August 14, 1999
Meal Planning, Food and Diet
Question from Alabama, USA:
What should an insulin dependent 7 year old who has been diagnosed for 3 years eat for breakfast? Currently, her blood sugar is over 400 by 10:30�A.M. I am her school nurse. The school cafeteria will provide whatever is need since the Pop-Tart she eats at home is obviously killing her.
Answer:
Although Pop-Tarts are not the food of choice for most of us in the health care setting, some children do eat them and maintain perfectly fine blood sugars. I believe the best thing you could do is express your concern to the parents and encourage them to contact their health care team for an insulin adjustment. You might also want to focus on the Food Guide Pyramid in an all-school health program to help kids make more nutritious choices. There really isn’t anything a child with diabetes cannot eat; it just needs to be in the appropriate amounts to meet the insulin treatment.
JM
