Celiac's And Diabetes Together

[Hearts]

Hi,

Today is my first day navigating this site so bear with me. I have a nearly 9 year old boy who just got diagnosed with diabetes four weeks ago and will likely confirm he has celiac disease in the coming weeks. (He screened positive for it.) I'm looking for all any any advice on how to deal with the two together. For a child with diabetes, it's all about carbohydrates.. the amount, type and timing. We've been doing fine there so I went to our local Whole Foods to check out their gluten free products. Sure enough I met a terrific woman who showed my some brands to look for etc. She was very excited to show me the pizza and pizza dough which is her best seller for gluten free products. Time was short, so I thanked her, bought the pizza and planned to take a closer look later. Well, later that night a checked the carbohydrate for that 6-7 inch pizza and found it had 560 carbohydrates! Needless to say, I haven't gone back since.

Is there a good bread replacement for his peanut butter and jelly sandwich at lunch? / What's a good school lunch for a nine year old?

How about a replacement for Kix cereal in the morning and how about a good replacement for the staple in our house pasta? / What's a good school morning breakfast?

How about a kid's snack that's around 15 carbohydrates? 30 carbs?

If I can get started with some basics, then I can start planning real meals.

To all who help and care.. thanks in advance.

[KaitiUSA]

Envirokidz has some good cereal that is kind of like rice krispies. It is gluten free and had 26 g of carbs. They also make animal crackers that are gluten-free as well and they have 20 g of carbs. They make peanut butter, chocolate, and berry bars as well.

Foods by George has some really good English Muffins, plain and cinnamon &raisin. They taste really good toasted. I have a cinnamon and raison every morning.

Also Kraft will not hide anything so they have a whole bunch of snacks that you could get.

I'm know that there is a link with diabetes and celiac but I am not well versed in the diet of diabetics. I can help you on a gluten-free aspect though. If you need a list of gluten-free things I can make one for you just let me know. If I can help at all I will

[celiac3270]

Envirokids makes a cereal called "Gorilla Munch", which is like corn pops or Kix, but it tastes a little sweeter since it's sweetened with evaporated cane sugar or something. I don't have a box, though, so I can't tell you how many carbs it has.

The best bread comes from Kinnickinick or Ener-G (Kinnickinick is the most-liked, I like the two about equally, but usually end up using Ener-G since they don't have Kinnickinick in my healthfood store). You could make a PB & J using a gluten-free bread, but I think that the bread tastes best toasted--that's how I make PB & J sandwiches, now. The bread could also be used, of course, to make a grilled cheese sandwich (or just cheese). Also for lunch--FritoLays has a gluten-free list on their site and the chips can be bought inexpensively unlike all the specially gluten-free food. Fruit is good, etc. I'm not entirely aware of what foods are typically bad for diabetics, so I apologize if any of this wouldn't work--just trying to throw out ideas.

[angel-jd1]

I found this article today and thought of this thread, just interesting:

February 09, 2005

Diabetic kids at risk for celiac disease

Doctor recommends routine screening for the intestinal disorder

Children and teens with diabetes also have a high risk for an intestinal disorder called celiac disease.

Dr. Don Cameron, head of pediatric gastroenterology at the Monash Medical Centre near Melbourne, Australia, says children with type 1 diabetes should routinely be tested for the condition.

If the blood test is positive, they should have a bowel biopsy to confirm the diagnosis. The only known treatment is a lifelong diet free of gluten, a protein in wheat, rye, oats, barley and other grains that damages the small intestine in people with celiac disease.

Children with type 1 diabetes already need lifelong insulin injections because their immune system has mistakenly destroyed the cells in the pancreas that produce the essential hormone.

Cameron and his colleagues tested 600 diabetic children and found 42, or seven per cent, had celiac disease. In comparison, less than one per cent of the general population has the condition.

The doctor says celiac disease can show itself in a number of ways, depending on the age of the person. Some toddlers, for example, may develop pot bellies and diarrhea and not gain weight. But it can appear at any time in childhood, with symptoms of abdominal discomfort, diarrhea or a falling behind in growth.

