Although the official start of summer is a little more than a week away, most folks began firing up the grill, planning picnics and parties back on Memorial Day weekend.

Many are chowing down on barbecue and all the trimmings and enjoying a few adult beverages -- or more -- on the weekends and during vacation, but African-Americans with diabetes have to be extra careful not to overdo it.

Not only do they have to be vigilant about what they eat and drink, but they need to take some extra precautions about traveling with medication and what to do on the road if they run into problems with insulin.

At one time, diabetics were warned against drinking alcohol at all, but research has modified the thinking about diabetes and booze.

“In a comprehensive review of several studies on the effect of alcohol use by people with diabetes, the data show that both not drinking at all and drinking heavily (i.e., more than three drinks per day) have more deleterious effects on health status than does moderate consumption,” David Marrero, PhD, a professor of medicine at Indiana University, recently wrote in Diabetes Forecast, a newsletter of the American Diabetic Association.

However, Marrero, who also is director of the Diabetes Translational Research Center at the university, cautioned, “While moderate consumption of alcohol may have some positive benefits for those who already drink, the science does not support adding alcohol to your diet if you don’t currently do so.”

Doctors of diabetics should also be aware of whether they drink and whether they intend to make alcohol a part of their lifestyle, Marrero wrote.

And before you diabetics cut into Auntie’s cobbler or pecan pie, Mama’s fried chicken and potato salad and slather the sauce on those ribs, remember that -- all joking aside -- there are calories, fat, salt and sugar in everything you’re piling on your plate.

Watch your portion size, keeping meat, poultry and fish down to about three ounces (about the size of a deck of cards). Eat more fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts and whole grains, and limit fried foods. There is no summer vacation from a healthy diet.

Tell those snackers in your family, too, that they may not have to nosh constantly to keep their glucose levels even. The American Diabetes Association says many new insulins do not require constant snacking to maintain their effectiveness, attesting that diabetics should check with their doctors to make sure they know what kind of insulin they are taking.

By the way, taking insulin and how you pack it when you travel is important, as well. If you’re going to be gone for an extended time, give your doctor more than a week’s notice, especially if you need doctors’ notes explaining your condition; they often are requested by officials in foreign countries.
 
Ask your doctor how zone changes may affect your medication schedule, and get copies of your prescriptions in case you need to buy medicine on the road. Carry the original pharmacy labels for all your meds with you, as well as a list of your medications -- including their generic names -- just in case. Be sure to have your doctor’s on-call or emergency number on hand.

If you use an insulin pump, pack both short- and long-acting insulin in case your pump fails and you don’t have a backup, and carry double the amount of insulin that you think you will need, the American Diabetes Association advises.

Davida Kruger, a nurse practitioner and author of "The Diabetes Travel Guide," recommends that several weeks before your trip, figure out if your hotel room will have a refrigerator, especially if you’re traveling to a hot climate, to keep your injectable medicine cool. If you’re headed to an amusement park or the beach or a picnic, make sure you have someplace cool to keep your medicine or know where you can find ice.

And always carry a meal replacement bar or some sort of snack in case you’re caught in a travel delay and can’t get a normally scheduled meal.

For those who haven’t faced any challenges, diabetes experts say the family reunion is often a good place to begin finding out your family history.

Interview your relatives. You may discover that a family member who died at an early age may have had uncontrolled diabetes. You don’t want to be known as the family’s Debbie Downer, but you do want to become aware of hereditary risk factors.