Reposted from glucoKIDZ (http://glucokidz.com)

Halloween is tough for kids with diabetes. When all your friends are eating candy it seems really unfair. After all, most of us know that candy is just another word for “sugar”, and we need to watch how much sugar we eat every day. So how do you take care of your diabetes and still have fun at Halloween time?

Candy doesn’t have to be bad for you, as long as you know how much candy is enough. It’s true you can’t just eat all you want and stay in control of your diabetes. So…what can you do at Halloween? Here are some ideas.

Grab as much candy as you can, but just keep a little. Give the rest away to your friends. Sounds crazy? You’ll be the most popular person at school or in your neighborhood. It might even get you some special favors from your friends later. But be careful who you give the candy to since their parents may not want them to eat too much either, even though they don’t have diabetes. A little of the candy you keep can be eaten a couple of times a week instead of a fast carbohydrate at a meal or snack. For example, substitute a small Snickers bar for a bedtime snack. Make sure you do this with your doctor’s ok.

Another idea is to go to a Haunted House party. There are lots of those every year. You can hang out with your friends, get scared by the guy without a head or touch the slimy guts in the bucket. You can also work some of the foods there into your diabetes meal plan with your parent’s help.
The last idea is for the really tough GlucoKIDZ out there. YOU be the one who gives out the candy at your house. Try to give out healthier treats: small granola bars, sugar-free chewing gum, maybe even fresh fruit to people you know well (and who know you). Your parents can help you buy some healthy treats to give out.

Whatever you do, the most important thing to do is HAVE FUN at Halloween. After all, trick or treat is about being with friends and family; dressing up scary, pretty or just plain silly; sharing with others, and having a good scare every now and then. Having diabetes is no reason not to have fun at Halloween!

Gotten enough”D” lately?

Thinking about a very essential vitamin has undergone a renaissance in the past few years. It was highlighted by a 2009 report from the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston which found that up to 70% of all children and teens with type 1 diabetes were insufficient or deficient in vitamin D. The reason for this may be less sun exposure or effective use of sunscreen, which blocks most of the vitamin D producing rays of the sun.

Dietary reasons for low vitamin D include less fortified milk consumption (soda pop reigns!) or other sources of vitamin D (oily fish, fortified cereals, eggs).

I have seen this problem in my patients with both forms of diabetes. So, why is there such a fuss about this vitamin? Well as it turns out, vitamin D is necessary for a healthy immune system. But low vitamin D levels are known to be associated with a list of serious diseases, include both types of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, some cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson disease, and Multiple sclerosis to name just a few. Our blood vessels are richly lined with receptors for vitamin D. The current recommendations for daily vitamin D intake are probably too low. On top of that, the current vitamin D intake of most Americans is quite poor. 400 IU is the official RDA for vitamin D, but it may be better to move that value closer to 1000 IU. There have been over 3,000 papers on vitamin D in just the past year. This is a white hot diabetes topic and will remain so for a long time to come. I strongly suggest getting your child with diabetes checked for their 25-hydroxy-vitamin D level at the next office visit. You may be surprised at the result. Personally, I take 1000 mg vitamin D3 daily and have so for over a year.

There are several different ways to infer blood glucose levels through chemistry and electricity using disposable strips and meters. You might not realize it but there are clearly some meters and strips that are custom made for you and some that you need to avoid. I have some more analysis to do yet before posting a resource on mygluco.com that helps you determine which chemistries and methods are best for you vs which ones you need to avoid.

For starters however, did you know that when you are in a high altitude environment you need to avoid meters/strips that are based on glucose oxidase? How many of you take echinacea to boost your immunity? If that’s you then you definitely need to avoid test strips from 2 of the top 4 meter manufacturers. But if you’re at high altitude that same meter that might be the wrong choice for an echinacea lovin’ person might be the perfect choice.

All of this information is published online but good luck finding it and even more luck trying to make sense of it. Then why doesn’t the average physician, diabetes educator or patient know this? Hmmm? I’ll try to avoid conspiracy theories as I flesh this out and report on this as a clear and cited resource.

In summary, I know of at least 5 different categories that should influence our decision regarding which meter and test strip is best for us:
- physiology
- lifestyle
- prescriptions
- diet
- cost (formulary & co-pay)

Do you know of any other considerations?

Stay tuned for more on this life-critical topic (seriously - people have died because they used the wrong meter/strip). In the meantime, you might start asking around to see if anyone else is aware of this little secret and why it’s not in the mainstream. I’d like to know, too. You might also make sure you fill out your personal health record with information around those 5 categories so that your medical team can be aware and make better decisions with you vs for you.