Proper gestational diabetes diet menu plan is a key element in the health regimen for a person with gestational diabetes, Acebo said. "They need to improve their eating habits whether or not they need to lose some weight." Eat you fruits and vegetables – it’s a message that Marie Acebo delivers regularly to kindergarteners and adults alike. And it will be a particularly important one for her audience on Saturday, April 24, for the American Diabetes Association 7th annual Diabetes Taste-In.
This year’s theme is "Thrive on Five: Five A Day for Better Health." and Acebo, a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator at Lancaster General Hospital, will be emphasizing how to incorporate five vegetables and fruits a day into an active lifestyle (especially gestational diabetes diet plan). She will demonstrate preparing simple recipes that can be used by those with diabetes, but that really add up to good nutrition for everybody.
Acebo doesn’t buy the rationale that taking a vitamin supplement can compensate for poor nutrition. "There are phytochemicals in vegetables and fruits that you can’t get from a supplement," she said. "I want to encourage diabetes patients to think about that".
Acebo also will offer tips on how to gestational diabetes diet with eat certain foods and when to eat in relation to taking medication, which is critical for keeping blood-sugar levels stable. She will emphasize the fact that there is a difference between drinking a glass of orange juice and eating an orange for the diabetes patient, and at what point during the medication cycle it is best to eat fruit. "It is a matter of timing," she said. "A big glass of juice can be a real problem for blood sugars."
A consistent, well-balanced gestational diabetes diet with a full complement of fruits and vegetables are not created equal in terms of their vitamin content. "With vegetables in particular," Acebo said, "the brighter the vegetable or the deeper the color of the edible portion, the more vitamins and minerals are found there. And the majority of vitamins and minerals are found in the pigment. So that fruits and vegetables are important element in gestational diabetes diet menu plan.
Acebo points out that there are few chronic illnesses that require as much self-care as diabetes. "Our job as educators is to help people rise to that challenge and possibly make the path smoother by making it a little more fun."But primarily Acebo sees the Diabetes Taste-In as a good way to empower people to take control of their health – to be their own best advocates.
"It gets people excited about a diagnosis that is not that exciting." But a diagnosis of diabetes need not mean a change in the quality of life. "It can be a very healthy life, if one chooses to be positive and take that route," she said.
In addition to the cooking demonstration, attendees will be able to talk to representatives from diabetes product companies, and participate in free foot screenings provided by a local podiatrist, according to Faye J. Fittery, a registered nurse and certified diabetes educator who is one of the organizers of the event.
Fittery said the Diabetes Taste-In draws individuals with both Type I and Type II diabetes, those who are newly diagnosed and many who have had diabetes for years and just want to keep abreast of changes and new products. "It is primarily an opportunity for people to learn some new things regarding how to control their diabetes with gestational diabetes diet," she said.