All diabetics have to watch their diets. No matter what type of diabetes they have. No, it is not wise to eat what you want or as much as you want and then use more insulin. This is poor control and can lead to weight gain and other problems. I had this problem with my daughter when she was in school. Peer pressure was awful. We went to a nutritionist and put the subject to rest. She set my daughter straight. We also went to diabetic ed. classes together, and we both learned at the same time. This is something you need to do with your son. Don’t let him mess up his diet, he needs to learn to eat the right foods. You won’t be around all the time to feed him. Eating more, or eating something “forbidden” is fine once in awhile. Drs will tell you to go ahead, eat a small portion of what ever it is you crave. This helps most people to stick to their diets. But the daily eating of more carbs and sugar than you should and covering with more insulin is definitely not the way to good control. You are right. Set your son straight. Eating more carbs and sugars will only increase the amount of insulin that he needs, and this is not what control is all about. It is about eating a good diet and using as little insulin as possible to control the disease.
Seeing a dietician through your endo’s office might be a good idea, but the truth is that there’s a lot of controversy about this. Some people find that keeping their carbs moderate helps BG’s (I’m one of them), but others do fine no matter what they eat.
One thing they’re discovering is that injected (or pumped) insulin tends to “pool” under the skin and sits there until it’s all absorbed. The more insulin that’s injected, the bigger the pool, and the longer it takes to absorb. So it would make sense to keep carbs at a moderate level (less than 45 per meal is pretty good) so that your insulin gets absorbed at an optimum rate. I eat sugar and carbs, I just keep them in that range and I do much better. The only sugars I avoid are non-diet soda pop and juices because they are so concentrated in carb.
Also keep in mind that as he gets older, his body will not burn fat as efficiently as it does in a kid, so keeping his carbs moderate will also help him avoid weight problems.
You shouldn’t avoid carbs and sugars totally, but he definitely should be eating less of them. Diabetes, if your sugar is high too long by eating a lot of sugar (regardless of insulin) you can go blind, your kidneys could fail, or other long term effects (not immediately but over time). I knew a friend of mine that has it and has had it since he was about 10. I remember going to subway with them and his mom told him he was allowed 73 carbs in a meal. I would talk to a specialist if you have one in your town to see what his nutrition intake should be.
I’m more on your son’s side. Why limit his food to limit his insulin intake? If he had a healthy pancreas there are times that it would make a lot of insulin. Of course a healthy diet is beneficial, but limiting his sugar and carb intake simply to limit the amount of insulin isn’t necessary. The shot hurts just the same for 10 units and it does for 20 units.
I have a 16 year old son (diabetic since age 7), I allow him to have cake or other sweet treats but not every single day. My son is crazy about pancakes, and I wouldn’t dream of eliminating this super high carb breakfast from his diet. Also, many foods high in fiber (like shredded wheat cereal) have a lot of carbs, but the body needs the fiber even if you need a bit more insulin.
Eat a balanced diet, but allow some sweets. It is so hard for a 12 year old to deal with diabetes and he wants to be as normal as possible, so don’t be overly strict with the restricted diet because he is the one that has to deal with the shots and aggravation of diabetes every single moment of his life.
Calories for 1 cup refried beans 237 with 3 grams of fat.
Calories for 1 cup white rice is 193 with 1 fat.
The diet that Gary recommends would be miserable and nearly impossible to follow. Never allow a kid to go to Mickey D’s with his friends? Never eat a candy bar? Honestly, balance is the key. Severely limiting carbs and sugar isn’t practical or necessary. Fruit has sugar, high fiber foods have carbs (sometimes lots of carbs).