Older children with celiac disease frequently do not put calcium into their bones and are therefore at risk for osteoporosis, or brittle bones, when they are older. They might also develop anemia, a reduction in the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood.

"Adult women may have trouble becoming pregnant or else become symptomatic after childbirth, such as losing a lot of weight, diarrhea or just plain tired with emotional disturbance," Cameron says. "So there is a huge range of things at all age groups."

In an interesting twist, the researchers found that children whose celiac disease was well-managed by a gluten-free diet also had better control of their diabetes.

It may be that children who were good at following their diet were also good at following advice related to their diabetes. Another possibility is that children who stuck with their gluten-free diet absorbed nutrients better and had more stable blood sugar levels.

Open Original Shared Link

-Jessica

[Dorina]

Hello Hearts

I have just discovered this site today and how wonderful it is. I can really feel for your situation as my son (now almost 10) was diagnosed with Diabetes then celiac disease shortly there after when he was 7. My son also has egg & nut allergies so I can't recomend peanut butter but I can suggest some alternatives for bread. I'm from Australia so the product brands maybe unfamiliar. If you have a bread maker at home I recomend the gluten-free bread mixes or bread bought from a specialised bakery. Pizza bases are fantastic too. Corn thins are much nicer than rice cakes. A typical lunch box would include a piece of fruit for morning tea & lunch with a gluten-free biscuit (some yummy ones from the health section of the supermarket) at morning tea then either a salad (believe it or not he asctually thinks its cool! cheese, ham or chicken, celery, carrots, cherry tomatoes & the kids think he's eating leaves off the tree ) or cold gluten-free sausage roll or gluten-free cherios with gluten-free sauce or left overs from dinner. There are heaps of recipe books that show you how to make the gluten-free alternative to just about everything...unfortunately it means more hours in the kitchen! Good luck with your son & the coming weeks. If I think of more things I'll let you know.

[brdbntL]

Hi,

My daughter is 4 and has both Celiac and Diabetes. As I don't have a 9 year old I am not sure what they eat, but I have found some things that work for us.

Hormel Pepporonni is gluten free and low if not no carbs. My daughter loves those pull cheese sticks- again gluten-free and low/no carb. I have found two types of crackers that she will eat peanut butter on- Asian Gourmet Plain Rice Crackers (I found them in the Acme) 18 pieces are 25g of carbs and EnerG Wheat Free Crackers(these I find in the health food store) 3 crackers is 22g. Black olives are also gluten-free and low carb. Wierd I know but my daughter loves them. Most Corn chips and Corn tortillas are also fairly low carb and gluten-free. So we do nachos, tacos, enchiladas.

Most of the substitutes for wheat are higher in carbs. I spoke with our dietician and she said that we should just adjust our insulin accordingly. the Bette Hagman cookboods have been helpful. (Your library might have some so that you can try them out before buying) But the book I love the most so far has been The Gluten-Free Kitchen by Roben Ryberg. She uses potatoe starch and corn starch which seems to work well and isn't as expensive as all the ingredients needed in the Hagman books. Don' t get me wrong I still have all the other ingredients too. There were some lunch ideas in another post in this section called A Day in the Life of a gluten-free Child for some more ideas.

Most diet sodas and kool-aid are gluten-free and low carb- if you make the kool-aid with Splenda. Kool-aid also makes a pouch drink with 2 carbs, the only flavor is tropical punch, but at least they have one. My daughter likes White Rice Bread by Food for Life, but she is young and never really had the real thing. Amy's brand has the only Mac and cheese that my child will eat. (It is in the frozen food section) It does have 47g of carb though

Bye the way what kind of Pizza was it. That is the one thing I have had a hard time finding a replacement for?

As a side note- If I let my daughter cheat her blood glucose goes out of control. So no more cheating for us.

Hope this helps just a little bit.

Laura

[brdbntL]

Sorry with as long as my last post was you'ld think I would be done. The pasta my kids like the best is Bionaturae Gluten Free Pasta, be careful they have reg too. Some bigger grocery stores carry it and our health food store does too. I can't remember the brand but I think it is Van's has a gluten free Waffle that goes in the toaster. With Carys low carb maple syrup it isn't too bad.

