On Dec. 20th, we partnered with Healthie to provide a series of video tours to inform people how to manage their diabetes while grocery shopping. The video tours were through Zoom, and they were hosted by Kristina Swanson, RDN, LDN a registered dietician. The tours were separated into four categories; Managing Diabetes, Pitfalls & Challenges, What Can I Eat, and Tips & Tools.
Tour #1 – Managing Diabetes
The first video tour helped participants identify hidden sugars on a food label and what ingredients to avoid. These ingredients include as corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, invert sugar, and lactose. Hidden sugars are often found in labeled “healthy” foods which can be deceiving to diabetics trying to manage their blood sugar levels.
The tour also explained why portion planning is vital to keeping your diabetes under control. Planning your plate ahead of time allows you to have a more accurate count on your calorie, carb, protein, and sugar intake. When you have your plate planned out, you now need to know what foods to avoid in certain grocery aisles. In the tour, they went over what foods in certain aisles to avoid.
In the bakery section it’s best to stick to whole grains only, because they have more nutritional value than white bakery offerings. The produce section it’s suggested to stay away from starchy vegetables such as potatoes, due to the high number of carbs. Processed foods in the freezer aisle, were also advised to stay away from as well, and utilizing the frozen vegetables that can be found there.
Tour #2 – Pitfalls & Challenges
The second tour helped participants identify certain pitfalls and challenges they may face while managing their diabetes. First is recognizing how food impacts your blood sugar and what can be done about it. Carbohydrates and protein tend to make blood sugar levels rise, so it’s important to limit the number of them in your daily intake.
Secondly, it’s important to maintain a healthy weight and partake in moderate to light exercise regularly. Exercise isn’t the only solution when it comes to weight management, making healthy food substitutions such as replacing white bread with whole grain, will make a big difference when combined with exercise.
Tour #3 – What Can I Eat?
The third tour showcased what foods are healthy for diabetics and food substitutions that taste good. Foods like beans, frozen vegetables, eggs, and tofu are all healthy options for diabetics that can be purchased for around $3 a pound. If vegetables are hard for you to eat, you can help combat the taste of by adding a serving of apples or other fruit to add a tad of sweetness to it. Seasoning plays a huge part in the flavor of the food, so be sure to season the food beforehand with onion or garlic.
It’s also important to eat a lot of fiber as a diabetic, because fiber isn’t broken down to sugar when digested. Which is why a plant-based diet composed of legumes, whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds may be beneficial for managing diabetes.
Tour #4 – Tips & Tools
The final tour showcased tips and tools you can use when managing your diabetes. Meal prepping your meals for the week is a great way to get started, so you can have an accurate count of your carbohydrate, sugar, and protein intake. Premeasuring your food portions beforehand will make it easy to maintain a healthy blood sugar level. Purchase a food scale to weigh out how many grams of nutrients you’re eating daily. Talk to your doctor to get an accurate measure of how what your calorie intake should be for your body and what recommendations he has for your health.
We hope to do more of these tours to provide our customers with the upmost knowledge about their health and wellbeing while grocery shopping at Stater Bros. Markets.