Hello everyone,

I hope its ok to post this question in the Moms to Moms section. I wasnt sure where else to put it and I really just wanted some input from anyone who had any.

I have 4 children, our oldest daughter is 12 and she has had Type 1 Juvenile Diabetes since she was 7 1/2. She sees her Endocrin Doctor every 3 months, and has yearly testing done (blood work, optical mapping, etc.) just to make sure nothing is out of sorts. We have always had great test results in all areas until recently. Our doctors office called a few days ago to say that Emilys cholestrol numbers were too high. A normal range for her would be 100-169 and her numbers are 201. Eeeekk! They say its not something that is irreversable however, we must start her on Benefiber daily and a low cholesterol diet. (sigh) I am waiting on our nutritionist to call us with an appt, but it could be a couple of weeks before we get in, sooooo Im doing Google searches and going to the library to check out books on lowering your cholestrol, but I just wanted to ask if anyone has had any experience with a low cholesterol diet, either for adults or children? Any information at this point would be very helpful and greatly appreciated. Thank you, Misty.

Misty,

My husband has been on a low cholesterol diet for over 20 years. It's so funny because he played professional sports and even at the age of 50 is still not much over 140 lbs., at 5'8". He still gets lots of exercise and that is important because weight can be a big factor. He tried Lipitor and some of the statin drugs but was concerned about long-term effects so we try to keep a handle on it with diet.

We do not eat much fried food. Canola or olive oil when needed. Lots of whole grains - I have a mill and grind my own flour for bread stuffs. With a bread machine I can have fresh bread for lunch every day. Most of the stuff that is good for cholesterol will be beneficial with her diabetes, also. Whole grains are slower digesting and will not case her sugar levels to fluctuate as rapidly. Protein is important. We use very lean cuts of beef, chicken, and turkey bacon. My younger children don't even like pork bacon because it tastes "weird" to them. I try to serve vegetarian (beans and rice)at least three times a week and I only use brown rice.

I have read the South Beach Diet and Atkins Diet books and the ideas are helpful,(Atkins was developed specifically to maintain blood sugar levels). Though both are rather too expensive for a large family, I have glean some good ideas from them.

Hope this helps; I am sure you will get some great information at the library.

Thanks for the info Sharon, it is definitely helpful. I thought what you said about your husband was similar to Emily, she also is a fit and active person. Granted shes only 12, but still shes not overweight and never has been, we were shocked when she was diagnosed with diabetes and now we are shocked she has high cholestrol. Its all a learning process. I will eventually "get it" and we will just go on with life, but for now its all a little much to take in. So thanks again for the info, Im digesting every piece I can get. Misty.