Diabetics Can Indulge Once in a While, Journal Reports

But do so with extreme care

(HealthDayNews) -- Diabetes is a difficult disease to live with, particularly for teen-agers, who want to have a normal life and eat normal foods.

According to a report from the Department of Paediatrics at Danderyd Hospital in Sweden, it's possible for teen-agers with diabetes to be just a bit more normal if they're very careful about it.

As reported in the European Journal of Pediatrics, researchers compared the blood sugar rise of a proper diabetic snack -- composed of whole wheat bread, margarine, cheese and an apple -- with the effects of potato chips and a chocolate bar. The potato chips and chocolate were carefully measured to contain the same number of calories as the diabetic snack.

The result was that the blood glucose rise after the chips and chocolate was just about the same as the glucose elevation following the healthy snack.

So with care and portion control, every now and then a teen-ager with diabetes can feel like just an ordinary teen-ager -- and eat like one, too.

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