Background on the biology of the disease:

Type 1 diabetes is caused by the bodys inability to produce insulin and

to regulate blood glucose (sugar) levels. The pancreas is a glans that
contains the cells necessary to produce insulin. The beta cells located on it
are the ones responsible for making the insulin and in a Type 1 diabetic they
are slowly destroyed at an early age making it so the pancreas is not able to
make insulin. The result of this is hyperglycemia, meaning that the bodys
blood glucose levels are excessively high. The most common initial
symptoms are weakness, weight loss, frequent urination (caused by your
body trying to release the excess glucose through the urine), excessive
thirst, and hunger. Type 1 diabetics are also insulin dependent, meaning they
rely on daily intakes of insulin in order to maintain regular blood glucose
levels.

Recommendations for a diet:

The basic recommendations for a diabetic diet is the same as the
recommendations for a healthy diet anyone should follow. The general
outline is to try to avoid sugary drinks and foods along with a healthy
amount of carbs. If you are a sugar lover there is no need to fret, you may
still eat your favorite sugary snacks if you take a few special cares. First, try
to cut down the amount of times you eat these snacks to about once a week,
this way you can still have them without causing any harm to yourself. It is
also important to remember to take the appropriate amount of insulin
afterwards. Lastly, you may have to make your other meals for the day a
little healthier than usual, such as foods that contain less sugar and fat in
order to make up for the sugary snack. It isnt extremely hard to make
specialized meal plans because as I mentioned before, you should adhere to
a healthy diet anyone should eat with a few tweaks. Below are some
examples of what a healthy meal plan should look like for a Type 1 diabetic:
Breakfast

a bowl of cereal with semi-skimmed milk

wholegrain toast with spread and/or jam

yogurt and fruit

a cereal bar and a glass of milk.

Lunch

a chicken or ham salad sandwich...

a small pasta salad...

soup and a roll...

Dinner

lasagna and salad

roast chicken with potatoes and vegetables

beef stir fry, vegetables and rice

chicken tortillas and salad

salmon and noodles

curry and rice

If you like to have snacks between meals you can still do so. Some healthy snack recommendations
for Type 1 diabetics are fruits, rice cakes, crackers, biscuits (limited amount), a

cereal bar, or yogurt.

Role of blood sugar monitoring and adjustment:

Monitoring your blood sugar levels is important and you can even do it
yourself. It is easy to keep up with your levels at any time and it prevents the
consequences of a blood sugar level that is too high or too low.

Insulin: Insulin is an important part of a type 1 diabetics daily life and it is

also important to know how, when, and where to administer it. A syringe is
the most common way of administering insulin although there are also
pumps and pens. It is usually recommended to administer the insulin to
about the same part of the body, but not the same exact place. Lastly, it
should be timed and measured based on the types of foods you eat and how
much of it you eat.

Recommendations for exercise and lifestyle, how staying

fit relates to keeping diabetes in control:

First it is important to speak to your doctor and ask how often you
should exercise, for how long, and what type of exercise is best fit for you.
When you have type 1 diabetes exercise is very important but, it is also
important to balance your daily exercise with your diet, and your insulin
intake. It is common for people to experience low blood glucose during and
before exercise so it is important to monitor it properly. Always carry a
carbohydrate food or drink with you when exercising in case you need a
quick way to bring your blood glucose levels back up. If your blood glucose
level is less than 100 mg/dl before you begin to exercise you may want to
have a small snack. If you use an insulin pump can reduce the insulin rate
during your workout instead of having an extra snack. For most people the
American Diabetes Association recommends 150 minutes of exercise a week,
which is the equivalent of about 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. Exercises
such as walking, jogging, running, tennis, basketball, swimming, and biking
are usually good.

Nutritionist: Type 1 diabetics need a nutritionist because they need

to keep a careful diary of what they eat and how much insulin they take. It is
also very important to know how many carbohydrates are in each meal they
eat. Nutritionists can also help them design a meal plan based on the foods
they like and ones that are healthy in order to provide them with the things
they need while still keeping some of the foods they like to eat. Nutritionists
can also tell them about how many times they should eat every day and
when they should eat. Lastly, they are able to go over food labels with
diabetics and help them better understand them.

Psychologist: There are psychologists that specialize in working with

diabetics. One of the most common reasons diabetics initially need
psychologists is because they dont want to adhere to their plan of
treatment. At lot of people believe they dont need the help of medications
or other health care professionals so a psychologist has to explain and help
people understand the importance of their treatment. They may also help
with the initial or daily stress that may come with diabetes. Patients may
become overwhelmed by all the routines they now have to follow and have
an unhealthy level of stress which a psychologist can help ease. The
motorization of stress is extremely important as it can directly affect a
patients blood glucose level making it especially dangerous for a diabetic.
Lastly, psychologists can help with family relations and problems that may
come to diabetes. Such as explaining to family members what diabetes is

and to help the patient communicate any requests or problems with their
family.

Quotes from a Type 1 Diabetic:

Q: How do you administer your insulin and how difficult do you
think it is?
A: I use an insulin pump because I find it is the easiest way for me to
administer my insulin. I simply write down an estimate of the amount of
carbohydrates I had during my meal in my device and it automatically
administers the necessary amount of insulin. I have been dealing with my
diabetes since I was a child so now it has become part of my daily routine.

Q: How much did your diet have to change when you found out
you had Type 1 Diabetes?
A: Initially I thought I would have to give up all of the snacks I loved
to eat, especially chocolate, but after a while I found that as long as I
maintained a decently healthy diet I could have a couple of cheat days.

Q: What do you think is/was the hardest part of having diabetes?

A: I think the hardest part was the social aspect of having diabetes.
I would get embarrassed about having to administer insulin after a meal with
my friends and family. Eventually I understood that it was for my own good
and now I dont really mind and I am very open about having diabetes.

Q: Do you think people treat you differently because you have

diabetes?
A: There are definitely some people who will treat you differently
because you have diabetes but I feel like most of the time people dont really
care. They often have their own things to take care of, we think they care a
lot more than they actually do. For example, when I was a bit younger and I
had to administer my insulin in public I would feel like everyone was staring
at me, when in reality most people didnt even realize it.

Questions asked by: Anna Barbosa

Quotes/Answers provided by: Liliane Barbosa

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