Don’t you just love it when others have opinions on what Type 1 diabetics can eat?
It’s usually the people with the least understanding of the condition that are often the loudest. The comedian Ed Gamble is quoted as saying, ‘No one stands in the way of me and a brownie’, and I can imagine he has had to educate lots of people on his way to stardom. Just educating your own small circle of friends, family and acquaintances can be tiring enough. The constant assumption that sugar is the reason for the condition is challenging. Often, resulting in me wanting to shout at the top of my lungs, ‘It’s wasn’t caused by too much sugar!’
I can reassure you I don’t do this, but it’s tempting when I’m struggling with the lack of awareness. I remind myself I had no idea there were different types of diabetes. If there was a vote to change the name would you? I’d like to see it changed to Autoimmune Type 1, as then I don’t think others would lump it together with the inevitable too much sugar assumptions.
I think it can be hard as a parent to feel judged about the food choices we make for our kids. We do everything to keep them healthy and provide nutritious food, but we cannot forget their mental well-being either. Denying our kids the same treats as their siblings and peers is damaging to them, and I worry how that would affect them as they grow into adults. Moderation is certainly the only way I know how to juggle everything. My child must have a healthy diet, as we all should, but must also be a kid. I buy healthier snacks for our house, but when my child goes to the school disco and everyone is wanting brain lickers (yes, as gross and unhealthy as it sounds) what do I do? I give the insulin. I hate these moments as my brain and heart are not agreeing, but I love my child and I see the need for inclusion and I ultimately feel the damage to mental health is greater if I were to say no.
Eating fast food is again hard for my diabetes balance sheet. I want my child to be normal and eating the occasional burger and fries is a part of that. Going out for pizza definitely causes me less of a mental dilemma as we always opt for a thin base as it’s healthier, but it is a small miracle if we can manage to bolus correctly for the pizza. I think when you master pizza as a Type 1 you’ve reached the top of your game! 😅. We have a pump and still we can be defeated with not enough upfront insulin so blood sugar is going way too high, or too much causing a hypo. And, as anyone who knows, this can go on for hours after consuming the pizza. We still do it though as pizza is my child’s favourite treat.
I designed the Foodies collection based on all the things my kids love to eat. Pizza, Burgers, French Fries and Ice cream are certainly their favourites. I really hope you like them too and have fun showing others that T1D’s can eat whatever they want.
