By: Lina Marquez, RDN, LDN
Diabetes, a chronic health condition suffered by more than 34 million people in the United States and the 7th leading cause of death in the country, poses many challenges for patients, their family members as well as for friends and loved ones. With it, comes the challenge of properly managing the condition through a combination of physical activity, diet, and the appropriate use of medications.
Your daily diet is a powerful tool to manage diabetes and therefore, “What can I eat?” is one of the most frequently asked questions by patients with diabetes. The answer is not so simple and straightforward because meals need to be carefully planned to ensure control of your blood sugar in addition to proper balance of nutrients with low calories and fat. This task poses another challenge for caregivers who sometimes do not have the knowledge to prepare a healthy-eating plan.
It is no secret that Diabetes caregivers are tasked with many responsibilities, including managing activities of daily living, controlling insulin and other medication doses, dealing with complications and emergencies, as well as meal planning. All these responsibilities plus many more present challenges and have an impact of caregiving on caregivers. Fortunately, food delivery services for seniors and patients with diabetes are a great option to help alleviate the burden presented by diabetes.
Food Delivery Services Benefit Patients and Caregivers Alike
When it comes to meal planning and daily meals, it is a good move to take advantage of diabetic food delivery services. These services not only bring many benefits to the patient per se but also alleviate the burden on caregivers. Meal planning is not only about preparing food, it also requires planning what to eat, ensuring a balance of nutrients, going to the grocery store, and preparing meals. Too much for caregivers who already have a lot on their plate.
These medically tailored meals are prepared under the guidance of Registered Dietitians and therefore ensure the proper level of nutrients and macronutrients to properly manage your condition while preventing hypoglycemia. Additionally, diabetic food delivery services address food insecurity, which unfortunately incents the consumption of inexpensive, calorie-dense food of little nutritional value.
The benefits of these diabetic food delivery services are many and go beyond diet related exclusively, as evidenced by the findings of a study conducted by S.A. Berkowitz et al and colleagues. In this study, patients that were using diabetic food delivery services for 12 weeks, also reported improvement on outcomes related to health-related quality of life, cost-related medication underuse, diabetes distress, and improvement of depressive symptoms. Additionally, they reported increases in consumption of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, and decreases in “empty” calories from solid fats, alcohol, and added sugars (1).
What to Expect from Diabetic Food Delivery Services?
Substantial improvement of dietary quality, improved food insecurity, and reduced hypoglycemia can be expected if you or your loved one with diabetes uses medically tailored diabetes food delivery services. Additionally, these delivery services address other barriers, such as insufficient time or knowledge to prepare healthy meals or choosing to purchase foods less appropriate to manage diabetes, particularly if healthier foods are less palatable.
In conclusion, medically tailored diabetic food delivery services make it easier for diabetic patients to eat healthy foods readily available and show promise for improving dietary quality and reducing food insecurity and hypoglycemia.
How to Order?
Diabetic food delivery services have many plans to choose from. Just choose the plan that best suit your needs and wait until it is deliver to the convenience of your home. When it arrives, it is important to follow recommendations regarding refrigeration and heating. Every mealtime, all you need to do is choose the specific meal you want, heat, and enjoy – It cannot be more convenient than this!
- Berkowitz, S.A., Delahanty, L.M., Terranova, J. et al. Medically Tailored Meal Delivery for Diabetes Patients with Food Insecurity: a Randomized Cross-over Trial. J GEN INTERN MED 34, 396–404 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-018-4716-z