Six Best Midnight Snacks for Diabetics

Sometimes it is better to snack than not to snack.  A late night snack can curb a craving and help you get back to sleep.  However it is important to keep the carbohydrate down, usually under fifteen grams.  Some suggestions for salty cravings include:
Dry roasted or raw nuts.  Nuts do have carbohydrates, so moderation is key--a handful at most.  They also have fat, so as to curb any sugar spike.
Olives are another salty snack low in carbs and high in fat.  (Honestly I do not eat olives.)
Suggestions for savory cravings:
Vegetables and a spread.  Suggestions for a spread include hummus or peanut butter in moderation.  Also choose vegetables that are diabetic friendly.  (I love celery or carrots and peanut butter.)  Another choice to add protein to this snack is to include a boiled egg.
Cheese and crackers.  Try to pick whole-grain or wheat crackers.  A rule again is keep carbs under 15 grams.  Cheese and vegetables is another option.
Sweet snacks:
A sugar-free pudding is nice.  This is also a way to curb the chocolate craving.
Plain yogurt or Greek yogurt.  Store bought fruit added yogurts are not the best choice.  However you can add fruit or honey to plain yogurt.
A last piece of advise form this article is to check you blood sugar before and after snacks so you know how your body reacts to a particular snack.

Candy and Diabetes

What Candy Can People With Diabetes Eat and How Much Is Safe?  EveryDay Health  by Amy Gorin RDN, Reviewed by Kelly Kennedy RD.

So a good question for people with diabetes is candy?  I have always thought that candy is OK, but in moderation.  The issue being getting your carbohydrates without much in way of vitamins.  This article proposes a couple things.  Try to eat candy for dessert, so it is part of a meal and you eat when you are already full.  The other is promoting the fun-size version.  These are the candies often given out for Halloween.  The idea here is one or two is enough.  Candies with peanuts, M&M's, Reeses's, and Snickers tend to be healthier as the sugar jump is not as pronounced.  On the other hand, Skittle's and Twizzlers are almost pure sugar, and are good if your blood sugar is too low. 
So the answer is enjoy, but be careful.  If your sugar is already too high, you should avoid candy all together. 

Emergency Preparedness Gifts to Consider

Gift Emergency Preparedness This Holiday Season

Help your loved ones prepare this holiday season. Give them an item for their emergency kit. Give someone on your list a gift that may one day save them during a disaster. Pick an emergency item from the lists below or find more ideas atReady.gov. National Oceanic and Atmospheric  Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio Hand-Crank Flashlight Radio Cell Phone Charger or External Battery Pack First-Aid Kit Manual Can Opener Smoke or Carbon Monoxide Alarm Fire Extinguisher Enrollment in a CPR or First-Aid Class Blanket Rain/Wet Weather Gear You might consider items for a roadside emergency, such as: Jumper Cables Tools – tire pressure gauge, screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers, shovel, ice scraper Emergency Flares For those with pets, supplies for a pet emergency kit: Pet First-Aid Kit Pet Carrier An extra leash or harness Visit Ready.gov to learn how to give a fully stocked emergency preparedness kit.

Article Review: Protect Your Brain

I found this article of all places, the Scouting magazine, November-December 2017.  By protecting you brain they are talking of doing things to help slow or prevent brain and memory issues as you age.  We all forget things sometimes.  In this case however they are referring to more serious issues.  Keeping your brain in such as state that it can grow and "rewire" is important as we age.  Mental exercise,  good diet, on positive lifestyle will help in this effort.  This article gives nine suggestions.  I present them with my self-review in each area.
Loss some weight:  Having a lot of belly fat, may indicate inflammation of other cells, including brain cells.  Less waist means less degeneration of the brain.
I have been overweight, "grossly obese" most of my adult life.  However, this past month I have lost five pounds!   Ten more to go to reach my first goal.  However with that being said I weigh less now than I have since moving to Cupertino fifteen years ago. 
Feed your neurons: Neurons are fed with better blood flow.  It is important to control blood pressure as well as sugar levels to improve the flow of blood to your brain.  I good way to accomplish this is through cardiovascular activity; 15 to 10 minutes minimum daily.
As for my part, being a commuter, I do this easily when I go to work.  It is those days in between that I have problems.  I walk plenty when I play Pokemon.  However this is slow walking and I wonder if it has as much benefit.
Lower your blood pressure: High blood pressure effects the blood flow and nutrients getting to your brain.  This can be critical as you age.
My blood pressure is well controlled at this time with medication.
Order the salmon...: Eating fish that is high in Omega-3 fatty acids (salmon tuna and others) is important to brain health.  People who eat three servings of fatty fish weekly have 40 percent less chance of developing Alzheimer's.  Other foods high in Omega-3 are walnuts and flaxseed.
I could use more fish in my diet.  I have walnuts at work, but do not eat them as regularly as I should.  Fish is a rare treat for me.  Somehow it has to be a more regular part of my diet.
...With a Side of Spinach:  Green vegetables are the key, as they are high in Vitamin K.  Two servings per day leads to a cognitively younger mind.
I can't say I eat a lot of leafy green vegetables.  My lettuce is usually iceberg or Romaine.  I need to make some improvements here.
Go blueberry picking:  Blueberries contain an antioxidant important with brain power.
I don't care for blueberries.  Fortunately this article also mentions strawberries which I love.  I also love raspberries.
Do Puzzles: Doing puzzles might help reduce the chances of contracting Alzheimer's.  Especially crosswords and Sudoku.
I am not into crosswords, but I do play Sudoko on the train at times.  I also play Free Cell solitaire, but I don't know if that helps or not.
Be Like Popeye:  Love Olive, in this case olive oil.  Extra virgin olive oil contains anti-oxidants.  Four tablespoons a day recommended.
I usually use dairy butter; but a change may be in order.
Make friends: Many friends improves performance on cognitive test given to the elderly.  I do not think this is casual Facebook friends, but friends with whom you mingle and associate.  ( I am better with Facebook.)  The positive effects are more evident in the areas where knowledge, language and factual information are stored.
I need to get out more that is for sure.

