What's Up with Diabetes? Diabetes, as a single disease, has been around a long time and many people seem to know what it is and that insulin, usually injected, is somehow involved. End of story. Now suddenly there's an epidemic of Diabetes, but it's a different kind and afflicts people as young as 8 and 9 years. Up till recently it was called "Adult-Onset Diabetes or Type II Diabetes. Something is definitely afoot with Diabetes, and most of it points to lifestyle and obesity. A recent radio show with an authority on Diabetes (a medical doctor) went public with the news of all ages being affected. He maintained that the government of our province must come across with a huge sum of money to fund a study to find out why so many people are getting Diabetes and how to prevent it. Well, duhhhh. Well, not so fast. I can see that many people do not realize that what they eat can determine their future health. And to make matters worse, exercise is becoming an activity of the past. School Physical Education programs are being cut and most students (if they have it at all)only take it once a week for an hour. Intramural programs after school have been slashed because teachers have traditionally coached and supervised them. Their wages seem to be stretched and held at low levels that they have to remove themselves from extra-curricular activities. I don't understand why the government must be held to improve our citizens' lives....but there it is. This study, they hope, will help turn the tide with information that people will believe and begin to follow. I thought it was common knowledge that fast food and junk food was bad and leads to illness and obesity, but I guess many folks have no idea...that an order of McDonald's hamburger and fries hold as much fat as a full-day's diet of home-made, low fat fare. The main difference between Type I and Type II is, simply put, the failure of the pancreas to make insulin in order to deal with sugar in the blood. The first test is a strip to detect glucose in the urine which means that it's being sent right through the system and thereby causing fatigue (the body is not able to turn the sugar into usable energy) and extreme thirst as well as other revealing sensations. Insulin injections correct this imbalance. This form of the disease is considered genetic. My father had Type I diabetes as did mother and several of his siblings. Well, lo and behold, my husband now has Type II diabetes. Thank goodness it was determined after the age of 50 as he's become much more responsible for his own health as a result of the diagnosis. With Type II, the pancreas either doesn't produce enough insulin to deal with all the glucose/sugar or somehow doesn't process the sugar effectively. Here's where the obesity comes in. Often, pregnant women put on extra weight and end up with what was called "pre-diabetic" condition or gestational diabetes. But that usually fades away when the baby is born, even though the propensity remains in both the mother and the baby. We don't always realize how fat works in the body. It's not just sitting on the outside just under the skin. It would be a much more minor problem if that were the case. The fat begins to collect around the internal organs and starts to hamper the effectiveness of those organs...especially the liver and pancreas which both have to work harder to process the food we eat. The new scales that determine whether we're apple shaped, pear shaped or banana shaped (smile) actually tell whether the fat on our bodies is brown adipose tissue (not so bad) and the white hard fat and where it's located on the body. The people with large stomachs are at greater risk because a great deal of the fat has lodged around their vital organs. Up to now doctors have believed that Type I Diabetes leads to Type II eventually and that there's no turning back, but that outlook has changed. We can reverse the progress by healthy living and lots of exercise. Prevention and minimizing the effects is the key here, of course, but those with Type II have to follow very strict regimens with lots of vegetables, some lean protein and some starch...preferrable the simple starches and definitely not french fries or pie! We all have to learn to go back to basics with food. If something is fried or processed, it won't be good. I read recently that anything that comes in a box, sealed plastic package or can should not be eaten. Period. Chances are that if it's made at home, it will at least be a bit better than those foods that are full of salt, fat, colour, additives and preservatives that we find in junk food. It's not effective to forbid all sweets and fast food, but if they're served only once a month, the cravings will not be there. My two children still tease me for having served them one chocolate bar for dessert, sliced very thin, over a week's time. That was a treat because we never had sweets in the house normally. It's only now that they have children of their own that they realize how difficult it can be to keep children out of McDonald's and Cinnabon! So, parents, don't give up on feeding your family with slow food in mind. If you take a detour around McDonald's or save it as a monthly treat only, you'll be doing everyone a favour... adults and children alike. And while you're at it, walk, run, rollerblade or bike for your monthly visit. If you're lucky you'll be going so fast that the kids won't even see the temptation. Back to the Writing Index