Traveling is a big part of many people’s lives, something many take for granted without a second thought. But for those with Diabetes there is a bit more thought and planning involved.

Here are some common and not-so-common tips that just might help you next time you’re trotting the globe.

1. When traveling for hours bring a timer or stop watch – If you’re using insulin, chances are you’re on a time based schedule. If you end up flying coast-to-coast or international then you end up skipping many time zones and can easily lose track of time. An easy mistake to make is taking your next dosage once you’re off the flight in accordance to the local time. Depending on where you came from, there could be several hours too late or too early. One way to combat this is to bring a timer and measure exactly how long it has been since your last injection. You can do this to follow you’re normal time-based injection schedule until you’ve eased a bit more into the time zone you’re in If you’re traveling more than 2-3 time zone be sure to consult with your doctor for a good plan of action regarding meal and insulin schedules.
2. Look into travel insurance – Especially when staying on longer trips and even after extensive packing there is still a chance for things to go wrong. What happens when your luggage with your 5 weeks worth of medication gets lost at the airport? Contact your insurance company and see what they can cover in case you aren’t already covered. It also might not hurt to inquire about international travel insurance if you plan on going abroad.
3. Tell those you’re with – Especially when traveling alone, make sure to tell at least one person that you have diabetes. A good idea is to tell an airplane attendant, a bus driver, the person sitting next to you on the 9 hour flight. Also make sure you able to be identified as a diabetic quickly and easily. The Diabetic alert bracelets and wallet cards are ideal for this.
4. Invest in quality travel equipment – No I don’t mean a brand new set of Gucci luggage. When traveling, one of the most important things is to keep the potency of your medication. Proper storage is very important as insulin retains its potency for up to 30 days in room temperature. But it’s just not worth taking chances. Think about investing in some high quality cases that are easy to travel with yet also have refrigerating properties to keep things like insulin cold. At the very least something to keep it cool while in transit.
5. Checkups, Premeditation and Emergency Equipment – In case you’re going on a rather long trip, it is a good idea to get checked out a few weeks before going by your doctor. Consult with them and explain the length and extent of the trip. You could even talk about the cultural and culinary differences between your home and where you’re going and how it might affect your blood sugar. Also make sure you’ve brought more medical supplies than you think you’ll need. This includes extra insulin/pills, syringes, fast acting glucose tables, fast acting insulin for emergency highs etc.
6. Test Glucose Frequently – I know there are plenty of you out there testing 8, 12, 16+ times a day, so for to you I give a thumbs up :-). But for others I would suggest, especially if traveling more than 3 times zones to test glucose levels more frequently. We all get in the habit of keeping a mental note of what effects certain foods have on our blood sugars (at least I do). But being in a different time zone and eating different foods can have a much greater effect on your blood sugar than you think. For example, I fly between Europe and the West cost of the U.S. regularly and notice drastic changes once I reach each side. My blood sugars get extremely low even when eating the same foods. It’s almost as if my insulin starts working 50% more within my body for the next few days after arrival and I have to make constant adjustments. This is something that would be good to consider.
7. Don’t stay stagnant for too long – In the case that you’re in transit for a long time (or even just a few hours), it is important to keep your blood and circulation going. Don’t sit on that rear-end for too long, every change you get try and take a break to stretch and shake things up a bit. If you’re on an airplane this isn’t so uncommon as you’ll see people walking up and down the isle, join them! A great place to do in-place stretching is usually by the restrooms and the main cabin door exit. For long car trips there is no excuse like stopping for gas or small snack breaks.
8. Keep a similar diet – It may be quite tempting, but try not to stray of the beaten path regarding your diet wherever you go. An intense switch in completely different foods could be a sort of shock to your body and blood sugar. Be sure to take new foods with moderation and see how they affect you and your blood sugar in your new location.
9. Watch the Alcohol – Ah yes, temptation again. You may feel like “letting loose” with a few too many martini’s at the coconut bar on your island get away but try to resist. People with diabetes can enjoy alcohol just like everyone else but the key is moderation (Just like everyone else ). Some tips involve being selective about what you drink, the sugars and calories in those mixers add up real quick. Also eat something before drinking, drinking on an empty stomach is never a good idea whether you’re diabetic or not. I’m sure (hopefully) you’re “celebrating” with other people and just not getting drunk by yourself, if so make sure they know your situation in case of emergency and even to support you in not over doing it.
10. Bottled Water, Drink it! – Hydration is very important, but just as important is the quality of your hydration source. Especially if you’re in a foreign country where the water quality is debatable then pick up a few bottles of drinking water. Even in locations within the U.S. the water quality is far from optimal. Better safe than sorry.

