DID THE WEATHER MAKE YOU FALL SICK?

Last week was hell for me, 2 of my kids fell ill and after spending 3 sleepless nights nursing them I broke down myself.

I had malaria. That is very rare for me. I think I have a genetic mutation that protects me from malaria. I suffer from it like once in 5-7 years. lol.

And then I imagined that someone reading this may also have suffered too because of the weather. Studies have shown that increase in atmospheric temperature increases the incidence of malaria. 

Like you know already, when you are ill, your blood sugar shoots up, even if you don’t eat anything.

Now this phenomenon happens to everybody. Only that in metabolic syndrome or in insulin sensitive people, insulin levels spike to cover that increase so when blood sugar is checked it may not be in the diabetes range.

But if your insulin no longer works well, then of course, you may find yourself getting out of range blood sugar readings, even up to emergency room levels. Apart from your blood sugar, inflammation is also at its peak and may worsen artherosclerotic plaques(blood vessel blockage which causes strokes and heart attacks).

Illness is a very common cause of  dangerous spikes in blood sugar.

When you typically fall ill, your appetite for real food goes away and to bring on your energy, there is a tendency to reach out for sweet drinks like Lucozade, Sprite, Chocolate beverages, Ribena, fruit juice etc. THIS IS A BIG NO-NO FOR YOU. IT CAN KILL YOU. It leads to a condition known as Diabetic Ketoacidosis.

So what should you do if you go under the weather.

1. AVOID ILLNESS;

As much as it is your power. Metabolic syndrome and Diabetes weakens the immune system. Pay premium attention to hygiene. Clean your windows and nets often, Use mosquito nets, treat ill kids quickly so that they don’t infect you, protect your feet, wash fruits and vegetables well, choose where you buy your food etc.

2. RUN TO YOUR DOCTOR/HOSPITAL WHEN SICK

Literally, as in every other (boss-pleasing/money-making) appointment should wait. You should have a folder in a trusted hospital that is accessible to you. Please do not self-medicate (including going to chemist). Insist also that your doctor properly examines you and not just exchanges pleasantries or stare at the computer screen or your folder.

Bills notwithstanding.

 3. CHECK YOUR BLOOD SUGAR OFTEN.

Ask your doctor if you may need to increase your drugs or dosage to cover the spikes. Don’t do this on your own except you have really MASTERED your control.

 4.REST.

I sure can tell you that taking permission to go and just sleep healed my body. Sleep is so vital for a healthy immune system. There is no substitute for this.

 5.   DRINK LOTS OF FLUIDS.

This could be in the form of warm water, chicken soup (simply boil chicken with your favourite spices and drink the water aka broth/stock),lemon grass tea,  green tea (a good reason to love green tea, drink it even if you don’t like it, it is an acquired taste, trust me), Amla powder drink etc.

Anything warm and sugar free. 

When your appetite returns, give yourself a treat of salads to replenish your antioxidant levels. The more colourful the better. 

I deseed tatashe(red bell pepper) and sliced it on sardine fish and 1 slice of toast and a large cup of Amla powder/lemon grass tea for breakfast. Very yummy, mildly spicy to help me handle the strong smell of sardine and soothing. Good food is good O!

STAY WELL THIS SEASON AND SHARE THIS POST. 

5 'HEALTHY FOODS' THAT WOULD SPIKE YOUR BLOOD SUGAR.

Food is like medicine. What is good for one health condition is not necessarily good for you living with Diabetes or Metabolic syndrome.

These food that spike your blood sugar would also worsen insulin resistance which is the root cause of metabolic syndrome. We shall cover those foods and suggest alternatives, are you ready?

1     1.   FRUIT JUICE.

 Be it organic, homemade, natural or what have you. Fruit juice is basically fruit sugar and water. Yes,even real fruit juice. Fruit sugar is also known as fructose and this form of sugar is notorious for worsening insulin resistance.

Read more about fructose and insulin resistance here.

The alternative that is okay for you would be eating a small quantity of the real fruit, whole. This means instead of apple juice, you can take 1(one) small apple.

   2.     BASMATI RICE:

Basmati rice has been made popular by many health professionals who often recommend it because the long grain variety has a low glycemic index. This is often not so true. First and foremost, it is only the long grain variety that has a reduced glycemic index. Most brands in Nigerian markets are not long grain.

Secondly, basmati rice has a medium glycemic index of 58, while brown rice is 56. Short grain white rice , like most local Nigerian rice, is up to 72.

What to do, if you must eat rice, any type of rice, then go for small quantities like ¼ to ½ cup of the cooked rice. Fill up the other space in your plate with vegetables. Thank God, this season, veggies are in abundance.

