Your mom is pre-diabetic and her doctor wants her to make some changes to her diet and lifestyle. List and explain your top three food/lifestyle suggestions and how you would recommend that she incorporate them in her day. Be specific in your food/lifestyle suggestions by offering substitutions to her current plan.
Current Plan: Your mother’s day consists of skipping breakfast and just drinking 2 cups of coffee. She eats a bagel or sandwich with deli meat for lunch. At around 3oclock she eats a handful of chocolate covered almonds (because she heard almonds are healthy) and for dinner, she usually just heats up a frozen dinner or eats spaghetti with jarred sauce, Her job is sedentary and when she gets home she usually either watches television after she is done with housework.
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Dietary and Lifestyle Recommendations for Managing Pre-Diabetes
Your mother has been diagnosed with pre-diabetes by her physician. This condition, if left unmanaged, can progress to type 2 diabetes. However, with some key dietary and lifestyle modifications, she has an opportunity to prevent further health complications and maintain healthy blood sugar levels. This paper will outline the top three food and lifestyle recommendations for your mother based on current research.
Food Recommendations
Incorporate a Healthy Breakfast
Research has shown that consuming breakfast aids in weight management and blood sugar control (McCrory et al., 2017).(1) As your mother currently skips this meal, opting for a high-fiber cereal with milk or an egg white omelette with vegetables would provide sustained energy and prevent overeating at lunch.
Choose Whole Grains
Opting for whole grains at meals instead of refined grains can help regulate blood sugar fluctuations (Mayo Clinic, 2022).(2) For lunch, a whole grain pita pocket stuffed with chicken or tuna salad would be a healthier alternative to her usual bagel or sandwich made with white bread. Whole grains should also be emphasized at dinner in place of white rice or pasta.
Mindful Snacking on Nuts
While nuts offer nutrients and fiber, portion control is important due to their calorie content (Harvard Health Publishing, 2022).(3) A small handful of almonds in the afternoon would curb hunger and prevent spikes in blood sugar, as opposed to her current habit of eating a larger amount of chocolate-covered nuts.
Lifestyle Recommendations
4. Incorporate Daily Activity
Going for a 30-minute walk after dinner has digestive benefits and lowers diabetes risk (Young et al., 2019).(4) Light activity after eating helps process food and regulate blood sugar.
Limit Sedentary Time
Choosing active hobbies in the evenings rather than prolonged sitting, such as gardening, yoga, or walking the dog, promotes overall health.
Conclusion
Adopting a balanced breakfast routine, focusing on whole grains at meals, mindful snacking on nuts, and building light daily activity into her schedule can support your mother’s goal of managing her pre-diabetes through achievable dietary and lifestyle modifications. With consistency, positive changes to her health are within reach.
References
(1) McCrory, M. A., Hamaker, B. R., Lovejoy, J. C., & Eichelsdoerfer, P. E. (2017). Pulse-based foods: The role of pulse-based foods in obesity and weight management. Advances in Nutrition: An International Review Journal, 8(2), 206–222. https://doi.org/10.3945/an.116.013755
(2) Mayo Clinic. (2022, March 22). Diabetes diet: Create your healthy-eating plan. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/in-depth/diabetes-diet/art-20044295
(3) Harvard Health Publishing. (2022, February). The health benefits of nuts. Harvard Health. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-health-benefits-of-nuts
(4) Young, D. R., Hivert, M.-F., Alhassan, S., Camhi, S. M., Ferguson, J. F., Katzmarzyk, P. T., Lewis, C. E., Owen, N., Perry, C. K., Siddique, J., Yong, C. M., & Doyle, J. (2019). Sedentary Behavior and Cardiovascular Morbidity and Mortality: A Science Advisory From the American Heart Association. Circulation, 140(13), e826–e841. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000677
