Special Tet holiday dietary tips for people with diabetes

Special Tet holiday dietary tips for people with diabetes

Developing and adhering to a proper diet during Tet holidays plays an especially vital role for people with diabetes.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Trong Hung from the National Institute of Nutrition shared that the Lunar New Year (Tet) is the most important traditional holiday of the year for Vietnamese people, associated with family reunions, social visits, and lavish feasts spanning multiple days. However, for people with diabetes, this is a period that poses numerous potential risks to blood sugar control.

Clinical practice shows that during and after the Tet holiday, hospital admissions due to hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, or cardiovascular complications in diabetes patients tend to increase. The main causes stem from irregular eating habits, consuming high amounts of starch and fat-rich foods, drinking alcohol, skipping meals, or taking medications inconsistently.

Therefore, establishing and adhering to a proper nutritional regimen during Tet plays an especially critical role. This is not only a key factor in maintaining stable blood sugar levels but also helps prevent complications, enabling patients to fully enjoy the Tet atmosphere with their families.

Developing and adhering to a proper diet during Tet holidays plays an especially vital role for people with diabetes.

1. Fundamental nutritional principles for people with diabetes

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Trong Hung emphasized that medical nutrition therapy for diabetes needs to be approached individually, combining education, counseling, and monitoring of clinical indicators such as blood glucose, HbA1c, blood lipids, blood pressure, weight, and quality of life. This serves as the foundation for evaluating the effectiveness of dietary recommendations.

Medical nutritional goals

For adults with diabetes who are not pregnant, nutrition therapy focuses on the following main goals:

• Supports and maintains healthy eating habits, diversifying foods in appropriate portions.

• Achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

• Control blood glucose, blood pressure, and blood lipids according to individualized targets.

• Slow down or prevent complications of diabetes.

Furthermore, nutritional regimens should be tailored to individual circumstances, dietary culture, food accessibility, level of understanding, and the patient's capacity for behavioral change. The ultimate goal is to help patients maintain the joy of eating, avoid imposing messages, and provide practical tools for everyday life.

Control targets by target group

Diabetes treatment targets vary between non-pregnant adults and older adults, depending on health status, life expectancy, and disease complexity. Indicators such as HbA1c, fasting blood glucose, postprandial glucose, blood pressure, and blood lipids need to be individualized to ensure treatment efficacy and safety.

2. Characteristics of Tet meals and potential health risks

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Trong Hung said that the traditional Vietnamese Tet feast is often rich and diverse, yet harbors numerous adverse factors for people with diabetes.

First, carbohydrate- and fat-rich foods make up a large portion, such as banh chung, banh tet, sticky rice, braised pork, Vietnamese ham, and fried spring rolls. These dishes have a high glycemic index or are high in saturated fats, easily causing blood sugar levels to spike and remain elevated after meals.

Second is a deficiency of green vegetables and dietary fiber. During Tet, vegetables often serve merely as minor side dishes, whereas fiber is essential for slowing sugar absorption and supporting digestion.

Third, an increase in the consumption of alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, and candied fruit/sweets. Alcohol can cause delayed hypoglycemia, which is especially dangerous for individuals using insulin or blood-sugar-lowering medications. Traditional sweets and soft drinks are high in simple sugars, causing blood glucose levels to spike rapidly and making them difficult to manage.

3. Guide to Selecting and Consuming Food Safely During Tet

When eating bánh chưng, pair it with plenty of green vegetables to help slow down the rise in blood sugar.

How to eat banh chung and banh tet properly

Banh chung and banh tet are indispensable traditional dishes during Tet. People with diabetes can still enjoy them if they effectively control portions and meal timing.

According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Trong Hung, each serving should only be about 1/8 to 1/6 of a banh chung, depending on its size, and one should not eat more than one piece a day to maintain dietary diversity. The cake should be eaten during main meals, not as an in-between snack, and not late at night. When having banh chung, eat it with plenty of green vegetables to slow down blood sugar spikes. Deep-fried banh chung should be avoided as it increases fat and calories, making it difficult to control blood sugar and body weight.

Choosing suitable savory dishes

During Tet holiday meals, patients should prioritize low-fat dishes such as boiled or steamed lean meat, steamed or lightly braised fish with little oil, skinless chicken, tofu, and bean-based dishes.

Limit fatty foods and fried dishes such as fatty braised pork, Vietnamese pork roll (giò lụa), head cheese (giò xào), fried spring rolls, and fried meat patties. Each meal should only include about 80–100g of meat or fish, and avoid eating multiple salty dishes in the same meal.

Increase green vegetables and fiber

Green vegetables play an important role in blood sugar control. Dietary fiber slows sugar absorption, reduces postprandial blood sugar spikes, and supports digestion. Patients should consume 300–400g of green vegetables daily, prioritizing boiled, steamed, and soup preparations. Salads and mixed greens can also be eaten, but oil and sugar should be limited.

Choosing and eating fruits the right way

Fruits provide essential vitamins and minerals, but people with diabetes need to make appropriate choices. Low-sugar fruits should be prioritized, such as pomelo, citrus fruits (in moderation), apples, pears, and dragon fruit. Limit high-sugar fruits such as jackfruit, durian, ripe mangoes, and raisins.

Fruit should be eaten 1–2 hours after main meals, about 100g each time; avoid eating large quantities at once and do not juice them.

Alcohol and Beverages

Ideally, people with diabetes should avoid or strictly limit alcohol consumption during Tet. If alcohol must be consumed, it should only be in very small amounts—no more than one unit per day—and never on an empty stomach or as a substitute for a meal. Strong spirits and prolonged drinking over multiple days must be strictly avoided.

4. Common mistakes and how to avoid them

Many patients complacently assume that indulging in eating and drinking "freely" for just a few days of Tet can be adjusted later. In addition, there are tendencies to skip medication, take it irregularly, stay sedentary, or fail to monitor blood glucose regularly. These mistakes can lead to prolonged uncontrolled blood sugar levels and increase the risk of complications.

Patients need to proactively plan their meals, eat slowly, be selective with food, maintain light physical activity such as walking 30–60 minutes a day depending on health conditions, and monitor blood glucose more frequently during Tet.

Tet will no longer be an obstacle if people with diabetes have a proper understanding and adhere to the treatment regimen prescribed by their doctors, in which nutrition and physical activity play key roles. Eating scientifically and managing blood sugar well will help patients enjoy a happy, safe, and healthy Tet.