Learning how to make healthy choices and balance carbohydrates, protein, and fat can help children with diabetes keep their blood sugars in a healthy range.
People with diabetes need to pay special attention to carbohydrates (carbs) because carbs raise blood sugar levels. After you eat, your body breaks down carbs into glucose (sugar). The glucose goes into the bloodstream making the blood sugar level rise. Insulin is a hormone that helps get glucose into cells so it can be used as energy.
But not all carbs are the same — some carb-containing foods are better than others. Whole-grain foods, fruits, and vegetables are great choices because they have fiber, vitamins, and other nutrients. Fiber slows the digestion and absorption of sugar and can help keep blood sugar levels in the healthy range. Candy, soda, and highly processed foods cause blood sugar levels to rise quickly because they break down easily and don’t have fiber to slow things down.
A meal that contains a balance of carbs (including fiber), protein, and healthy fats can slow digestion, help you feel full, and provide a variety of important nutrients. For example, a breakfast of peanut butter on a whole wheat English muffin with strawberries contains carbs, fiber, protein, and healthy fats. This meal will break down slower than a less-balanced breakfast of waffles with pancake syrup and canned fruit cocktail in heavy syrup (mostly carbs). Meals that break down quickly may leave insulin still working after most nutrients are digested, possibly causing low blood sugar later.
Learning how to count carbs is a helpful skill to master, especially if your child takes insulin with each meal. When you know how many carbs are in the foods your child eats, you can match their insulin doses much better.
Registered dietitians are experts in helping kids and teens with diabetes balance carbs, proteins, and fats. They can tell you how many grams of carbs your child might need with meals and snacks depending on their age, size, activity level, and food preferences. When you work with your child’s registered dietitian, you’ll learn practical skills, including how to:
You can support your child to keep meals and snacks on track in many ways:
It may take a little time to get used to making changes. But starting today will help your child to keep up with them into the future. And you’ll be putting your child on a healthy path for life.
Reviewed by: Cheryl Patterson, RD, CDE
Date Reviewed: Jan 1, 2022