Our 3 1/2 year old daughter was diagnosed with type 1 approximately 2 months ago. She loves fruit roll-ups and we’d like to give her one as a rare treat. We asked our diabetes team how a one carbohydrate serving of it versus a one carb serving of crackers would affect her next blood sugar reading (peak time, duration, etc.) and if it would be better to add to meal time or alone as snack. Our RD and RN, CDE gave us two conflicting answers. We would appreciate your opinion.

The effect of sugar on a small child can be different than in an older child and I often suggest that sugar items not be given alone as in a snack, but in a meal. Sometimes a newly diagnosed child will have low blood sugars when given sugar containing foods due to the partial functioning of the pancreas. I believe that you can’t really hurt a child with food as long as you are observant of the response to it and you use the appropriate amounts to fit into the meal plan. There will always be differing opinions, however, it is my experience that foods tend to affect people differently, so take your pick and see what happens.

JM