Throughout the course of my life, I’ve had to put up with a lot of misinformation and “helpful” suggestions from friends and family regarding how to better manage my Diabetes. Over the decades, I’ve had people try and tell me how to adjust my diet, my exercise regiment and even my insulin and medication dosages; all in the interest of trying to help. Surprisingly enough, 99% of the time, this unsolicited advice has come from folks who are neither Type-1 Diabetes themselves, nor do they have someone close to them who is (besides me, of course).
One of the big problems with how I’ve managed my Diabetes throughout the decades is that I almost have an invisible illness. People don’t assume I have Diabetes to look at me. I have sight in both my eyes, although the injections don’t make that easy, all my organs are clear and function normally and I have all my limbs and appendages without ever requiring amputation. Admittedly, this is pretty rare for someone who was diagnosed over 40 years ago and has suffered through some of the complications I have, as a child. This can make it pretty easy to assume that your granola-crunching ways may hold the key to healing me. But it doesn’t.
For example, quite some years ago I had someone I was associated with, who tried to convince me that if I switched to eating only vegetables (not becoming a vegetarian, mind you. Simply eating nothing BUT vegetables) I would no longer be Diabetic and would no longer require insulin injections. I can just read my tombstone now: “Here Lies The Blogging Buddhist. Died With A Turnip In His Hands…” Cue the sad music… This approach obviously wouldn’t work, for a wide variety of reasons. But it’s a good example of how I’ve often received “advice” from people who know nothing about the condition I live with. Here are a few more…
I Have This Diet That Will Heal You! First and most importantly, there is no diet that heals or reverses Type-1 Diabetes. This is often a common beliefs because in some rare cases, diet and lifestyle changes can help reverse the effects of Type-2 Diabetes. The problem is that Type-1 and Type-2 Diabetes are significantly different conditions, basically only similar in name. My body’s own immune system is attacking my insulin-producing cells, resulting in my condition. There is no diet that can repair or reverse that. Keep your tofu, natural diet alternative shit off my plate! I’ve already taken insulin for the carbs.
Can’t You Just Exercise More And Eat Less? You Wouldn’t Need Insulin Then, Right? Ah, the age old question… If insulin reduces your blood sugar levels, can’t you just consume less sugar to keep it from rising and exercise more to balance it out? No. No, I can’t. There are many reasons why this can’t be a thing and why people who became Type-1 Diabetic usually never survived beyond two weeks, prior to the 1920’s. Insulin is hormone and it performs several functions within the body.
The main functions and the important ones, include controlling your body’s blood sugar levels by helping sugar enter your cells to be used for energy. Energy… You know, that shit you need in order to stay alive? Yeah, that. Insulin also helps the body to store the excess energy for later use and helps to balance out your body’s weight and metabolism. Without insulin, a whole mess of nasty shit starts happening inside your body, resulting in a slow, painful way to die. So, no, Karen! I can’t just exercise more and eat less.
It can be easy to misinterpret or misunderstand someone else’s condition, especially if you’ve never experienced it or had a family member who has. What’s important to realize is that most people with Type-1 Diabetes have received professional medical care for their condition and know what they need to do. Some random diet you’ve found in a magazine or fitness ideas without the benefit of how the condition actually affects the person’s body won’t be helpful. And believe me when I say, we’ve heard them all before. Food for thought… ☯️
The Blogging Buddhist 