I Am Not An Expert On Diabetes But I Am Concerned

“Knowledge is power.” -   Sir Francis Bacon

I said that your delivery system is as important as your message. Another important aspect of having your message received clearly is your knowledge of the subject. Unless you are an expert you don’t know everything, and even experts will admit they don’t know everything. 

Be careful with your use of generalizations, absolutes and blanket statements. Don’t be narrow minded or myopic in your discussions. These can provide impetus for conflict. Be willing to be an active, empathetic listener. Such is the case when discussing diabetes.

In my freshman year at Rutgers I took a course on logic. One of the lessons learned had to do with absolutes. Consider the following set of statements: 

1) Diabetes is the result of lifestyle choices.

2) There is a person that has diabetes.

3) Therefore that person made lifestyle choices that lead to diabetes.

To prove this series of statements to be faulty you only need one example of the first statement being false.  In this case a generalization was made in the use of the term diabetes. There is more than one kind of diabetes. Type I, sometimes referred to as Juvenile Onset Diabetes, is different than Type II diabetes.  While
Type II can at times lead to Type I, Type I can manifest itself for reasons other than lifestyle. Ironically, Type I often leads to new lifestyle choices.  

Simply put Type I diabetes is the result of an autoimmune disorder that causes the pancreas to no longer produce insulin. Type II is the result of the body using insulin inefficiently, often the result of lifestyle choices. Type I has no known cure and in most cases cannot be prevented. Type II can be prevented and at times reversed.

Another kind of diabetes is called is called gestational diabetes.  This will
manifest itself for 18 percent of pregnant women at 24 to 28 weeks of pregnancy. This is often not a part of maternity screening. It does not mean that mother and/or child will get diabetes, but it does increase their chances in this regard. Pregnancy might be considered a lifestyle choice; I would prefer to view it as a necessity for the propagation of the species. And there are other rarer, lesser known types of diabetes.

 When I was in high school, I was aware of one member of a graduating class of 400 that had diabetes. Because of the regularity of this individual taking insulin it was probably Type I diabetes. I am now being presented with statistics that
state 1 in 3 children will contract diabetes in their lifetime. This an alarming number being used by advocates of nutrition and lifestyle changes.  They will use it to point out that diabetes is preventable. This is a case of a generalization being used.

I have found that this statistic is primarily aimed at Type II diabetes.  Type
II, as previously stated, is often preventable and at times can be reversed.  Whether you are diagnosed as pre-diabetic, gestational diabetic or Type II diabetic; two lifestyle changes that can help you with this are nutrition and exercise. Nutrition and exercise are also critical for Type I diabetics.

I will now make a generalization; more awareness of diabetes is needed for everyone. This includes me. After increasing your awareness you need to take action.  One such action is to make yourself more knowledgeable. Find out about the differences in the different types of diabetes, research your family history to determine if genetics will increase your predisposition for diabetes. What lifestyle choices are available to you?  Carpe diem, seize the day, take the opportunity to make yourself more knowledgeable.

Knowledge is power, I have increased my knowledge, but I am still not an expert. 

But I would like to think of myself as someone who cares.

Resources to increase your knowledge include the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the American Diabetes Foundation.

Donald C Czaplinsky www.donaldcjuiceplus.com

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