you are correct, just because he is insulin dependant (all Type 1’s are) doesn’t mean he can eat whatever he wants and not exercise. He may be a little too young to tell him this, but if he doesn’t control his dieting and exercise now he will be very very sick later in life. Type 2 diabetics can somewhat get away with eating what they want here and there but Type 1’s are very susceptible to blood sugar spikes or fallouts since their bodies do not make any insulin at all
well hes only 12 and doesnt have a job to buy food so if you dont buy then its not in the house and its not too much of an issue, if he goes to a friends house make sure the parents know what hes allowed to have and if they dont cooperate then he shouldnt go there, and as far as school goes send him a cold lunch and dont give him money to buy other things. you need to take control and teach him how to eat now so by the time hes an adult and buys his own food hell make the right choices. diabetes is a serious disease and he has to develop good habits now in order to survive a long healthy life, you are his parent and you have the ability to control the situation for now, take advantage of it
You are obviously right, however his nutritional needs are much higher than yours, being a growing boy, so limiting his calories is not wise. Better food choices, of course are the way to go and avoiding excess carbs in the form of junk food or simple carbs is always right. Plus, blood sugar levels are harder to control when you eat junk food. They are all over the place. I’ve taken seen many people who claim they are ‘brittle’ diabetics and really, they just need a dietary adjustment.
So you both are partially right.
I think a compromise is best here, my Mum is type one and she has cake or other sugary things occasionally if she injects more insulin. But if you under or over estimate your insulin intake it could be very bad. Your son is twelve let him have a few sweets once in a while as long as he takes the recommended amount of insulin for what he is eating.
Good Luck
drag his butt to a nutritionist and have them explain what not eating healthy now will do to him later in life. It sounds like your son is not mature enough yet to handle his medical condition. He’ll learn in time. Just keep doing what you are doing and make sure theres only appropriate food in the house for him.
My opinion is you’re the parent and you are responsible for his health. Therefore, regardless of what he wants you are doing the right thing and someday he will probably thank you for it.
No 12 year old child should be able to eat what he wants when he wants. He should stick to healthy foods like any child should. But we do not live in the dark ages, and insulin is very effective when used correctly. Every insulin pump on the market boasts that it better imitates a pancreas and gives us more freedom to eat like a normal person. And mine works great. It is wrong and insulting to a diabetic to always be on our case about what we eat. I eat junk food probably too much and my a1c from last week was 6. 2.
A couple of years ago, a lady brought in a birthday cake to my work. While we were all on break, she cut the cake and was distributing it. And she refused to give me a piece because she knew I was diabetic. I had never been so insulted in my life. Here I take care of myself and haven’t had an A1C above 6. 9 in years and someone else assumes because of my condition I should be content to watch everyone else enjoy different foods. And when people act like that it really makes me mad because they wouldn’t think twice if I ate five pieces of bread or a giant bowl of mashed potatoes, which will do the same thing to you as a large portion of cake or other sweets.
Sorry to get on a rant, but this is a sensitive issue. You should get your son’s insulin to where the reason he should not eat alot of junk food is because the food is unhealthy in and of itself, not because he is diabetic. And do not worry about limiting his insulin intake because I can tell you from experience that it will go up dramatically from what he is taking as a 12 year old regardless of how well he is eating.
No, you canNOT eat whatever you want.
The insulin is to replace what his body doesn’t produce. A proper diet is necessary to reduce the amount of insulin necessary.
This problem is very common is ALL diabetics, especially children. They (diabetics) seem to think that insulin is the “cure-all” to their disease. This is not the case. It is a cover up, a best-effort by the doctor to keep the patient alive.
Diabetics MUST control their diet. Sugared foods MUST be cut to an absolute bare minimum. If you want to have ONE SMALL piece of cake at a friends birthday party this month, then go ahead. Bu that’s it! One SMALL piece — this month! No ice cream, no sports drinks, no candy bars.
Starches must be severely cut back. Especially white breads, crackers, potatoes (NO french fries), rice, and pastas. if you want to eat at a Mexican restaurant, tell then “double beans, no rice” Stay away from McDonald’s!
Eat more fibers — green vegetables, broccoli, who grain cereals. Watch those cereals! a recent study showed that many breakfast cereals are 40%-60% sugar by weight. No Sugar Smacks, Froot Loops, or Frosted Flakes (in fact, eveN corn flakes are pretty bad). Cheerios are pretty good, even Honey Nut Cheerios.
