Type 2 Diabetes: Avoiding the Super Bowl Binge

With the Super Bowl complete, there was likely a smorgasbord of non-healthy foods at every party and house around. With so much temptation during events like these, how do we stay clear of foods and drinks that will surely raise our blood sugar? Here are four ways that I gave high carb and high sugar foods the Heisman on the 50th Super Bowl.

1. Eat Before I Go– By eating before I attend any festivities, I can greatly reduce the urge to eat unhealthy foods. It’s hard for me to eat on a full stomach so by making sure that I’m stuffed before I leave the house will ensure that I don’t overdo it. The chips, cookies, and other non-diabetic friendly foods that naturally coincide with parties are no good, and I plan to stay away from them.

2. Drink Water– I’m sure that thousands of gallons of beer are consumed during the Super Bowl, but I choose not to partake. While it is very tempting to have a few cold ones, water is a better choice as beer is filled with carbs. Liquor may have fewer carbs, but it can impair judgement and make you forget all about healthy eating, so I drink water as the touchdowns are scored.

3. Take Your Own Snacks– I make sure to carry my own banana chips, carrots, or other healthy snacks to keep me on the straight and narrow. I’ve also purchased plenty of unshelled and unsalted peanuts to keep my fingers busy and blood-pressure low, so if you saw a guy cheering for the Panthers munching on a blue bag of Hoody’s peanuts, that was me.

4. Eat Responsibly– Even if I can’t stick to my own plan, I make sure that I watch my portions. A doctor once told me that I can eat carbs, just not as much as I used to before I had diabetes. So I now choose my carbs wisely and try to stay well under the threshold of my pancreas.

Yep, the Super Bowl is a fun and festive time for all of us but it can be a tempting and potentially blood sugar-rising time for a diabetic.