabetes. They offer a plethora of resources and ideas for living better while managing your sugars. For the holiday season, they offer such ideas as mashed sweet potatoes, sage stuffing, and pumpkin pie with maple ginger crust to help you have an enjoyable meal without sacrificing your blood sugars and ultimately your health. If you have the luxury of letting someone else prepare your meal, you should use a little caution in what and how much you eat. Standard fair like turkey and yams can actually be ok as long as you don’t stuff yourself. Sweet rolls are one of the foods you should limit or remove altogether as simple breads are one of those foods that can quickly elevate your blood sugars. You should take full advantage of the many resources to help guide your choices at meals this Thanksgiving.

While we talked last time about ‘hidden’ exercise, you should consider taking an easy walk after your meal instead of that nap.

Until next time, keep those feet happy and healthy, Austin!