Although associated with children, juvenile diabetes can strike at any age. Juvenile diabetics do not make any insulin at all, which usually happens through the pancreas, and they therefore have to inject artificial insulin to stay alive. Insulin helps to transfer the sugar in your food into your cells so that your body can use it for energy; the absence of insulin causes the sugars to rise to dangerous levels in your body. The insulin you take as a juvenile diabetic is determined by the amount of carbohydrates that you eat.
Step 1
Read the label of the food that you are eating to determine the portion size. Measure out the portion size using methods like measuring cups, spoons and scales.
Step 2
Check the label for the amount of carbohydrates per portion size. For example, one cup of white rice contains 45 g of carbohydrates. Therefore, 1 1/2 cups of white rice will contain 67.5 g of carbs, and a 1/2 cup serving of rice will be 22.5 g of carbs. If you are eating food that does not have a label, such as fruit, use a reference book designed to list carbs in most foods.
Step 3
Add up the total amount of carbs per meal to properly determine the amount of insulin you should take. For example, eating 1 cup of white rice with 1 chicken breast, a green salad topped with olive oil, vinegar and 1/2 cup of black beans and 1 small banana, measuring about 6 inches long, your total carbs for the meal would be 78 g. That number is derived by adding 45 g for the white rice, 10 g for 1/2 cup of black beans and 23 gfor the banana.
Step 4
Inject the appropriate dose of insulin per the amount of carbs that you are eating. Every patient has their own formula, determined by their physician from a number of factors, such as activity level, time of day, schedule and lifestyle.
Things You'll Need
- Food labels
- Carbohydrate guide
- Measuring equipment
