Diabetes

Low sugar chocolate chip nut cookies

02/19/2021 by Julie RN DCES Leave a Comment

Cookies are a mainstay when it comes to the holidays, right? Or anytime you’re stuck at home (ahem, Covid…) But when you’re diabetic, pre-diabetic, or have gestational diabetes, you need to be extra aware of the sugar that you’re taking in. This low sugar chocolate chip nut cookie recipe is sure to be a hit in your household!

How am I qualified? I am a certified diabetes educator and I put together a recipe for chocolate chip nut cookies that clocks in at only 6 grams of sugar per cookie!

How does it compare?

McDonald’s chocolate chip cookie is 19 grams of sugar. Yikes! According to Fitbit, Toll House chocolate chip cookies are 14 grams of sugar per cookie.

Here’s the recipe!

Low-Sugar Chocolate Chip Nut Cookies

Makes 18 cookies with 6 grams sugar each

1/2 cup butter or margarine melted
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon water
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup Truvia Brown Sugar Blend
½ teaspoon Baking Soda
1 cup white flour
½ cup chocolate chips
½ cup chopped nuts (you can use almonds, or pecans, walnuts, or peanuts)

Preheat your oven to 375 F.

In a large bowl combine the butter, vanilla extract, egg, water, salt, and Truvia Brown Sugar Blend. (Truvia should start to melt.)

In a separate bowl combine the flour with the baking soda. Add the chocolate chips and the nuts and mix well.

Now add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients while continuing to mix well.

Using a spoon, drop cookie dough onto cookie sheets forming 18 cookies. Keep in mind that if you make less than 18 cookies, your sugar content will be higher. To get the amount of sugar per cookie, take 18 x 6 grams of sugar to get the total sugar content for the entire batch. Then divide that by the number of cookies that you actually make. For example, say you form 15 cookies. So 18 cookies that the recipe suggests x 6 grams sugar each equals 108 grams sugar for the entire batch. Then divide by 15 cookies and you have 7.2 grams of sugar per cookie.

If you struggle to divide it up into 18 pieces, try this: divide the mix in half. Divide it in half again. Each quarter needs to make 4.5 cookies. That’s basically making 4 cookies and taking a pinch from each cookie and set it aside. Then each half of the mix should make 1 extra cookie out of the little extras that you set aside!

Any cookies that are mounded up should be spread out to allow proper baking.

Cookies will spread out while they bake so leave a little room between them. You’ll probably need more than one cookie sheet to make the full batch. Or bake the first batch and after your cookie sheet cools off, you can bake what’s leftover. *Remember the dough should be refrigerated while you wait!

Bake for 6-7 minutes in a preheated oven until the edges are golden brown.

Allow the cookies to sit for 2 minutes on the baking sheet after you take them out of the oven. Then you can place them on a cooling rack.

Variation

If you don’t want nuts, you can double the chips, but I would recommend using the mini-size chips for better texture. And remember that this may affect your sugar content.

You can also use whole wheat flour to add fiber.

I have not tried gluten-free flour.

If you want to try Truvia Brown sugar blend in your other recipes, you convert the regular brown sugar to Truvia by cutting the amount in half.

This recipe makes 18 cookies with 6 grams of sugar each.

I hope you enjoy baking these cookies for your loved ones!

Alcohol and Diabetes a Deadly Combination

12/01/2020 by Julie RN DCES 2 Comments

I know alcohol is never recommended in children under the legal age. But teens often have access to alcohol, so it is important for them to understand the effects on their blood sugar. This is particularly important when parents are preparing their children for college. I worked in a college town and many students end up in the ER with blood sugar problems.

So many people with prediabetes are in denial. This is especially true in teens. But that doesn’t mean they are exempt from the side effects of uncontrolled blood sugars. Parents need to take an active role in educating their young adults in the problems of alcohol before they head to college…..

Alcohol Can Adversely Effect The Body’s Ability To Regulate Energy

As you know, excess alcohol effects your liver functions. Your body’s energy regulation actually starts in the liver. That is the reason doctors use Metformin as the first medication with prediabetes. Improving the function of the liver by 20% will improve blood sugars by 80%.

