DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I’m a 40-year-old chubby girl identified with Sort 2 diabetes just a little over a 12 months in the past. I’ve change into extra aware concerning the meals our household eats, limiting sugar and incorporating extra vegatables and fruits into meals at dwelling. Just lately, although, I realized my 14-year-old daughter has been “snacking” on spoons of granulated sugar day by day. What can I do to scale back her danger for diabetes and cut back her habit to sugar?
ANSWER: Adherence to a strict eating regimen might be difficult, whatever the motive. Whereas the street could also be bumpy, try to be pleased with your efforts to handle your sickness and set an excellent instance for your loved ones to be extra healthful.
Having obtained a analysis of diabetes actually makes you extra conscious of sugar, however ingesting a whole lot of sugar won’t immediately trigger a analysis of diabetes.
The physique makes use of sugar as gasoline and diabetes is a situation the place the physique has bother managing blood sugar ranges. Sort 2 diabetes occurs as a result of there’s a breakdown in how the physique regulates and makes use of sugar.
When we now have sugar within the bloodstream, insulin sometimes is launched from the pancreas to assist break down the sugar and carry it to the cells in our physique.
In Sort 2 diabetes, there’s a breakdown within the course of. As a substitute of shifting into the cells, sugar builds up within the blood. As blood sugar ranges rise, the pancreas releases extra insulin. Ultimately, the cells within the pancreas that make insulin change into broken and may’t make sufficient insulin to satisfy the physique’s wants.
When you’ve got not shared along with your daughter your analysis, she will not be conscious of why you could have made dietary modifications. Begin by telling her what Sort 2 diabetes is and the significance of wholesome meals selections.
Additionally, discuss along with her about her danger of creating the situation. The primary danger for creating Sort 2 diabetes is being chubby. Being inactive and having a household historical past additionally elevates her danger.
Listed here are some methods to assist your daughter overcome her sugar habit:
— Encourage your daughter to affix you in making higher selections and get her concerned by asking her to assist plan menus, go grocery purchasing with you or prepare dinner.
— Determine more healthy options to fulfill her candy tooth. Swap sugary snacks for issues like contemporary fruits, yogurt or nuts. And don’t neglect to combine and match — resembling a bowl of contemporary berries with a chunk of darkish chocolate, or a cup of plain yogurt with a drizzle of honey and sprinkle of cinnamon on prime.
— Steadily cut back the quantity of sugar in recipes when baking or cooking. Experiment with options like honey or maple syrup.
— Exchange sugary drinks like soda, fruit juices and vitality drinks. Preserve a provide available of tea or naturally flavored water as an alternative.
— Learn labels and restrict the quantity of processed meals you purchase. These usually include hidden or extra sugar.
— Make bodily exercise a precedence. The much less energetic an individual is, the larger the chance of diabetes. Bodily exercise helps management weight, makes use of up glucose as vitality and makes cells extra delicate to insulin. Make household outings extra energetic by strolling, mountain climbing or biking collectively.
As a guardian, you might be an vital position mannequin on your daughter. Proceed to indicate her learn how to make more healthy selections by training them your self. Additionally, share your experiences and challenges with managing diabetes and emphasize the significance of a wholesome life-style.
It could be useful to talk to your daughter’s pediatrician or healthcare skilled to get a baseline of her blood glucose, weight and ldl cholesterol. They can be a useful resource to supply extra tailor-made strategies. However keep in mind, small, constant modifications, as you could have seemingly discovered, are the important thing to success. — Dr. Christine Nguyen , Household Medication, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida
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