My eighteen month old granddaughter was diagnosed with diabetes six weeks ago. My daughter states that the dietitian never said anything about watching sugar intake, only carbs. My granddaughter is on 30 carbs per meal and 15 carbs for snacks. But no mention of sugar content. They allow her to have three small chocolate donuts some mornings for breakfast, claiming only 21 carbs. What about the sugar? And, how does her routine for sleep and naps impact her blood sugar? She really has no routine time for bed.

You ask a very good question that confuses a lot of people trying to make sense out of food labels. I would stress to you to focus on carbohydrates rather than the amount of sugar on the food labels because the sugars are already included in the total carbohydrates. Recent research with nutrition has supported nutrition teaching that the total amount of carbohydrate consumed at a meal or snack is more important than the source of the carbohydrate, therefore the amount of sugar is not as important as the amount of total carbohydrate with respect to blood sugar control. I am not sure what you are asking with regards to your second question but there are studies showing lack of sleep can be a stress to some folks with diabetes which in turn can raise blood sugars.

JMS