Type 1 Diabetes - Essential Nutrients for Growing Children - Low Carb Strategies for Normal Blood Sugar
Nov 17, 2023In the world of parenting, especially when a child is diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, finding the right balance between essential nutrients and blood sugar management becomes a paramount concern.
Discovering the key to achieving normal blood sugar levels while ensuring the proper growth and development of our children is a journey filled with challenges and complexities.
In this comprehensive post, we'll explore the unique nutrition needs of children with Type 1 diabetes, focusing on the role of low-carb strategies and essential nutrients.
1. Kids Do Not Need Carbs to Grow
Let's debunk a common myth right from the start: kids do not need carbs to grow.
While carbohydrates are often considered a staple in a child's diet, especially for growth, the truth is, they are not an essential component.
In fact, the human body can create all the glucose it requires, rendering external sources of carbohydrates non-essential.
Click the following link for an in-depth post and video about the evidence highlighting that carbohydrates are not essential for human existence: https://youtu.be/F8hatuQxIYc
2. Type 1 diabetes and the Unique Nutrition Problem
Type 1 diabetes presents a unique nutrition challenge.
The primary goal is to maintain normal blood sugar levels while ensuring that children receive the essential nutrients crucial for their growth and development. Unlike their peers, kids with Type 1 diabetes must navigate a careful balance to avoid health complications associated with elevated blood sugar levels.
Before I provide you with a nutritional plan specific for the management of Type 1 diabetes for your child, which ensures growth and development, and the ability to safely achieve normal blood sugar levels, it is important to first review some basic principles of nutrition for human health.
3. Basic Principles of Nutrition for Human Health
In order to survive and thrive as a human being, it is necessary for us to take in adequate energy (“eat enough food”) and to eat certain nutrients.
This applies to all people, including those living with Type 1 diabetes.
These nutrients are organized into macronutrients, micronutrients, and water, and are categorized as:
- Protein
- Fat
- Carbohydrate
- Vitamins
- Minerals
- Water
Let's take a closer look at each of these!
4. The Role of Protein in the Human Body
I want to tackle protein first, because proteins are literally the building blocks of the human body – the basis for all the body’s structures - and we are trying to grow children.
You can think of proteins as "worker molecules" that carry out the work in our cells.
There are several hundred thousand different proteins in our body, and they do many things. Proteins create, grow and repair tissues like muscles, connective tissue, skin, eyes, hair, and nails. They also contract muscles, give shape to our skin, and help us digest food.
Protein molecules can be hormones, neurotransmitters, antibodies, enzymes, transporters, healers, infection fighters, and signalling molecules.
Protein’s main role is actually NOT as an energy source for cells – that is mainly the job of glucose and fat. Because the body depends on protein for so many other things, the body will turn to protein as an energy source only when it needs to.
5. Role of Fat in the Human Body
Now on to the role of fats, also referred to as “lipids”.
First off, as a nutritionist, I feel quite sorry for the nutrient, fat! The word “fat” has negative connotations – associated with poor health and heart disease. I really wish there were two separate terms used to describe the dietary fat we eat and fat as a large amount of excess flesh, because fat has many important functions!
Like glucose, fat is another energy source for our cells to help make energy to carry out their work. Fats also provide a means for us to store energy for us to use when we need it in the future. Fat is why humans can survive without food for weeks and even months!
Fat molecules also:
- help us to absorb fat-soluble vitamins (like vitamins A, D, E, & K)
- provide structural material for cells and tissues
- help produce hormones
- provide insulation for our organs, and help the body regulate body temperature.
6. Role of Carbohydrates in the Human Body as an Energy Source
Carbohydrates’ main role is to be used as a source of energy for cells to carry out their work.
Carbohydrates break down into one-sugar molecules, and GLUCOSE is the most abundant one-sugar molecule.
Glucose is the main circulating sugar in our blood and in the blood of other mammals.
7. Glucose in the Blood: A Delicate Balance
Understanding the delicate balance of glucose in the blood is fundamental. The human body contains only about 4 grams of glucose on average, underscoring the precision required in managing blood sugar levels, especially in children with Type 1 diabetes.
8. Essential vs. Non-Essential Nutrients
Some nutrients are essential while others are non-essential.
What does essential even mean?
Think about “essential” as meaning essential for life. We need to eat these to survive. Our body cannot make these on its own.
We do not need to eat non-essential nutrients to survive, because our bodies can internally make these molecules when they’re needed.
9. Kids Require Essential Nutrients for Growth
Children, regardless of their health condition, require essential proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals for optimal growth.
You will notice that carbohydrates are not mentioned in this list as essential nutrients, and that is because carbohydrates are predominantly broken down into glucose molecules, which are used by the body as a source of energy. However, the body can supply its own glucose for its energy needs, and can rely on fat as a source of energy as well!
10. The Ideal Nutrition Plan for Type 1 diabetes
For kids with Type 1 diabetes, crafting a nutrition plan that ensures these essentials while managing blood sugar levels becomes even more critical.
The ideal nutrition plan for anyone living with Type 1 diabetes involves embracing low-carb foods that support normal blood sugar levels and are nutrient-dense for growing children. This approach focuses on quality over quantity, ensuring that every bite contributes to both satiating hunger, fostering growth, and does not create unnecessary blood sugar fluctuations.
11. Low-carb is NOT a Ketogenic Diet
It's essential to clarify that a low-carb nutrition plan for Type 1 diabetes is not synonymous with a ketogenic diet. While both share a reduction in carbohydrates, a low-carb plan for Type 1 diabetes places a higher emphasis on protein and avoids the high-fat characteristics of a classic ketogenic diet.
A low-carb nutrition strategy for the management of Type 1 diabetes focuses on protein rich foods which are necessary for essential amino acids, vitamins, and minerals. Includes healthy fats which comprise essential fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals. And, a reduced amount of high-quality, low-carb foods for essential vitamins, and minerals that do not cause blood sugar spikes or fluctuations!
12. Grab Your Essential Nutrients Guide!
Now, you may be wondering...."This is all great info, but what does this all look like? Which foods are essential and which vitamins and minerals do they include?"
Don't worry, to guide you on this nutritional journey, I've prepared an Essential Nutrients for Growing Children with Type 1 diabetes Guide. This guide provides you with a list of foods which have all the essential nutrients, including a list of low-carb foods which do not spike blood sugar levels and are nutrient-dense, filled with essential vitamins and minerals, as well as a list of low-carb super foods!
Click on the link below to access your copy:
https://www.t1dnutrition.com/Essential-Nutrients-Guide
Conclusion
In conclusion, navigating the nutritional needs of a child with Type 1 diabetes requires a thoughtful and informed approach. By embracing a low-carb nutrition plan that prioritizes essential nutrients and ensures that your child can safely achieve normal blood sugar levels, parents can play a pivotal role in ensuring the well-being, growth, and development of their children. Remember, it's not about restriction but rather about making informed choices that empower our kids with Type 1 diabetes guiding them towards a happier, healthier future.
This article is from a recent Facebook Live session which you can watch by clicking: https://youtu.be/K13EyrgOIQM
The Nutrition Effect Program
The Nutrition Effect Program is your comprehensive guide to implementing a low-carb nutrition strategy tailored specifically to Type 1 diabetes, so you can safely achieving normal blood sugar levels for your child, while ensuring they receive the vital and essential nutrients they require, transforming your child’s Type 1 diabetes management, health and overall quality of life.
For more information about the Nutrition Effect program, please visit: https://www.t1dnutrition.com/programs
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