March 29, 2002
Hyperglycemia and DKA, Meal Planning, Food and Diet
Question from Durant, Iowa, USA:
My nine year old son, diagnosed with type 1 diabetes almost three months ago, is on a constant carb diet. I try to choose lower sugar foods but was told it was okay to pick foods with sugar, providing they fall in his carb range and the sugars are less than half the carb of the food so I give him these treats only in moderation. He is thin so they said not to worry too much about the fat. However, as time goes by, his glucose numbers seem to be rising, and he gets very frustrated. Since is constantly active and in all sports, he tries to compensate by exercising even more without adding any carbs beforehand, but I don’t think this is right. Is it okay to be giving him these kinds of foods in his meal plan? Could the higher fat foods be causing higher blood sugars?
Answer:
It sounds as though he needs more insulin. A growing child needs a healthy diet, and if he is very active he needs energy. If he is running high and is eating healthily, he needs more insulin to control his readings. You should speak to your son’s diabetes team about modifying his insulin dose.
JS