Initially alcohol could raise your blood sugar (particularly with beer), but alcohol works in the liver to prevent stored sugars from being released. So it can actually cause low blood sugars during the night while you sleep. It is important to eat a snack of protein and carbs before going to sleep. It is even more important to not sleep in late in the morning (like most college student tend to do).

What You Should Do

Set an alarm, and if you can, check your blood sugar and eat breakfast! Then if you want to go back to bed, no problem. The main problem is that your blood sugar could go too low while you’re “sleeping it off”. That feeling of being hung-over may actually be low blood sugar.

Also, please feel free to email me if you have questions that aren’t answered here!

Low Blood Sugar Symptoms

The side effects from low blood sugar looks similar to drunkenness. This is a dangerous situation. Symptoms of low blood sugar without diabetes include:

Paleness
Headaches
Shakiness or trembling
Blurred vision or Dizziness
Lack of energy or fatigue
Poor Coordination
Irritability, anxiety, agitation
Nausea or vomiting
Excess sweating or perspiration
Problems concentrating, confusion
Decreased consciousness or loss of consciousness

This is really important with kids that are going to college. They will drink alcohol. So educate them about it.

Any questions, send me a message at Julie@kidsatriskfordiabetes.com.

http://www.healthclop.mailto:Julie@kidsatriskfordiabetes.comcom/low-blood-sugar-without-diabete

Prevent Birth Defects from uncontrolled blood sugars

11/28/2020 by Julie RN DCES Leave a Comment

Uncontrolled blood sugars can cause serious birth defects.

It is unfortunate that I find a need to present this information. I have experience working with thousands of teens and unfortunately many of them get pregnant. I am located in the American Bible belt. They encourage schools to teach “abstinence only” in sex education classes. In today’s society, it appears to not be effective in controlling unwanted pregnancies.

Never trust your schools to adequately prepare your children for pregnancy prevention.

All parents need to take an active role in the discussion of sex and the importance of contraception. Do not expect your child to be adequately informed by the school’s sex education classes.

Know your risks. Research shows, if the mother has gestational diabetes, the child is at increased risk for diabetes. There are a variety of risk factors that can be found on the CDC’s website on Diabetes. You can take their survey to evaluate your child’s risks.

Type 2 diabetics are at risk for the most serious complications in unplanned pregnancies. About 7% of embryos developed with high blood sugars also develop Spinal Bifida. There are other brain and heart malformations that are associated with uncontrolled diabetes.

Typically, babies born under gestational diabetes are over nine pounds. Doctors recommend C-sections due to the increased possibility of broken bones during birth (particularly the collar bone).

The most serious health issue is high blood pressure in the mothers. This can be life threatening to the pregnant woman. If the mother develops high blood pressure, she will often times be placed in the hospital on bed rest until the baby is developed enough to be induced. There is a risk of underdeveloped lungs in the newborn and high medical cost for intensive care for the newborn.

There is a wide variety of birth defects associate with high blood sugars.

All diabetics need to seek pre-conception counseling before getting pregnant.

If you are interested, I have a 30 day course for gestational diabetes.

8 Tips to Avoid Gestational Diabetes

03/11/2020 by Julie RN DCES Leave a Comment

Gestational diabetes can be frightening. Below are 8 tips to avoid gestational diabetes!

Women typically get tested between 24-28 weeks gestation. But you can avoid gestational diabetes by knowing your risks and taking action steps to avoid these problems.

Evaluate Your Risk

According to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the American Diabetes Association your risks include:

Over the age of 25
A body mass index (BMI) over 25
A family history of diabetes in a parent, sibling, or a child
A history of a baby born over 9 pounds
Ethic groups at highest risk include Pacific Islanders, Asians, Hispanic
and certain Native American tribes.
A random blood sugar test over 200
A1C test equal to or greater than 5.7%
A history of Polycystic Ovary Disease
High triglycerides or a prescription to control triglycerides.

It is Proven that Gestational Diabetes can be Prevented

The American Diabetes Association has proven through the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) that lifestyle changes can prevent or delay the diagnosis of diabetes. It is believed that gestational diabetes can be prevented through lifestyle changes. Gestational diabetes is controlled by pregnancy hormones, so you need to make changes early in your pregnancy. As your pregnancy develops, it will become increasingly difficult to control your blood sugar because of your changing hormones. Learning how to eat for your body’s needs is essential.

