
Type 1 Diabetes in focus
T1D is one of the most demanding conditions to live with and the psychological burden cannot be underestimated. It is now accepted that we juggle around 42 decisions relating to our blood sugars to function every single day. Just a few of these are food (carbs, fat and protein), activity, stress, time of day, food/ insulin timing, illness, alcohol, caffeine, hormones - performing the role of a pancreas can feel like a juggling act, and one that can never be perfected!
Although HbA1c (your 3-monthly average blood sugar) correlates closely with T1 complications, its impacted by regular hypos and highs so isn’t always representative of how you’re doing with blood sugar management. Looking at other data in conjunction, like Time In Range (TIR) and standard deviation give a much more accurate picture of where you're at.
Many Type 1’s also experience cardiometabolic issues, especially a few years after diagnosis. Insulin Resistance has now been identified as a significant underlying driver of diabetes complications, over and above HbA1c. This is partly because the chances of cardiometabolic issues, increase with age, but also fluctuating blood sugars cause inflammation (which drives insulin resistance), as does too much circulating insulin – tight control is beneficial to minimise the risk of cardiometabolic and cardiovascular problems.
I combine Nutritional Therapy and Coaching to educate and demonstrate how different foods impact blood sugar (beyond carb counting). Common issues I see T1's struggling with are sleep (often disrupted by highs and lows), exercise and blood glucose levels. Our goal is to tackle these issues to deepen understanding and improve quality of life.