Diabetes Education & Nutrition Services
Diabetes Education and Nutrition Services in Kenai, Soldotna, and Homer, AK
What is Diabetes Education & Nutrition Services?
When you are diagnosed with diabetes or pre-diabetes, your primary care doctor may refer you to our MediCenter Diabetes Education Program. Your visit will be with a Certified Medical Doctor or a Certified Physician Assistant who is also a Diabetes Educator. They are here to help you make important dietary changes, control your blood sugar (glucose), and manage your weight if needed. This level of education is critical as you learn how to self-mange your diabetes. Our clinical program has a Certified Nutrition Specialist who will help you focus on eating healing foods.
Nutrition Services provide adults and children with counseling for a variety of health conditions, like weight management, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and heart disease. Our providers can help you create lifestyle changes which will improve your overall health.
Our program does not require a referral.
How We Are Different
Our Certified Diabetic Educators provide you with the tools and understanding needed to develop habits that improve your health. We can also work collaboratively with your primary care physician, to bring you the educational resources you need for greater health.
Our team provides one-on-one and group support for both Diabetes Education and Nutrition Services with our Certified Nutrition Specialist. We offer individual sessions and group classes for diabetes care, as well as a free monthly Diabetes Support Group.
Our Certified Nutrition Specialist is a highly trained food and nutrition expert who works closely with you to help you develop healthy eating habits – whether your desire is to prevent illness and disease, or to use nutrition to manage existing conditions or weight.
Topics may include the following:
- Diabetes
- Cancer
- Celiac Disease
- Eating difficulties
- Eating disorders
- Heart disease
- Kidney Disease
- Malnutrition
- Nutrition in pregnancy and lactation
- Obesity
- Weight Management
Education is available for newly diagnosed and previously diagnosed people interested in the latest information.
You either attend group classes or complete additional one-on-one appointments with our provider or Certified Nutrition Specialist.
Topics may include the following:
- Topics may include the following:
- Basic Diabetes Education
- Blood glucose monitoring
- Exercise guidelines
- Gestational Diabetes
- Goal setting
- Insulin pump therapy or Continuous Glucose monitoring
- Meal planning: carbohydrate counting, weight management, low-fat meals, dining out, and more
- Medication and insulin instruction
- Psychosocial support
- Risk management and complication prevention
How can I schedule an appointment?
Call
(907)283-9118 to schedule an appointment with Jared Wallace, Certified Diabetic Educator and a Certified Physician Assistant or schedule an appointment with Dr. R Lynn Carlson, MediCenter Integrative Medicine.
Can a person “reverse” or prevent pre-diabetes?
Yes! Even when you have risk factors for pre-diabetes, you can take steps to prevent the disease from happening. And if you already have pre-diabetes, these same actions can help keep it from becoming type 2 diabetes.
Be active. Walk more, take the stairs, park farther away from entrances and exits—these extra steps add up in your favor! The more activity you get, the more glucose your body will use, thereby keeping sugars from building up in your blood. If you are overweight- aim to lose 5% to 10% of your body weight. For a 200-pound man, for instance, that would be 10 to 20 pounds. A little bit makes a huge difference. Make healthier food choices. Start small like eating extra vegetables or fiber, while cutting back on fried food.
Can you recommend a good “diabetes diet”?
The specialists in our Diabetes and Nutrition will work with you to develop a diet around your specific needs.
It usually helps to write down what you are eating and drinking and your exercise and report to the provider or to the nutritionist.
In general:
Limit refined carbs: Rice, noodles, bread, potatoes, corn, sugar, honey, fruit juice, soda pop, cakes, cookies, and candy, and more than one cup of fruit per day. Replace all of these with organic vegetables other than potatoes and corn.
A goal for vegetable intake is 5-9 cups per day. Some of these cups might be in smoothies. Many people need to stop all fruit.
Look at packages of food. Bacon, for instance, may raise blood sugar if it has been soaked in sugar.
Do not limit healthy fats such as olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil.
Many people are having success with the ketogenic diet. One resource to consider is: HealthfulPursuit.com
Drink 8 glasses of filtered water per day.
It is often helpful to avoid all grains and milk products because they are the source of most refined carbs, and are often genetically modified, and are frequent causes for inflammation.
Choose fish as an alternative to high-fat meats. Cod, tuna and halibut have less total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol than red meat and poultry. Meanwhile, fish such as salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardines and bluefish are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which promote heart health.
Don’t be afraid of ‘good’ fats from foods such as avocados, almonds, pecans, walnuts, or olives, as well as certain oils (canola, olive and peanut).
Do you know of any helpful supplements I can take?
The following are supplements which can be helpful in controlling blood sugar and insulin level:
1. A multivitamin
2. Cinnamon
3. EGCG
4. Chromium
5. Alpha Lipoic Acid
6. Calcium / Magnesium supplement
7. Vitamin D3 with K2
8. Omega threes (unless you are on blood thinners)
9. Glucomannan
Of course, all of these should be reviewed by your provider to determine their appropriateness and safety before starting them.