8 Tips to Avoid Gestational Diabetes:

Eat 3 equally spaced meals each day
Limit snacks between meals. (once you start following the gestational meal plan you will have nutritionally balanced snacks between meals and one at bedtime.
Eat a balanced diet (limit sugar, fat, and salt)
Include fresh fruits and vegetables as much as possible
Include whole grains
Limit saturated fats
Avoid sugary drinks and rich desserts
Learn to check labels for portion sizes (Do not eat for two – you need to control your weight gain during pregnancy!)

Making lifestyle changes is very difficult. It is said that it takes 3 months to change a habit. My eBook (coming soon!) will talk about ways to help make changes that will last.

I hope you enjoyed these 8 tips to avoid gestational diabetes! Together we can make a difference in your future.

Please keep an eye out for my eBook – coming soon!

The Link between Pregnancy and Diabetes

03/10/2020 by Julie RN DCES 1 Comment

Did you know there’s a connection between Pregnancy and Diabetes? And did you know there’s also a connection between Gestational Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes?

Read on to understand the connections.

Scenario:

Woman in her late twenties gets pregnant. At 26 weeks, she takes an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and is diagnosed with gestational diabetes. She is challenged to keep her blood sugar within the recommended zone.

At 32 weeks gestation, she starts having trouble with high blood pressure (hypertension). Her doctor admits her into the hospital on mandatory bed rest. They give her drugs to encourage fetal lung development. She is informed she will be induced.

During the induction, it is determined the baby is not in the head down position. She is immediately scheduled for a C-section.

After delivery, the new mother’s blood sugar is higher than normal. Her baby has a poor sucking reflex which makes it difficult to nurse. For some unknown reason, the nurses want the new mother to nurse at least every hour. The medical staff informs her that stress can cause elevated blood sugars and she is not to worry.

Follow-up appointment:

Her doctor recommends she returns for a follow-up appointment at 3 weeks. She feels that is a little odd, but they explain it is the new recommendation and will be covered by her insurance.

At 3 weeks, she is feeling better and the baby is doing better nursing. They take a random blood sugar test and it is a little high. She explained that since she was out of the house, she treated herself to a deep dish pizza. She believes that her lunch was the reason her blood sugars were a little high because every time she ate pizza while she was pregnant, her blood sugars would go up for a long time. Her nurse smiled and said, “We’ll keep an eye on it.”

At her next follow-up appointment, her doctor required an A1c test. Her result was 6.8. She was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. She now blames her pregnancy on her diagnosis and she is convinced it will go away.

What went wrong?

Chances are she was prediabetic (aka borderline diabetic) before the pregnancy. Her fasting blood sugar tests were normal, because through the night her body could bring her blood sugar into normal range.

The A1c test is an average blood sugar test over the previous 2-3 months. Unfortunately, once you are diagnosed, you will always be flagged as at-risk for high blood sugar.

Pregnancy places a stress on your body in many ways. There are a lot of hormone shifts during pregnancy. Diabetes is caused by the hormones required to grow the placenta. The larger the placenta gets, the more you become at risk for high blood sugar.

This is the reason the oral glucose tolerance test is delayed until 26-28 weeks gestation. After delivery and you expel the placenta, your body should go back to normal.

One complication from uncontrolled blood sugar is eclampsia. This is a chemical reaction that causes uncontrolled high blood pressure. It causes heart problems and sometimes death of the baby and/or the mother.

When blood pressure (BP) starts to increase, doctors are proactive and require strict bed rest to prevent the chemical progression of pre-eclampsia into eclampsia. The doctor will induce as soon as it is safe. Many times, the baby is not in the correct position, so the doctor will do a C-section.

Typically, your blood sugar will go back to normal after delivery. But we all gain weight with pregnancy. It is very possible someone can develop insulin resistance from the weight gain. Hopefully this is a temporary condition. Sometimes it can take over a year to lose the weight. If you have developed insulin resistance, you can have prolonged sugar problems.

