Life with diabetes means taking extra precautions with your diet, which is why I stick with my What to Eat Wednesday blog series. When you have diabetes, you are at increased risk of developing foot wounds. If those don't heal, amputation may become necessary.
While that's a scary thought, there are two important ways we can lower that risk: by maintaining your blood sugar and by focusing on proper foot care. Let's look at both of those important factors:
How to Maintain Diabetic Blood Sugar Levels ![Exercise with friends can help reduce stress and prevent diabetic complications]()
- Exercise regularly
- Reduce stress
- Following a well-balanced diet plan that a nutritionist has helped create (make sure to run our diabetic-friendly recipes by your nutritionist before incorporating them into your menu plans.)
- Taking your medications as prescribed
- Follow a consistent meal and snack schedule
- Limit sugary foods and drinks
Keys to Home Care for Diabetic Feet
Aside from seeing your podiatrist regularly, diabetics should:
- Perform daily foot exams, looking for cuts, bruises, blisters, and scrapes
- Wiggle your toes often to get blood flowing to extremities
- Never go barefoot
- Wear clean, dry socks
- Wash and dry your feet carefully
- Wear shoes that have been properly fitted to your feet
If that seems like a lot of work to follow believe me, I understand. Making lifestyle changes to manage your diabetes can feel overwhelming. But that's where your treatment team can help. For my part, I love helping diabetic patients see that small changes can have a big impact, and you don't have to give up all the treats you love. Don't believe me? Try out this diabetic-friendly Iced Mocha recipe and see if it isn't just as good as those sugar-laden frappucinnos we need to set aside.
Iced Mochas for Diabetic Diets
Do you love your lattes and frappuccinos but have had to give them up in order to lower your sugar and carb levels to manage your diabetes? Well then, this Iced Mocha recipe from Diabetic Living is a special gift for you: try it and I think you’ll be hooked! Not only will you save the $5 you’d throw out on a store-bought drink, you’ll also ingest just 7 grams of carbs!
Ingredients
1 cup cold water
1/2 cup fat-free milk
2 tablespoons no-sugar-added chocolate-flavored drink mix (Nestle Nesquick®)
Ice cubes
Directions
- Using a drip coffeemaker, add the water and ground coffee. Brew according to manufacturers directions.
- Pour coffee into a glass measuring cup.
- Stir in milk and drink mix.
- Serve coffee mixture over ice in chilled tall glasses. Makes 2 (about 6-ounce) servings.
