Yes, the G.I. factor can predict the relative effects of different mixed meals containing foods with very different G.I. factors. Over fifteen studies have looked at the G.I. factors of mixed meals. Twelve of these studies showed an excellent correlation between what was expected and what was actually found. You can predict the G.I. of a mixed meal by making a few simple calculation.

The other three studies which did not show the expected correlation came from a particular group of researchers who were not using standardised methodology for working out the G.I. factor from the area under the curve. In addition, their meals were high in fat instead of carbohydrate, and this tends to reduce the impact of any one carbohydrate food.

Won’t the areas under the curve become equal (despite the different curves for a high and low G.I. food) if the testing is continued long enough?

Some people have assumed that the total area under the curve (for high and low G.I. food) will be the same if the blood sugar is simply measured for long enough. However, this is not the case because the body is able to restore normal blood sugar levels more quickly after a slowly digested food than a quickly digested one. An analogy is turning on a tap full force above a bucket with a small hole in the bottom of it. The bucket will fill up fast and empty slowly. In contrast, the same amount of water delivered as a slow trickle will empty with minimal accumulation (viz area under the curve) in the bucket.

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Certainly there is no reason at all why you should not join any youth club or group. Make sure that the leader knows that you have diabetes and is told what to do if you should have an insulin reaction.

Can I go camping with my youth club?

Yes, as soon as you are able to do your own injections, measure your own insulin dose, do your blood tests, and know how to measure your diet. Most children can do all these things by the time they are 12 or 13 (and some younger) and if you cannot, you should only go if there is some adult with the group who is prepared to take responsibility and can do these things for you. One of the important objectives of learning about diabetes is to make you self-reliant so you can

Who should you tell that you have diabetes?

Your parents of course will tell your close relatives and perhaps your adult friends who have a lot to do with you. They would need to know about your diabetes if you have meals with them or so they could help if you should have a hypo when they are responsible for you. Clearly your schoolteacher ought to know and so should any youth club leader or sports instructor or coach. They will want to know so that they can allow you to have extra sugar to cover extra physical exertion and so that they will know what to do if you should by any chance have a hypo.

The major problem may be to decide which of your own friends and acquaintances should be told and how to tell them. Sometimes this problem is very easily resolved and certainly any boy or girl who is a good friend should be told that you have diabetes.

Perhaps your friends will ask you where you have been when you go back to school after developing diabetes. Then it is easy to say, ‘Well I got sick and had to go to hospital where they found I had diabetes. I have had treatment and I am perfectly all right now.’ Perhaps your friends will want to know a little more about it and you can tell them that you have insulin injections each day and that you have to restrict certain foods. If your friends are interested in a sensible way then, there can be no harm in discussing it with them and giving them as much information as they want.

There is really no need for other people who are not particular friends and who are not responsible for your care to know about your diabetes. You might tell your friends that although you are not ashamed about having diabetes you see no point in having it generally discussed around. In general, it is better to adopt the attitude that diabetes is not particularly important, it is just something you have got; it does not affect you in any way.

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