12th February 2007

I've just added a page on how to bake sweet potatoes in the Snacks section of the diabetic recipes. 

The key to Alissa's successful diabetic diet has been to increasingly eat more foods that have a low GI ( or glycemic index) - that last longer and have a lower immediate impact on the blood sugar levels.

9th February 2007

Type 1 Diabetes and Eyesight Complications

As a parent, one of the most worrying things about your child having diabetes is the complications that you read about.

I think that it's easy to become scared and so avoid reading any of the information - but this is one case where being informed can help.   Not only does it provide motivation to work with your child to help them achieve better sugar levels, but knowing what the real risks are can help you to stop feeling scared about visiting your hospital consultant.

Whilst complications can happen to anyone, they are far more likely to happen to people with a history of poor control of their blood sugar levels, so are uncommon in children.

Of all the complications, I think that the loss of eyesight is the one most people fear.  For me, the thought that my beautiful daughter could one day be blind was not one I wished to contemplate.  Yet statistics show that the risk of diabetics becoming blind is 25 times higher than for the rest of the population.

What Is Diabetic Retinopathy ?

Retinopathy refers to the damage to the blood vessels at the back of the retina.  With more than half diabetics experiencing some level of retinopathy this is clearly a serious concern.

As the damage occurs with the eyes themselves, it hasn't been easy to see this occuring until it's too late, when the first symptoms are loss of sight.  However, due to using the latest technology it's now possible to carry out regulars scans of both eyes in order to see the first symptoms of damage. If caught at this early stage, laser surgery can help reduce the risk of permanent damage to vision.

The images that are obtained via this kind of imaging are in incredible detail and worth looking at - unless, like me, the concept of images of the inside of the eye makes you a little queasy!

What Causes It ?

Studies have shown that people whose levels stay close to normal levels are less likely to experience complications, not only for the eyes, but also the other risk factors.  Those with long term uncontrolled diabetes run great risks of suffering acute complications in later life .

What Can I Do ?

This is why it's so important to work with your health care team and to consider new options that are available to help manage your levels. For some this may be increased injections, for other trying an insulin pump, whilst for others simply monitoring levels more frequently may help improve the management of their diabetes.

The best nutritional supplement to take for retinopathy is thought to be Vitamins C and E, which have been found to be at lower levels in sufferers.

If your child has recently been diagnosed with type 1 or juvenile diabetes, I'd suggest that you get informed about all aspects of diabetes (check our our faq page, but hold them in perspective.

If we believed and lived with all the statistics, we'd wonder how any of us ever live past the age of 50!

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