Diabetic kids on a low carb diet?

[lisba1]

Hello,

My 2 year old daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 a few weeks ago. We've read loads since, including a couple of books advocating a low carb diet for blood sugar management. It all makes total sense (and even prior to her diagnosis, we had already come across the idea of low carb diets for general health and were just reading up about 'paleo' which is v similar).

It seems relatively easy for an adult (aside from perhaps longing for a few 'forbidden' foods ) - as we've finished growing - but trickier to work out how low to go with kids, who need more carbs for growth.

Does anyone have any experience of low carb diets for diabetic children? Would love to hear your thoughts on this. We want to make sure her diet has everything she needs but are not quite at ease with the NHS's line which seems to be carbs for the sake of carbs to a point of excess... Plus we'd love it if her blood sugar readings were a little more predictable and a little less wild (but perhaps that's just wishful thinking in a 2 year old!)!

Many thanks,

Lis

 

[hanadr]

Bernstein does write a bit about children and low carbs. He starts by saying, to eliminate visible sugars.
You will probably need to give your baby various foods and try how they affect her. A diet based on meat, fish, eggs, cheese and vegetables is unlikely to harm a child and will provide all the essential vitamins and minerals.Obviously as children get older, they are exposed to more and more sweet stuff and crisps etc. You'll have to decide how to control those foods. Banning them would likely lead to problems.
I would suggest the whole family goes "controlled carb".
I try to improve my grandchildren's diet by giving them scrambled agg for breakfast and cheese and cold meats for lunch on the days when I feed them. my granddaughter won't a much veg, but my grandson does.
These children are not diabetic, but my daughter indulges their love of pasta and they get it most days. In sensible sized portions actually. I just like to improve thei nutrient density.
Hana

 

[phoenix]

Hi,
I didn't answer this earlier because I have very strong beliefs about this. It would have been good to see some parents replying.

I am one of those odd people who developed T1 late in life. I eat a conventionally healthy diet , use an insulin pump, exercise regularly and have very good control, I have no experience of my own of diabetes as a child . I have had 2 close acquaintances with T1 teenager, neither of whom coped with their T1 very well .

Personally, I agree with much of what Hana says about controlling carbs, especially those with what I would call empty calories. I don't mean low carbs but sweets, biscuits, cakes etc I did that with my own children to preserve their teeth (and it worked). Learning to like vegetables and salads and to look on sweet desserts as an occasional indulgence is. I think a good thing.( but be aware 2 year olds will go through periods of hating lots of foods they have previously eaten ) Eating healthily as a family is important, diabetes or not.
Nevertheless, I think that children with T1 will find it far easier if they are able to join in with parties and social events with their friends. They need to learn how to adjust their insulin accordingly. If you say no, you can't eat that ,they may very well eventually rebel. Far better to learn how to deal with 'unhealthy' meals, treats and avoid extremely highs or worse to deny that they have diabetes altogether.
Here is a blogger, a young woman with T1 from childhood who is commenting on the idea of a child being put on a very low carb (Bernstein) diet. The comments are from people pro and against. http://www.thebuttercompartment.com/?cat=7&paged=5

 

[lisba1]

Thank you both for replying - hopefully in time we'll have a few more voices as I think the issue is a very interesting (albeit controversial!) one.

I absolutely agree that a diet such as the one Bernstein advocates is a bad idea for children, exactly because such an extreme approach (milk and fruit are on his banned list) will cause resentment and rebellion at some point in this life-long journey. But I do think the not-wanting-them-to-miss-out needs to be very carefully balanced with making sure they have the best shot at controlling their blood sugar levels through-out their lives (and this also means making sure they can make sensible dietary decisions when they are in charge) and mimising their risk of developing complications. A Type 1 diagnosis at age 2 means the journey to a normal, healthy adulthood is an even longer one and I feel we owe it to her to do everything we can to ensure this happens for her.

We're quite lucky in that we've always eaten pretty well - she loves her veg (even sprouts and brocolli) and hasn't (yet!) been introduced to too many sweet things so we can do a lot at home in terms of controlling her carb intake and keeping unhealthy foods out of all our diets (Hana - that's a great idea to make sure the whole family eats the same, another key part in ensuring she doesn't feel 'different') - and as Phoenix says, accept that social events and parties will be special exceptions!

