Blood Sugar Control

This is information assembled from the ADA website, and a number of other sources, written as I understand it. Cross reference and double check the accuracy of what I am presenting.

There are thousands of diabetics who understand that their life is in their hands on a daily basis, who are dedicated to doing everything they have to in order to preserve their life in the best way that current technology allows them. There are others who are casual about the risks, sloppy about control, and who refuse to take responsibility for their own health.

To me though, the worst category of people are those who abuse their bodies year after year, and who are warned and warned that they are on a sure course to developing diabetes, who treat you like a reactionist if you even suggest that they might want to limit their simple carbohydrate intake.

Diabetes is no joke. It is now the leading cause of blindness in the US, and one of the most common diseases in older age. And the median ages for contracting Type II diabetes are dropping all the time. Doctors are now seeing Type II diabetes, Pre-diabetes, and Insulin resistance in very young children, and it is almost 100% due to dietetic abuse - too much simple carb, not enough natural trace elements that are only found in whole foods.

Risks of diabetes include heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, infertility, repeat miscarriage, pregnancy risks for mother and baby, nerve damage, infection, reduced immune response, intestinal disorders, and problems with virtually every other system in the body.

What diabetes does, simply put, is destroy the body cell-by-cell. It is similar to, but more destructive than the aging process, because while age slows down the rate at which cells can repair, and seems to do so in certain areas before it does in others, diabetes attacks the entire body piece by piece, and can cause both reversible and irreversible damage. The worse the blood sugar elevations, the faster the damage.

On a short term basis, a diabetic crisis can be immediately life threatening. But for most people, the greatest danger is one that they cannot see right away, so many tend to minimize the risks. A little elevation here, another problem there, and pretty soon their blood sugar is not just a bit high now and then, but a little high all the time, with very high spikes now and then. The difference between those two states can be calculated in years of your life, but you may not see the difference for 5 years or more.

I am determined to not have the major problems that are so common to diabetes, because those problems are not caused by the disease. They are caused primarily by poor control. Yes, someone who controls their blood sugar well WILL still have some of them, but not nearly as badly, and not nearly as soon. The closer one controls their blood sugar to normal, the less damage their body will suffer as a result of the disease.

One of the ironic aspects to diabetes is that the poorer it is controlled, the harder it becomes TO control it. And because it affects every system in the body, deterioration in the other systems will increase the rate at which systemic deterioration is occurring, including the progression of the diabetes. It creates a great sucking whirlpool of deterioration which feeds on itself, each condition worsening the others. Control the diabetes, and all of the other conditions associated with aging will progress a bit slower.

Bad diet is an epidemic in our nation. And it is not simply because parents and individuals are negligent, it is partly because of what is available to eat! Foods that are common and accepted, and considered healthy are actually not, so most people, even when they try hard, will still be getting sub-standard food, with most of the things they need removed, and too much of others put back in.

We also have an expectation of too many treats and snacks. Dessert after every dinner, a candy bar in the afternoon, a soda with every lunch. All of those things are unreasonable, and enough to set one up for problems later on.

I have emerged from my own bad habits with the firm conviction that there is a better way, and that choosing to live my life with my diet as a priority, no matter how inconvenient (and sometimes it REALLY is!), is necessary for me, and worth the price. If I want to achieve my goals, and live a life that allows me to perform meaningful contributions to the world, then my health is a responsibility I do not want to neglect.

Written by Laura Wheeler, Owner of Firelight Business Enterprises, Inc.