No sweet talk

During my time in radio, we used to adviseour news reporters to have sweets ready in their pockets, in case their energy waned while out in the field. A piece of candy would come handy for momentarily alleviating physical exhaustion. It would also prevent their throats from drying up, so that they’d always sound good when delivering their reports on-air.

But there is another side to sweets. Sweets can cause tooth decay, especially among children. Sweets can stifle the appetite and lessen the chances for a balanced and more nutritious food intake. And, habitual indulgence in sweets can bring on diabetes.

Diabetes is probably the worst thing that sweets can bring. Those who have the disease or know someone who is diabetic worry a lot about it. They imagine amputations and failing kidneys and exploding blood pressures. Scary, indeed.  

Yet many of our common thoughts about diabetes may not really be right. Well, it is a life-threatening disease, no doubt. But diabetes may not really be as hopeless a condition as we think or may have heard it is.

Most of what we know about diabetes is based on scare stories that have been circulated around for purposes other than sincerely telling the truth about the condition. And, as these stories are passed on, they become more and more horrid every time. We can’t just ignore these stories, especially that sometimes they come from truly well meaning people.

There is, of course, some truth in what we read in articles and books, or what we see on television and in the movies, or in stories we hear from caring family and friends. However, most, if not all, TV shows and movies that depict diabetes employ scare tactics to draw audiences. Many articles on the illness are written to sell us something else.

There is already vast literature available on diabetes. But the widely researched books that provide valuable insight on the disease have not really been able to significantly curb the spread of the disease. Many of the diabetes books written for the lay reader begin to push a product just a few pages into them, thus causing their credibility as reliable references to trip off with the public.

With our excessive modern ways and the pollution that suffocates our planet, it has today become almost impossible for anyone to stay in perfect health. At one time or another, anyone of us contracts a disease. Even if you’re particularly careful about your health, sooner or later age will catch up with you and weaken your body, and you become less and less resistant to illness, any illness, even the simplest colds. That’s the way of life.

If it is our fate to have an illness, say an irreversible one – and no one really has the privilege of choice – then we may yet be fortunate to have diabetes. First of all, by all means we shall do whatever we can to avoid the disease, any disease for that matter. But when we have it, we need not give up on our life like it’s the end of the world. It’s not. Diabetes can be managed.

Diabetes is not something to be ashamed of. One does not get it because he or she has been a bad person or particularly reckless in his or her ways. Even health experts are not guaranteed safe from diabetes. It seems nobody really is.

The one odd thing, diabetes can even be a source of pride when one is able to manage it well. The Miss America of the year 2000 attributed her crown to her diabetes. She had it since age 14 and took it as a challenge. Along with medication, she had since been following a prescribed diet and exercise program, the reason for her winning form.

An internationally known author also thanks his diabetes for the recent boom in his career. He’s been able to finish a good number of books since he acquired the disease several years ago.

The bestselling novelist developed insomnia, either as one of the symptoms of the disease itself or as a side effect of his medication. Instead of sulking in misery, he used his extended waking hours to write. He enjoyed uninterrupted work time while everybody else was asleep. He was able to concentrate in his writing and produced two hit works that have been made into blockbuster movies.

This article is not a “sweet talk” on diabetes. This is not an attempt to make light of the disease. The truth remains that diabetes is potentially fatal, especially in terms of the various health complications that can result from it. Diabetes is a serious – not to mention widespread – health problem.

But diabetes can have much lesser discomforts than many known illnesses, so long as it is properly controlled – with medication, proper diet, regular exercise and a healthy lifestyle. A positive attitude towards the disease can also help a lot. The condition often compels one to start taking better care of oneself.

My doctor friend said that improper eating habits are a major contributor to a diabetic condition. People who rave over sweet and starchy foods are most prone. Sugars and starches reportedly become the same substance after digestion, a combination that can overwhelm the body and inhibit certain vital body processes.

The risk of contracting diabetes is so close by with our modern lifestyles. Think only of the kind of food we conveniently pick up from the supermarket shelves, the quality of the air we breathe, and the unhealthy habits we’re continually being sold into because they’re supposedly hip and trendy and good for our image. Nowadays a person who insists on a healthy lifestyle can seem like a killjoy, an oddball.

Most of our modern jobs make us spend whole days sitting around in the workplace. We prefer to take a ride than walk, no matter how short the distance. We have automatic, electrical gadgets to do the simplest of chores. We sweat less and eat more.

It may be time to start taking the bitter pill, so to speak. Maybe we need to hold back a bit on the many unnecessary extras that have become the norm of our modern life but which we know only make it very hard for our body to remain healthy. Perhaps it is time to start shifting from passive to active mode, to sweat it out and starve a little if need be, in order to stay well.

And perhaps we must try to acquire a better understanding of diabetes. Then, likely, the disease will become less of a bane for us. It’s bad enough to have diabetes; remaining ignorant and being immobilized by fright amid all these exaggerated tales about it can only make matters worse.

Fear and dread will not at all help in dealing with diabetes, as with any disease. What will help is a keen, analytical study of the disease. Knowing the facts can allay the neurosis that the issue of diabetes has been mercilessly dipped into.

If you or someone you care about is experiencing certain symptoms, consult your doctor. The doctor is the best single source of reliable information and sound advice you can find regarding health. Then do your own research, as well.

        Ignorance about diabetes and embracing all the inflated stories you’re told about it can only scare you to death, literally. That’s a shameful way to go – facing the enemy blindfolded. Certainly not quite a sweet defeat.

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