People with diabetes are generally at a greater risk if they catch flu (influenza) as it can pose significant difficulties with diabetes management. Flu is a viral infection which is easily caught through inhaling small droplets released when someone with the flu virus nearby coughs or sneezes. A dangerous complication of the flu is pneumonia and people with diabetes are more at risk of developing this complication than people without diabetes. What are the symptoms of flu? Influenza can lead to chest infections which may develop into pneumonia. Rarer complications include tonsilitis, meningitis and encephalitis. The flu can be a killer and is responsible for around 600 deaths a year. During an epidemic, flu can kill thousands of people in a year. Some over-the-counter flu medication is suitable for people with diabetes. Some over-the-counter flu medication will be more suitable for people with diabetes than others. A number of flu medications may contain a relatively high level of sugar which could present a certain amount of increased difficulty with managing blood sugar levels.
Lower sugar versions should usually be available and your pharmacist should be able to help you to pick an appropriate medication. Remember, flu medication only treats the symptoms whilst the body recovers. How will flu affect my blood sugar? Flu usually causes an increase in blood glucose levels, although people on hypo causing medication may be at risk of too low sugar levels if insufficient carbohydrate is taken whilst ill. If (in most cases, when) you get flu, it is important to check blood glucose levels more regularly than usual. Whilst you have flu, check as often as possible, because the feelings of illness can mask symptoms of high or low blood sugar. For this reason, you could develop hypoglycaemia or hyperglycemia without realising, both of which can be serious if not treated quickly enough. Frequency of blood glucose testing depends on your particular circumstances and the medication you take. If you are on hypo causing medication, it is advisable to test every few hours to monitor whether your sugar levels are going too high or low.
If you are not taking any hypo causing medication, blood glucose testing may still be useful for ensuring sugar levels do not advance too high. If you take insulin, charity Diabetes UK recommend checking for ketones if blood glucose levels rise above 15 mmol/L. If your ketones become too high it is possible to fall into a diabetic coma and this can be fatal if untreated. Ketones should be checked regularly, and your diabetes healthcare professional should be able to inform you about ketone testing. What can I eat if I have diabetes and flu? Many people with diabetes don’t feel hungry or thirsty if they have flu. However, it is important to continue eating a healthy diet and drinking regular fluid to help manage your blood sugar and diabetes. Ideally, don’t vary your regular meal plan too much. If you cannot eat, it is advisable to consume drinks with carbohydrate in to provide your body with energy. Keep monitoring your blood glucose levels closely and ask your health team if you need advice in managing your blood glucose levels. Am I entitled to a free vaccination? People with diabetes are considered an ‘at-risk’ group when it comes to seasonal flu. Vaccinations are available across the country from October through to early November.
Starch is a carbohydrate found in foods like bread, pasta, rice, and potatoes, and it quickly raises blood sugar and insulin on Keto. Resistant starch acts more like fiber, but foods containing it still come packaged with regular starch. This guide explains how starch works and the best low-carb alternatives. Going Keto means cutting carbs from your diet. The forbidden carbs fall into two main categories: sugar and starch. This article is about starch. Starch, which is just a cluster of sugar molecules, is found in foods like rice, bread, pasta, potatoes, yams, and carrots. Since the Agricultural Revolution about 12,000 years ago, starch has dominated the human diet. Once we started growing crops, we hung up the hunting spears. But 12,000 years is nothing in evolutionary terms. In the millions of years before agriculture, hominids evolved to flourish without a steady supply of carbs. We evolved, in other words, to cycle in and out of ketosis.
That’s how our ancestors stayed lean and metabolically flexible. Taking a break from starch can help you activate your fat-burning machinery too. Today you’ll learn what starch is, why it’s prohibited on the Keto diet, and how to replace starch with low-carb alternatives. Starch is a type of carbohydrate, the primary way in which plants store energy. Plants form carbs via photosynthesis and store them as starch and sugar. Animals eat plants and store the digested sugar (glucose) as glycogen. Starch is made up of molecules called polysaccharides. In layman's terms, this means that starches are made of chains of sugar molecules. That sugar molecule is called glucose. It’s the same molecule that arrives in your GlycoMode Blood Sugar as blood sugar (blood glucose) when you digest starch. The two main starch molecules are called amylose and amylopectin. When you eat amylose or amylopectin, an enzyme called amylase breaks them into glucose for easy absorption through the small intestine.