By KLTV Newsdesk –

The Christmas period can be a difficult time for those with Type 2 diabetes, especially when navigating all of the festive food choices.

Patient Info and Good Food have some helpful information on how to make little swaps to stay healthy.

Foods to Limit or Avoid

Starchy and Sugary Carbohydrates: This can cause your blood sugar to rise, specifically refined sugars in white bread, flour, or sugar, which is found in many Christmas foods—mince pies, sausage rolls, etc.

High-Salt Foods: Too much salt can raise your blood pressure and increase the likelihood of stroke, so check food labels and avoid shop-bought processed foods like salted peanuts, sausage stuffing, crisps, and gravy.

High-fat foods: Maintaining a healthy weight is important, and fatty foods can raise your blood sugar and blood pressure. These include cheese, cream, and full-fat milk, as well as fatty, processed meats such as bacon and sausages.

Healthy Swaps – Meat

Turkey: Eat light meat (like the breast) over dark meat to reduce fat intake, or opt for a nut roast, or fish instead.

Pigs in Blankets: Use low-fat cocktail sausages and pierce the skin, wrap lean bacon (with excess fat cut off) around them and grill them rather than baking or frying to allow excess fat to drain away. Try to limit yourself to one or two as they are processed meat.

Healthy Swaps – Sides

Roast Potatoes: Use minimal fat by dry frying or using spray oil. Try using baby potatoes with the skin on, or use sweet potatoes instead as a high-fibre option.

Vegetables: Fill at least one-third of your plate with vegetables, and steam them instead of boiling or frying them. Vegetables are a good source of fibre and are high in nutrients and minerals.

Stuffing: Try vegetarian stuffing like sage and onion instead of higher calorie sausage stuffing, and cook it separately from the turkey.

Healthy Swaps – Desserts

Desserts: Enjoying things like Christmas pudding and mince pies is to be expected, but a healthy adjustment that could be made is having mince pies without the pastry top, or using natural yoghurt or half fat crème fraîche instead of double cream

Drinks: Only drink in small amounts and not on an empty stomach, and alternate between diet soft drinks and fruit juice (150ml serving) to help limit the amount of alcohol consumed.

Additional Tips

If you take insulin or certain diabetes medication, alcohol can increase this risk of hypos.

A ‘hypo’ is where your blood glucose levels fall dangerously low, and it’s not uncommon for some people to mistake having a hypo for being drunk.

Make sure to carry hypo treatments around with you, and carry snacks that have carbs in them.

Eat before you go to bed, wear a medical ID bracelet, and make sure anyone you go out with knows you have diabetes.