With a bit of common sense and forward thinking you will be well on your way to a safe and complication free traveling experience.

I stumbled upon quite an interesting piece at the New York times contributed by Michael Pollan, the Knight professor of journalism at the University of California, Berkeley.

This isn’t specifically about diabetes but I do think it is directly related. The article itself is quite lengthy, around 12 pages, but it is packed full of very insightful and useful information regarding the state of our society (and the world) regarding how we eat and the influences we have regarding nutritional consumption.

Especially taking into account how your diabetic health is directly related to your diet and what you eat, it could make you consider twice next time you think you’re making a health conscious decision. As they say: “The right choices are sometimes the hardest to make”. Regarding food, that is something I can definitely attest to.

Some interesting snippets:

“FROM FOODS TO NUTRIENTS

It was in the 1980s that food began disappearing from the American supermarket, gradually to be replaced by “nutrients,” which are not the same thing. Where once the familiar names of recognizable comestibles — things like eggs or breakfast cereal or cookies — claimed pride of place on the brightly colored packages crowding the aisles, now new terms like “fiber” and “cholesterol” and “saturated fat” rose to large-type prominence. More important than mere foods, the presence or absence of these invisible substances was now generally believed to confer health benefits on their eaters. Foods by comparison were coarse, old-fashioned and decidedly unscientific things — who could say what was in them, really? But nutrients — those chemical compounds and minerals in foods that nutritionists have deemed important to health — gleamed with the promise of scientific certainty; eat more of the right ones, fewer of the wrong, and you would live longer and avoid chronic diseases.”

and

“Also, people don’t eat nutrients, they eat foods, and foods can behave very differently than the nutrients they contain. Researchers have long believed, based on epidemiological comparisons of different populations, that a diet high in fruits and vegetables confers some protection against cancer. So naturally they ask, What nutrients in those plant foods are responsible for that effect? One hypothesis is that the antioxidants in fresh produce — compounds like beta carotene, lycopene, vitamin E, etc. — are the X factor. It makes good sense: these molecules (which plants produce to protect themselves from the highly reactive oxygen atoms produced in photosynthesis) vanquish the free radicals in our bodies, which can damage DNA and initiate cancers. At least that’s how it seems to work in the test tube. Yet as soon as you remove these useful molecules from the context of the whole foods they’re found in, as we’ve done in creating antioxidant supplements, they don’t work at all. Indeed, in the case of beta carotene ingested as a supplement, scientists have discovered that it actually increases the risk of certain cancers. Big oops.”

A quick update: In the next few days we’re going to be doing some upgrades and maintenance to prepare for a larger BETA test launch in a few weeks.

So for the few of you with private accounts sorry for any hiccups you may see though we see it going very quick and smooth. We’re doing it over-night plus we don’t anticipate any downtime.

Lots of stuff going on here at SugarStats. We’re currently looking for diabetic or diabetes conscious writers and pro bloggers to help contribute good content to the SugarStats Blog.

We want to grow a thriving community here and provide valuable information, news and tips to the diabetes community. A place where you all can come to get update news and find informative articles while sharing your opinions and experiences on each post as well through the comments.

So if this is of interest to you or someone you know and think you can contribute good diabetes related or diabetic health news, articles or tips let us know at: info [at] sugarstats [dot] com.

I stumbled across this and found it to be quite amusing. The people over at Global Insurance have a Diabetes Chances Calculator which based on 3 simple input values is supposed to tell you how likely you are to get Diabetes.

I wouldn’t expect anything less from a insurance company I suppose and I’m sure this simple web app uses the “most cutting edge, technologically advanced and complex algorithms” to calculate the results ;-).

Even though its completely ridiculous I figured I’d amuse myself a bit and run it a few times:

As a 5 year old male with 4 directly diabetic relatives:

“At age 5 you have a 21.6% chance of having diabetes.”

As a 25 year old female with 4 directly diabetic relatives:

“At age 25 you have a 21.74% chance of having diabetes.”

Lets try the same but with 8 relatives:

“At age 25 you have a 31.74% chance of having diabetes.”

And with 12:

“At age 25 you have a 31.74% chance of having diabetes.”

As you can see it seems to be mainly based on your Diabetic relatives. None-the-less amusing to play with, just take it with a grain of salt of course.