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Low carb for kids

shivles

Well-Known Member
Messages
311
Treatment type
I do not have diabetes
Before anyone says, I am meeting with daughters dietitian to discuss but I already know it's not at all harmful for kids to follow LCHF

Daughter is 16 months so obviously right now it would be fairly easy to control her food, I'm interested to hear how certain situations get handled as they get older though, birthday parties for example, do you let them explore with their options a bit more or try to keep it strict? While I want to keep her blood sugar stable I also want to prevent full scale rebellion as soon as she's out of my sight
 
Hi, I don't pretend to understand what you are going through as a parent but it seems to me if you are keeping her stable with diet on a day to day basis then a once in a while treat like a birthday party could be worked into the mix. I would imagine you would want to experiment a bit at home once things are stable so you know ahead of time how much extra insulin is needed. Kids do need to fit in with their friends, even at a very young age.
 
Yes that's what I'm thinking, it's going to be hard enough being diabetic never mind being the kid with the crazy mum who won't let them eat any sugar lol

My hope is that after a few goes she will realise the sugar makes her feel bad and choose to pass on it but it probably won't happen
 
I would assume that if your daughter is on a low carb diet then you and the rest of the family will also be on a low carb diet, otherwise family life is going to be pretty awkward and you will be making two meals all the time and your daughter will always be faced with stuff in the kitchen that she's not allowed.

Why don't you trial the low carb diet just on yourself for a bit and see how you cope in situations like birthday parties, Christmas etc. That might help inform how best to approach it for your daughter.

If you are doing low carb, the problem with occasional treats is that you don't know how to bolus for them - it takes practice to work out your I:C ratio and the timing of your bolus for certain foods, especially something that would be considered a treat! There's also a hypothesised issue that if you long term don't have carbs, your body become more sensitive to the occasional carbs and possibly insulin resistant when you take on the insulin required to manage the carbs, again because your body is out of practice at how to deal with the insulin and carbs combo.

Maybe have a look at type 1 grit and Bernstein for how low carb parents deal. But do make sure you have a chat with your health care team and go in to the disussion with an open mind.
 
I have 3 grandchildren living in my home aged 6, 7 and 9. They will all eat candy and cake until they feel sick if allowed to. Next time a birthday party or halloween comes around they will do it again. I think in the end she will have to learn how to navigate the world just like other kids, she will just have one added hazard to negotiate. I think you are a great mom and you will both be just fine. I wish you and your family much joy in the future
 
As well as speaking to a dietician and paediatrician, you should speak to a DSN. The foods you've reported your daughter eating are perfectly normal foods for Type 1s. I eat bread and cereal and my spike stays below 8. I believe your daughter's high sugars are to do with her insulin not being correctly dosed and/or used.

Be aware that many people on LCHF need to micro-dose and have a number of extra injectikns a day. That's why many have pumps - to avoid 10+ injections.
 
I already follow a LCHF diet, my elder daughter also does to some extent by choice although she has sweets occasionally too, she's well practiced in eating them out of sight of her little sister

I'm just waiting for OH to give the go ahead on the bernstien boom order, for now I'm watching his YouTube videos
 
Her doses are correct, I've spoke to the DSN who has told me obviously she needs to be eating less carbs and to make appointment with the dietitian to discuss changes
 
Hi Shivles
My son was diagnosed with type 1 at 9 months old and is now 8years old.
When he was around your daughters age we didn't limit his carb intake but did use our control over his diet to make healthy choices. We used a mixture of non/low carb and normal carb foods. I did and still do give him non carb food to snack on when he his blood glucose is high whilst the insulin brings it down and his bedtime snack is usually low carb to keep things easier at that time of day.
As for parties well to be honest I have always let him eat the same as everyone else and let him enjoy the party. We were very fortunate to have an insulin pump when Henry was 10 months old so I've always been able to adjust and extend insulin boluses which makes things much easier.
Now he is older he is exposed to far more junk food and sweets from all the outside activities he does. It all changed when he went to school. We never gave him sweets then all of a sudden all of his class mates were bringing bday sweets to school. It was quite hard at first but we did decide to became a bit less strict about it all. We take the approach of a healthy diet at home and he has things like a trip to the sweet shop after school on a Friday and a McDonald's after Rugby on Wed. If his bg is high he does have to wait he does untill it has come down to have these things which which where a non carb snack is useful! He knows the rules but we also give him extra treats such as chewing gum when he is a bit high. It doesn't effect his bg and he loves it because most of his friends are not allowed it.
It's all about balance and teaching him that he can have the occasional treat as long as it is managed correctly. I believe his exposure to a vast array of healthy foods at home has attributed to him a very unfussy eater. He enjoys a huge variety of different foods which really helps as he is getting older.
When he was younger I do remember feeling frustrated at times when his bg was a bit high and a friend sat infront of him stuffing a cake down their face! It still happens now when he can't eat things right away but he's old enough to understand and reason with ( sometimes!)
 