I don't know if 9 year olds do yogurt but some of the yogort is gluten free. Also Hunt's pudding packs, Krafts too I think- as always check labels. Check some of the flavored corn cakes (like rice cakes) they don't have gluten.

Take care and good luck,

Laura

[Boojca]

Connie Sarros has a cookbook that I own (but am at work so don't have it handy right now) but it's something like Gluten-Free cooking For Kids and Busy Adults. Each recipe has a footnote that gives the diabetic substitutions. It's really a great book, I highly recommend it. The flour mix she uses is great too....my mom made cookies for my son at Christmas that I've stored ONLY in a sealed container and they are STILL moist!! The only thing my mom does different is she uses sorghum flour instead of the bean flour.

Bridget

[Hearts]

To Everyone! You're all amazing. Thanks for all your help. I feel like I can get started now. I'm printing it all and I'll let you know how we do.

[Dorina]

I buy the pizza bases frozen from distributers of a bakery in Australia called R&R Bakery. Here's the page with the pizza bases: Open Original Shared Link

I buy the gluten-free pizza sauce from the supermarket (nicer than plain tomato paste) and either make it up myself or my son gets a real buzz from getting it from the local pizza place (I check their meat ingredients) and they use my base, pizza sauce and add their meat & cheese. This is especially good for when the school has those last day of school pizza lunch days (so he doesn't miss out).

I don't know if you can get HANS products from your local supermarket (they provide, ham, bacon, cheerios, salami, etc) but HANS is always gluten-free because the owner is apparently a coeliac. Also, at this year's royal show, there was a HANS stand and for once my son could eat some take away as they also cooked hot chips (without any flour or seasoning) in separate oil - that was a real highlight for him.

Dorrito's salsa dip (the plain one - check the ingredients cause some have gluten) is a fav with my son in his lunch box with corn chips. Also, plain popcorn and some brands of plain chips. He also loves guaccamole (avocardo & taco sauce).

Check out what the tuck shop at school supplies as you may be surprised what your son can have. My son has corn on the cob, chicken & salad (no carbs there) and a pkt of chips. Also, plain milk from the tuck shop at morning tea is handy.

You can never go past fruit though. It's tasty, healthy, gluten-free and a source of carb. My son loves variety so I swap between fresh & canned varieties.

Be sure to contact your dietitian at the hospital where your son was diagnosed. She/he should have fact sheets, booklets, sources of info or even just pick their brain for on the spot ideas. Join your local diabetes & celiac society to talk to their dietitian and join support groups. I went to a coeliac meeting where everyone brought a plate of gluten-free food for afternoon tea. What a treat to be able to eat anything on the table in front of you! (Unless you have allergies)

Sorry to go on & on

[debbieincolorado]

My son(turning 10 in 2 weeks) tested positive for celiac (blood test) last week. We're waiting for the gastroenterologist visit, so I don't know when the diet will begin- it will probably coincide with his birthday party! I think I'll just buy a gluten-free cake instead of experimenting at such a crucial time! I'm so thankful that we have an appointment with a dietician this afternoon- and she has a celiac/diabetic child herself! I've got so many questions for her!

For Hearts: One of my son's best 15 gram snacks is just a cup of milk- or a smaller cup of milk with Nestle Quik in it(I hope that's gluten-free!). I'll need to find some good gluten-free crackers, because he loves crackers with peanut butter, also. At bedtime, we also often do 1 scoop of vanilla ice cream- although we'll have to look for gluten-free alternatives, soon. Good luck to you- I'm overwhelmed with the celiac diagnosis, but at least we've been dealing with the diabetes since he was 17 months! You've got it all at once!

Debbie

Mom to 5

2 with diabetes

1 celiac, the other might be

[Hearts]

Thanks everyone. Keep it coming!

My son's been terrific about trying everything so far.. We done some shopping trips at our Trader Joes supermarket. They have a list of items that are gluten-free and along with your suggestions, I've spent some quality time in my supermarkets. Please let me know if any of the items are not OK but we're making some progress.