Your son’s thinking, while normal, is wrong — D-E-A-D wrong. With that attitude he is likely to end up institutionalized (or dead) before he is 25. Is dying before you’re 25 worth being able to eat what you want? [He'll tell you "yes", but we know better. ]
All diabetics have to watch their diets. No matter what type of diabetes they have. No, it is not wise to eat what you want or as much as you want and then use more insulin. This is poor control and can lead to weight gain and other problems. I had this problem with my daughter when she was in school. Peer pressure was awful. We went to a nutritionist and put the subject to rest. She set my daughter straight. We also went to diabetic ed. classes together, and we both learned at the same time. This is something you need to do with your son. Don’t let him mess up his diet, he needs to learn to eat the right foods. You won’t be around all the time to feed him. Eating more, or eating something “forbidden” is fine once in awhile. Drs will tell you to go ahead, eat a small portion of what ever it is you crave. This helps most people to stick to their diets. But the daily eating of more carbs and sugar than you should and covering with more insulin is definitely not the way to good control. You are right. Set your son straight. Eating more carbs and sugars will only increase the amount of insulin that he needs, and this is not what control is all about. It is about eating a good diet and using as little insulin as possible to control the disease.
Seeing a dietician through your endo’s office might be a good idea, but the truth is that there’s a lot of controversy about this. Some people find that keeping their carbs moderate helps BG’s (I’m one of them), but others do fine no matter what they eat.
One thing they’re discovering is that injected (or pumped) insulin tends to “pool” under the skin and sits there until it’s all absorbed. The more insulin that’s injected, the bigger the pool, and the longer it takes to absorb. So it would make sense to keep carbs at a moderate level (less than 45 per meal is pretty good) so that your insulin gets absorbed at an optimum rate. I eat sugar and carbs, I just keep them in that range and I do much better. The only sugars I avoid are non-diet soda pop and juices because they are so concentrated in carb.
Also keep in mind that as he gets older, his body will not burn fat as efficiently as it does in a kid, so keeping his carbs moderate will also help him avoid weight problems.
You shouldn’t avoid carbs and sugars totally, but he definitely should be eating less of them. Diabetes, if your sugar is high too long by eating a lot of sugar (regardless of insulin) you can go blind, your kidneys could fail, or other long term effects (not immediately but over time). I knew a friend of mine that has it and has had it since he was about 10. I remember going to subway with them and his mom told him he was allowed 73 carbs in a meal. I would talk to a specialist if you have one in your town to see what his nutrition intake should be.
I’m more on your son’s side. Why limit his food to limit his insulin intake? If he had a healthy pancreas there are times that it would make a lot of insulin. Of course a healthy diet is beneficial, but limiting his sugar and carb intake simply to limit the amount of insulin isn’t necessary. The shot hurts just the same for 10 units and it does for 20 units.
I have a 16 year old son (diabetic since age 7), I allow him to have cake or other sweet treats but not every single day. My son is crazy about pancakes, and I wouldn’t dream of eliminating this super high carb breakfast from his diet. Also, many foods high in fiber (like shredded wheat cereal) have a lot of carbs, but the body needs the fiber even if you need a bit more insulin.
Eat a balanced diet, but allow some sweets. It is so hard for a 12 year old to deal with diabetes and he wants to be as normal as possible, so don’t be overly strict with the restricted diet because he is the one that has to deal with the shots and aggravation of diabetes every single moment of his life.
Calories for 1 cup refried beans 237 with 3 grams of fat.
Calories for 1 cup white rice is 193 with 1 fat.
The diet that Gary recommends would be miserable and nearly impossible to follow. Never allow a kid to go to Mickey D’s with his friends? Never eat a candy bar? Honestly, balance is the key. Severely limiting carbs and sugar isn’t practical or necessary. Fruit has sugar, high fiber foods have carbs (sometimes lots of carbs).
