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Diabetes and Your Family
By Venus Coates
Every day, many children nationwide are diagnosed with
diabetes. This condition impacts not only the affected
child, but also the entire family unit. This article
addresses some of the day-to-day challenges of managing
diabetes.
( *This article is not intended to address the medical
aspects of diabetes management, as that is the
responsibility of your diabetes management team.)
Adjusting to Life with Diabetes
Being diagnosed with diabetes is like losing a family
member. Similar to when there is a death in the family,
there is a grieving period that must be observed following a
child’s diabetes diagnoses. As parents, it is important to
be patient, understanding, and supportive while your child
goes through this process. Grieving will allow you and your
child to move past the fear, anger, disappointment, and
depression that diabetes brings. Proper diabetes management
requires strength, dedication, and attention to detail,
neither of which are possible while living in a state of
denial. Completing the grieving process is the first step
toward effective diabetes management.
Sibling Issues
Feelings of fear, jealousy, and resentment are common among
siblings of a diabetic child. It is important that parents
take the time to address the fears and concerns of other
children in the family. Some children worry they will catch
diabetes from their sister or brother, while others think
diabetes is a form of punishment and worry that they will
become diabetic if they misbehave. Taking the time to
explain what diabetes is, how it develops, and how it is
managed will dispel these fears.
Establishing a workable home diabetes management process
requires a large amount of time. During this time, other
siblings may feel left out or unloved. Setting aside time to
spend with each child in the family can go a long way toward
preventing these negative feelings.
Diabetes and the Family Diet
There is no question that the family diet must be adjusted
when a child is diagnosed with diabetes. It is also helpful
if everyone in the family follows the same diet. Serving
separate meals may cause a diabetic child feel different in
his or her own home.
Food affects blood glucose levels so much that scientists
developed the Glycemic Index to help with diabetics’ food
selection. The Glycemic Index ranks individual foods based
on how they react in the body. Some foods cause sudden or
extreme increases in blood glucose levels, while others have
a less dramatic effect. Using the Glycemic Index will help
you to help you select healthy foods while avoiding items
that may have a negative affect on your child. For example,
foods like spinach, eggplant, bok choy, cabbage,
cauliflower, broccoli, coyote squash and Portobello
mushrooms have little to no affect on blood glucose levels.
Foods high in starch like rice, potatoes, and corn tend to
raise blood glucose levels quickly and should be limited to
less than 1/2 cup per serving. Proper eating habits are not
only good for diabetics; they can help the entire family
stay healthy.
Visiting Your Local Grocer
With the recent increase in cases of diabetes, several food
companies have begun to sell food for diabetics. These
companies use keywords and phrases to attract your business.
Food names and store locations are two methods of getting
you the purchase their product. Don't be fooled by these
marketing practices, foods found in the diabetes section of
a grocery store are often no better than those found in any
other section. Reading the labels is always the best way to
make your selection. For example, my daughter loves Famous
Amos chocolate chip cookies. When we compared these with
cookies marketed for diabetics, we found the following: 4 of
the regular Famous Amos cookies contain about 20 grams of
carbohydrates per serving, 3 Murray Sugar Free Chocolate
Chip Hard Cookies also have about 20 carbohydrates per
serving. Given the data, there was not a medical reason to
make any changes; she could still eat her favorite cookie.
There are literally hundreds of marketing programs designed
to influence your buying habits. Learning to read and
understand product labels is the most effective method of
selecting foods that nourish the body.
Bread
The bread section of the grocery store is another area where
the product name can impact your selection. Never make a
bread choice based solely on the product name. “Wheat”
breads are often a mixture of enriched white flour and whole
wheat flour, A true “whole wheat” bread will be made from
100% whole wheat and have whole wheat listed as the first
ingredient.
For a child with diabetes, there are many reasons to eat
100% whole wheat bread. Whole wheat breads usually have more
vitamin B6, vitamin E, magnesium, folic acid, copper, zinc,
and manganese than white bread. Wheat bread is also a great
way to satisfy your child’s hunger without adding too many
calories. 100% whole wheat bread is high in fiber. The body
does not absorb fiber, so the number of calories consumed
from a high fiber meal are lower. This in turn helps reduce
the possibility of weight gain, making 100% whole wheat
bread a great choice.
Here are a few resources to help you plan your diet:
Licensed dieticians
www.glycemicindex.com
www.diabetes.org/for-parents-and-kids/diabetes-care/carb-count.jsp
Adjusting to life with diabetes is a challenge. But by
working together and using the numerous available resources,
life will continue to be joy-filled for the whole family.
Venus R. Coates, the owner of Asclepius and Fitness for
Kids, is a certified personal trainer and group fitness
instructor for overweight and diabetic children. She is also
the mother of a 14 year old with Type 1 Diabetes. Contact
her by email at
venus_coates@verizon.net or by phone at
703.577.9452
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