My year old daughter who currently eats a typical kid’s diet with one or two sweets a day has gone from being a happy child to being a cranky, moody, easily in tears child. My family has a history of hypoglycemia and diabetes. I have low blood sugar and have cured myself by following the guidelines in The Low Blood Sugar Handbook by Krimmel and Krimmel. So have my mother, brother and sister. Do you see my daughter’s behavior as indicative of low blood sugar? If so, are you aware of special dietary guidelines for children?

I think if the diet works for you, you might try it for your daughter and see if it helps her. Just be sure her pediatrician knows you are doing this. Hypoglycemia that is not related to diabetes is indeed hard to define, but if folks find that it works to eliminate sugars, and if there are no other medical conditions, then I think it is fine to try your approach.

If young children are kept away from sweets, two things may happen: they may not eat enough for proper growth or they may crave the sweets so much that when they are at their friends’ houses, they may go overboard. Another problem I see is that people with elevated lipids who consume a low sugar diet often have to rely on a diet high in fats and that worsens their lipid levels. Sometimes just eliminating between meal sweets (and fruits are included here) will give some relief, but it seems to be pretty individualized.

LSF

[Editor’s comment: I believe that you need to speak with your daughter’s pediatrician about her symptoms and have her properly evaluated. We cannot make a diagnosis over the Internet, and you are only presuming the diagnosis. The symptoms you describe are not unusual for a child this age and could be caused by a myriad of things. I would not institute any changes in anything before such an evaluation as any change might mask things.
SS]