How CGMs Help You Navigate Christmas, Hannukah, and Kwanzaa Treats

 2024-12-09

The holiday season is a time of joy and—let’s just say it—overindulgence. To help manage those indulgences, think of the continuous glucose monitor (CGM) as a “festive detective,” keeping tabs on how holiday treats are sneaking around in your system!

For people living with diabetes, the holidays can be a sugar-, fat-, and alcohol-filled rollercoaster. Given the abundance of delectable Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Christmas treats, it is understandable that blood sugar levels could spike.

Fortunately, CGMs like the Freestyle Libre 3 provide real-time insights that simplify blood sugar management during festive gatherings, allowing you to enjoy the season. By helping users improve their time in range, CGMs ensure more stable glucose levels, even amidst holiday indulgences.

CGMs allow for proactive adjustments, whether it’s taking insulin, adding exercise, or opting for smaller portions. With their trend arrows and subtle alerts, you can stay one step ahead of those pesky highs and lows.

This means you can enjoy those seasonal treats without stressing about your health—because, let’s face it, no one wants to miss out on the festive fun!

How Christmas Foods and Drinks Can Impact Diabetes Management

Popular Christmas dishes like honey-glazed ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and desserts such as fruitcake or cookies can cause blood sugar spikes.

Additionally, festive drinks like eggnog, hot chocolate, mulled wine, and hot buttered rum are often loaded with sugar.

High-glycemic-index foods can lead to after-meal blood sugar spikes, increasing the risk of hyperglycemia in people with diabetes. When you picture Christmas treats—i.e., candy canes, gingerbread cookies, fruitcakes, Christmas pudding, and pies—you’re basically picturing a glycemic-index party with all the high-sugar VIPs.

How the FreeStyle Libre 3 Can Help Support Blood Sugar Management During Christmas

CGMs like the FreeStyle Libre 3 are game-changers for managing diabetes—especially during Christmas.

Moreover, the FreeStyle Libre 3’s smartphone compatibility lets you check your glucose data without even pausing your terribly interesting conversation about Aunt Linda’s fruitcake at the holiday gathering.

With tools like the FreeStyle Libre 3, enjoying Christmas foods and drinks becomes more manageable, allowing people with diabetes to participate in holiday traditions while maintaining better blood sugar control.

How Hanukkah Foods and Drinks Can Impact Diabetes Management

Hanukkah celebrations often center around delicious traditional foods and drinks, many of which can pose challenges for people managing diabetes.

Fried foods like latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly-filled doughnuts) are staples of the holiday but are high in carbohydrates and fats.

High-fat and high-carb Hanukkah foods—just like their Christmas counterparts—can send your blood sugar on a holiday adventure,

Traditional Hanukkah drinks, such as sweetened wine or cider, can also add to the glycemic load. Even matzo ball soup, a comforting holiday favorite, can contribute to elevated glucose levels due to its refined carbohydrate content.

Navigating these festive treats while managing diabetes can be tricky, requiring careful monitoring and planning.

How the FreeStyle Libre 3 Can Help Support Blood Sugar Management During Hannukah

Brisket. Kugel. Challah. Gelt.

These Hanukkah staples are basically non-negotiable when it comes to celebrating, right?

But here’s the catch—they’re all packed with sugar.

Do you really want to be thinking about your blood sugar while indulging in these festive treats? (Probably not.)

That’s where CGMs come in!

They’re like your personal holiday helper, tracking those sugar highs and lows so you can enjoy the tzimmes and apinach knishes without worrying about your glucose levels.

• The FreeStyle Libre 3 offers discreet, 24/7 glucose monitoring via a small sensor worn on the back of the arm.
• Its advanced technology provides trend arrows and real-time alerts.
  • This empowers users to make informed decisions about insulin dosing and meal planning.
• The device’s trend arrows and alerts can help predict and prevent extreme glucose swings.
  • For instance, if eating blintzes causes a rapid rise in blood sugar, the data allows users to adjust their insulin dose or engage in physical activity to stabilize levels.
    Because, let’s face it, who needs extra stress when there’s rugelach to be eaten?

How Kwanzaa Foods and Drinks Can Affect Diabetes Management

Kwanzaa is a time for celebration and unity, often accompanied by traditional African and soul food dishes.

While these meals are rich in culture, they can be challenging for people with diabetes to navigate.

Popular Kwanzaa dishes such as fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, collard greens cooked with ham hocks, and sweet potato pie are often high in carbohydrates, fats, and sugars.

Fried and starchy foods, in particular, can cause post-meal blood sugar spikes.

Research published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition underscores how high-glycemic foods, like sweet potatoes with added sugar, contribute to significant glucose level fluctuations.

Additionally, beverages such as sugary punches or sweetened teas, commonly served during Kwanzaa feasts, add extra carbohydrates that can destabilize blood sugar levels. Pairing high-carb drinks with rich meals further complicates glycemic control, requiring close monitoring to prevent hyperglycemia.

How the FreeStyle Libre 3 Can Help Support Blood Sugar Management During Kwanzaa

The FreeStyle Libre 3 continuous glucose monitor (CGM) empowers users to better manage their diabetes during Kwanzaa celebrations. By offering real-time glucose readings every minute, it helps track how festive meals impact blood sugar levels throughout the day.

The device’s discreet alerts notify users of rising or falling glucose trends, enabling timely adjustments to insulin or activity levels. For instance, after enjoying a serving of sweet potato pie, users can monitor whether a correction is needed. Research in Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics (2022) shows that CGMs improve overall glucose management by reducing time spent in hyperglycemia.

With the FreeStyle Libre 3, people with diabetes can enjoy Kwanzaa traditions while maintaining better control over their blood sugar.

Enjoy the Holidays with Confidence: How CGMs Help Manage Blood Sugar

With CGMs like the FreeStyle Libre 3, holiday indulgence becomes more manageable. Real-time insights, trend arrows, and discreet alerts empower people with diabetes to savor festive treats while maintaining blood sugar balance.

Enjoy the joy of the season—one celebration at a time—without compromising your health or holiday spirit!

This content was made possible by Abbott, a Founding Partner of Beyond Type 2.

Beyond Type 2 maintains editorial control over its content.

WRITTEN BY Daniel Trecroci, POSTED 12/09/24, UPDATED 12/09/24

Dan has written about diabetes for more than 20 years. He was one of Diabetes Health’s first employee’s, and throughout his 10 + years as Managing Editor he wrote/published thousands of articles and helped establish Diabetes Health as the premiere resource for people with diabetes. He later became the Content Manager for OneTouchGold—Johnson & Johnson/LifeScan’s official digital publication for its metering-technology customers. Under his leadership, OneTouchGold received the Web Marketing Association’s award for “Best Health & Wellness” web site. Dan has also written for the Diabetes Research Institute, dLife, diaTribe, Healthline, CareDx, Pendulum Therapeutics, and Hero Bread.