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Nutrition Tips For Diabetics
When diagnosed with diabetes, it can be a life-altering change. One of the biggest changes may be to your diet and how you think about food. However, with a proper plan and diet, and by eating healthily, you can begin to control symptoms and start to get your life back. At Rawlins County Health Center, our staff wants to ensure that you live your healthiest life.
The purpose of creating a nutrition plan to manage your diabetes is to help control your sugar intake. This will also help you manage your weight and other factors, such as heart disease and high blood pressure. Without the proper diet, there could be complications from the rise in blood glucose, including nerve, kidney, and heart damage. In order to prevent these from occurring, a healthy diet is a primary defense.
Healthy Foods For People With Diabetes
Healthy Carbohydrates
When you consume simple carbohydrates and starches, these break down into blood glucose. Avoid processed bread and instead focus on eating fruits, vegetables, beans, peas, lentils, and low-fat dairy products.
Foods High in Fiber
A benefit of fiber-rich foods is that they control how your body digests and slows the absorption of sugar. Include foods with insoluble like beans, whole wheat flour, broccoli, pears, chickpeas, and many other fruits and vegetables.
Heart Healthy Foods
Certain fish will help lower blood fats, known as triglycerides. Look for fish that are high in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, cod, tuna, and halibut. Other heart-healthy foods include spinach, oatmeal, berries, nuts, tomatoes, and dark chocolate.
Healthy Fats
You want to include the healthy fats, or monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. These include foods like avocados, almonds, pecans, olives, and olive oil. However, be mindful of how much you consume of these foods, as they are often high in calories.
Tips For Eating Nutritiously
- Eat More Vegetables: When putting meals together, fill your place with appropriate amounts of certain foods. Fill one half of the plate with vegetables, such as spinach or broccoli. One-quarter of the plate should be filled with a low-fat protein like fish or pork. Finish the plate off with a whole grain.
- Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates have one of the biggest effects on blood glucose, so be sure to eat carbs at the same time each day, especially if you are taking medication or insulin.
- Exchange List Method: One method for finding healthy foods to eat is the exchange list. These lists include foods within certain categories, such as protein. The foods within the same category have similar effects on your blood glucose, so you can choose one food from each category.
- Glycemic Index: When choosing healthy foods to eat, some diabetics use this method to help. Essentially, this method lets you choose foods based on how they affect glucose levels. Talk with your doctor at Rawlins County Health Center to learn more about this strategy.
We understand that living with and managing diabetes can be frustrating and overwhelming, but we also know the importance of having a healthy diet and lifestyle. It may be a slow start to find a routine that works for you, but with the right help and guidance from the staff at our medical center, you will begin to feel healthy and positive.
Learn more about the diabetes treatment at our medical center and schedule an appointment today.
Rawlins Clinic seeks Local Photographers Photos
PRESS RELEASE:
Rawlins Clinic seeks Local Photographers Photos
Rawlins Clinic – Atwood would like to feature local Rawlins County artists with pictures displayed throughout the clinic and front lobby areas. “There have been some recent studies showing the benefits of lower stress and reduced anxiety while waiting in an environment that featured artwork or other visual stimulus. Some items such as plants and aquariums present infection potential in a hospital setting. A good alternative to this is landscape or architecture-themed pictures. That is what we are going for with the photo contest; we hope to enhance our current waiting room and exam rooms to make patients experience more relaxing and enjoyable” said Jason Kearns, PA-C. Jenn Hurst, Clinic Operations Director stated, “The staff in the clinic are very excited about the photo contest. We have been wanting to do something in the clinic rooms since the remodel but were never sure what to do. Jason came up with this idea and we love it! The fact that there is research out there showing that this can benefit our patients is a bonus! We truly live in a beautiful place and I am looking forward to seeing the pictures people submit.”
A photo contest will be conducted, with community members getting the opportunity to vote on their favorite submitted photos. Photos can be of anything in the Rawlins County area, including scenery, events, buildings, etc. Pictures that were entered in the fair are also eligible. Some pictures will be a 20×30 acrylic print, so high-resolution print-quality will be desired. Photographers are asked to submit pictures of actual or original size to sdozbaba@rchc.us by September 14th. Once photos are submitted, Rawlins County Health Center staff will vote on their top choices. The community will then be invited to help pick the top winners to get printed in October. If you have any questions regarding the photo contest, please contact Suzanna Koel at 785-626-3211 ext. 220 (sdozbaba@rchc.us) or Jennifer Hurst at 785-626-3211 ext. 310 (jhurst@rchc.us).
