[Management of type 1 diabetes (insulin, diet, sport): "Dorchy's recipes"]

The principal aims of therapeutic management of the child, adolescent and adult with type 1 diabetes are to allow good quality of life and to avoid long-term complications by maintaining blood glucose concentrations close to the normal range and an HbA1c level under 7%. The number of daily insulin injections, 2 or > or = 4, by itself does not necessarily give better results, but the 4-injection regimen allows greater freedom, taking into account that the proper insulin adjustment is difficult before adolescence. Successful glycemic control in young patients depends mainly on the quality and intensity of diabetes education. Any dogmatism must be avoided. Due to their pharmakokinetic characteristics, fast-acting and long-acting insulin analogues have specific indications in both the twice-daily injection regimen and the basal-bolus insulin therapy. They improve quality of life, without necessarily reducing HbA1c. Dietary recommendations issued over the last few years are the same for diabetic and non-diabetic individuals in order to avoid degenerative diseases. In the twice-daily free-mix regimen, the allocation of carbohydrates throughout the day is essential. There is no linear correlation between the metabolization of x grams of glucose by y units of insulin and carbohydrate counting is a piece of nonsense. Glycamic changes during exercise depend largely on blood insulin levels. In the young diabetic, during insulin deficiency, and therefore in a poor degree of metabolic control, i.e. hyperglycemic and ketotic, exercise accentuates hyperglycemia and ketosis, leading to extreme fatigue. If the insulin dosage is too high, the increase in muscular assimilation, combined with the shutdown of liver glucose production, may result in a severe hypoglycemia. During the recovery period, the repletion of muscular and hepatic glycogen stores may also provoke an hypoglycemia during hours after the cessation of muscular work.