I don't think that low-carb (and perhaps this is where a problem in definition lies - what exactly is a 'low carb' diet - if it's Bernstein's 6g, 12g and 12g formula then that's clearly very low - but probably there's a whole spectrum below the traditional recommended daily allowance of several hundred grams a day) necessarily means feeling like you're missing out either - I think it's like you say, getting rid of the 'empty carbs' and replacing with something better (like almond or coconut flour for cakes or high percentage cocoa chocolate for a chocolate treat). I think it's going to involve a lot of creativity - and acceptance of those high (and empty!) carb social events - but I think there must be some way of combining them both so that you can have much better blood glucose control without feeling too restricted.

The tricky thing to work out is how much carbohydrate is actually needed by the body for growth - and how much of it is unncessary and can be dropped. That's the other critical issue really - to make sure your child is not missing out nutritionally. But once that is worked out - a lot of that carb intake could be healthy carbs like veggies rather than lots of pasta for example.

I guess it's going to be a very slow journey of experimentation - to work within the latest recommended daily guidelines/best available evidence of actual carb requirement we can find and slowly drop out/replace things that are less good that she loves (like cornflakes with something better like eggs or even porridge).

Thanks again for your thoughts.

Best Wishes,

Lis

 

[nataliegage]

When I was diagnosed T1 at 6 years of age for 5 years I and my parents were told I could eat anything because it is impossible to control a child's diet. They gave me an amount of insulin and I had to balance that insulin with food. My parents never believed that when in hospital I was given cake and allowed to eat anything. When I got home my parents restricted my carbohydrate intake and hence I was always going hypo and they couldn't bring me around and I was hospitalised. Usually 3 times a year. It was only after the hospital Specialist realised it was impossible to stabilise a child under hospital conditions, no activity etc., that at age 12 I was sent to a Dabetic Hostel. I was unfortunate enough to have what was termed then as brittle diabetes, (irrational) bloodtests. I've never been stable. I can't worry about it, I just watch now what I eat, which is now low carb. The main danger is hypos so keep your child's level nearer 7 than 4.

I'm still here after 60 years and if I listened to the `warnings of doom' I've had I would be a nervous wreck. My mother listened and couldn't cope ending up in a nervous breakdown for her. Keep within the suggested boundaries but T1 diabetics will always go up when they eat but as the food goes through the system it often goes down again. The main thing is not to panic.

I'm now being told I must have been doing something right as I'm still here with everything still working (except a gammy leg, cos I fractured my femur earlier this year). TG I've still got it and can still walk with aids.

I often wish my mum could seeme now as when I was diagnosed the prognosis was that diabetics would live til they were 20 and for every year I thank G-d.

Good luck with your daughter and look after yourself. You're obviously on the ball and reading all you can. But speak to long term sufferers, we can tell you more. Because we are the survivors.

NatalieG

 

[nataliegage]

When I was diagnosed T1 at 6 years of age for 5 years I and my parents were told I could eat anything because it is impossible to control a child's diet. They gave me an amount of insulin and I had to balance that insulin with food. My parents never believed that when in hospital I was given cake and allowed to eat anything. When I got home my parents restricted my carbohydrate intake and hence I was always going hypo and they couldn't bring me around and I was hospitalised. Usually 3 times a year. It was only after the hospital Specialist realised it was impossible to stabilise a child under hospital conditions, no activity etc., that at age 12 I was sent to a Dabetic Hostel. I was unfortunate enough to have what was termed then as brittle diabetes, (irrational) bloodtests. I've never been stable. I can't worry about it, I just watch now what I eat, which is now low carb. The main danger is hypos so keep your child's level nearer 7 than 4.

I'm still here after 60 years and if I listened to the `warnings of doom' I've had I would be a nervous wreck. My mother listened and couldn't cope ending up in a nervous breakdown for her. Keep within the suggested boundaries but T1 diabetics will always go up when they eat but as the food goes through the system it often goes down again. The main thing is not to panic.

I'm now being told I must have been doing something right as I'm still here with everything still working (except a gammy leg, cos I fractured my femur earlier this year). TG I've still got it and can still walk with aids.

I often wish my mum could seeme now as when I was diagnosed the prognosis was that diabetics would live til they were 20 and for every year I thank G-d.

Good luck with your daughter and look after yourself. You're obviously on the ball and reading all you can. But speak to long term sufferers, we can tell you more. Because we are the survivors.

NatalieG

 

[Teeny75]

@lisba1 stumbled across your post, obviously an old one but did you keep to the low carb diet? I would be very interested to hear your experiences if you did. My daughter was diagnosed in January and I'm thinking of going down this route.