St. Patrick's Day - Corned Beef and Cabbage are Low in Carbohydrate

Wishing all a Happy and Safe St. Patrick's Day!  🍀💚☘️ For those who celebrate, the famous dish for today’s holiday is corned beef and cabbage. If you like cabbage, go for it as it’s low in carbs and high in Vitamins C and K, and contains potassium and fiber. Fiber slows digestion and helps prevent high blood glucose. Potassium is important for blood pressure control. The beef is protein so no carbs there either. We all need some carbs but choose wisely, opting for higher fiber, nutrient dense carbs. Also, don’t take in too much carbohydrate at one time or it can spike up your blood glucose.

 

*One more blessing in addition to the picture above. May your carb choices be healthy ones. Enjoy!

World Kidney Day and National Kidney Month - Do You Know How Well Your Kidneys Are Functioning?

Today is World Kidney Day and March is National Kidney Month. Did you know over 35 million people in the U.S. (1 in 7 adults) have chronic kidney disease? Chronic kidney disease is also known renal disease or CKD for short. 

One of the saddest situations I have seen in my nursing career is caring for patients who has no idea they have CKD. This is far too common as the CDC estimates approximately 9 in 10 adults with CKD don’t know they have it. 

The two main causes of CKD are diabetes and high blood pressure (also known as hypertension). 

If you have diabetes and, or hypertension,  it’s important to make the recommended lifestyle changes necessary to gain better control of your blood glucose and blood pressure. Ways to achieve this are: 

1. Exercising most days of the week (do what you love, make it fun!)
2. Eating a healthy diet.
3. Losing weight if you’re overweight or obese.
4. Getting quality sleep.
5. Reduce or avoid consuming alcohol and using  tobacco products.
6. Taking your prescribed medications.

Be your own advocate: 

• Make sure you know your lab numbers: GFR for kidneys and A1C for diabetes.
• Get the lab tests and exams recommended by your doctors and healthcare providers.
• Lead a healthy lifestyle to prevent or delay CKD and other complications from diabetes and hypertension from developing.