When I was diagnosed with diabetes, I learned to avoid dining with two types of health professionals: nurses who specialize in diabetes and nutritionists. Both could quickly become food cops.
The best examples of this were my mother and the woman who is now my wife. Having had plenty of experience nursing diabetics, they quoted low carb verse and scripture every time we dined. Over the years they have all but muted their comments, and I rarely object to their company at the dinner table.
Dietitians were a different problem. In my experience, nutritionists have been interested in a broader eating goal than diabetics (or our educators). Diabetics want to achieve consistent, normal blood sugar levels (80 to 120). Nutritionists want us to eat healthy. The two goals are not always compatible.
Still I have come to tolerate the sideways glances, barely audible snorts, and the occasional monologue about my menu selections, because nutritionists tend to know where the best restaurants are. Besides, I have too many friends with fancy abbreviations like RD after their last name to be picky.
Nurses and nutritionists have nagged me about my nibbles many times, but I had never dined with a third class of health professionals: endocrinologists. The name alone is imposing. So when my colleague recently asked me to join her for a meal with one of these diabetic specialists, my taste buds began to cower.
What would I eat? What would he eat? Would he expect me to take my blood sugar before I ordered? Would he be an exchange doctor or a carb counter? Would he know if I’d taken my medicine beforehand? Would he peer into my bloodstream and see the telltale signs of high blood sugar? Would I get so nervous that I’d just confess all my nutritional sins before he saw me commit them?
I thought about boosting up a few units of insulin, just in case the stress caused my blood sugar to involuntarily spike, but that’s not really a healthy practice. I considered ordering a drink to calm down, but drinking screws with my blood sugar too. Plus, should I really give a world-renowned diabetes doc any reason to think I’m a lush?
Before my lunch I consulted with two people who I figured could empathize: My diabetes nurse/wife and a dietitian colleague. My wife laughed and told me to suck it up. “Thanks for your support, honey,” I told her as I ducked into a cab. The RD recommended a fab restaurant that serves small portions and has good salads. “And once you ditch the doc,” she said, “they also have great cocktails.”
In the end I didn’t need the liquid courage. My dinner companion was far less focused on what I was eating than I was. But the added pressure had a positive effect: I ate a healthy choice of fish and greens and avoided overeating. Maybe I should invite him to family dinners; I’m sure he and my wife would have a lot to talk about.
Comments (9)
And the point of this story is?
Where is the great insight the author, and by proxy, we as the reading audience could have gleaned from this never before encountered ‘diabetic specialist’.
Instead, we’re sucked into reading about a whining, nutritionally irresponsible diabetic who wastes my time with his immature rant.
Is it just a contrived piece to get us to click on all the links?
While I’m not suggesting every diabetic is condemned to being a nutritional prisoner yo bland, boring food, there has to be a balanced responsibility toward your loved ones, yourself, and in this case, your readers.
How many diabetics who have lost their sight, their limbs or their livelihoods will have the patience or interest in taking anything from new ‘new’ Health.com seriously after this adolescent gibberish.
With all the great content assets at your disposal, Time Warner, your readers deserve better than this.
And the point of this story is?
What a great opportunity was missed to glean some insightful information from the endocrinologist that could have been very beneficial to diabetic readers.
Instead, we’re sucked into reading about a self-absorbed, nutritionally irresponsible diabetic who wastes my time with this adolescent rant.
Given the content assets at your disposal, Time Warner, your readers deserve better than this.
How many diabetic readers who have lost their eyesight, or their limbs to this dreadful disease are ever going to read another article by this whiny author who appears to have no consideration for the concerns of those who care about him. Great role model.
telling people that stress is one of the factors in how you can relate to your food, might hesitate in playing cop games over what you eat.
I had to laugh at this article. Being diagnosed for less than a year, I have trouble deciding what is good and what is not. There was little to be done with my diet. I began eating more healthy about 10 years ago, due to my family’s history of diabetes. So the only way to control is through exercise, at least 10 miles a week, and 2 different types of insulin. Fast acting for 2 meals and Lantus at night.
So if we as diabetics can find humor in life, it seems to me it should be ok. I have people who ask me all the time if I can eat certain things. I try to be careful during the day when I have a social gathering. This way special requests do not need to be made. I am a responsible diabetic, I have lost 60 pounds, which is helpful with control as well.
It is ultimately our choice to survive this disease with some level of dignity. I choose to live enjoy my granddaughter and will be receiving my degree in 2009. Diabetes is an inconvience, but the way we eat is how most Americans should.
Thanks Eva… Everything you do that’s good for managing your diabetes is good for the rest of your body. Eating better (something that’s taking me years to come to grips with) and getting exercise are the best starting points for type 2 diabetics.
I have to agree with another reader. This story seemed incomplete. What were we supposed to get out of it?
I am relieved that I wans’t the only person to think this article was pointless. I really detest disleading titles.
I agree… what a waste of my time to read this !
Can you publish a day by day diet for diabetics?