HODGEPODGE: A bit of This & That

I admit I had a difficult time to decide on a topic for this blog. I had several ideas going around in my head but what helped me to decide was a picture on facebook of a delicious combination of vegetables in a stew like mixture. I had never heard of Hodgepodge until a girl I worked with mentioned it one day and she raved how good it was at this time of year with all the fresh vegetables. Check this site for the east coast hodgepodge recipe. The above picture has been adapted from that website.

The origin of hodgepodge belongs to the French, and dates back as far as the 14th century. There was an earlier form of hodgepodge, called hotchpotch which is still used in Britain. The word basically means a stew with a variety of different ingredients all shaken together in a pot. Many recipes exist to this day and it might be difficult to make the hodgepodge the same each time. If you want to read more on this topic check out this reference.

Today my stories are a “hodgepodge” of things that I have experienced or read about these past few weeks.

1) My first issue was at the Giant Tiger store where I went to buy some sympathy cards. I was ready to get in line at the cash when a lady came in and said her husband was having a weak spell. She went to the bar(candy) section of the store and chose one and then went to the cooler where I figured she would buy orange juice or regular pop, at least something that would be fast acting but it was water. Despite the fact that the chocolate bar would have sugar in it, it takes much longer to digest than a faster form of carbohydrate and could lead to a more serious low. But hey, we probably all have been there at some time through our diabetes journey. I know when I was first diagnosed I did eat a bar if nothing else was available. We are all human. When she came up to the cash I let her go ahead of me and asked if her husband was diabetic to which she replied yes. I suggested orange juice but her reply was “my husband knows his body pretty good and this is what he asked for” so I didn’t say anything further. I did tell her that I was diabetic and she then asked how I was doing. She mentioned that her husband had already lost the sight in one eye and now was having problems with his feet. No doubt he was experiencing some neuropathy (damage to the nerves in the feet). I didn’t ask how long he had had diabetes but she mentioned he took three insulin shots each day. As she left the store, I told her I had orange juice in my car if she needed anything more and some dextrose tablets. She was so appreciative and I was only too glad I could help. It was unfortunate this person did not have a spare meter to check if he was truly low but then we are taught NEVER to take chances. When in doubt, treat which is what this family did. However, I think we have all experienced sometimes feeling low but a meter check tells us we were wrong. It was a hot humid morning and it is possible the heat was affecting the absorption of his insulin depending when he took his injection and what activity followed. The other issue was if he was driving I hope they waited until he felt better. I tried to find them in the parking lot but I had no luck. Please remember to have supplies to treat low blood glucose readily available”. The correct treatment of hypoglycemia as per Diabetes Canada guidelines can be found at this site. More information on driving with diabetes can be found at this site.

My question to you is: did I do the right thing? Should I have been more aggressive? Just take a moment to reflect on this situation and ask yourself what you would have

done or have you ever been in this same situation? Be sure if anyone is with you they know what to do to help if you experience a low blood glucose episode.

2) My second story happened just this past Tuesday. I went to pick up my parcel at the Fedex depot. When the lady saw the box she recognized the name on it and asked if I

had diabetes. I have never been ashamed to say I have the disease so of course I said yes. She then told me she was diagnosed 7 years ago as type 1 and has been thinking of purchasing a continuous blood glucose monitoring device. The place was busy so I suggested she go to the Diabetes Canada website and she would find a great deal of information. Once again, she said she would and was happy to have this information. I will probably see this person again so I hope to find out if she made any decisions.

Were you aware that Diabetes Canada provides many different resources for patients to review and update themselves on the new trends going on in diabetes management?

3)Health Canada & Food labelling: New guidelines starting in 2026

Health Canada is requiring that “nutrition warnings “be added to the front of pre-packaged foods that contain high levels ( > 15%) of the suggested daily value of saturated fat, sugars or sodium (exception: ground beef). These new labels with be an add on and will not replace the already detailed nutrition information found on the back of the packaging. At the same time, Health Canada will limit the amount of “voluntary health-related information”. An example of this would be a food that proclaims it is high in fibre. I have often seen this on labels so I went to check out what it actually meant. A high fibre food is one that has at least 5 grams of fibre per serving. As per Government of Canada website women need 25 gram of fibre per day and men need 38 grams of fibre per day. So I took a look at the bread I buy.. Each slice contains 5 grams and it does state it is a “high source of fibre”. The label also tells me that is 21% (20% actually) of my daily intake, which is correct for women. The number is calculated based on the 25 gram serving. I thought this website was very good talking about fibre.

4) Pre-diabetes vs Type 2 diabetes: what is the difference?

I noticed a few articles recently taking about the difference between pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Pre-diabetes is when you have a higher than normal blood sugar level but not high enough to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Another name for pre-diabetes is “impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose” or it refers to an A1C value between 6.0-6.4%. This value can put you at increased risk of developing diabetes and its complications. Diagnosis of type 2 is determined by several factors such as a fasting blood glucose, A1C value, random glucose level at any time of day or night or a two hour post glucose load showing greater than or equal to 11.1 mmol/L.

Downloaded and copied from Diabetes Canada website which is available to the public.

I hope this hodgepodge of topics was helpful. Please don't hesitate to contact me or subscribe to my blog.

This site is to be used for information purposes only. It is not meant to replace information provided to you by your health-care team.

Thank you for your time today. For any students in my audience, I wish you a great year of health, fun and learning. Don't be shy about your diabetes and make sure your classmates and teachers know how to help you if the need does arise.