Comments on: Diet for a person with Type 1

By: Al Naoma

Al Naoma — Wed, 26 Feb 2003 19:00:22 +0000

Thanks Melissa! Very helpful.

By: Shelton Christiane

Shelton Christiane — Mon, 24 Feb 2003 20:24:21 +0000

Hey! One more thing- I noticed you said you’re having trouble with
starches- in general, the less processed it is, the better. So, if
you have a good bread store around, maybe you could get her to try a
bread othr than plain old white, something more natural, less
carbs/more fiber kind of thing. Or brown rice instead of white, etc.
The dietician should be able to give you lots of ideas. I have one
carb free thing that she may like- if she likes tuna or egg or
chicken salad, anything like that, wrap it in a lettuce leaf instead
of on bread- that would be pretty much carb free and relatively
healthy if you use a good mayo. Get into reading labels. Here are
some more generalizations I forgot to tell you- meat, dairy (other
than milk and ice cream) and veggies (other than tomatoes, corn, and
potatoes) are pretty much carb free. We keep string cheese, celery,
and hot dogs in the fridge for when he wants a snack, but can’t have
a carb. Popcorn is pretty low, too, only about 1 carb in 3 cups.

Melissa
— In type1_diabetes@y…, “wilkinsplace”

By: Al Naoma

Al Naoma — Mon, 24 Feb 2003 12:31:35 +0000

Melissa,
Thanks for the reply. You didn’t ramble at all. I appreciate all
the input. I like to get several perspectives on things from people
who are actually dealing with the situation.
We have an appointment with the dietician at the hospital this month,
but it’s 3 weeks away. In the meantime her sugar continues to run a
bit high off and on. The whole carb thing is exactly what I’m trying
to figure out and the information you gave is helpful, in just
knowing that it is different for each person and how it works in
general. In the meantime I have just been trying to get her to go
easy on the carbs. She does have high cholesterol and corrated
(spelling?) arteries in her neck, as well as high blood pressure
intermittently. So we have several things to keep an eye on and she
takes about 8 different meds for different things, which I guess
isn’t too out of the ordinary for someone who is 80.

Thanks again for the info.
Theresa

By: Al Naoma

Al Naoma — Sun, 23 Feb 2003 18:22:00 +0000

Well, I guess I’m not sure. I assumed she had type 1 because several
others in her family have diabetes as well and she is not overweight,
nor is she a sugar junkie. From what I’ve read about type 2, the
person is usually overweight and typically eats a lot of sweets and
carbs, and often may be the only one in the family with diabetes.
But again, I am trying to educate myself about it, so I may be way
off base.
I do know that diet is only one part of keeping it under control. My
mom-in-law is very active for 80 years old, eats well overall (but
I’m thinking she is eating too much starch/carbs?), and takes her
medication regularly as well as testing her sugar levels a couple
times a day.
Thanks for the response.
Theresa

By: Shelton Christiane

Shelton Christiane — Fri, 21 Feb 2003 19:45:59 +0000

Welcome to the group! A diet, huh? Well, I know this won’t be much
help to you, but it really depends on the person. You’ll have to ask
her how much carbohydrate she is allowed for each meal. My son, for
instance, gets 3 ‘carbs’ at breakfast, 1 at a morning snack, 4 at
lunch, 1 for afternoon snack, 4 at dinner, and 2 carbs and a protein
at bedtime. Now, if she is using this ‘carb’ system, one ‘carb’
equals 15 grams total carbohydrate, so, say 1 cup of 2% milk is 11
grams total carbs, so 1 1/2 cups would be one carb. The number of
carbs vary for each person, and some diabetic diets don’t even use
this system. If you are looking for a general kind of thing, low fat
(because of predisposition to heart disease) and low sugar (this is
on food labels under total carbohydrate it says ’sugars). The more
straight sugar she has, the higher her blood sugar will go, and
faster. Generally, if you were gonna be ‘good’ (meaning boring LOL)
you would only have things with no added sugar, and low fat. Be

careful though- most ‘low fat’ things add sugar for taste, and
most ‘no sugar added’ things add fat for taste! If you cook, there
are alot of new sugar substitutes out there that cook and taste just
like sugar, but are digested differently, so they don’t affect the
blood sugar as much. There is a good one out now, but I forgot the
name, maybe someone else will pop in with it. I hope others will join
this thread, as this is a topic we haven’t discussed much yet!
Welcome again, sorry I rambled a bit! Plaese ask any more questions
you have!
Melissa
— In type1_diabetes@y…, “wilkinsplace”

By: Sheila Brennan

Sheila Brennan — Fri, 21 Feb 2003 05:35:18 +0000

— In type1_diabetes@y…, “wilkinsplace” If she is type 1, then diet is just one factor, and not a
comparatively complicated one. Since you mention diet and
medications, but not insulin injections and blood sugar monitoring, I
have to ask, are you sure she is type 1 and not type 2?
All type 1 diabetics require an outside source of insulin, usually by
subcutaneous injection. There is no oral insulin, and oral
medications to help insulin work are not prescribed for type 1
diabetics.
Type 2 diabetics often can control their blood sugars without insulin
injections. They may use diet, exercise, and/or oral medications that
facilitate insulin use or production to control their blood sugars.
Jerry