Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers , is one of many celebrities who has been diagnosed with diabetes. He found out in November of 2005 that he has Type 1 diabetes. This form of the condition is usually diagnosed in young adults and children. It has previously been referred to as Juvenile Diabetes. The problem is that his body is unable to produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone that the body needs to convert carbohydrates, sugars and foods into useful energy.

A couple of months before Nick was diagnosed, he began to notice symptoms. “It was just insane,” says Nick. He was losing weight, constantly going to the bathroom, was thirsty all the time, and had a bad attitude. “I had a terrible attitude, which was totally odd for me because I’m actually a nice person. Especially being on the road around people all the time, you have to keep that positive energy going. And it was hard.”

Nick took some time off from The Jonas Brothers tour to see a doctor to find out what was going on. In one episode, his doctors discovered that his blood sugar was over 700. They sent him right to the hospital. Nick says, “For someone who had no bad medical history ever, to suddenly have the shock of diabetes was a bit overwhelming in itself, and then I had to learn all about it, learn all these things in such a short period of time. All of it was crazy. I also wondered if I could continue making music…but I had the support of my friends and the band to be there with me. Although Dad had to stay at home with my three brothers, my Mom stayed with me at the hospital every single night.”

Nick started doing shows again as soon as he left the hospital. He had to take multiple daily injections of insulin along with pills to help control his blood sugar. He also had to check his blood sugar about twelve times a day. “When we were on the road, I’d be in the back of the band trying to give insulin shots and manage my diabetes, and it was just too hard,” he says. “I was getting frustrated with it. I knew that I needed something different, a solution to the problem, which in fact was a new kind of insulin pump. It’s really changed my life in a big way. I started using [the new insulin pump] in about April and absolutely love it. And all my friends think that it’s a really cool device.”

“What’s awesome about the new ’smart’ insulin pump,” Nick says, “is that it works as a blood glucose meter, so I just put the test strip in it.” He tries to check his sugar nine to ten times every day. Reportedly, his blood sugar is between 150 and 175 mg/dl. This would normally be a high reading, but because Nick is so fit and active and has a tendency to go low, he has been advised that this should be his normal range.

The new insulin pump lets Nick he can enter the amount of carbs in something he eats, and it will give him a suggested amount of insulin. The insulin pump also has a database of different foods. If he ever has a question about how many carbs are in a certain food. When he gets low, he prefers to drink orange juice or some other liquid because they work so quickly. Nick does not follow any particular special diet. “I could eat all the steak in the world,” he says, “but I’ll eat pretty much anything.”

In March 2007, about a year and a half after his diagnosis, Nick publicly announced that he has diabetes at Carnival for a Cure, in an appearance sponsored by the makers of his new diabetes testing gadget.

Nick likes that he can be a role model for children and teens and raise awareness to his fans. “I have a platform to be able to share my story. As a singer I can share this passion with other young people my age. This can put things in a positive light that is is a situation that might not be so positive. I’ve heard stories about kids who were in depression because after they got diagnosed they were just so upset about what was going on. That just touched my heart, and I wanted to be able to do something about it. I hope that I can be that positive light [to people].” Nick is also planning to become very involved with the diabetes community.

In a very short time Nick has transformed himself into a responsible adult. “Diabetes is a huge part of my life and I can’t just forget about it, obviously,” Nick explains. “I have to keep taking care of it and managing it, and learning more things about it. Hopefully one day they’ll come up with some type of cure, and I hope I’ll be one of the first to know about it.”

To newly diagnosed kids with diabetes, Nick would say, “Don’t let it slow you down at all. I made a promise to myself on the way to the hospital that I wouldn’t let this thing slow me down and I’d just keep moving forward, and that’s what I did. Keeping a positive attitude and moving in the right direction. Don’t be discouraged.”

Nick has written a song that he performs with his brothers, Joe Jonas and Kevin Jonas. The song is called “A Little Bit Longer.” In the song, Nick sings, “Got the news today/Doctor said I had to stay/A little bit longer/And I’ll be fine/When I thought it’d all been done/When I thought it’d all been said/A little bit longer/And I’ll be fine/All this time goes by/Still no reason why/A little bit longer/And I’ll be fine/Waitin’ on a cure/But none of them are sure/A little bit longer/And I’ll be fine.”

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There are studies that show pleasure being the sensation generally reported by people when anything  sweet lands on their tongues.  Nobody knows for sure why for sure but researchers have confirmed that  the taste of sugar is often perceived to be a positive experience.  This is probably responsible for candies being universal food favorites.  Traditional sweets are, in fact, well loved years after they first made those nostalgic goodies that we could all just get teary-eyed remembering.  

Those trips to the candy  store, that sweet smell that met us when we swung the door open, those big, bright and sparkling candy jars that were already eye candy to begin with – how they made our childhood sweeter.  Best thing yet, now, we can still load up on the nostalgia of these goodies, thanks to online wholesale retro sweets shops that just made getting them a whole lot easier.  However,  we might find it a good idea as well to introduce our kids to our best friends once upon a time.  Say hello to Caramacs, Wham Bars, Space Dust, Bon Bons, Chocolate raisins, Chocolate eclairs and Turkish delight, to name a few.  You bet they’re just going to love it.

If humans generally love anything sweet, ninety-percent of this conclusion has to do with children.  However, some candy-loving kids just might find it more difficult satisfying that sweet tooth because of certain health conditions of which the most common is juvenile diabetes.  It can be quite disturbing for parents to know their child has diabetes.  That’s because they know the kid just might develop some form of trauma having strong cravings for sweets and not being allowed to satisfy them. These days when retro sweets are making a comeback and are all around the Internet, the diabetic kid just may feel very sad.  

