The Language of “Good” Nutrition
Mon, Apr 5, 2010 by Stefany
I grew up with two sisters. My mother is also one of three girls and my father has three sisters and no brothers. My husband and I have three daughters and one son of our own. To coin a phrase from a classic childhood musical, you could safely say that I am “dripping with little girls”. Perhaps it is the influence of all these women and girls in my life or maybe it was my senior thesis in college or the evidence I collected as a collegiate athlete. Somewhere along the line, I developed a particular sensitivity to body image and food issues. Parenting a Type 1 Diabetic has only heightened the need I feel to reinforce healthy messages about food for my children – especially my daughters.
Diabetes undeniably complicates your relationship to food. The reality of having to count more that 5 grams of carbohydrate in what you consume requires an unnatural fixation on every single food choice you make every single day. Diabetes prompts questions like: Am I hungry right now or is it time to eat because of the amount of insulin in my body? Should I eat frozen yogurt or ice cream? Do I need to count the carrots in my salad? Is it okay to eat the birthday cake at my friend’s party or cupcakes at the celebration in my class at school? Are these good foods or bad foods?
Diabetes came into my life and my family two years ago. In this time, I have watched my daughter wrestle with the complexities of her own relationship to food. I have witnessed her struggle to understand what certain foods will do to her body. I have caught her sneaking “bad” food. I have helped her through many hyperglycemic episodes induced by too much of the “wrong” food without enough insulin. Together we have worked through this unchartered territory. At each step along the way, my heighten awareness about the psychological and physical impact of coping with these dynamics guides me.
I am not a nutritionist and frankly, I was never a “good” eater. I have a gigantic sweet tooth and consistently have pregnancy-like cravings for french fries. Keep in mind, I have not been pregnant for nearly four years. As Elle’s Mom, however, I now know more than I ever wanted to know about nutrition. Ask me about the glycemic index of particular foods or the latest artificial sweetner or how to substitute buckwheat flour for white flour and I can tell you all about it. Of course, I understand how the food pyramid works and appreciate that some foods are better for you than others. It is clear to me that no one – with or without diabetes – should be helping themselves to five candy bars a day. In our home, however, we have decided to let the nutrition label speak for itself. We are done with “right” and “wrong” foods. No more “good” and “bad” food labels.
Changing the language we use and the judgements we make about food has not been easy. I still catch myself feeling anxious and using a different tone of voice when Elle explains that she has chosen a banana over an apple or a bag of pretzels and a granola bar over some almonds and yogurt. We both know all too well that not only are some foods just better for you, but some foods work better with insulin than others. The truth of the matter is that some foods spike blood sugars and others do not.
What Elle and I have discovered together is that the ramifications of living with labels can be as dangerous and devastating as eating too much “junk” food. Coveting the “bad” food and constantly restricting certain foods only makes those foods more desirable. Obsessing over and applying labels made us both feel crazy. I was anxious anytime Elle wanted to eat anything on the “not so good” list. Sensing my concern, Elle started finding ways to eat the foods on that list without my knowledge and consequently, without enough insulin. We have decided that this is not a healthy way to live and are learning how to redirect this energy. Now we are spending more time making the choices we are fortunate enough to have in the refrigerator.
Well said, Stefany. In our house we practice moderation and encourage healthy choices for our 9 year old daughter Hannah who has been living with type 1 for 19 months. We allow birthday cake and treats on special occasions and of course use the fun size or snack size candies to treat lows. As a general rule, we do not forbid any foods, just encourage the better choices. Hannah mostly chooses the better choice, but not always. I also had to stop fretting over this. Her last A1C on Good Friday was 6.4 so it was affirmation that we are getting it right some of the time!
One of the most challenging and frustrating things for me is other people’s comments about what we allow Hannah to eat. I know they mean well, but speak out of ignorance and misinformation about the disease. I try to explain to them in the simplest of terms (and with love) that diabetics need to eat like everyone else should …healthy choices with moderation!
I just discovered this blog because of the article about it in Parenting newspaper. My daughter will be 8 in May and was diagnosed with type 1 on August 4, 2009.
We are still on the learning curve and have a pump start date of May 11 which is going to bring even more changes.
I look fwd to following this blog.
Hi Beth,
I could not agree with you more. It sounds like Hannah is able to maintain tight control and that is, in part, thanks to the loving support she receives.
Each one of us could stand to learn about the importance of making healthy choices and eating the sweet stuff in moderation.
Hope that everyone in your home is feeling well tonight.
Warm Regards,
Stefany
Dear Lani,
I am happy that you found my blog and sorry to hear about your daughter’s diagnosis. I hope that Good Measures will be a resource to your family as you work together to navigate the transitions ahead.
You are correct to assume that the pump will be another roller coaster for several weeks, but I think it is worth the effort. Elle would say that it has made a world of difference in her overall quality of life. The flexibility is a remarkable change from a world of tighter scheduling and shots.
I hope that we will stay in touch. Good luck in the weeks ahead.
Warm Regards,
Stefany
Moderation… my kids hate that word, but we use it all the time to help them decide what should and should not be eaten. It was a practice we began before our daughter got diabetes and it has helped us tremendously in managing her food choices since. For her non-d sister, age 12, not so much. She just rolls her eyes at us.
Nice blog. Enjoyed reading your posts and poking around.
Thanks!
Steve
Oh yes, the challenges associated with word choices. I often ask my daughter, “can you test?’ and she always responds in a sarcastic tone with “can I?”. As if I have no idea how aggravating my question is because of course she can test, but she never wants to test and would never choose to test.
Thank you for reaching out and taking time to read the blog.
Thanks so much for your blog. My daughter, Eden (10 years), was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 5 weeks ago. To see another family going through what we are going through helps me trememdously!
Hi Erin,
Thank you for taking the time to reach out to me so soon after your daughter’s diagnosis. When my daughter was diagnosed, I do not think I came up for air for months.
The next few months will be challenging ones, but I hope to share some words of encouragement. Things do become more routine. Life does start to feel easier, in the sense that each step related to diabetes management becomes more systematic.
Please feel free to reach out if there is anything I can do to support you during this time. My best wishes to you and your family.
Warm Regards,
Stefany
Hi Stefany, Thank you so much for your blog. My mother and brother both had/have diabetes. I lost my mother 25 yrs ago to heart disease and diabetes. She was only 56 yrs old. I have been very sick for around 8 yrs. and discovered that I could have avoided a great deal of my health problems with better nutrition and exercise. So it is great to find your blog with such great nutritional info. I have become very interested in nutriton since I became a grandmother, because I am so crazy about these grandbabies that I want to stick around for a long time. At 52 I feel and look better than I have in yrs. I started taking Juice Plus+ 6 months ago and became a rep for their company because it has turned my life around. It is a whole food condensed into a capsule or chewable, with 16 peer reviewed research studies published in several medical journals. There are 17 fruits vegetables and grains in it. There is a Childrens Health Study for children over 4 yrs old. For each adult on the product they I will sponsor a child for free up to 3 years. You only have to fill out a questionaire every year to let the company know how your child has improved. I really think it is something that you would be interested in. Please check out my website for some really great nutritional information. There are several videos from Dr’s who have chosen to promote good health in their practices with JuicePlus+ as their prescription to help bridge the gap for good nutrition. Pediatricians Dr Bill and Jim Sears use it in their practice and both share their stories. Dr Jim Sears is on The Doctor’s and is in practice with his dad in CA. I just can’t say enough good things about JP+. I want to share it with everyone because it has truly changed my families lives. Let me know what you think. And God bless your family with great health.
Thanks for your input. I love your blog. Mary