Macronutrients
Macronutrient Consumption for
Diabetic Teens
Macronutrients are very important in a diabetic teen's diet. The average diet for a diabetic teen isn't so different from a regular teenager, except they do have to be careful about their consumption levels of different foods.
Protein should be consumed at about 35-40% of total energy for a diabetic teen, although type 1 diabetic teens need to be very cautious about consuming too much protein, since protein is linked to the main cause of some renal diseases, or kidney diseases. The average recommended consumption rate for a teen with type 1 diabetes should only consume from 15-20% protein out of total energy consumption throughout the day.
Protein is still a very important macronutrient for diabetic teens though, it helps with every day function, such as repairing damaged cells and teaming together with collagen to build and repair tissues.
http://www.menshealth.com/sites/menshealth.com/files/protein-myths-main.jpg
Fat is also another important macroutrient for teens. It helps regulate oil in skin and maintains and insulates our body. It also protects our vital organs and gives us a food storage.
Although healthy fat does many useful things for our body, there are many types of fats. There are three types of fats: trans, saturated, and unsaturated. The healthiest out of the three is the unsaturated fat, which helps regulate body temperature and helps clear our cholesterol. Saturated fats are sometimes stuck on the walls of blood vessels, prompting clogs. Trans fat is known to cause cancers and is a cause of many health issues. Saturated fat and trans fat are the bad fats found in mostly foods with high amounts of oil, such as chips, crackers, and many other fried goods.
It is recommended that teens have a 20-30% fats calories intake over total caloric intake throughout the day. Fats carry around non water soluble vitamins for the body therefore not entirely depending on insulin help on creating energy.
Although Fats are very good for your health, it is important to consume the right kinds of fats. Inappropriate or excessive consumption of fat may lead to obesity, which directly impacts the health of the patient, since insulin is required to process fat as well as sugar, it may not be a wise choice to consume a large fat as a diabetic teen.
Below are some examples of Omega 3
and unsaturated fats
Types of fats that are good for teens include salmon, which includes omega 3 fatty acids, lean poultry fat, which have less saturated fat than unsaturated, and healthy peanut butter. The main fats that are healthy for a diabetic are usually unsaturated.
The third and largest consumed category of macro nutrients is the carbohydrates group. Carbohydrates are very important in any teens diet, not just diabetic teens. Carbohydrates help provide short and long term energy for organisms, although short term energy food items are not recommended for diabetic teens ( candy, chocolate, sweets, etc...).
Carbs should be from 45-65% of diabetic teen's consumed calories for the day. Before diabetic treatment was available, humans with diabetes could only consume from 10-15% of carbs as their total caloric intake for the day, as carbs are broken into simple sugars by the body.
Since new methods of treatment came out for diabetes, patients no longer suffer from long term hypoglycemia. They do not have to rely solely on stored glucose.
Since diabetic teens now are able to consume more carbs, there diet is very similar to that of a regular teen, except they have to still be mindful of there intake levels from all macronutrients, and watch their sugar intakes.
Sources:
https://www.diapedia.org/management/8105345813/macronutrients-and-diabetes
Department of Health (1991) Dietary reference values for food energy and nutrients for the United Kingdom. London: HMSO Publications.
National Kidney Foundation (2013) Available at: http://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/diabetes.cfm
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