Dodging the Diabetes bullet

Bread Pudding...so hard to resist..

Diabetes type 2 is one of the most common diseases in the USA and also in Great Britain. What people need to understand is that diabetes has many ways it can sabotage your health and as such it should not be taken lightly. Do not think that all you need to do is take a pill or get a shot. These things alone will not be as effective if you don't do your part.

My father was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at the age of 52. He started off on the pill and then ended up taking shots. My mother was diagnosed not long afterward.  My younger brother who is 48 has diabetes as well. As did my uncle,  so you could say it is in my family...a lot!
I don't have diabetes even though my weight has reached well over 300 lbs. at different times in my life. I do have low thyroid so weight gain is the battle I fight every day. That being said, I have managed to lose weight with low carb and portion control and I attribute my diabetes bullet dodging to these practices.
Diabetes is a killer that comes into your life like a thief in the night. If you get sick, are diagnosed with cancer, or other illnesses, diabetes can sabotage your treatment, and cut your ability to fight in half. My father has this happen. in January of 2004 he was diagnosed with throat cancer. By mid February he was gone. Did the cancer kill him? No. Diabetes did.  How? Well let's say the treatment used for fighting cancer- chemotherapy and diabetes do not mix. Chemotherapy has extreme side effects such as nausea.
Vomiting, loss of appetite, both cause a person with diabetes to become weak and dehydrated. Now for those not battling serious illness, dehydration can be treated rather easily. For those with diabetes it can cause your body to shut down and go into cardiac arrest, which happened to my father while he was in the hospital. Diabetes kept him from benefiting from the chemo, which is an odd way of putting it since chemo does a lot of harm, but its the common method of treatment and as such it was what was offered. There was precious time to mull over options. No insurance, and doctors that aren't not well versed in a variety of treatments make fighting for your life ever so hard.
That is just one way diabetes can kill you. Many think a pill or a shot will do the job, and many still have sugars, and high carb foods in spite of their diabetes and I can tell you, you're making a big mistake. You are playing Russian roulette with your health, I am sure if my dad could come back and do things differently today, he would have changed his diet, and possibly prolonged his life.

The next time  you think about  your diet, your pill or your insulin shot, remember those things only help you help yourself. You still must exercise, a 30 walk every other day, and follow a low carb diet to be able to allow your body to fight the disease, and all  the other caveats that can come with it, and if you have it in your family, following these practices can also help you dodge the diabetes bullet as well.