Area Hospitals Collaborate
Area Hospitals Collaborate as Members of Centura Rural Health Network
To meet the needs of the people of Western Kansas, Goodland Regional Medical Center (GRMC), Logan County Health Services (LCHS), and Rawlins County Health Center (RCHC) are engaging in a formal, deliberate process for creating a future together as founding members of the Centura Rural Health Network. As the system of choice for the region, Centura Health has a management agreement with each of the three hospitals. Under the management agreement, each hospital maintains autonomy and local governance, but as a group, the network is collaborating to build a connected and enabling system committed to integrating care and enabling physicians, providers, and patients to flourish in healthy communities.
Each partner organization brings its own unique assets and strengths to the network. By combining these valuable local resources, the Centura Rural Health Network supports an enabling, connected system, making it possible to sustain and grow high performing health care service to ensure quality, achieve better outcomes, and promote health.
Through shared strategic direction, mission, and vision, the network is engaged in reducing costs, improving the care experience for the region, and helping people get well and stay well. Current activities underway include shared purchasing, expanding specialty care such as trauma, surgery, cardiology, pulmonary, ENT, and dermatology, improved technology, staff and community education programs, and implementing consistent, standardized best practices.
The Centura Rural Health Network is an enduring partnership focused on keeping care close to home to provide the citizens of Northwest Kansas with consistent, predictable value and compassionate, patient-centered healthcare for years to come.
Best Ways to Protect Your Heart
Your heart starts beating at around three to four weeks in the womb and keeps you moving throughout your life, when all goes well. And for many of us, we only get one heart, making it crucial to protect it. With so many heart-related diseases (coronary artery disease, heart valve disease, etc), and health issues that can harm the heart (blood pressure, high cholesterol), we need to do everything we can in order to keep our hearts healthy and pumping strong. So, what are the best ways to protect your heart?
The doctors, nurses, and assistants at Rawlins County Health Center are passionate about educating each of the patients that visit our medical center in Atwood. Whatever health concern or emergency you’re having, you can count on our staff to provide you with a caring experience.
How to Protect Your Heart
Stay Active
For many people, getting and staying active comes down to not having the energy and lacking the motivation to start. These are big hurdles that will take a lot of mental strength to cross, but when the end goal is to improve the strength of your heart and your overall health, crossing the hurdles is a must. The key is to start out small — take the stairs at work, go on a short walk, swim a couple laps at a pool, or even doing some jumping jacks in your living room in the morning is enough to get your heart pumping. Over time, you can slowly build up the intensity of the activities.
Getting in two and a half hours each week of moderate activity will help lower your blood pressure, keep your weight in control, and can lower your LDL cholesterol. You’ll also benefit by a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, reduced depression, and improved sleep. So however hard you struggle getting started, keep your focus on feeling and living better!
Control Cholesterol by Eating Right
The important thing about cholesterol is to keep a balance between the good (HDL) and the bad (LDL). To keep the bad cholesterol down, keep an eye on the amount of red meats you’re eating, choose low-fat dairy, and try to limit trans fats, such as margarine, doughnuts, sweets with cream or frosting, and fried foods. The good cholesterol (foods such as salmon, whole grains, olive oil, nuts, and beans) works to clean your arteries of the bad cholesterol. If you’re not sure what your cholesterol level is, schedule an appointment at our medical center for a quick test.
Manage Blood Pressure
High blood pressure, or hypertension, often doesn’t have any symptoms, and can be a serious problem for your heart. This is because there is a large amount of stress being put on your arteries, which is caused by various factors, including being overweight, too much salt in your diet, smoking, or stress. Manage your blood pressure by eating a balanced diet with minimal salt and alcohol, and start exercising regularly.
Keep a Healthy Weight
Weight management is a significant part of protecting your heart. Those who are overweight have a higher chance of developing cardiovascular disease or type 2 diabetes. The good news is that it doesn’t take a lot to get results. Losing just 3 to 5 percent of your body weight can help your heart.
Getting and staying healthy is a journey, but one that ends with a healthier, stronger heart! The doctors at our medical center strongly believe that every ounce of effort is worth it. If you’re in need of medical attention or advice, visit Rawlins County Health Center today. Our medical center is located at the east corner of Atwood Lake off of Grant Street.