Ricki Lake commented on national television that juvenile diabetes is preventable. She later apologized and corrected herself by saying that she meant type 2 diabetes in children, not juvenile diabetes. But the damage was done. Chiropractor Bob Wilcher published an article this week that implied that type 1 diabetes could possibly be due to lifestyle choices and nutrition choices. He printed a "retraction" saying that his point in the article was to get across the idea that living a healthy life can make a significant difference in the lives of type 1 and type 2 diabetics (well, duh!). Oprah and Dr. Oz briefly touch on type 1, but rather than putting out any good information or clearing up any misconceptions, they move right on to type 2 and all it's guts and glory. Halle Berry has come out several times to say that she's weaned herself off insulin and has upgraded her condition from type 1 to type 2 diabetes. (I have a theory that her brain cells have been diverted into her boobs and are therefore unavailable to provide her with any intelligence.) There's no end and no beginning to mis-statements about diabetes. Most of the people making those statements are trying to scare us into buying some product they're trying to push (Lake has a book and now an online weight-loss management program called All Stride, Wilder has one called Killer B Fitness). But the mis-statements started on the day diabetes was first discovered and they haven't stopped yet.
So, here's the thing....no one is ever going to get it right. I wish I could tell you that they would, but it hasn't happened yet. At least, not in a setting public enough and wide-spread enough to make much difference. The fact is, when people are out there, putting out incorrect information, they're trying to sensationalize things. They have something they want to sell and they want people to fear enough that they buy their product. They don't bother putting the truth out there if they can make money with half-truths and lies.
I wish I had something eloquent and uplifting to say about all of this. But really, all I want to say is....they can all suck it! The television and the internet are filled with a bunch of ignorant idiots who apparently have no clue when they should shut their over-active traps. There is no end of them and not one of them is worth anything more than the others. I could write an entire post ranting about the idiocy that comes from Halle Berry's mouth alone (and my "go suck it" message is double for her alone!). But they're not worth our time and energy. Each and every single person in the DOC is worth more than the collective weight of all of these misconception-spewing jackasses!
*This post is written in fun, not anger. It may sound angry, but the truth is, these people just really aren't worth the amount of energy it would take to get angry with them. Frustrated? Yes! Wishing someone would light a match near them and ignite all the hot, empty air in their heads? Definitely! But, that's about the extent of the energy I have to waste on them. Maybe if my kids let me get a few extra hours I can find some more energy to devote to anger and trying to correct all the misinformation they've put out there. But chances are, I'm not going to get anywhere near enough sleep anytime soon! Too busy waking up throughout the night to cram more sugary snacks down my diabetic child's throat....wouldn't want her to lose her diabetes by not giving her enough sugar to keep it going, right?
If this was facebook, I would hit "like"
ReplyDeleteYou are so right Cindy. That is how I felt the night I read it, but then I felt the need to re-read and re-educate. Hoping that someone, somewhere that didn't "get" it -> will eventually "get" it...even just a little bit.
ReplyDeleteLoved the Halle Barre bit btw! How are you? I was just thinking of you yesterday. xoxo
Great post!
ReplyDeleteBoobs... brain. Bwah ha ha ha. Oh my, thank you. I needed that.
ReplyDeleteLet me start by saying that I have no agenda by commenting on this post. People write things without being sensitive to all populations and people read things by being over-sensitive because they have been personally affected by a certain topic. My younger sister has Type-1 diabetes and my father has Type-2. I have another sister who has rheumatoid arthritis, another autoimmune disorder, and I have had my own struggles with an autoimmune disorder. Obviously, there is a genetic component in our family. What I got from the article regarding "lifestyle choice and nutrition choices" is that regardless of our genetic predisposition, we have to consider the possibility that our own personal choices regarding nutrition could affect our DNA, thus affecting the genes we pass on to our children. The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson is a good book that discusses this possibility. People that have Type-1 diabetes had no control in preventing its onset so I can understand the sensitivity toward the stigma that they have Diabetes because of poor nutritional habits. They had no choice in the matter. Writing articles and challenging people to take control of their nutrition, and theorizing that we do have control over the "health" of our genes, however, is not out-of-bounds and needs to be taken from this perspective.
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