shivles said:
Her doses are correct, I've spoke to the DSN who has told me obviously she needs to be eating less carbs and to make appointment with the dietitian to discuss changes
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A DSN said that? The idea of basal/bolus is to adjust your insulin to match your food. Hooefully, the dietician will give you help to do that
 
azure said:
A DSN said that? The idea of basal/bolus is to adjust your insulin to match your food. Hooefully, the dietician will give you help to do that
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Yes because the dose does cover the carbs in the end but before it does she spikes above 15mmol
 
shivles said:
Yes because the dose does cover the carbs in the end but before it does she spikes above 15mmol
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Then pre-bolusing would be a possibility. I'm sure the Paed DSN will have experience of how to manage that with a young toddler

Edited to add that looking at lower GI foods and meal combinations may also help eg seeded bread for toast, and adding egg/cheese will spike slower than just a plain slice of white bread toast, and experiemnting with cereals will show you there can be a big difference in spikes.
 
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azure said:
Then pre-bolusing would be a possibility. I'm sure the Paed DSN will have experience of how to manage that with a young toddler
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I pre bolus for her, she will still go from 3.5 to 14
 
shivles said:
I pre bolus for her, she will still go from 3.5 to 14
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You may find you need to pre-bolus at different times in advance according to the meal. I used to spike to 11 after breakfast and thought it was just one of those things. But moving my bolus gradually means I now am usually around 6.5-7 after. Other meals aren't so bad so I can bolus closer to eating.
 
Other resources for any type 1 who is struggling with managing carbs and insulin:

- online carb counting course - http://www.bertieonline.org.uk - do they offer a carb counting/DAFNE course for parents in your area? If not the online course might be worth a look.
- Stephen ponder, sugar surfing - book on how to use continuous glucose monitoring and micro dosing, of carbs and insulin, to maintain tight blood sugar control
- juice box podcast - dad discusses his t1 daughter - lots of interesting guests and different approaches discussed
- Type 1 grit - for the low carb approach on FB & Pinterest

shivles said:
I pre bolus for her, she will still go from 3.5 to 14
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This is where an extended bolus on a pump might be helpful. Also the pre bolus might be a bit too early if she goes to 3.5 before eating? If you hypo before eating, it might be the hypo contributing to the spike as hormones will be released to make your liver give out glucose and to make you insulin resistant as a protection against the hypo. On a pump you could pre bolus 40-50% and get the rest of the bolus to run over an hour or two. If you were still spiking you could micro dose a correction or run an increased TBR to mop up unexpected highs.
 
But in the instance of going from 3.5 to 14 there's only one thing that would help and it's eating something different, I can't give it any earlier if it's already sending her hypo from waiting?
 
We want to avoid a pump until she's old enough to have a say in the matter unless there's no other choice
 
shivles said:
We want to avoid a pump until she's old enough to have a say in the matter unless there's no other choice
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But she's not going to have a say in the diet either, is she? It's a pretty significant lifestyle decision, but of course it is your job to make those decisions for her and it really clear that you are thinking about it carefully and doing a really good job at making tough choices for your daughter. I'm just not sure why you prioritise her getting a say in the pump, but not in the diet? And you are already anticipating a rebellion against the diet...
 
Not quite the same but I in the middle of a rebellion right now. My wife has seen the benefits to me with low carb so switched herself and our 2 daughters to low carb meals in the evenings. Our daughters (11 and 13) have complained that they are hungry; I explained that this is due to the fast carbs they eat the rest of the day (cereal, so called health bars etc). The bottom line is that a lot of fast carbs taste nice, and the societal push and availability of these creates the wrong environment for non-diabetics, to make the best choices. I am not giving up, I engineer making sure the whole family watch the sugar related programs on TV.

The advantage you have now is that you can shape your daughters taste buds to accept green leafy vegetables, portion control, hydration etc. The rest of us are having to try to re-educate, best of luck.
 
Because making sure she eats a healthy diet isn't the same as putting her on a pump. If better diet choices help until she's old enough to give her input which will be around the time she may rebel the diet it makes more sense to do that imo
 
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