How you can make a difference

Living with type one diabetes is incredibly complicated, and there are times a diabetic may need outside support to continue to live healthy. Here are some tips on how to support a diabetic when they ask for help:

Food:

• Don't micromanage what a diabetic eats
  • Diabetics are very knowledgeable about what foods they need and when they need them, as well as what they can or can't have. Diabetes is not like an allergy where someone will become sick if they have any sugar or carbohydrates, it consists of counting the amount of carbs consumed and dosing with insulin according to that number.
• Don't keep food from a diabetic based on misconceptions
  • a diabetic is still a human, and still needs carbs to survive just like any other person. Some foods may have many carbs and sugar, but if a diabetic wants that food they can have it as long as they dose accordingly. When a person withholds food from a diabetic saying "that is bad for you" or "you can't have that", this can be hurtful as that person is choosing what someone else can and cannot eat without any education.
• Sometimes a diabetic will need food, and you need to get it to them.
  • Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, is a very dangerous situation that could end up with a diabetic passing out or having a seizure. Luckily, tools such as the blood glucose monitor and CGM's help alert a diabetic when they're low. The way to reverse low blood sugar is to put more sugar in the blood, or eating. Most diabetics carry multiple sugar sources and

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