Teenagers and Diabetes

I am a type 1 diabetic and have been so for nearly thirteen years. And it hasn't always been smooth sailing, in fact, it still isn't, despite me being in my early twenties. I often struggle to maintain a balance between diet, exercise,studying, drinking alcohol and socialising. Not maintaing this balance, plays havoc with my blood sugars, causing them to zig-zag.
One might think this combination of a dietitian and diabetic, whose blood sugars ought to be more on the "straight and narrow" odd, but it highlights the fact that type 1 diabetes is often difficult for anybody, specifically for teenegars and young adults, to control.

Factors Upsetting Blood Sugar Control

As a teenager grows up through to a young adult, it is a period of social development and awareness. It is also a time of networking, forging new friendships and relationships; discovering the bliss of an ice cold beer or the sharp ecstasy of a shooter; the rush of a first cigarette or even the thrill of a recent crush glancing your way. Suddenly, any reminders of blood tests and insulin are soon forgotten or ignored.

At a braai or party, sweet fruit-coolers, beers and mixes form the basis of many teens' alcohol repetoires. Personally, I'm not a big drinker, but often feel very uncomfortable after several drinks and instinctively, I know my blood sugar is high. Despite the cries of "Hey! Why aren't you drinking!", I down numerous glasses of water and monitor my blood sugar more closely. Alcohol, especially in the form of shooters, causes spikes in blood sugar, which may later crash and cause serious hypos, whereas plain spirits will cause the blood sugar to plummet.

At that same braai or party, there may be potato crisps to snack on, as well as garlic bread and soft, white rolls to munch. Combined with a lack of vegetables and fatty meat, these will also contribute to a higher blood sugar.

Another important factor to consider, is the lack of discipline, in terms of the blood tests and insulin injections. It is very hard as a teenage diabetic, to see so many other kids stuff chocolate, biscuits, cokes and other junk foods into their mouths, while the diabetic teen has to eat a much more restricted diet. It is much easier, to ignore the condition and eat what you like. Teen's moods, friends, levels of activty as well as changes in hormones also change frequently, making diabetes management that much harder. But this is where the discipline comes in.

Why Bother?

Poor blood glucose control results in retinopathy (damage
to the retina of the eye); cataracts; nephropathy (kidney problems, where the
kidneys battle to excrete the excess glucose from the body); neuropathy
(nerve damage, whereby the patient feels a "pins and needles"
sensation in the feet and legs) and cardiovascular disease and strokes (poor
circulation can also affect the blood vessels in the genital areas, causing
impotence). Diabetic teens should keep their feet in good condition, to prevent
problems occurring in later life. The longer the poor control lasts,
the more severe the complications.

Ways To Help Manage Your Teen's Diabetes

Managing diabetes as a teen or young adult is tough or just a big fat pain in the ass, but it is possible to achieve! I've managed without any complications so far, haven't I? There are several ways to mange the condition, some of which, got me through to wher I am today. These are:

1. Several consecutive meetings with a Daibetic Nurse Educator, who will help the teen amke better choices regarding diet, drinking alcohol, partying and socializing and exercise.

2. Establish priorities i.e. what is really important to the teen? Is social acceptance really worth sacrificing one's health? The teen must be encourages to find a balance between the two.

3. There are new insulins and other devices (e.g. insulin pumps) on the market, which offer more flexibility in terms of food and insulin dosages and they make diabetes management much easier.

4. A diabetic teen needs a strong support system around him: someone to understand his moods; to understand and interpret his feelings of sadness, anger, fear or shame; to see if his sugar is low or sky high; to help him make the right lifestyle choices and to undertsnad any other problems. It will also help if the whole family is involved; they should know how diabetes works, what to do in a particular situation and they can also be involved at mealtimes.

5. Help the teen build confidence, especially in himself. He must believe that he can control thios condition and thus he needs support from his family and friends.

6. A healthy lifestyle with everything in moderation will help level out his blood sugars. Always have alcohol with meals to prevent hypos and be aware of the effect of alcohol on blood sugar levels several hours after drinking. Exercise and a low GI diet will help even out any spikes.

I hope I have shown you that teens and young adults are capable of managing
their own diabetes. Its a rocky ride and you don't always get a lollipop at the
end, but the reward appears ina different form: excellent health with no
complications and the ability to live life to the fullest!

