Hi - my toddler son was recently diagnosed t1 (3 weeks) and at the time of admission, was very ill. He had lost a lot of weight very fast and has now put on over 2 kg in the last 2 weeks, taking him to a happy 15kg. I am not looking for a diet as such, but am a bit confused as to the carb necessity of a child of this age. I don't want to pile on the carbs ( we had a very healthy diet to start with!) but I don't want to give him too few if it will land him back in with or result in him having lots of hypo episodes or feeling whacked out. At the same time, I want to give him a diet that is as friendly to his remaining 5% working beta cells and body as possible, whilst keeping it as toddler fun as possible. We do not eat meat and he is, generally, a light eater. Advice on suitable carb levels for this age and experience of carb control or low carb diets for toddlers wih t1 woud be welcomed! Or a clearer picture of why not to do this at this age. I find the hospital advice sheet a bit tricky ad it suggests feeding him stuff I'd never have had in the cupboard before - angel deligt and such - and his stay in hospital has got him addicted to Rice Crispies, after only ever having organic no sugar rice puffs before! Thanks all for listening.
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Low crabbing with toddleers
- Thread starter Blissfool
- Start Date
C
catherinecherub
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Hi Bliss,
I am bumping your post up in the hope that another parent will be able to advise you.
Might be an idea to post in the Type 1 section?
I am bumping your post up in the hope that another parent will be able to advise you.
Might be an idea to post in the Type 1 section?
A
Anonymous
Guest
To avoid duplication moved to type 1 section.
Mod 3
Mod 3
Hi
Low carbing is def not suitable for young children - how old is your child?
Kids have much requirements for many nutrients than adults. They need an indivudually calculated diet that needs regular review. Is your dietitian a paediatric diabetes dietitian?
Go and talk to your team - tell them you do not want him to eat rubbish!
With insulin adjustment you will give him more freedom without feeding him refined carbs.
Ally - I am a dietitian!
Low carbing is def not suitable for young children - how old is your child?
Kids have much requirements for many nutrients than adults. They need an indivudually calculated diet that needs regular review. Is your dietitian a paediatric diabetes dietitian?
Go and talk to your team - tell them you do not want him to eat rubbish!
With insulin adjustment you will give him more freedom without feeding him refined carbs.
Ally - I am a dietitian!
jopar
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Hi Blissfool
Extreme low carb diet that is often promoted on here, are based around meat diet... basically dumping the carbs and replacing with meat! This would cause you problems...
2 books you will find useful, is a carb counting book and the GI index book, this will tell you what foods in your cupboard has carbs and the amounts per 100g, and the GI index will give a idea to how slowly or quickly they adsorb..
You need to nag your diabetic team to teach you carbing counting, so that you can work out what insulin doses you need etc, and also a dietitan to help with adapting your present diet as by the sounds it's an healthy diet so just need tweeking...
As to the amount of carbs, this is actually difficult to say, at them moment you need to work out his carbs he has in a normal meal, then compare this to what happens to his blood glucose and how the insulin effects it...
You may well find that certain carbs are problemetic, such as many fruites with high fluid content, such as grapes really hit the blood glucose quick (good hypo treatment though)
Other foods such as pasta or rice, slower adsortion, but can cause a hypo as the insulin kicks in quicker than the carbs starts to adsorb, then they effect the blood glucose than expected... Known as the psa effect!
So writting down all he eats, and carb amounts with the BG results, adding in if he's was active, unwell etc will help build a picture better, and give you better guidence to if what or when something needs to be changed or altered etc...
Sadly a lot is trial and error, of working out your starting point, monitoring what happens, then if necessary thinking about what need to be changed next time to get it to work... It hard starting this off and time consuming, but after a while you do build enough data and experience and a lot better at maintaining control..
Extreme low carb diet that is often promoted on here, are based around meat diet... basically dumping the carbs and replacing with meat! This would cause you problems...
2 books you will find useful, is a carb counting book and the GI index book, this will tell you what foods in your cupboard has carbs and the amounts per 100g, and the GI index will give a idea to how slowly or quickly they adsorb..
You need to nag your diabetic team to teach you carbing counting, so that you can work out what insulin doses you need etc, and also a dietitan to help with adapting your present diet as by the sounds it's an healthy diet so just need tweeking...
