Healthy Living looks at diet and exercise for diabetics
To conclude our three part series on Diabetes, Healthy Living looks at diet and exercise and what every diabetic person needs to know to complement the medication they take.
Marleni Cuellar reporting
Close to thirteen percent of persons over twenty in Belize are living with diabetes. Once a person is diagnosed there are significant changes that must be made to their lifestyle. These changes prove challenging for most. Regular monitoring of glucose levels, taking the required medications and most importantly, maintaining a proper diet are some of the top requirements for diabetics.
Dr. Jorge Hidalgo, Adult Internist
“Most of the times if the patient develops a very good discipline and they can develop a good habits in terms of diet and exercise. Basically because the different kind of drugs that are available are compliment of a good diet and a good exercise plan.”
Diet and Exercise, it seems uncomplicated enough. However, one of the common misconceptions about persons living with diabetes is that they are not to consume any sugar. We spoke to Miriam Coleman, Dietician for K.H.M.H., to find out more.
Miriam Coleman, Dietician
“Diabetics can eat basically any food. We need to remember that there is no such thing as good food or bad food. Basically what we need to do is have a balance meal which means that we should eat food from the six food groups and this includes sugars. But the diabetics, they know that sugar foods or stuff that have a high sugar content does raise your blood level real fast. So those food need to be tailored into their diet and not be eaten so often.”
Miriam is a supporter of Belize Diabetes Association. She offers assistance to persons diagnosed with diabetes in meal planning and food choices to manage the condition.
Miriam Coleman
“first of all, I would inform you of the types of foods that raise blood sugar because we know that is one of the problems, certain food that you eat does raise blood sugar and that is why people end up having highs and lows when they’re diabetic. So I would go over the kind of food that does that and then we would sit down and we would plan a meal together and we will decide on what kind of food you like to eat, the timing that you would like to eat, the time of snacks because we don’t want to, say plan a meal and then you know I decide what you should be eating. It’s something that we both do together so that it would be tailored to the person.”
“This is what a sample plate should look like for diabetics. First, before people are diabetic, half the plate is usually rice. Okay when you become a diabetic you know that rice or starches does raise your blood sugar so now you know that vegetables does not do that so you can consume a lot. When you’re thinking bout eating half that plate should be vegetables because your blood sugar is not gonna raise or if it does raise its gonna raise such a little bit and then the other half of the plate should be divided into three which you have your little starch and cereal which like your rice, potatoes, your vegetables and we advise diabetics not to eat rice everyday. You know today you eat rice tomorrow, you eat tortilla the next day you probably do ground food the next day you do pasta and that is how it should be done. And the other half of the plate should be divided into peas and beans, which Belize is blessed to have a lot of, and our meats. That’s how it’s supposed to look.”
Anthony Castillo, President B.D.A.
“Exercise is also a key thing for us. I’m not sure if enough of us, persons living with diabetes, are following these rules where you do careful meal planning and you consult with a dietician and you also include exercise in your daily diet. And as a person living with diabetes, these are some key factors you need to factor into your daily life.”
These factors are also important to persons who have not been diagnosed with diabetes. The PAHO study conducted in 2006 was also conducted in other Central American capital cities. The results of the study placed Belize as one of the countries with the highest level of diabetes in the region. This is a result of our lifestyle practices.
Miriam Coleman
“Genetics is one of the main causes but if you could look around you can see that of late Belizeans have become very inactive. We have buses taking us everywhere we have TV with remote, we have even fan with remote, we have watching machine and everything use a remote. People are not being active.”
Lorraine Thompson, Technical Advisor, PAHO
“People in Belize are getting bigger, we are growing fatter and it has to do with how we live. We are exercising less, eating more and being obese or being overweight is a risk factor for developing diabetes. People have to take responsibility for their own health and that includes eating right and exercising. So those are the messages that we are getting out there.”
One organization fully dedicated to spreading the awareness is the Belize Diabetes Association. They’ve been in operation since 1991.
Anthony Castillo
“The Belize Diabetes Association acts as a support groups fro persons living with diabetes along with their family members. Like I’ve said there are some people who choose to fight the condition alone but there is strength in numbers and there is strength when you come together and share. You may think this condition may have me gripped but then you hear from other members who are living with this condition you will find ways and means of how to cope with the condition. So I would say that it’s a support group and we inform and we educate our members; both the persons living with the condition and the family members. It’s very important to have your family member on board.”
Ejay Hill, Diabetic
“Don’t be scared of not going to your doctor. Don’t be scared of spreading the word out there because the more you spread the word, the more the people know about the condition and we can all help each other.”