So far the EnviroKidz organic crispy rice bars and koala crisp cereal have been a hit. We found a gluten-free salsa and corn chips he likes too. (I think I'll ask him to try the guacomole next!) The sorbet on the list is a favorite as well. Believe it or not he likes a soft corn tortilla with the pizza sauce and mozzerella as a snack. The pepperoni has been a nice change of pace for him. Yogurt and some fruits have always been a staple so we'll carry on there. We found a popcorn he likes. I forgot to check out the popcorn cakes though. Puffins Brand cinnamon cereal seemed to be OK, though I'm not completely sure it's gluten-free. We'll keep going and I'll let you know.

Whole Food shopping trip this week! Maybe we'll move on the family meals instead of snacks! All the suggestions/Brands Names have been helpful. Thank you.

Also, thank you for the cookbook suggestions. I wasn't quite sure which one to start with so you answered that for me.

To debbie: Thanks for the kind words. I hope your son copes with the news and and know that I'll be thinking of him. And please let me know the highlights of your appointment! My son's birthday is in 3 weeks and we planned to go the Sorbet / Frozen Fruit route. I was going to check out some cream puffs but I felt as you did about experiementing with 9-10 yr old boys. I'm open to ideas though, as this is a pretty bright group of folks!

[brdbntL]

Debbie,

I don't know about nestle quick being gluten-free, but Hersheys syrup is. We have found EnerG brand cracker and like it best ( my daughter is 4). Also instead of crackers we use gluten-free corn or rice cakes( don't remeber the brand, but get at regular store) as a vehicle for peanut butter. Breyers vanilla seems to be gluten-free, I have checked it in the past, but we haven't gotten it in awhile so double check.

Fruity pebbles and cocoa pepples are gluten-free, not low carb by any means, but my 4 year old was so excited to have "normal" cereal again- I was voted best Mom all day.

[SofiEmiMom]

Hello. I was wondering from the Mom's who have children with celiac and diabetes...what types of symptoms were your children having that caused them to be tested for diabetes? My daughter who just turned 5 has been on a gluten-free diet for 1.5 years now since being diagnosed through Enterolab. My pediatrician supports the diagnosis. Well, for about 6 months now my daughter has complained of headaches a lot. She is very, very fatigued often and when she is active she gets fatigued very easily. I rarely give her sugar snacks, but when I do she has complete flip out episodes - screaming, yelling, out of character fits. So she has headaches, fatigue, and some behaviour problems. The doctor just had her blood drawn to check for anemia and thyroid problems all which were normal. Next week we go back and I was wondering if testing for diabetes is next or maybe it won't be considered. Just wondering what symptoms your children had before being diagnosed with diabetes. Thank you!

[brdbntL]

In our case the diabetes came first. My daughter had typical symptoms that I unfortunatly didn't realize were typical. She was thirsty all the time (I thought this was because it was the beginning of summer), always going to the bathroom (because of all the drinking), and then major flu like symptoms (but she was in daycare so I figuired she had the flu). Then one morning after drinking an 8 oz f apple juice and and of milk, and then threw up and when I touched her she screamed. She was in Ketoacidosis( I found out later). Took her to pediatrician, he sent me to the ER at AI Dupont. We found out about the Celiacs a year and half later. I know headaches can be a symptom especially if blood sugars are going up and down, ask them to check and if they already ruled it out without a test, ask them why. It never hurts to rule things out, imo.

Hope you find out what is wrong.

[Guest nini]

My daughter and I both had major hypoglycemia prior to being diagnosed with celiac, after being on the gluten-free diet for about 6 months, our blood sugar levels evened out and we very rarely have low blood sugar episodes any more.

[Hearts]

My son was very lethargic. It clicked for me over our Christmas break because he was just so tired the whole time. He didn't want to do anything! I knew something was wrong. On New Years, he slept for 12 hrs and went to the bathroom 4 times that night. Four days later we went into the pediatritians office (both crying) for the diagnosis and immediate hospital admission( didn't know about that!). In the hospital, we realized he had all the symptons. He had been thirsty but when an 8 year old comes home from school, he's thirsty. He had some blurry vision after reading before bed. I thought he was tired. He had been difficult for the last month or so but we thought it was just developmental not physical. His school work had not dropped off so it was difficult to put it all together at the same time.

Hope this helps!