As to the amount of carbs, this is actually difficult to say, at them moment you need to work out his carbs he has in a normal meal, then compare this to what happens to his blood glucose and how the insulin effects it...
You may well find that certain carbs are problemetic, such as many fruites with high fluid content, such as grapes really hit the blood glucose quick (good hypo treatment though)
Other foods such as pasta or rice, slower adsortion, but can cause a hypo as the insulin kicks in quicker than the carbs starts to adsorb, then they effect the blood glucose than expected... Known as the psa effect!
So writting down all he eats, and carb amounts with the BG results, adding in if he's was active, unwell etc will help build a picture better, and give you better guidence to if what or when something needs to be changed or altered etc...
Sadly a lot is trial and error, of working out your starting point, monitoring what happens, then if necessary thinking about what need to be changed next time to get it to work... It hard starting this off and time consuming, but after a while you do build enough data and experience and a lot better at maintaining control..
copepod
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Blissfool - I really hope that you can get specific advice from a dietician who specialises in children with diabetes - it's a very specific situation, not really suitable for advice from a forum. I hope that when you explain that Angel Delight isn't part of your family's diet, they will be able to suggest something more suitable, although it may be difficult to adhere as a closely to organic principles. Having said that, we eat lots of organic food - much of it grown in our own garden, and often makes it more difficult to estimate carbohydrate content.
But, definitely take your toddler crabbing next time you're at the seaside!
But, definitely take your toddler crabbing next time you're at the seaside!
cugila
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I agree 100% with Ally5555. She is a Dietician and knows what she is talking about.
Children, especially young ones need specific dietary requirements as they grow and it is very important that you get the correct advice for your child. Do not just go on what you read on this Forum. In the main, we are all adult's and what may be a good idea for the majority of us might NOT be such a good idea for your child.
See your HCP's for a referral to a Paediatric Diabetes Specialist Dietician.
Ken
Children, especially young ones need specific dietary requirements as they grow and it is very important that you get the correct advice for your child. Do not just go on what you read on this Forum. In the main, we are all adult's and what may be a good idea for the majority of us might NOT be such a good idea for your child.
See your HCP's for a referral to a Paediatric Diabetes Specialist Dietician.
Ken
The advice we were given about Jess when she was diagnosed at age 4, and the advice still remains the same, is to follow a normal balanced healthy diet. Like everyone else she should avoid foods high in fast acting sugars, salt and saturated fats.
Jess doesn't like meat very much, she'll occasionally eat chicken and she does like fish. But we balance the low protein intake out with things like beans and pulses which she does like and eggs too.
We don't low carb but I do watch how much carbohydrate she eats and that is within the recommended range for her age group and gender (you could use this as a rough guide if you're unsure http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/nutrit ... ds/NU00606). Children tend to be very active and they need the carbohydrates for energy, but try to stick with slow acting carbohydrates rather than the quick acting ones like sugar, sugary cereals etc.
If Jess is going to enjoy a sweet or food that has quick acting sugar then we include that as a pudding after a main meal. The main meal slows down the absorbtion of the sugary food which helps towards preventing a blood sugar spike.
As a family we eat a very healthy and varied diet, we avoid convenience foods and seldomly eat out preferring home cooked meals. As a result Jess' diet is not much different to the rest of the family. I would not recommend a low carb diet for children, certainly watch the carbs so that your child is not eating too many carbs, but I certainly wouldn't reduce a childs carb intake to below what is recommended as a healthy diet for any other child their age.
As always it's best to seek advice from a qualified dietician if you're unsure.
Jess doesn't like meat very much, she'll occasionally eat chicken and she does like fish. But we balance the low protein intake out with things like beans and pulses which she does like and eggs too.
We don't low carb but I do watch how much carbohydrate she eats and that is within the recommended range for her age group and gender (you could use this as a rough guide if you're unsure http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/nutrit ... ds/NU00606). Children tend to be very active and they need the carbohydrates for energy, but try to stick with slow acting carbohydrates rather than the quick acting ones like sugar, sugary cereals etc.
