Nutrient saga: Know how fats, proteins and carbohydrates impact juvenile diabetes

If you are caregiver of a child suffering from juvenile diabetes, you need to know how the three essential nutrients work on your child's blood sugar level. This will help you in picking the right food for your diabetic child.

Sreemoyee Chatterjee | Published: August 2, 2018 3:13 pm

While we usually assume that a child with diabetes needs a special diabetic diet to tackle type 1 diabetes, doctors say that their dietary demand is not much different from that of a child not suffering from juvenile diabetes. All a parent or a caregiver must be aware of are certain considerations, especially the carbohydrate intake of your diabetic child as that is what mostly impacts the blood sugar counting. Here are some nutritional basics that you need to know for your diabetic child that he or she will need to fight the situation. Fibre consumption and that of sugar alcohols can also affect your child’s blood glucose levels. Experts suggest that while early diagnosis is most important to check the condition, adequate nutrition also plays a potent role in checking diabetes in your child.

Nutritional basics: Diabetic diet is a myth
Nutritionists say that diabetic diet is something that does not really exist, especially when it comes to juvenile diabetes. You need to opt for a diet plan that is both flexible and balanced. Here are how the three main nutrients in food impact your child’s blood sugar level.

Fats: As fats are not responsible in breaking down sugar in the blood, it does not have an adverse impact on your child’s blood sugar level, if taken in reasonable quantity. However, it can decrease the speed of digestion that may be blamed for shooting up blood sugar level in your child than it normally would. It has been found that after a fat rich meal, your child’s blood sugar may increase till the next 12 hours following the meal.

Protein: Protein intake is safe and does not bother your child’s blood sugar level till protein consumption is abnormally excessive than what his or her body needs.

Carbohydrates: Now, this is where you need to keep an eye on. Carbohydrates do pump up blood sugar level in your child’s body as all of it turn into sugar in blood and get absorbed in blood at a much faster rate than fats and proteins. Carbs get into blood stream just an hour after consumption and are out in the next two hours which is why checking your child’s blood sugar level before and after he or she eats is a must. If you miss that you may have to either adjust the carb content in your child’s meal or adjust his or her insulin dosage. Carb counting is essentially important in those suffering from juvenile diabetes as it determines your child’s insulin dose.

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Published: August 2, 2018 3:13 pm

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