According to the American Diabetes Association, 25.8 million Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes. If you have diabetes, you understand the importance of following a carbohydrate-controlled diet. However, when struck with the influenza or flu virus it can be extra challenging to follow any diet. Without proper dietary management, diabetes and the flu virus can be a lethal combination.

Symptoms

The flu virus comes with a variety of symptoms, including sore throat, aching muscles, fatigue, vomiting and diarrhea. All these symptoms can cause loss of appetite, which in turn can cause many harmful complications for someone diagnosed with diabetes, such as hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia. If you are unable to eat or keep anything down for six hours or longer it is important that you contact your physician.

Dietary Management

If you have diabetes and are sick with the flu, you should try to eat meals as you normally would. If you cannot eat or keep down solids, sip on regular soda or juice and include light foods such as toast, pudding or gelatin to help to keep your blood glucose from dropping too low. Regular soda, juice and gelatin are foods you usually avoid as a diabetic, but if you have nausea, vomiting or diarrhea, these foods are both a good source of rapidly absorbed carbohydrates and easy for an upset stomach to tolerate. To ensure that you are getting the appropriate amount of carbohydrate to control your blood sugar, use 45 to 50 grams of carbohydrate every three to four hours as your target. Continue to take your diabetes medications as prescribed unless your doctor tells you otherwise.

Complications

Diabetes and the flu virus can cause complications that can include weight loss, pneumonia, fever, hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia and ketonuria or increased amounts of ketones found in the urine. It is important for you to check your blood glucose every four hours. If your blood sugar is low, treat it as you would on a normal day with 15 g of a rapidly digestible carbohydrate source such as soda or juice and check your sugar again in 15 minutes. If your blood sugar is greater than 240 mg/dL for longer than 24 hours, check your urine for ketones. You can buy home ketone testing strips at any drugstore.

Prevention

The best way for you to prevent contracting the flu virus is by getting vaccinated annually. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 50 percent of diabetics do not receive a flu shot. Since pneumonia can be a further complication of the flu virus, it is important that you receive the pneumonococcal vaccine in addition to the flu vaccine.