Sometimes, parents overreact and tend to give their child the feeling that he won’t be as normal as everyone else just because he has the condition.  In reality, what a diabetic child needs to do to simply follow a healthy and well-balanced diet just as everyone else.  He need not be made to feel different because he can still eat what he wants as long as he keeps to healthy amounts and the right balance of the right foods as taught him by his elders.   This means even those old-fashioned sweets or the newer ones can still be enjoyed, but careful choices will have to be made.  

For example, there are sugar free varieties from Liquorice Wood to Sugar Free Cinnamon Balls,  Strawberry Blackcurrant, Cherry Sweets Chocolate Limes and so much more.  There won’t be a different when it comes to sweetness because these candies are made just the same from sugar, only a   special type.  This means those cravings won’t go unsatisfied because there will always be ways to satisfy them to a T.  

For more choices of sugar free retro sweets, get online and explore wholesale retro sweets shops to give your child as many sweet varieties as he deserves!

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Now, the big question is, “what about school?” Here are a few tips about what we did when my daughter was first diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes:

1. Contact the school. Set up a meeting with the nurses. Explain to the nurses how to perform the insulin injections according to your child’s sliding insulin scale and how to figure the insulin dosage based upon what they are going to eat for lunch. (Helpful Tip: My daughter packs her lunch every day. Since we count carbohydrates, we premeasure everything at home and put a note in her lunch with the amount of Carb points and the amount of insulin that she should take based upon on her meal alone. Then, all the nurses have to do is take her blood glucose levels, apply the sliding scale (if needed), and give her the insulin injection.) Also, have the school put out your child’s recent picture into the mailboxes of all employees who work there. This will help to get the word out just in case of an emergency in the school with your child.

2. Set up a “Diabetic Kit” for your child. Since my child is a girl, she uses a purse. Inside of it, she has her glucometer, test strips, lancets, alcohol pads, insulin pen, pen needles, ketosticks (used to check ketones), glucagon pen, and even some peanut butter and cheese crackers (just in case). Upon arrival at the school, she takes her kit straight to the nurse’s office and leaves it. At lunch time, she goes a few minutes before her class does in order to go to the nurse’s office to get her insulin injection. Then, prior to getting on the bus in the afternoon, she just swings by the nurse’s office and picks up her kit.

3. Leave extra at school. We provide the nurse’s office with an extra glucagon pen at the beginning of the school year. We also provide snacks that they keep in the office in case her blood sugar is low. We send extra test strips and insulin to be kept at the school, as well.

4. Do not go anywhere without the kit! We have made it a habit that before she leaves the house that we ask her if she has her kit.

5. Train other family members how to care for your child in an emergency. In the beginning, my daughter couldn’t go anywhere. First, we had to get everyone trained on how to care for her. Cell phones nowadays make this a lot easier. We even taught her older brother how to give insulin injections, take her blood sugar, and how to use the glucagon pen.

6. Clean your cabinets out. Although, a diabetic can have sweets and other items, as long as they take their insulin for it, we cleaned out cabinets out and got rid of anything that was not recommended for her. This was just in the beginning until she became used to the idea that she could not have these items like she once did. Once she learned, we began to purchase those items again.

All of the tips listed here we have used ourselves. As a parent of a child with Type 1 Diabetes, once you come home from the hospital after the initial diagnosis, you feel lost. I wish I had information like this; it would have made our lives easier at that point in time. I hope this helps you, your child, and your family!

By: TJacks

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Tami Jackson is a freelance writer who has dedicated most of her past 6 years to learning about Type 1 Diabetes. She has done a lot of research on the subject in order to try to make her daughter’s life much easier. From new research studies that have been initiated to new insulin forms and beyond, her research has entailed countless hours of trying to find the best resources that are available on the market today for Type 1 Diabetes. She and her daughter have helped to raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Association and more. They have participated in numerous walks, fundraisers through various organizations such as Hardee’s, and even have set up a lemonade stand in their hometown in order to raise funds for the cause.

One of the main concerns with type 2 juvenile diabetes is the affects it can have later on in a child’s life. Children with type 2 diabetes have been found to have more life threatening complications than type 1 diabetics. Some of the major problems juveniles with this type of diabetes face include heart disease, damage to the nervous system, renal failure, blindness, and limb amputations, particularly of the feet and lower legs.

The first line of defense against juvenile type 2 diabetes is probably the most obvious. Maintain a healthy body weight through proper diet and exercise thus preventing the onset of the disease. For children already diagnosed this same treatment applies if they are to avoid the complications to their health later in life.

For the juvenile diabetic a healthy diet is the cornerstone of their treatment. A well balanced diet low in sugar, saturated fats, and salt is the way to go. High fiber foods such as fruits and vegetables, along with complex carbohydrates are best for the diabetic. Even then foods high in carbs should be eaten throughout the day to help prevent large rises in blood glucose levels. Regular physical activity or exercise is also recommended to help insulin move glucose out of the blood and into the cells.

Childhood obesity is an epidemic all parents should take seriously. The long term health affects of all children are at stake, particularly with an increased risk of juvenile diabetes, a disease that will affect any child for their life time. By making easy lifestyle changes centered on a healthy diet and physical activity the onset of type 2 diabetes can be prevented, or even delayed in children at high risk.

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