Once diagnosed, always a diabetic

The standard for diagnosing type two diabetes has changed. Previously, you needed two fasting blood sugar results over 125. Today, you only need one.

The medical community is trying to diagnose earlier in this disease progression to encourage lifestyle changes. Women who develop Gestational Diabetes are at high risk for developing Type 2.

Over 40% will be diagnosed within 5 years. When this disease is diagnosed early, there is a better chance of reversing it. Your diagnosis may be changed to T2 in remission, but you will always be at risk of it returning as you age.

Knowledge is Power

The internet has a lot of suggestions to reverse diabetes. Unfortunately, many of the suggestions you’ll find online are false or misleading. The American Diabetes Association encourages a balanced lifestyle. Remember, only 1% of people who attempt irrational weight control are successful in the long run. Yo-yo dieting is very hard on your body and can cause other health problems.

Slow and steady wins the race!

Many people need support to make and maintain new habits. If you need help setting realistic goals and sticking to what you really want to do, I can help you.

About the author

Julie Stelting is a registered nurse with a bachelor’s degree in nutrition. She is the founder of Kids at Risk for Diabetes LLC. Julie designed a program for gestational diabetes, to help women understand and cope with their diagnosis. She is passionate about preventing or delaying diabetes through holistic lifestyle changes.

For more information go to www.kidsatriskfordiabetes.com, or email Julie directly at Julie@kidsatriskfordiabetes.com.

Help for Diabetes During Pregnancy

03/05/2020 by Julie RN DCES 2 Comments

Your Gestational Diabetes Diagnosis can be Traumatic

When you are pregnant, being diagnosed with gestational diabetes is the last thing you want to hear. You are given a crash course on how to manage your blood sugar with diet and exercise. You are so stressed out, you probably don’t remember one tenth of what was said. Your stress continues as you try to “manage” your blood sugar by testing multiple times each day. You feel like your body has betrayed you. All you want to do is have a healthy baby. I know what you’re going through.

Fasting Blood Sugar Test

The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) is now requiring new clients to have a fasting blood sugar test during early pregnancy to determine un-diagnosed Type 2 and prediabetes in their patients. Due to the average woman waiting to have their first child later in life and the increasing weight problems they face with age, pregnant women are at increased risk for developing sugar problems. (Get my free gift to evaluate your risk for gestational diabetes.)

How Does Gestational Diabetes Affect You and Your Baby?

At about 12 weeks gestation, your baby starts growing rapidly. This requires increasing amounts of energy, and insulin requirements increase accordingly. Around week 24, your body’s insulin production cannot keep up with your baby’s growth.

Typically, the fasting blood test for gestational diabetes happens between weeks 24-28. The ACOG is allowing your blood sugars to increase enough during the day so that your body can not recover through the night. At that time a random blood sugar test over 200 is a positive result for gestational diabetes.

Your baby continues to grow until about 36 weeks gestation. At delivery, the hormonal effects of the pregnancy disappear and the demand for insulin drops dramatically. Postpartum, your body’s requirement for insulin can go below normal. Many women are placed on IV insulin during labor and they need to be monitored carefully during postpartum.

After Gestational Diabetes Delivery

Because your baby has developed in a blood supply rich in sugar, your baby’s pancreas will also go through an adjustment after delivery. You will see the nursing staff taking blood samples from your baby. Don’t get excited. They will monitor your baby’s blood sugar as needed to keep them safe.

Since insulin requirements shift dramatically during pregnancy, true diabetics need to be monitored carefully for adjustments in their medications. Type 1 diabetics need to be under the care of an endocrinologist throughout their pregnancy. Type 2 diabetes should expect to be placed on insulin during pregnancy. They should also expect to have weekly insulin adjustments.

What to do Before You Get Pregnant

To have a successful pregnancy without complications, all diabetics need to have their blood sugars under good control for six months before conception. The success of their ability to control their blood sugar is often determined by an A1C test.

If you need support in controlling your blood sugars before pregnancy, consider my 1:1 phone consultation program. For a free evaluation please schedule a FREE call with me.

Wishing you a happy pregnancy and a healthy baby!

Julie

P.S. Remember to get my list to evaluate your risk for gestational diabetes.