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Food and You

Help us understand your diet and how it relates to your diabetes self-management by filling out this quick survey.

Fighting Diabetes and Preserving a Legacy

Food and You

Help us understand your diet and how it relates to your diabetes self-management by filling out this quick survey.

We know it’s tough to eat healthy but having enough choices ... and making the right choices... can really help manage your diabetes successfully. Sharing this information with your caregivers can make a difference. Complete this short online questionnaire, download it and share it with your caregivers by email or take it with you to your next clinic appointment. You can even complete this survey on your mobile device while you are waiting for your appointment and share the results with your caregivers.

We respect your privacy. This is an anonymous survey and requires no information that would allow you to be identified.

Survey

Help us understand your diet and how it relates to your diabetes self-management by filling out this quick survey.

1. Tell us a few facts about yourself:
   
  I live in a single-parent family.
2. Do you identify yourself as:
3. Describe your daily intake of medication and/or insulin: I check my glucose levels by...
4. I do not use insulin, but my medication is...
5. I use insulin and inject it by:
6. In addition to insulin, I also use some medicines which are called...
7. Identify your favourites (Please respond to all):
   
8. Do you eat vegetables or fruit every day?
9. I choose fast foods over healthy foods because they are cheaper.
10. In the past school year, I could not pack or buy a lunch for school because we did not have enough money.
11. I worry that our family food supply may run out before we have money to buy more.
12. In the last 12 months, our food ran out and we did not have the money to get more.
13. In the last 12 months my family cut the size of our meals or skipped a meal because we did not have enough money for food.

Food-related questions adapted from a toolkit for care providers developed by Prof. E. Gucciardi, PhD, 2019, Ryerson University, Canada with additions from Amy Hess-Fischl, MS, RDN, CDE, Kovler Diabetes Centre, University of Chicago, and SFBLF Board physicians, Karolyn Hardy-Brown, MD and Elisa Venier, MD

Did You Know?

Diabetes-related complications usually develop gradually. The risk of complications increases the longer you have diabetes. Risk is also increased by poor control of blood sugar levels.

Possible complications include:

  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Nerve damage
  • Kidney damage
  • Eye damage
  • Foot damage
  • Skin conditions
  • Hearing impairment

    • Working Together to Protect Your Family

    Families may benefit from reviewing the following information together especially, as a way to help younger children understand their risk.

    It is very important to be diligent in managing your diabetes and doing your best to sustain your target blood glucose levels every day. There are many applications, accessible from a mobile phone, that can help ease the burden of diabetes self-management.

    Regular physical activity is a key element in controlling weight and reducing the risk of developing diabetes-related complications. Family walking, cycling or swimming are great ways to have fun and become more active. Aim for an average of 30 minutes per day, or 150 minutes per week of physical activity.

    Eating foods that are rich in fibre, reducing the amount of fat and salt in food selections and adding more fruits and vegetables, can help to maintain or lose weight. Many healthy eating guides, for example, recommend 7 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables each day, depending on age and gender. Counting total calories, as well as the amount of fat, fibre and salt (sodium) intake, is something that families can do together.

    Diabetes and high blood pressure are often found together. Risk of high blood pressure can be reduced also by increasing physical activity, reducing salt and fat in your diet, avoiding alcohol and tobacco use, reducing stress, and maintaining a healthy body weight.

    It is important to schedule regular physical checkups and eye exams at least twice a year or more. Take care of your teeth and see your dentist twice a year. Pay attention to your feet. Untreated cuts and blisters can lead to serious infections. If you have an open sore or other foot problem that does not heal promptly, see your family doctor immediately.

About The Sir Frederick Banting Legacy Foundation

The Foundation is dedicated to fighting diabetes, contributing to increased awareness and supporting the search for insights that reduce risk and help people living with diabetes to realize a better quality of life.

For more information on diabetes see www.bantinglegacy.ca.

Did this questionnaire prove helpful for you? Do you have improvements to suggest? Please tell us at T2RQ@bantinglegacy.ca.