My son is 9 years old and has had Type 1 diabetes for a year and a half. We count carbohydrates for each meal and snack. I have noticed that certain foods will raise my son’s blood sugar, even if I count out the correct serving. An example is corn chips. Why is this? Does it have to do with the glycemic index? How can I learn more about the glycemic index?

It may have more to do with the fat content of corn chips than the glycemic index. Fat will sometimes retard the absorption of sugar until after the peak of the insulin, therefore making the blood sugars higher than they should be later.

The concept of the glycemic index has been around for a lot of years and really gave the current method of carbohydrate counting its beginnings. We started to think of how all foods affect blood sugars. The glycemic index can be a place to start in determining how foods affect your blood sugar, but this is very individual and dependent. The glycemic index was done in a scientific fashion with single foods given in specific doses, which does not have much relationship to a mixed meal. It is, however, a place to start. I just read a great article about it in Diabetes Interview, May, 1999.

JM