Dining With Diabetes

Participants of the NDSU Extension Service's pilot Dining with Diabetes program say it was very helpful.

Kathleen Hinschberger wasn't surprised when her doctor told her in 2005 that she has diabetes, not with a history of the disease on both sides of her family.

The Grand Forks woman set up an appointment with a diabetic educator and dietician to learn more about the disease and how she could control it. They gave her the help she needed. They also told her about the North Dakota State University Extension Service's program called Dining with Diabetes: North Dakota Style.

It stresses good nutrition and physical activity as ways to better manage diabetes.

"Dining with Diabetes gives people with diabetes the confidence that they can control their disease through a healthy diet and lifestyle choices," says NDSU Extension nutrition and health specialist Jane Edwards, who coordinates the program.

"I was very excited there was such as program," Hinschberger says.

She was one of 119 adults ranging in age from 20 to 85 who signed up for the pilot program in 2005-06, which was offered in Grand Forks, Foster, Richland, Cass and Walsh counties. Extension agents teamed up with local dieticians, nurses or certified diabetes educators to teach the course.

Participants attended four weekly 2 1/2-hour sessions and a follow-up class three months later. They learned about making good food choices, portion control, meal planning, healthy food preparation methods and how to read food nutrition labels. They taste tested recipes that are healthy versions of familiar foods. Plus, they learned about the importance of physical activity in controlling diabetes and some exercises they could use.

"Remembering relatives having diabetes with complications and what impact that had on me made me a little nervous about how to deal with my life change after being diagnosed," Hinschberger says. "But the class has helped me so much, and it was wonderful to meet other people with diabetes and hear their input on issues."

Other participants found some of what they learned surprised them. For example:

·      Balanced meals can be easy to fix and taste good, too.

·      Diabetics need to look at the total amount of carbohydrate, not just the sugar content, on nutrition labels.

·      Heart disease and diabetes go together.

·      Some foods contain unexpectedly high amounts of fats and sugars.

The NDSU Extension Service adapted Dining with Diabetes from a successful program the West Virginia University Extension Service developed in 1998. The Dakota Medical Foundation gave NDSU a $10,000 grant for its pilot program and another $10,000 for this year's program. The Fargo-based foundation is a grant-making organization that invests in projects designed to improve health and health-care access. The North Dakota Department of Health also is contributing $2,000 to this year's educational efforts.

A program like this is important because the number of North Dakotans with diabetes has risen sharply, from 3.6 percent in 1994 to 6.7 percent in 2005, according to Edwards. More than 28,000 adults have the disease.

This year's program will be held in the same five counties and expand to the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation and Ransom County. It also will have a slightly different format.

It will consist of four weekly sessions followed by two monthly sessions during a three-month period. Participants will take hemoglobin A1c tests before and after the program to see whether their blood sugar is under control. They'll also have blood pressure checks before and after the lesson series.

The Dining with Diabetes program will be hosted in Rolette County beginning in March. For more information contact the Rolette County Extension Office.
 

Earned Income Credit and Child Tax Credit

NDSU Extension Service family economics specialist explains the earned income and child tax credits.

If you worked full time or part time during 2006 and had a low to moderate income, you may qualify for the earned income credit (EIC), according to Debra Pankow, North Dakota State University Extension Service family economics specialist.

If you qualify, you owe less in taxes and may get cash back. Also, some people who don’t owe taxes can get the EIC. However, to get these credits, you must file a tax return.

The amounts that someone will receive vary with income and circumstances. Here are some figures for the maximum amount that workers can receive for the earned income credit:

·      If you lived with one child in your home in 2006 and your family earned less than $32,001 ($34,001 for married workers), you can get up to $2,747.

·      If you lived with two or more children in 2006 and your family earned less than $36,348 ($38,348 for married workers), you can get up to $4,536.

·      If you had no children living with you, earned less than $12,120 ($14,120 for married workers) and are between the ages of 25 and 64, you can get up to $412.

To get the EIC, you must file form 1040 or 1040A. If you had a qualifying child in your home, you must fill out and attach schedule EIC. A correct name and Social Security number must be provided for every person listed on the tax return and schedule EIC.

“In addition to the EIC, you also may qualify for the child tax credit if you were raising a child in your home for at least six months during 2006,” Pankow says. “However, a single or married worker must have a taxable earned income above $11,300 to qualify.”

The child must live with the worker in the U.S. and be under age 17. Parents of full-time college students under the age of 24 or students of any age who have total and permanent disabilities also may be able to claim the CTC. The child must be a U.S. citizen or resident alien and must have either a valid Social Security number or an individual taxpayer identification number.

Qualifying children can include:

·      Sons, daughters, stepchildren, grandchildren and adopted children

·      Brothers, sisters, stepbrothers or stepsisters - as well as descendents of such relatives

·      Foster children who are placed with the worker by an authorized government or private placement agency.

To claim the child tax credit, you will need to file form 8812, as well as form 1040 or 1040A.