Georgen Thye
BSc. (Hons) Nutrition and Dietetics, IMU Dietitian, Holmusk
Council Member, Malaysian Dietitians’ Association (MDA)
Founder of Georgen Cooking
www.youtube.com/channel/UCrEVuCcW4qHliA3c6dJo1cA
November is World Diabetes Awareness Month. This year, the theme set by the International Diabetes Federation is Family and Diabetes, which aims to acknowledge the important role of the family in the management, care, prevention, and education of diabetes. For the patient, diabetes is a lonely disease, and it is there with them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and it doesn’t go away. A typical patient spends less than 1% of their time with a medical professional while the remaining 99% of their time is spent in their own home, at work, and in the community trying to self-manage their condition, and often without anyone reliable to turn to for advice and support. Hence, family members play a very crucial role in providing care and support to their loved ones who are suffering from diabetes.
If someone in your family has diabetes, what can you do to provide support and show you care?
Accompany them to medical appointments
Be it the first consultation or just another follow-up session, tag along. Your presence can be extremely beneficial in terms of providing increased support during a visit to the doctor. You can also listen to what the doctor has to say about the progression of the disease, medications, advice, follow-up date, and etc. Jot them down, so you can remind them too!
Learn about the disease properly
Look up information about diabetes from sources you can trust. This excludes random advice you come across in your social media groups without scientific evidence. False information will make the management of diabetes more difficult for the patient. Below are some of the reliable websites you can learn from:
- https://www.diabetes.org/ (American Diabetes Association)
- https://www.heart.org/en (American Heart Association)
- https://www.idf.org/ (International Diabetes Federation)
- http://www.diabetes-hk.org/home (Diabetes Hong Kong*Chinese
- http://www.myhealth.gov.my/kencing-manis/ (Ministry of Health Malaysia)* Malay
Live and eat healthily as a family
Lifestyle improvements and eating a healthy diet are fundamental steps to good diabetes management. Families need to live in an environment that supports healthy lifestyles. When a family eats healthy meals and exercises together, everyone in the family benefits. This also encourages behaviour that can help prevent and manage type 2 diabetes in the family. It is very important to try and avoid cooking different food or separate food for the family member with diabetes. Everyone should be eating the same food. This ensures the patient with diabetes doesn’t feel left out.
Listen
You may not be able to fully understand how they feel or give them the best advice, but the least you could do is lend them your ears and listen to them and be there for them.
If you have someone with diabetes in your family, invite them to prepare this Easy Peasy Sardine Pizza together in the kitchen and have fun! Give them a big hug and reassure them that you’ll always be there whenever they need someone to talk to!
Cheers and lots of love from Georgen Cooking!
Since brown sugar milk tea is the latest craze in town, HealthToday asks Georgen Cooking if it’s possible to come up with a healthy version.
Georgen Cooking says: Yes, it’s doable by reducing the brown sugar, controlling the pearl portion, and using low-fat milk. Also, don’t up-size while ordering and don’t drink it so frequently!
Easy Peasy SARDINE PIZZA
Recipe
Number of servings: 3
Duration: 15 minutes
Ingredients | Measurement | Remark |
Wholemeal Wrap/ Pizza Base | 3 pieces | |
Canned Sardines in Tomato Sauce | 1 small can (150 g) | Break the sardines into smaller chunks in a bowl with a fork |
Onion | ½ medium | Sliced |
Cherry Tomatoes | 15 pieces | Cut into half lengthwise |
Broccoli | 1 cup | Sliced |
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese | ½ cup | |
Black Pepper | ½ teaspoon |
Methods
| 1. | Preheat the oven to 190°C. |
| 2. | Place a piece of baking paper on a baking tray and then put the wholemeal wraps/ pizza base on the baking paper. |
| 3. | Spread the sardines in tomato sauce on the wraps evenly with a spoon. |
| 4. | Arrange onion, cherry tomatoes and broccoli in a single layer on the wraps. |
| 5. | Bake in preheated oven for 5 to 8 minutes until the cheese is melted. |
Nutritional Information (1 serving)
| Energy (Kcal) | 306 |
| Protein (g) | 24.8 |
| Fat (g) | 15.6 |
| Carbohydrate (g) | 27.3 |
| Fibre (g) | 3.3 |
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