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Managing Diabetes During Illness
Suggestions for Foods and Fluids to Offer When Your Child is Sick
It can be challenging to manage blood sugars when your child is sick; sometimes we need to offer foods that contain sugar, at other times we want to offer foods that do not contain sugar. Here are some ideas of foods to offer under both circumstances:
10 grams carbohydrate | ||
Clear Fluids | ||
Regular (flat) Pop (not diet)* | 75 mL | 1/3 cup |
Sugar sweetened Kool-Aid®* | 75 mL | 1/3 cup |
Regular Jell-O®* | 50 mL | 1/4 cup |
Grape Juice* | 50 mL | 1/4 cup |
Gatorade®* | 160 mL | 2/3 cup |
Regular Popsicle* | ½ | |
Apple* or pineapple juice | 75 mL | 1/3 cup |
Other | ||
Orange juice | 125 mL | 1/2 cup |
V-8 or tomato juice | 250 mL | 1 cup |
Ice cream | 75 mL | 1/3 cup |
Sherbert | 50 mL | 1/4 cup |
Unsweetened canned fruit/applesauce | 125 mL | 1/2 cup |
Sweetened applesauce | 50 mL | 1/4 cup |
Yogurt tube | 60 mL | 1 |
Minigo® | 60 mL | 1 |
15 grams carbohydrate | ||
Cooked rolled oats | 125 mL | 1/2 cup |
Cooked cream of wheat | 125 mL | 1/2 cup |
Canned soup (check label) | 250 mL | 1 cup |
Soda crackers | 8 | |
Plain cookies | 2 | |
Graham crackers | 3 | |
Ritz crackers | 7 | |
Toasted English muffin | 1/2 | |
Bread/toast | 1 slice | |
Cooked pasta/noodles | 125 mL | 1/2 cup |
Pudding tube | 64 grams | 1 |
Flavoured yogurt | 125 mL | 1/2 cup |
Diet fruit yogurt | 250 mL | 1 cup |
White milk | 250 mL | 1 cup |
Chocolate milk | 125 mL | 1/2 cup |
Sugar-free Fluids | ||
Broths | ||
Consommé | ||
Water | ||
Sugar-free pop/Sugar-free flavoured sparkling water/Sugar-free Powerade® | ||
Sugar-free popsicles | ||
Sugar-free Jell-O® | ||
If your child has frequent diarrhea or vomiting, offer these types of foods/fluids: | ||
Broths, consommé, fruit juices, Gatorade®, Powerade®, Pedialyte®, Lytren® |



References:
The above information was adapted with permission from The Alberta Children’s Hospital Diabetes Clinic information handouts.
The above information was reviewed for content accuracy by clinical staff of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Diabetes Clinic.
This material has been developed from sources that we believe are accurate, however, as the field of medicine (in particular as it applies to diabetes) is rapidly evolving, the information should not be relied upon, as it is designed for informational purposes only. It should not be used in place of medical advice, instruction and/or treatment. If you have specific questions, please consult your doctor or appropriate health care professional.
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