Counting Carbs & Diabetes

My daughter, Sarah, who is four, has type one diabetes.  We have to determine the carbohydrate content of all the foods we give her.  For that purpose, we have purchased two scales from Precision Weighing Balances,  and it has made our life a lot easier.  The first scale, the Tanita 1140, permanently sits on our kitchen counter.  It has a washable bowl ready to receive any food we choose to weigh.  If we want to weigh something directly in the dish it will be served it, we can do that too.  (Incidentally, I find it very convenient to have the scale available when I am baking and needing to measure ingredients.)  The other scale we bought, the Tanita 1475T, is a portable scale that we use when we go to Grandma's or to a restaurant.  It is light and fits in our diabetes bag.  The cover of the scale also serves as a tray for weighing food, which is very convenient in a restaurant. 

I feel that those scales have given us a lot of freedom in terms of what Sarah can eat.  By using them in combination with the book "Bowes & Church's Food Values of Portion Commonly Used", we can weigh and count basically any food we choose to give Sarah.  We have made our own charts for the foods she likes to eat and the burden of planning her meals has been lessened. 

I find the scales a great educational tool for Sarah.  We plan to give her an insulin pump when she feels ready for it, and we know that this training in calculating carbs will be very useful to her in the future.  I certainly hope one day she no longer needs the scales, either because she is cured (!) or because she has gotten used to estimating the carb content of her food just by looking at it.  In the meantime, the scales have helped us feed her healthy and joyous foods that fit in her meal plan and keep her happy and healthy all around. 

I did not want to write this in the testimony, but I thought it was important for people to understand when selecting a pocket scale to stress that people should buy the Tanita 1475T featuring the protective case that also works great as a weighing tray .  Most people think of scales as a fragile delicate weighing instruments that will break quickly if transported around a diabetic's busy lifestyle. Well, I am now using the Tanita 1475T purchased from Precision Weighing Balances and I think its tray works great for holding food and also useful in protecting the scale. The Tanita 1475T weighs up to 1200 grams (453.6 grams equals 1 pound) to accommodate the needs of most carb counting applications. 

Also, I use the portable less often now that I have the Tanita 1140 for home, which is truly great. 

The site that I consider the best for diabetes information is a site that relates to type 1 diabetes (the kind children get) and is called children with DIABETES, URL: www.childrenwithdiabetes.com  The medical info is updated weekly and the site is of interest to anyone suffering from type 1 diabetes (children or adults).

I would like to thank Martine Burat, Syracuse, NY for submitting this article.  Review the great collection of weighing application submitted by our satisfied customers.  If you have a good story regarding how you are using your balance e-mail it to sales@balances.com and we'll consider posting it on our web site.

This web page is not intended to be a source of medical advice.  It is however intended to help you gain more information about diabetes.  We welcome your suggestions for additional links , which may assist others in researching methods of making diabetes live their lives easier.  You should ALWAYS seek the guidance from your doctor and/or a dietitian regarding which scale will be best meet your needs.  Specifications regarding the scales listed within this web site where taking from the manufacturer's current documentation.  If there are any questions regarding product specifications we ask that you call the manufacturer directly.  Tanita can be reached at 1-800-TANITA-8.

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