How Can I Help My 1Year Old Whos Borderline Diabetic?

I am extremely confused by this question. Diabetes in children is typically an extremely serious diagnosis, involving the care of several experts including a pediatric endocrinologist, dietician, and others. Please be sure that you fully understand the diagnosis that your doctor has given you. If you do not, ask questions until you do. If your child is diabetic or "borderline" diabetic, that is not the kind of thing that they should give you a few snacks tips about and send you on your way.

Growing children have far different needs than adults do, and if you child is borderline diabetic, the best person for you to talk to would be a dietician who works with borderline diabetic infants and toddlers and who knows their nutritional needs and sugar tolerances. Erika M is right-- if he truly has this diagnosis, you will need to advocate strongly for your son by requesting resources and information from experts. I'd hate to advise you about this subject and not know exactly 100% what I was talking about.

B.,
This is serious stuff. Who told you that your son is a borderline diabetic? What tests were run and what were the results?? If he does have diabetes or borderline diabetes, He needs to be seen by a pediatric endocrinologist and be properly evaluated. There are several kinds of diabetes- Type 1 which is an autoimmune disease that can be found in both children and adults and will require insulin to stay alive because the pancreas no long produces any insulin. Often there is a "honeymoon" period of reduced insulin production. Type 2 diabetes is a disease of both insulin resistance and insulin secretion problems. It can be found in children and adults. Most of the time it is caused by obesity and lack of exercise.
Or did the doctor find that your child was overweight or obese and did not have good eating habits, and warned you that the child was heading for diabetes and other health problems? If that is the case, I would ask the doctor for a referral to a pediatric dietician who can give you direction as to what you should feed your child and when. This is something you definitely need to stay on top of --right now you are in charge of what he eats! Good luck!

Ask your doctor for a referral to a pediatric endocrinologist. I am disappointed in your doctor for being so vague. If I were you, I would look into getting a different doctor.

I am assuming that your doctor didn't mean Type 1 diabetes. There is no "borderline" diagnoses for this type. Ask questions and if you don't get a clear cut answer then get a second opinion. I don't mean to offend any of the fine doctors or nurses who might read this, but most general medical practitioners and pediatricians know almost NOTHING about diabetes. They think they do know, but there is so much misinformation about diabetes that it's a difficult disease to navigate without the help of an endocrinologist.

I wish you the best! Make a list of all of your questions and put a call in to the doctor's office.

What is he eating now? I find it shocking that you would be given this diagnosis of borderline diabetic at such a young age. Read up on diabetic diets and see how much of that you can incorporate into your daily life. You don't necessarily need a complete rehaul of your kitchen, but then again, maybe you do.

Honestly, I would cut out the juice all together. Juice isn't really that nutritious and it's really not worth it for a borderline diabetic. Fruit is your best option because the body has to work hard to break it down before it gets to the sugar, so I'd stick with whole fruits as much as possible. As far as snacks sort of pay attention to how many starchy things he's been having and make sure you mix it up. They do make nut crackers which are basically ground up nuts instead of flour so they would have less carbs. You could check those out and try doing that with some peanut butter or cheese.

Talk to your doctor and get a referral to a pediatric dietician or someone that deals with this. You don't want random people online giving you medical information.

I would say as far as desserts go, there aren't any low sugar ones unless you are buying sugar free candies and cookies (which aren't good for you either). I would think your best bet with dessert is to eat it rarely and in small portions. The fruits with more sugar in them are mangos, and pineapples. Fruits with more fiber like apples and strawberries are better. i'd skip juice nearly all together since its really not that good for you. Get yourself a chart for glycemic index.
Are we talking type I diabetes? I sure hope you can meet with a dietitian. It seems to me you are focusing on how you can still feed him desserts and sugary foods. But if I had a borderline diabetic child I would remove sugar almost all together, not messing around with finding low sugar versions of juice, desserts, and snacks. I would be feeding them beans, whole grains (oatmeal, quinoa, whole wheat bread), cheese, vegetables, high fiber fruits.

You really need to speak to a specialist about this. Children's hospital has specialist for this and nutritionist. My son is in a study for diabetes as he has been identified as having the genetic markers for developing juvenile diabetes. This is really serious and you need to get him tested by specialist. Have your dr. get you a referal.

Check to see if your insurance will cover a couple consultations with a nutritionist. If not, schedule an appointment with the pediatrician to ask questions. Diabetes is life-threatening if not managed.