I used to hate to cook. In fact, the word “hate” may not accurately describe my old feelings towards cooking. On my “Least Favorite Things in the World” list, I considered cooking ranked right between explosive diarrhea and having my eyeballs fried in oil.  Not that I have ever had my eyeballs fried in oil, but a girl can imagine.

The only things that I could cook were spaghetti and tater tot casserole. We ate these things a lot. I used to joke that we ate so much tater tot casserole that my husband had nightmares about giant tater tots chasing him. The other thing we did was eat out a lot and I confess, we ate way too much fast food.

Then I was diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes. After a period of denial, I got a grip. I realized that I had to alter my old habits. I began watching cooking shows and browsing through cookbooks. Inch by inch and culinary misstep after misstep, I taught myself to cook. It started out that I was doing this to learn to help manage my diabetes, but now, I also do it because I really LOVE to cook! And, I think it must be said, compared to my old cooking skills, I am a total rock star in the kitchen!

I used to dread cooking for holidays, but not anymore. Every year I try a few new recipes. I try lots of new ingredients and new ways of making dishes. Anyone who cooks for the holidays has to think about and plan a balanced menu. Being a diabetic means you do the same, but diabetics really have to pay attention to carbohydrates, fats, and sugars.

Fortunately, there are so many holiday tips, recipes, and resources out there to help:

• A Diabetic at the Thanksgiving Table
• Diabetes: Navigating the Holidays both Happy and Healthy
• Diabetes Diet #5: A Sweet Thanksgiving
• Elegant Holiday Recipes That Are Healthy, Too
• Healthy Thanksgiving Dinner with Diabetes
• Holiday Meal Planning
• How to Cook Thanksgiving for a Diabetic

The government offers these resources to help diabetics year round with recipes and tips:

• Diabetic Diet
• Diabetes Meal Planner
• FCIC: Diabetes Recipes
• South Dakota: Healthy Diabetes Recipes and More
• Tasty Recipes for People with Diabetes and Their Families
• USA.gov search results page

Now, if I could only make myself LOVE housework. Oddly enough, I really do enjoy cleaning toilets... I'm sure Freud would have something to say about that! LOL! Anyway, if you cook for a diabetic and have any comments, tips, or recipes to share, I would love to hear from you!

November is American Diabetes Month. My family is well acquainted with diabetes. In July, my father lost his battle with diabetes. My older sister has diabetes. I was originally told that I was “insulin resistant.” Diagnosis of insulin resistance or pre-diabetes may not seem like a big deal, but make no mistake: it is the beginning of an assault that will escalate, if given the chance. My insulin resistance turned into a diagnosis of diabetes several years ago.

My dad had to test his blood and give himself daily insulin shots. His kidneys began to fail and every night he hooked himself up for 8-10 hours of peritoneal dialysis. The nerve damage in his hands eventually prevented him from doing activities that required manual dexterity. He could no longer feel his feet and he became very unstable when walking. He was in and out of hospitals with a host of heart and respiratory issues. His circulation worsened. He got gangrene in his right foot and had to have his leg amputated. He had started trying to regain his strength and to heal from the amputation when he died at a rehabilitation facility.

My dad went through a lot, but diabetes doesn’t just affect the person with the disease, it affects the whole family. My mom had to learn to cope with my dad’s extreme high and low sugar levels and near-death cardiac crises. My mother’s intervention saved my dad’s life on more than one occasion. She had to learn to manage his medicines and perform his dialysis hook-up when circulatory-related dementia set in and he could no longer remember how to safely perform his health maintenance routines. She had to deal with a host of logistics from getting him up when he fell to getting him to all of his doctor appointments. I know that this was tremendously stressful for her.

It was a very difficult thing watching my dad trying to cope with the pain of the amputation. My dad was “old school” in his belief that men don’t cry. To witness him shaking with pain and trying not to cry in front of his daughters was something that will stay with me forever. Watching him joke with the nurses and trying to keep a positive attitude when I know he must have been scared confirmed for me that he was a brave person in his own way.

As a diabetic, I can tell you that it can be difficult to deal with emotionally. It is a struggle sometimes to maintain a positive attitude and keep focused on good eating, exercising, and disease-monitoring habits. Depression or despondency can cause disease control and good habits to slip away and when that happens, diabetes infiltrates and does more damage.