3  3.  Swallows like millet flour swallow, wheat swallow, semovita or oat flour swallow.

Wait a minute, what do you then want us to eat?

The above swallows are basically carbohydrates. Processing them into flour greatly increases their glycemic index. This means they would spike your blood sugar and worsen insulin resistance.

So what should you do?

• ·         If you must eat them, be very physically active. This means that if you have lost a limb ( to amputation) or can’t walk up to 10,000 to 12,000 steps a day, then say good bye to them.
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• ·         If you must eat them, note that to get good control, you may need increased dose of your medication.
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• ·         Replace them with low carb (vegetable) swallows like garden egg/aubergine/cabbage swallow.
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• ·         Eat very small quantities, the size of your fist.  You can add tigernut flour to increase the fiber content and size of the swallow on your plate. This increased fiber content would help reduce the rise in your blood sugar.
•  
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• Which of the following options appeal to you? Do what you can sustain. Next week, we shall look at the recipes.

4    4.  Red wine/non-alcoholic wines/stout.

This season of eating and drinking, there may be a temptation to indulge in your favourite red wine. After all, “they said it is good for the heart”. Wait a minute, have you read the label before? These wines contain sugar. Yes stout has a lot of carbohydrate.

Wines are supposed to be shared and sipped on slowly. Share a 750 ml bottle with at least 5 other persons and sip slowly while you enjoy the conversation and time with friends.

5 5.  Frozen yoghurt.

I am an advocate of the health benefits of yoghurts. However, the commercial brands are simply loaded with sugar to take away the sour taste of the yoghurt. This is especially so with the low fat varieties. Many low fat foods, are loaded with sugar.

You can make your Greek yoghurt at home or get from a trusted source, and top with a handful of berries OR chopped apples / kiwi fruit / watermelon OR cocoa powder OR nuts. Enjoy as breakfast. P/S: The high protein content makes it very filling.

I wish you a very merry Christmas with great health numbers.

OVERCOMING TEMPTING SITUATIONS THIS CHRISTMAS!

Let me share this using a real life story,

Next month, I shall be attending a conference hosted by a professional body I belong to. One thing that this conferences are well known for is that there are expensive to attend and there is usually an abundance of food.

Typical for breakfast- croissants, meat pies, hot dog rolls, beef burger slathered with lots of mayo, chocolate beverages and a bottle of soft drink are served. Nothing remotely GHN compliant is on the menu.

For lunch, its usually pre-packed lunches. The plate used can feed 2 ‘normally eating’ adults. It’s usually rice in its different forms with 2 large portions of fried fish, chicken or beef.  Or Swallow and a small serving of egusi soup. People typically ‘testify’ that they gain weight during this conference. Ehen before I forget, this lunch is also served with a bottle of soft drink and fruit salad or apples.

We typically attend lectures from 8-5pm daily for 10 days.

So after all that overdose of food, we seat down all day. In fact, we once had someone suffer a diabetic coma in one of the workshops I attended. The stress of travelling, being in an unfamiliar environment plus all the carb loading and sedentariness can definitely be blamed for this.

I share this experience because I know that portion control can easily be thrown out to the wind when you are faced with food that you PAID for with your money or when it is your right to have them.

Someone recently shared that after eating all that food, the next day when he belched the stale food came up his throat.

If you find that you are constantly eating out, attending meetings at work, or social functions especially when you are a special guest and served ‘high table portions’, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? So that you don’t fear checking your blood sugar or climbing the scale.

Christmas is around the corner. The season of overeating.

What would you do so that you don’t allow food destroy your arteries and make you have that low moment of guilt feelings?

When I was still a medical student, there was this man whose kidneys had been destroyed by uncontrolled hypertension. He had come to the clinic the week of Christmas to complain about his swollen feet and reduced urine production. My consultant then wanted to admit him and started counselling him on dietary modifications such as reducing his protein intake. He vowed that he would rather die than not eat all the meat he was entitled to receive this season as the head of his clan. Well, you guessed right. HE DIED. Because of food.

Do you know, renal failure is a common complication of uncontrolled hypertension and diabetes, see symptoms here.

My final note is this, food is not your god. Don’t allow it control you. Don’t allow it steal your health and peace of mind.

Be bold to say no, be bold to ask for more water at that meeting and be content with it. Even when you hear all that sound made by the soft drink cans and green/brown bottles.

Be bold to say no to the small chops or snacks served when you know you are not hungry.

Would you?

Guess what, many others do. YOU ARE NOT ALONE.