There are traditional New Year’s Day food items that bring us “good luck.”
Among the lucky food items that you should eat are a plate full of greens or vegetables that will remind you of dollar bills, and jade jewelry; noodles or pansit to lengthen your life while pork symbolizes wealth and prosperity, among others.
Just like the Christmas celebration, family and friends enjoy getting together to enjoy New Year’s dishes.
While it is tempting to consume all that delicious food prepared by the family or gifted by well-meaning friends, not all meals are healthy, especially for people living with diabetes.
To raise awareness about the critical connection between diabetes and cardiovascular disease, the “For Your SweetHeart” campaign, spearheaded by Boehringer Ingelheim [Philippines], Inc. in partnership with medical societies, and campaign ambassador Kim Atienza or Kuya Kim have come up with special recipes this holiday season for people living with diabetes.
Mommy Beng, Kuya Kim’s mom and a type 2 diabetes patient, joined him in preparing heart-healthy and diabetes-friendly holiday meals during an online cooking demo.
The mother-son duo gamely prepared two recipes—a main dish and a dessert—that Filipinos can enjoy without worrying about their impact on the sugar level and the heart. The main dish is Chicken Teriyaki with Sweet Potatoes and Shiitake Mushrooms, while the after-meal treat is Fruit Salad with Healthy Honey Yogurt Sauce.
Being a type-2 diabetes patient, Mommy Beng knows the important role that the family plays in keeping a patient healthy.
Aside from encouraging the public to prepare healthy meals this Yuletide season for family members with diabetes, Kuya Kim and Mommy Beng also shared the most important tip of all: to always consult one’s doctor.
‘For Your SweetHeart’ web site
Besides the cooking demo, the web site foryoursweetheart.ph was also introduced where patients can learn more about the campaign.
The web site includes helpful articles on diabetes and heart disease management, including a heart-healthy diet for patients with diabetes.
The site also contains an assessment tool based on the Framingham 10-year Heart Disease Risk Test, which requires details of the patient’s total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and systolic blood pressure.
The “For Your SweetHeart” campaign is supported by the Philippine Heart Association (PHA), Institute for Studies on Diabetes Foundation Inc. (ISDFI), American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE), Philippine Society of Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism (PSEDM), Diabetes Philippines (DP), Philippine Association of Diabetes Educators (PADE), Association of Diabetes Nurse Educators of the Philippines, Inc. (ADNEP), and Philippine Alliance of Patient Organizations (PAPO).