Grief: Jon Schmidt and Craig Aven

I think this movie can help those who are grieving; especially those ben to Christianity

If you’re missing someone this Christmas this song’s dedicated to you - ...

Jon Schmidt dedicates to those missing someone this Christmas.  I am missing my oldest sister, who passed away two years ago New Years Eve.  She was the life of our family, and kept things going.  There is still a void that hasn't been filled.  We visited the Buff clan for Christmas a few years ago.  tony made a snow man, Camberly met her great-grandmother who was staying with them at the time.  Sara, like my mother, had a way to make things right.

Lyrics: I’m not going to lie. Christmas really hurts this time Cause you’re not here to celebrate with me. Tears fill my eyes. And memories flood my mind, As I place your ornament upon our tree. Although this year I have a broken heart, It gives me hope and joy as I remember where you are. Chorus: You’re with the Son of God. You’re with the Prince of Peace. You’re with the one we’re celebrating And that thought amazes me. Sometimes I still break down, Grieving that we’re apart, But the sweetest gift is knowing where you are. You’re with the Son of God. Got your picture in a frame And a stocking with your name. Oh God knows it’s been hard letting go. And I can’t bring you back, But I’ll see you again. And oh, that thought is healing to my soul. I’ll miss making angels with you in the snow. I guess instead you will be singing with them All around God’s throne.

Chorus And I know the Christmas season Was your favorite time of year. You loved to help us decorate our tree. But now that you’re with Jesus, I can’t imagine how you feel Cause He’s the one who bled and died Upon the tree for you and me. Chorus

New Apps for Fitness and Walking

I have been stuck on the same weight for at least six years now--of course I go up and then come back down, and pretty much ride a treadmill.  I have added two apps to my phone to help me break through this cycle.  These apps are MyFitnessPal and MapMy Walk.  They can work together so the exercise you do with MapMyWalk will come over to the other program.  This program gives you a calorie count based on you loss goals.  The recommend a rate of one pound loss per week.  It is a place to record what you eat.  It will use barcodes to make it easier.  I have been working on losing about 20 pounds for some time.  Since changing to using these apps, I have been able to get down about five pounds, and it is not coming back.  I just need to continue the downward spiral.  I should be able to accomplish the long term goal I have sometime in January. 

When I met with the butt doctor he said I needed to loss.  He further said you can't loss if you don't track what you eat.  And he also said sometimes you will be hungry.  When I follow these rules, I feel good and I can be successful.

The Sugar Habit

http://www.everydayhealth.com/type-2-diabetes/diet/beat-your-sugar-addiction-to-manage-diabetes/?pos=1&xid=nl_EverydayHealthManagingDiabetes_20161129

Here is a look at curing the sugar habit for diabetics, presented by Everyday Health.  Too much sugar can be very bad for diabetics, and lead to sugar spikes in the blood.  There is a video about different non sugar sweeteners.  However it includes the best alternative is natural sugars; like those from fruit.

The article included gives two keys to combating the sugar habit.  the first to have many small meals and snacks throughout the day, thereby avoiding the big sugar spike.

The second suggestion is to exercise to cure the sugar craving.  This is full blown exercise.  ANy little bit of exercise can help.

Traffic Safety Involves Everyone

Vision Zero San Jose is a City of San Jose project to make the streets safer, and eliminate all traffic related deaths.  In 2015 there were 42 traffic related deaths.  Half of the death were to pedestrians.  Others to bicyclist, motorcyclist on in a car.   It seems some progress is being made.

Mindfulness through the Senses

I am taking this from a handout at work from the Wellness people.  Mindfulness is becoming a bigger and bigger thing, and a tool to help people maintain their wellness.  This is about using our senses to be mindful. 

Statewide Medical and Health Exercise: Disaster Preparedness Drill

There were disaster preparedness drills held though out the state a couple weeks ago.  Each county devised their own scenario, but the theme was terrorist attack.  I was invited to participate in the drill for Santa Clara County, representing behavioral health.  We were on the third floor of the Sheriff's office where the have the Emergency Command Center.  There was a table in the middle for the command captain and his immediate team.  Then beyond that were other important players, including behavioral health, animal control, public health, medical examiners office etc.  They have a system set up where in real time a worker was monitoring the ambulances and available space of all the hospitals.  In this way they knew which hospital could take someone, and where their were ambulances available to get them there.  It was quite a system.