The Healthy Type 1 diabetic

Hi everyone,

My first post. My 14 year old son has type 1 diabetes. His last blood glucose reading was 4.1mmol. His levels are almost always in the non diabetic range if he eats my cooking. We as a family eat low carb, high fat. Are there any other type 1 teens who have the same success as us on a low carb diet?

Lisa

http://diabeticalien.blogspot.com.au/

Hi Lisa ....and a very warm welcome. I am just so pleased you've put this post up with a link to your blog. Your son is so fortunate to have a mother and family as supportive as you all are. Maya the dog too is so cute but so clever, and her training has come on so well.

You ask the question are there other Type 1 teens who have the same success on a low carb diet, I am sure there are. Unfortunately there are those Type 1 children who are still struggling and we need to shout out, pass on the important message that cutting/reducing carbs can and does make such a difference.

Only the other day we heard of a four year old child diagnosed Type 1 and on a pump, after seeing her dietitian had been advised to eat more carbs! This child is so morbidly obese that she is already having to wear school uniform to fit an eight year old. I feel very sorry for mother, father and child they are so confused ...indeed they are also angry as they are coming to terms with their child's disease. Yes, we have suggested ways to better control but at the moment mother is determined to follow her health care teams advice......

Onwards and upwards ...slowly, slowly the good news, the success stories are out there and peoples eyes and ears are becoming more aware at what can be achieved.

Well done Lisa, well done your teenage son and thanks again for taking time to post.

Already looking forward to your next one - perhaps a low carb recipe?

Take Care and .....

All the best Jan

Lisa wrote:Hi everyone,

My first post. My 14 year old son has type 1 diabetes. His last blood glucose reading was 4.1mmol. His levels are almost always in the non diabetic range if he eats my cooking. We as a family eat low carb, high fat. Are there any other type 1 teens who have the same success as us on a low carb diet?

Lisa

http://diabeticalien.blogspot.com.au/

Hi Lisa,

You are a credit to your son; I know how difficult it is to just bin all the advice from professionals and think independently.

When you say your son's last blood glucose reading was 4.1mmol do you mean his HbA1c was 4.1% or his last finger prick result? Either is pretty great!

I've provided a link to your blog for people having problems with their children's diabetes and I hope if they can get beyond the 'doctor knows best' mindset that your example will help them. It's kind of crazy though isn't it that the main issue in getting good control is binning everything the 'experts' tell us; an especially brave leap when dealing with our children.

Best

Dillinger

That's great you support your son so much. 14 years is a tough time and can also feel a very lonely time if they're made to feel different. You've shown him that his diet isn't "odd" or "exclusive" but normal. Great read, thanks, Mo

Hi Lisa, I've got your blog on book mark. I enjoy looking at and drooling over your photos of food. You've given me quite a few ideas and it is great to see that your son is doing so well.

Type 1 teenagers in my school tend to be of the rebelling variety on the whole. Some of the parents do their best but again feed their kids a certain number of carbs per meal. They also tend to feed to the insulin injected rather than the other way around.
Some kids are desperate to be normal and it is heartbreaking to watch as they swing form hi to low. One child already has problems with their vision and to be honest it is to do with food he is sneaking rather than parents overindulging.

I'm type 1 myself and started low carbing August last year. Made controlling sugars a lot easier especially since I have dawn phenomenon (ended up on a pump - I can do so much sport now I love it). I've actually joined the 5% club! 5.9% actually - low sugars for me now tend to be in the high 3s - easily sorted safely. Highs tend to be low 8s if stressed (thanks liver) due to low carbing. My DN says she has never seen such numbers - proved while wearing a cgm.

They were still trying to push me to eat more carbs at my last meeting so I guess parents would find it very difficult to argue against this if the experts are telling them to do it.

Hi everyone. Thanks for your support. On our low carb diet, my son's blood glucose levels are in the 4-6mmol range. Occasionally we get an odd reading , but rarely. When parents feed their type 1 kids the standard high carb diet to make them "feel normal", they are deluding themselves. When they eventually get diabetic complications such as retinopathy and renal failure, they will certainly not feel normal then! I just faced the fact that my son is not like other kids and totally changed our diet
to keep him healthy. In doing so, I am actually ensuring he is like other kids. We still eat all the foods that teens like, such as pizza, burgers and chicken nuggets, but they are all a low carb version. It's not difficult. Just google "low carb recipes" and a whole new world awaits!

Lisa wrote:Hi everyone. Thanks for your support. On our low carb diet, my son's blood glucose levels are in the 4-6mmol range. Occasionally we get an odd reading , but rarely. When parents feed their type 1 kids the standard high carb diet to make them "feel normal", they are deluding themselves. When they eventually get diabetic complications such as retinopathy and renal failure, they will certainly not feel normal then! I just faced the fact that my son is not like other kids and totally changed our diet
to keep him healthy. In doing so, I am actually ensuring he is like other kids. We still eat all the foods that teens like, such as pizza, burgers and chicken nuggets, but they are all a low carb version. It's not difficult. Just google "low carb recipes" and a whole new world awaits!

So good to see you over here again Lisa. I do think it so important that we keep the good news that is low carb and how each diabetic whether Type 1 or Type 2 can keep their blood sugar numbers low, high up on the agenda, so to speak.

It must surely be as important for children, some may say more important, as their lives are opening up ahead of them and good control will have such an important impact. They deserve our love and support ... from all quarters ... especially when away from the parental home and at school or college.

I am sure parents with diabetic children can get very confused, it cannot be easy to go the opposite way to which your health care professional is telling you, and reduce carbs. Although many more are now taking on board the advantages that a LCHF lifestyle can bring...... Franziska Spritzler is of course one of them.

Franziska Spritzler is a member here and her great blog is here http://www.lowcarbdietitian.com/blog

All the best Jan