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Diabetes and
Little League
Now that spring is here, there are millions of children
participating in Little League sports. Kids will play, coaches
will teach, and parents will be asked to bring snacks to each
game. Imagine that you aren’t allowed to eat the snacks or drink
the juice. You have to stand there and hope that there’s
something in the cooler for you. But there’s not. You are, once
again, singled out as “different” and you have to stand there
and watch your teammates eat their Oreos and drink their juice
boxes. How would that make you feel? That is the situation that
thousands and thousands of children face when they are diagnosed
as having diabetes.
According to
the Little League, there are over three million kids who
participate in little league baseball each year. According to
The U.S. National Library of Medicine, over 100,000 children are
diagnosed with diabetes And, according to the National Diabetes
Education Program, over 13,000 more children are diagnosed each
year. That means that if you have twenty teams in a league and
approximately twenty players per team, almost every team will
have at least one diabetic child. And that figure is rising
every year.
There are
several ways that parent, volunteers, coaches, and players can
help the diabetic child… and, in fact, help ALL children eat and
drink healthier.
The first way
is to offer choices for the players. When you fill your cooler
for the next game, use the best thing any athlete can drink:
water.
According to a
recent survey, AquaKoolers reports that there are ten very good
reasons we all should drink more water. These reasons include:
Healthy skin, losing weight, flushing toxins, reducing the risk
of heart attack, maintaining regular bowel movements, get well
quicker when sick, and reducing your risk of getting infections
and/or diseases. A few special things to consider for your young
athletes include: cushioning your joints and muscles, (which can
help prevent osteoarthritis as you age,) regulate your body
temperature, (so that you don’t get over heated on those really
hot days,) and to stay alert, energized, and hydrated.
(Dehydration can lead to muscle cramps, fatigue and head aches.)
Although
Gatorade claims to replenish things athletes need better than
water, there are also harmful things in Gatorade as well, like
sugar.
The best thing
to do would be to fill those coolers with water. If you want to
provide soft drinks, juice, or “sports” drinks, then, at least
put a few waters in there for the kids who must watch what they
eat and drink.
As for the
snacks, we suggest you consider putting healthy choices in there
as well. Food items that are sugar free and still very tasty
include several different cookies or granola bars
These choices
will not only help the diabetics on your team feel more like
part of the team, but will also offer all your athletes healthy,
tasty alternatives to junk food.
As more and more of our nation’s children face the consequences
of this disease everyday, parents, coaches, schools, and all of
us, should become more aware and more sensitive to these
children’s needs. So when you pack that cooler, add water and
sugar free snacks… for ALL the children’s good health.
SOURCES
www.ssll.org/history
www.nlm.mih.gov
www.ndep.nih.gov/diabetes/youth
www.aquakoolers.com/REASONSTO%20DRINK%20WATER.htm
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