I encourage any other teens or young adults to email me and tell me their experiences or troubles. I hope to perhaps specialize in this field and I feel that, being a diabetic and knowing how it feels, will benefit me in this endevour.

The Importance of Being Nuts About Health. I'm Nuts, Are You?

Health

It’s a screaming, daunting, word that appears nearly everywhere in women’s magazines, newspaper articles and self-help books causing many to regret eating that KFC they had for lunch and quickly skip a couple of pages. It is also all over the internet, with numerous websites offering outrageous claims and programmes expensive enough to make your head whizz.

• Health is defined as a state of complete mental, physical and emotional being without the presence of disease. However, health also involves understanding what one eats and how one exercises and this shouldn’t be a daunting task, especially if it means you are leading a much healthier lifestyle by the end of it.

Chronic Diseases of Lifestyle

Chronic diseases are taking over, with various cancers; both type 1 and type 2 Diabetes Mellitus; cardiovascular heart disease and coronary vascular disease, obesity and metabolic syndrome on the increase in both developed and developing countries.

Many of these diseases are already epidemics, with diabetes in particular being in the lead, with over 230 million people currently affected by the disease and if that isn’t scary enough, every ten seconds, a person dies of diabetes-related causes. There is also a strong link between these diseases and the rise in morbidity and mortality as a result of eating a poor diet lacking in essential nutrients and a lack of physical exercise.

• What is interesting to note, is that despite all the information about healthy eating being available, people still continue to eat poor diets. South Africa is a notable case, as a middle- income country with enough food to sustain its people and to export to foreign countries yet with millions of people living in poverty, there are more obese, undernourished people than underweight, undernourished people. It is possible for obese or overweight people to be undernourished, for example, they may be eating a diet rich in starch, protein and fat, but they may also be lacking in sufficient amounts of essential vitamins and minerals.

Nutrition and Exercise

Nutrition and exercise both form the basis of good health and are words which make many people cringe and immediately hide their packets of chips and pull in their stomachs. There is great emphasis on food and eating a varied diet which includes starch and wholegrain breads; legumes and pulses such as baked beans and lentils; fruits; vegetables; nuts and seeds; lean animal protein such as chicken, fish and game; eggs and low fat dairy products.

• Nutrition is the science of food and its interaction with the human body to promote and maintain health.

In South Africa, the government has advised that South Africans eat according to the Food Based Dietary Guidelines. There are eleven guidelines and these are based on the consumption of locally available foods.

The Food Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDGs) include:
1. Enjoy a variety of foods
2. Be active
3. Make starchy foods the basis of most meals
4. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables every day
5. Eat dry beans, peas, lentils and soy regularly
6. Chicken, fish, milk, meat or eggs can be eaten daily
7. Eat fats sparingly
8. Use salt sparingly
9. Drink lots of clean, safe water
10. If you drink alcohol, drink sensibly
11. Use foods and drinks containing sugar sparingly and not in between meals

In order to promote and maintain health, one doesn’t only need to consider nutrition, but also exercise (I can visualize many groans here). We need to exercise for several reasons; the main reason being to avoid any chronic diseases. The benefits of exercise include cardiovascular fitness, increased bone density which helps against osteoporosis; helps develop and strengthen muscles and joints; increases the amount of energy your body has so you are able to perform more activities in one day; you are better able to deal with stress and it helps beat insomnia. Exercising daily also helps to maintain our body weight.

• There are various types of exercise to do, the best being cardiovascular exercise such as running, walking, playing squash, soccer, swimming and aerobics. This type of exercise should be done on low intensity for 45mins, 3-5 times per week. The longer and more intense the exercise, the greater the benefit! It is also critical that if either one hasn’t exercised before or one hasn’t exercised for a very long period of time, one must see a health professional for a medical check-up.

Finally as first week of the New Year passes, for many of us, that New Year’s resolution to eat healthily and hit the gym every day is becoming more and more motivating and achievable. Improving one’s health often means a complete lifestyle change and all one needs is a little knowlege and motivation. And if the frightening statistics aren’t enough, there is also always this website (which will soon have many articles on different aspects of nutrition and health) and a fellow “HealthNut’s” inspiration and encouragement!