you are correct, just because he is insulin dependant (all Type 1’s are) doesn’t mean he can eat whatever he wants and not exercise. He may be a little too young to tell him this, but if he doesn’t control his dieting and exercise now he will be very very sick later in life. Type 2 diabetics can somewhat get away with eating what they want here and there but Type 1’s are very susceptible to blood sugar spikes or fallouts since their bodies do not make any insulin at all
well hes only 12 and doesnt have a job to buy food so if you dont buy then its not in the house and its not too much of an issue, if he goes to a friends house make sure the parents know what hes allowed to have and if they dont cooperate then he shouldnt go there, and as far as school goes send him a cold lunch and dont give him money to buy other things. you need to take control and teach him how to eat now so by the time hes an adult and buys his own food hell make the right choices. diabetes is a serious disease and he has to develop good habits now in order to survive a long healthy life, you are his parent and you have the ability to control the situation for now, take advantage of it
You are obviously right, however his nutritional needs are much higher than yours, being a growing boy, so limiting his calories is not wise. Better food choices, of course are the way to go and avoiding excess carbs in the form of junk food or simple carbs is always right. Plus, blood sugar levels are harder to control when you eat junk food. They are all over the place. I’ve taken seen many people who claim they are ‘brittle’ diabetics and really, they just need a dietary adjustment.
So you both are partially right.
I think a compromise is best here, my Mum is type one and she has cake or other sugary things occasionally if she injects more insulin. But if you under or over estimate your insulin intake it could be very bad. Your son is twelve let him have a few sweets once in a while as long as he takes the recommended amount of insulin for what he is eating.
Good Luck
drag his butt to a nutritionist and have them explain what not eating healthy now will do to him later in life. It sounds like your son is not mature enough yet to handle his medical condition. He’ll learn in time. Just keep doing what you are doing and make sure theres only appropriate food in the house for him.
My opinion is you’re the parent and you are responsible for his health. Therefore, regardless of what he wants you are doing the right thing and someday he will probably thank you for it.
My opinion is that you should speak to his doctor about it.
No 12 year old child should be able to eat what he wants when he wants. He should stick to healthy foods like any child should. But we do not live in the dark ages, and insulin is very effective when used correctly. Every insulin pump on the market boasts that it better imitates a pancreas and gives us more freedom to eat like a normal person. And mine works great. It is wrong and insulting to a diabetic to always be on our case about what we eat. I eat junk food probably too much and my a1c from last week was 6. 2.
A couple of years ago, a lady brought in a birthday cake to my work. While we were all on break, she cut the cake and was distributing it. And she refused to give me a piece because she knew I was diabetic. I had never been so insulted in my life. Here I take care of myself and haven’t had an A1C above 6. 9 in years and someone else assumes because of my condition I should be content to watch everyone else enjoy different foods. And when people act like that it really makes me mad because they wouldn’t think twice if I ate five pieces of bread or a giant bowl of mashed potatoes, which will do the same thing to you as a large portion of cake or other sweets.
Sorry to get on a rant, but this is a sensitive issue. You should get your son’s insulin to where the reason he should not eat alot of junk food is because the food is unhealthy in and of itself, not because he is diabetic. And do not worry about limiting his insulin intake because I can tell you from experience that it will go up dramatically from what he is taking as a 12 year old regardless of how well he is eating.
No, you canNOT eat whatever you want.
The insulin is to replace what his body doesn’t produce. A proper diet is necessary to reduce the amount of insulin necessary.
This problem is very common is ALL diabetics, especially children. They (diabetics) seem to think that insulin is the “cure-all” to their disease. This is not the case. It is a cover up, a best-effort by the doctor to keep the patient alive.
Diabetics MUST control their diet. Sugared foods MUST be cut to an absolute bare minimum. If you want to have ONE SMALL piece of cake at a friends birthday party this month, then go ahead. Bu that’s it! One SMALL piece — this month! No ice cream, no sports drinks, no candy bars.
Starches must be severely cut back. Especially white breads, crackers, potatoes (NO french fries), rice, and pastas. if you want to eat at a Mexican restaurant, tell then “double beans, no rice” Stay away from McDonald’s!
Eat more fibers — green vegetables, broccoli, who grain cereals. Watch those cereals! a recent study showed that many breakfast cereals are 40%-60% sugar by weight. No Sugar Smacks, Froot Loops, or Frosted Flakes (in fact, eveN corn flakes are pretty bad). Cheerios are pretty good, even Honey Nut Cheerios.
Your son’s thinking, while normal, is wrong — D-E-A-D wrong. With that attitude he is likely to end up institutionalized (or dead) before he is 25. Is dying before you’re 25 worth being able to eat what you want? [He'll tell you "yes", but we know better. ]