My daughter, now 8 with type 1 diabetes since 13 months, has had recent series of lows (as low as 20 mg/dl without any apparent ill effects) in the morning at school. We have recently begun to give her omega 3 fatty acids supplements for heart, brain and vascular health. Is there any potential correlation between low blood sugar and omega 3 fatty acids? She eats a huge breakfast with a good mix of proteins and carbs, has 2 snacks while at school, then lunch.

There is no evidence that I know of that omega 3 fatty acids have any effect on blood glucose levels. If you wanted to cement this reassurance you could try to remember if there was any evidence of hypoglycemia before the fatty acid supplements were started and of course it would likewise do no harm to temporarily discontinue them.

In the meantime blood sugars of 20 mg/dl even without symptoms are undesirable and assuming that this isn’t just a technical issue I think you need to talk to your daughter’s doctor about the need for a change in the timing of the morning insulin, in the type of short-acting insulin [Regular or Humalog] used and particularly in the amount. Some young children are exceedingly sensitive to short-acting insulins in the early years of their diabetes and may indeed manage to stay in good control with very small doses or even none at all.

DOB