Food Suggestions During Illness

Managing T1D During Illness suggestions for foods & 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®
Waltzing The Dragon Inc
Waltzing The Dragon Inc
Waltzing The Dragon Inc

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.