October 25, 2004
Meal Planning, Food and Diet
Question from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada:
I have a student in my grade five class. He is quite overweight and has been recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. His mother packs a snack or two with high sugar (e.g., marshmallows or sugar cookies) every day in his lunch. She tells me this is okay as it is not type 2 and she is monitoring it. However, his blood sugar levels are often very low or very high. Is this correct that he can be eating these types of snacks?
Answer:
You ask a very good question. Dietitians and diabetes educators instruct their patients, nowadays, to focus on the carbohydrate amount at a meal or snack rather than the sugar content. The sugar content is already included in the total carbohydrate on a food label. All carbohydrates, no matter the source, break down in the body about the same amount. That’s not to say that sugar can be included ad lib into the meal plan, but small amounts can be worked in as long as it is included into the meal plan.
JMS
