Many parents’ worst nightmare is to have any type of disease diagnosed for any of their children. Diabetes happens to be one of those conditions where everyone has heard of it but very few actually understand it unless they must live with it on a day to day basis.

Because the news media, doctors or friends and family tend to talk about the “horror stories”, many people just do not realize it is a highly manageable condition with some time, energy and some education. Managing diabetes is like the pieces of a puzzle. Take all the pieces, arrange them in the correct order as if it was a set of building blocks and when finished, the end result yields a complete “design of excellence.”

Because your child’s nutrition habits has now become very important for the rest of their life, learning and finding some safe options for their snacks is of major importance. Every diabetic child has got to be taught the importance of eating well but also eating safe. This is especially true since diabetes is often described as a “silent killer.” This term references the fact high blood sugar levels over time will damage many of their internal organs. The pitfall here is very little to no outward symptoms are recognizable until it is actually too late to reverse the damage.

What Can My Diabetic Child Eat?
This has got to be the scariest line every parent asks their doctor for the first time. Many people believe the doctor is going to say:

• No candy
• No cookies
• No pizza
• No ice cream
• No french fries
• and on and on the list grows in their mind

Every mother is especially sitting there in the doctor’s office trying to determine in her mind how is she ever going to make this transition happen and then how is she going to be able to retain control of her child’s eating habits when he is away.

So some kid-friendly but diabetic safe snacks for the kids can be chosen from some of the following:

• air popped popcorn (with no butter), add spices for seasonings
• graham crackers
• fresh fruit with string cheese sticks
• low fat milk with vanilla wafers
• fresh peanut butter on celery, apple or banana
• low fat frozen yogurt
• baked seasoned tortilla chips with salsa
• low fat cheese cubes on whole wheat cracker
• all fruit jelly or jam with whole wheat crackers/bread
• oven roasted turkey breast on whole wheat bread
• baked tortilla chips with salsa

Give yourself as the parent some time and get some education by utilizing the multitudes of information avenues available to you and soon you will be experienced enough you won’t think twice about what kinds of snacks can my diabetic child eat!

Glucose is what gives the body energy, and is absorbed by the cells of the body. Insulin is the gatekeeper to the body’s cells, being the hormone that lets the glucose into the cells. When a person has no insulin, as in type 1 diabetes, no energy is provided to the body.

In type 2 diabetes, the person is “insulin resistant” and needs either drugs to make the insulin the body generates work harder, or extra insulin to allow the glucose to be properly absorbed.

Although your doctor will have prescribed drugs and perhaps insulin to combat high levels of blood sugar, it is not a precise science. Exercising or missing a meal for example can cause your blood sugars to drop dramatically, resulting in a “hypo”.

All people are all different, and diabetes is no exception. However, it is thought that, in general, a blood sugar level of 3.3mmol/l or less is a hypoglycaemic state for most people.

There are two main symptoms of hypoglycaemia; the first affects the brain, reducing intellectual function. These include headaches, fatigue, loss of concentration and visual disorders. Taking it to the extreme, it can result in a diabetic coma.

The second type are those that are due to side effects of hormones such as adrenaline. When glucose levels fall too far, adrenaline is produced to counter the effect. It usually occurs when the fall in blood glucose is rapid. The symptoms include rapid heartbeat, sweating, hunger, apprehension and palpitations of the heart. They can even make people appear drunk to other people, as the ability to think clearly is impaired.

As is so often the case in keeping diabetes under control, whether for short term side effects or the longer term health implications, frequent monitoring of blood sugar levels, maintaining regular exercise and eating habits and understanding your personal symptoms of hypoglycaemia, all combine to prevent “hypos” happening.