3. Eat Diabetes-Friendly Foods
Make sure your elderly parent follow his/her diabetes meal plan. If you do not have one, ask your health care team for one. The plan includes:
- Eat healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, fish, lean meats, chicken or turkey without the skin, dry peas or beans, whole grains, and low-fat or skim milk and cheese.
- Keep fish and lean meat and poultry portions to about 3 ounces (or the size of a deck of cards). Bake, broil, or grill it.
- Eat foods that have less fat and salt.
- Eat foods with more fiber such as whole-grain cereals, breads, crackers, rice, or pasta.
Of course, a healthy diet goes hand-in-hand with a healthy lifestyle. Encourage your mom or dad who has diabetes to:
- Get 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity on most days of the week. Brisk walking is a great way to move more.
- Learn to cope with stress. Stress can raise blood glucose. While it is hard to remove stress from your life, your parent can learn to handle it.
- Stop smoking. Ask for help to quit.
- Take medicines even when he/she feels good. Ask your doctor if your parent needs aspirin to prevent a heart attack or stroke. Tell your doctor if your parent has any side effects.