If Jess is going to enjoy a sweet or food that has quick acting sugar then we include that as a pudding after a main meal. The main meal slows down the absorbtion of the sugary food which helps towards preventing a blood sugar spike.
As a family we eat a very healthy and varied diet, we avoid convenience foods and seldomly eat out preferring home cooked meals. As a result Jess' diet is not much different to the rest of the family. I would not recommend a low carb diet for children, certainly watch the carbs so that your child is not eating too many carbs, but I certainly wouldn't reduce a childs carb intake to below what is recommended as a healthy diet for any other child their age.
As always it's best to seek advice from a qualified dietician if you're unsure.
Thank you! I am seeing the dietician on Monday so will go with plenty of questions. My son has always been a very very light eater, especially heavy carbs (preferring fruit and veg picked from the garden) and very active - one of the reasons we were not unduly concerned when he did not increase weight - only when he lost it! He used to love fish but is convinced that sea bass and marsh samphire made him sick (he ate masses of it just before he got very sick - seeking out sodium I guess). He only eats beans and pulses when disguised and whilst he loves chickens, he hates eggs!
We will get there though. And since I am gluten and dairy intolerant, we already do a lot of label checking. Mind you, no one is going to be having us to dinner in a hurry!
Crabbing is definitely on the agenda, especially with Todd Leers :roll:
We will get there though. And since I am gluten and dairy intolerant, we already do a lot of label checking. Mind you, no one is going to be having us to dinner in a hurry!
Crabbing is definitely on the agenda, especially with Todd Leers :roll:
Jen&Khaleb
Well-Known Member
I'm sure you will be able to stick with bascially the same healthy diet you had before diagnosis. It takes a little while to get a good routine of knowing how quickly insulin works in your child and how many carbs/unit.
Most of us parents understand your lack of sleep. I've been going without also due to never ending illness. I'm feeling a bit crabby and miserable.
Most of us parents understand your lack of sleep. I've been going without also due to never ending illness. I'm feeling a bit crabby and miserable.
copepod
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:lol:Blissfool said:
daisy1
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I think low crabbing is a much nicer expression than low carbing. Perhaps I will adopt it 
Hi
My son is also 2 and was diagnosed in February this year. I found it really difficult to adjust to thinking about a diabetic diet despite eating what the dietician said was a good healthy diet already. For example my kids never got low sugar juice because all the additives in it scared me so they always got full sugar stuff. And we never touch Angel Delight! But I didn't make a huge amount of changes - a healthy diet is a healthy diet.
My son ate a huge amount after diagnosis as he tried to regain the weight he had lost but thankfully his appetite eventually went back to normal but we were warned this would happen.
Hopefully your appointment with the dietician will answer a lot of questions for you.
Every child is different but here is roughly the amount of carbs Erland gets in a day. Bear in mind he has a good appetite and is a sturdy boy!
Breakfast 30g, snack 10-15g, lunch 30g, snack 10-15g, dinner 30g, supper 15-20g
Annette
My son is also 2 and was diagnosed in February this year. I found it really difficult to adjust to thinking about a diabetic diet despite eating what the dietician said was a good healthy diet already. For example my kids never got low sugar juice because all the additives in it scared me so they always got full sugar stuff. And we never touch Angel Delight! But I didn't make a huge amount of changes - a healthy diet is a healthy diet.
My son ate a huge amount after diagnosis as he tried to regain the weight he had lost but thankfully his appetite eventually went back to normal but we were warned this would happen.
Hopefully your appointment with the dietician will answer a lot of questions for you.
Every child is different but here is roughly the amount of carbs Erland gets in a day. Bear in mind he has a good appetite and is a sturdy boy!
Breakfast 30g, snack 10-15g, lunch 30g, snack 10-15g, dinner 30g, supper 15-20g
Annette
I don't know how Mr Leers does it, but when I used to go crabbing as a kid in the rockpools of Combe Martin in Devon, I used one of those bamboo stick thingies with a net on the end.
You can get to the really low crabs by using an extra long stick, or by tying two sticks together with strong twine.
You can get to the really low crabs by using an extra long stick, or by tying two sticks together with strong twine.
samphire said:
mwuahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
copepod
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And samphire collected from mudflats goes well with crabs, as long as you're aware of environmental impact, so only take small amounts from right places. 
