Dear Abby T1 Common Sense?

Taken from The DiabeticDuo

Well, at least there is one person in the public eye who’s not a complete moron when it comes to T1. Actually that sentence was just to get your attention. I am sure there are many notable people who take the time to learn about Diabetes, but this topic is still burning holes in blog screens everywhere. I was reading this Dear Abby letter about parents of two boys. One has T1 and one doesn’t. They restrict the T1’s diet and the question is basically why shouldn’t I let the non diabetic eat ice cream while the other has none?

So, back to my first sentence. At least Dear Abby had some common sense about stating “most people with Type 1 diabetes, while trying to eat healthfully, do not completely deprive themselves of treats but accommodate them by adjusting their level of insulin”. Way to go Abby! You can read her statement here.

There are two things that bother me about the writer’s question. First, as you know I take issue with parents being so strict on their kids diets to the point where it WILL BACKFIRE. We all need to be diligent with our diets, diabetic or not. But restricting foods is going to cause their child to sneak, which is a nightmare chasing a nightmare when trying to correct blood sugar with a food sneaker. It’s also setting the child up to possibly have food issues when they get older. Second, If these parents were actually instructed to behave this way by medical professionals….I would like to wring their necks. My guess is this isn’t true. They probably told the parents to watch the intake, manage it, reduce it…whatever and the parents took it to the extreme. However, I do think the medical professionals should warn about severe restrictions as much as they tell you to be carb conscious. Don’t you think?

Eh, just my two cents.

Sorry about the font, I am trying to get it to go smaller!!

I read that Dear Abby too and thought, what the heck? Why didn’t they include ice cream in his meal plan. And/or get him the sugar free ice cream if that’s better for him. (don’t know cuz I don’t eat sugar free due to tummy problems.)

Many times sugar free is the same if not more carbs than regular items so the point is? I have looked at sugar free candy and the carbs are in many cases higher than regular candy and the child is getting other chemicals like splenda or sorbitol, etc. Kids should be kids and do all the things non-diabetic kids do. Isnt having type I diabetes enough on a child…then you take away treats and ice cream? What’s the difference between the carbs of a small apple and 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream? The difference is 1 carb. I think we parents should feed all our kids as healthy as we can, teach them balance with treats and let them enjoy life without being too controlling. One day they are grown and leave home, that’s when they are going to do whatever they want…best to teach balance with lots of fun and neat ways to cut carb corners too.