10 Dining Tips for Travelers Who Have Diabetes

1. Check with your physician several weeks before your trip. If you're traveling to a different time zone, you may need to adjust your eating routine or medications.
2. Ask your pharmacist for a list of your prescriptions, including the generic names and their dosages, plus any travel recommendations.
3. Visit a registered dietitian to map out dining options to suit your itinerary.
4. Do the best you can to eat a balanced diet away from home. Note the foods you eat in your trip journal. You'll remember the special meals you ate and also keep track of how much you're eating on busy days.
5. Keep on hand any snacks recommended by your physician and/or dietitian, just in case your blood glucose level drops or you're unable to dine at your regular time.
6. Pack some quick-acting sugar, such as glucose tablets or juice.
7. Eat at about the same time every day to keep medicine and sugar levels steady.
8. Consider sharing large entrées, ordering an appetizer for dinner, or taking part of a large portion back to your room for another meal, if you have a place to store it safely.
9. Make your special requests known to your traveling partners and waiters — simple things like having the bread basket taken away, ordering your salad dressing on the side, or passing on a cocktail or glass of wine.
10. Ask for help if you can't understand the menu in a foreign country. Learn the words for fried, cream, butter, bread, rice, pasta, and other foods you need to be careful about eating.