Helping Teens with Type 1 Diabetes Protect their Hearts and Health
Recent study results highlight strategies that can help young people with type 1 diabetes manage high cholesterol and blood pressure.
Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 Diabetes
Diabetes means your blood glucose, or blood sugar, levels are too high. With type 1 diabetes, your pancreas does not make insulin. Insulin is a hormone that helps glucose get into your cells to give them energy. Without insulin, too much glucose stays in your blood. Over time, high blood glucose can lead to serious problems with your heart, eyes, kidneys, nerves, and gums and teeth.
Type 1 diabetes happens most often in children and young adults but can appear at any age. It accounts for about 5 to 10 percent of diagnosed diabetes in the United States. Symptoms of diabetes may include: being very thirsty; urinating often; feeling very hungry or tired; losing weight without trying; having sores that heal slowly; having dry, itchy skin; losing the feeling in your feet or having tingling in your feet; and having blurry eyesight. If not diagnosed and treated with insulin, a person can lapse into a life-threatening diabetic coma, also known as diabetic ketoacidosis. A blood test can show if you have type 1 diabetes.
Lack of insulin production by the pancreas makes type 1 diabetes particularly difficult to control. Treatment requires a strict regimen that typically includes a carefully calculated diet, planned physical activity, home blood glucose testing several times a day, and multiple daily insulin injections.
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We can all walk into the doctor’s office prepared with questions and ideas about our own health issues, including diabetes.
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Information for people who care for kids with diabetes, such as teachers, childcare workers, coaches etc..
Diabetic Children and Diet
The goal of any dietary plan is to maintain levels of glucose in the blood. Therefore, foods rich in simple sugars – candy, cookies, sugary snacks and non-diet sodas – must be limited. A healthful, varied diet rich in whole grains, fruits and vegetables is the best way of ensuring overall health for your child.