Diabetes is not easy to manage or live with, but diabetics don’t have to do it all alone. Working with a good health care team can help manage and control the disease, but it is crucial to get control of the disease as early as possible. The American Diabetes Association is a good resource for anyone who has been recently diagnosed with diabetes.

Does someone in your family have diabetes? If you are comfortable talking about it, please share your story. We are all in this together.

Friday is the kick-off to American Heart Month and National Wear Red Day.  So grab your favorite red dress, tie, socks, sweater, or even lipstick and show your support for research and education about women and heart disease.

Heart health is an important issue for me not only as a woman but also as someone who suffers from a heart condition. As a teen, I had open-heart surgery to repair my mitral valve and to remove a bacterial infection. After more than 10 years, I am, thankfully, doing very well, but the experience made me more mindful of learning as much as I can about heart disease.

So why should you wear red? Because heart disease is not just a “man’s disease”—it’s the number one of killer of women. In fact, one in four women dies of heart disease. But even with these shocking statistics, there’s hope. No matter if you’re 20 or 60, there are steps all women can take to lower their risk and protect their heart.

Here are some to start with:

• Know your blood pressure.
• Quit smoking.
• Get tested for diabetes.
• Get your cholesterol and triglyceride levels tested.
• Maintain a healthy weight. Calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI) to see if you’re at a good weight.
• Cook heart-healthy recipes.
• Get regular exercise.
• Lower your stress level by hanging out with friends, writing in a journal, reading, listening to music, or doing whatever is relaxing for you.

And don’t forget to help spread the word about National Wear Red Day, and please feel free to share any heart health stories that you may have.

My brother recently did a two week stint in the hospital because he had pancreatitis. He’s fine now, but it was quite a scare.

If you are like most of the people I have talked to (that aren’t doctors or nurses), you probably have never heard of pancreatitis. When I found out my brother had it I scoured the Internet to find out everything I could about it. I found two really good websites that provided insight on the ailment and ways to prevent future cases.

MedlinePlus has information on 740 different diseases and ailments and it is where I found the Pancreatitis link above. This is no surprise since MedlinePlus is maintained by the world’s largest medical health library, the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

I found out at MedlinePlus that there are two forms of pancreatitis, acute and chronic, and it can be triggered by alcoholism and diabetes. My brother had acute pancreatitis and his doctors said his pancreatitis was caused by diabetes, which he was unaware he had.

I know a lot about diabetes since I read Sam’s recent blog post. Still I was able to find more information about diabetes using HealthFinder.gov, a partnership of many federal agencies maintained by the Department of Health and Human Services. HealthFinder.gov focuses more on prevention than MedlinePlus and links to carefully selected information and Web sites from over 1,500 health-related organizations.

While the internet is not the only way to find health information, these two sites can cover a lot of ground for you. And as always the best health expert is your doctor.

November marks American Diabetes Awareness Month.  It’s a cause that’s very near to my heart, because I have several loved ones, including my dad, who are among the nearly 21 million adults and children in the U.S. living with diabetes.

When my dad was first diagnosed, we as a family had many questions about this chronic disease.  As a 13-year old, I wanted to know how diabetes would affect our relationship.  Could we still eat ice cream together?  Would my dad and I still be able to go swimming and ride bikes? 

My parents, of course, had other questions,  They wanted to know things like:  What are the different types?  What are the available treatment options?  What do we need to know about meal planning?  How can we help my dad control his diabetes?

My dad’s doctors along with great information from places such as the American Diabetes Association, National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, and the National Diabetes Education Program answered our questions and eased many of our initial worries.  And for the past 14 years, my dad’s diabetes has been under control, and he’s been enjoying a healthy, active lifestyle, which includes ice cream and a Jimmy Buffett concert every now and then.

During this month, I encourage all of you to check out these sites to find out more about the risks and warning signs and how you can prevent or delay the onset of diabetes.  Diabetes prevention is proven and possible, and the tips on these sites can help you take small steps towards healthier living.

Today also marks the United Nations’ first World Diabetes Day.  You can learn more about this resolution and how you can support it at Unite for Diabetes.