Diabetics: If your insulin is being controlled by daily injections, do you still have to modify your diet?

Question

A close relative believes that since she is taking insulin to keep her blood sugar where it needs to be, she can eat cookies and candy and drink sugary sodas just as she always has. So far, she has shown no health problems from this. But it flies in the face of what I thought about diabetes: that anyone with diabetes serious enough to require injections also requires dietary controls/modification.

Does anyone have first hand experience with this issue/question?

In advance, thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Answer 1

Your relative is skating on thin ice. The ideal is to take as little insulin as possible and still be in good control. To that end, she should be watchting what she eats, exercising, and monitoring her blood glucose.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Yes she still had to eat a proper diet. The insulin just helps the body control it, but it doesn't cure it. Even with the injections her sugar level can go too high, Is she Type 1 or 2. If she's type 2 and on insulin it's because she can't control her sugar even with proper diet and needs insulin also. Two of my uncles died because they thought the same thing, there sugar was too high and they got an infection on their feet. First the doctors cut off on foot, then the whole leg, then the other foot, then the other leg. After that they got worse , then they died. Most Type 2 can be controlled with simple diet, but most diabetics just don't want to change their lifestyle.

Answer 4

Common sense here. NO ONE should eat junk food all day long and expect to stay healthy, diabetic or not. However, diabetes management has changed due to new technologies (home blood glucose monitoring and insulin pumps) and rapid insulin analogues.

For people with Type 1 diabetes (the rarer severe non-preventable kind that always requires insulin injections), they have much more freedom in their diet nowadays. Since Type 1 diabetics are not overweight and do not have insulin resistance, and simply need to replace the insulin their pancreas would secrete, they can eat what anyone else would eat. That means a healthy diet the majority of the time, with "treats" when they really want it. NO ONE should eat cookies all day long.

Provided blood sugar is in a normal range at the time, there is no gaining of excess weight, and the person knows how to match their insulin to their food (this is key), then it is ok to have treats in moderation and eat "normally". Most Type 1 diabetics do fine with this method. There is even a program called DAFNE (Dose Adjustment For Normal Eating) that is now being taught by hospitals. The key to staying healthy is *having your blood sugar as close to normal as possible*. You can still do this while working "treats" into your diet. Of course drinking Coke all day long is not a good idea, since it will keep your blood sugar spiking all day. Moderation.

I want to point out that Type 1 diabetes is a genetic autoimmune disease NOT caused by diet, obesity, etc. so cutting out "sweets" and being on a strict diet will NOT make it go away. If only it were that easy to change a faulty immune system by cutting out donuts.

Conversely, if a diabetics only eats vegetables all day but fails to test their blood sugar and adjust their insulin accordingly (there are many more things that affect blood sugar aside from diet), they will suffer poor control and develop diabetes complications. Remember that eating ANYTHING with carbohydrate (rice, appples, bread, some veggies, etc) will raise blood sugar, not just candy. So does large amounts of protein.

If the person has Type 2 diabetes and uses insulin (usually this form develops due to obesity), then yes, a stricter diet will apply. People with this form of diabetes are *generally* overweight/obese, often have high blood pressure, heart disease, high choloesterol, insulin resistance and need to follow a much stricter diet. This is because they need to lose weight while tackling the problem of insulin resistance. These people have very high levels of insulin in the blood, which they need to help control their blood sugar, since their cells are resistant to it. Injecting more insulin is not always the best case, but is sometimes needed for control. Weight loss and diet is critical to help these people sensitize their cells to insulin again. Some (but not all) people with Type 2 diabetes can reduce their dependancy on insulin if they lose weight and follow a healthy lifestyle.

Bottom line: Ask your relative about her condition. She may explain to you that she "carb counts", and works very hard to keep her blood sugar in range. If she is in good control, and knows what she is doing, let it go. If she is a Type 2 diabetic and needs to lose weight, perhaps you can refer her to a dietician and prepare healthy meals and snacks with her. You can always try to get the whole family eating more healthily (you included), and explain that it's important for everyone to eat the right foods the majority of the time. I'm a firm believer in a healthy diet for all!

Answer 5

It depends. When I was first diagnosed 30ish years ago, Type 1 diabetics had to have firm dietary control.

Now, with insulin pumps and faster than R(regular) insulin, some diabetic educators teach that type 1 diabetics can occasionally have sweets as long as they calculate the proper insulin dosage for it.

I don't know if this is right or wrong, just saying that some type 1 diabetics are taught this now.

Answer 6

The amount of insulin that is taken depends on the food that is eaten. It's called carb/insulin ratio. Lets say I take one unit per 15 grams of carbs. So if I am eating 1 cup of rice and it equals 45 grams then I would have to take 3 units of my insulin. If my blood sugar is high I have to follow the same but also add coverage to bring my sugar level down. Monitering your blood sugar is also important because that's also how we know how much insulin to take.
We are all human and yes I sometimes eat cookies or candy but I know how to handle my diabetes and I don't go over board. Please tell your relative that Diabetes is very dangerous and it should be taken care of very strictly. Have them find a good endocrinologist and they will teach him/her how to take care of them self so they can live a long life without any complications, because once these complications occur it makes it make harder to take care of. Good luck.

Answer 7

Oh, good grief. No, she can't. My niece is a diabetic. She tried to do that and had very scary results. Twice she went into a diabetic coma. She is SO lucky that someone was there both times and she got immediate medical treatment. You are correct in your thoughts on diabetes. Insulin is NOT a substitute for diet modification. Her diabetes is really bad anyway if she needs insulin in the first place.

Answer 8

If she ate a diabetic diet, she may not have to take insulin or as much. The worse she eats the higher her blood sugar will be, therefore more insulin is needed. She would be wise to consult a nutritionist or at least follow the ADA diet.

Answer 9

NO NO NO! You need to stay on a diabetic diet even using insulin. The more sugar and carbs you eat the more insulin you will need. PLEASE stick to the diet! I have been diabetic for 23 years and have uncontrolled diabetes even with an insulin pump. I now have kidney damage, nerve and muscle damage to all extremeties. So PLEASE stick to the diet. A candy bar once in a while is ok, but not everyday. We all need a little sweets!! :)

Answer 10

Well I myself am diabetic and My mother was diabetic as well. I watch my diet and monitor my blood sugar levels regularly and I also take insulin. I'm healthier than ever. My mother didn't really watch her diet but she monitored her blood sugar levels and also took insulin. She had heart complications, was on kidney dialysis, and also lost her sight before she past last year. It took some time but I believe it was her diet that took it's toll on her. Have her talk to an endocrinologist so that he can inform her of complications that can occur due to a poor diet as a diabetic.

Answer 11

Hi,
I advice her to modify her diet. At the beginning of using insulin she will find no problems but with long period using it the insulin will be not enough for her without diet control and the case might be worse then.