Carb counting cookery lesson
The NNUH Jenny Lind children’s Diabetes team held an activity evening for young patients with Type 1 diabetes in order to educate them on insulin regulation.
The Jenny Lind Diabetes team exclusively invited NNUH paediatric patients with Type 1 Diabetes and their families to enjoy pizza making at NNUH.
The pizza making held at NNUH, alongside Serco, allowed children to be able to make their own pizzas and learn how to regulate their insulin dependent on the ingredients they use with the help of an NNUH dietitian.
Paul Hill Children’s Diabetes Specialist nurse commented: “Our Children and families are incredibly resilient to the many demands Type 1 Diabetes puts on them. Every task, activity, meal and insulin dose needs to be carefully accounted for, it’s a big responsibility for a young patient and their family to adjust to and there are so many variables that effect the patient hour to hour, even being asleep and growing has an impact. The activity aimed to be fun whilst helping to educate the children in a realistic scenario.”
Jack Hendry, 16 from Costessey said: “It was really fun and interesting to learn which items we need to be aware of when calculating the carbohydrates for our insulin. As a diabetic it doesn’t stop me doing anything but I do have to be aware and this demonstrated that we can still have things like Pizza, just have to work it out.”
The event was the first to be held at the hospital and the positive response may lead to similar events being held at the hospital in the future.
Notes to editors
• About 10% of the diabetes population have Type 1 and 90% have Type 2 diabetes. It is estimated that there are more than 2.25 million diabetes patients in the UK.
• Diabetes is a lifelong condition that causes a person’s blood sugar (glucose) level to become too high. The hormone insulin – produced by the pancreas – is responsible for controlling the amount of glucose in the blood. There are two main types of diabetes: Type 1 – where the pancreas doesn’t produce any insulin; Type 2 – where the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin or the body’s cells don’t react to insulin.
• A healthy lifestyle could prevent up to 85% of type 2 diabetes, healthy eating can help reduce risks.
• A healthy diet containing leafy vegetables, fresh fruit, whole grains, lean meat, unsweetened yogurt and nuts can help reduce a person’s risk of type 2 diabetes and reduce complications in people with diabetes.
• More of us will develop and live with type 1 diabetes. While type 1 diabetes cannot be prevented, a healthy lifestyle is an important part of effective management of the disease.
• Encouraging healthy eating habits in young children is key to halting the rise of the diabetes epidemic. By ensuring the health of future generations, we take a step toward ensuring sustainable development.