The Saturday Share #12
Did you know that health topics are the number one internet search item, outstripping even porn? Uh… pardon the Freudian slip there...
So to do my part in trying to keep internet health information correct I’ve been two-timing my blog by writing over at Sharecare were I am one of their “Experts” answering diabetes questions posted by readers.
I’m having a blast, and I’ve decided that every week I’m going to share one of my favorite questions with you here.
Sharecare Question: Will my children inherit diabetes from me?
My “Expert” answer: If you come from one of those families with an intergenerational family history of diabetes (mom and pop, sibs, grandparents, uncles, cousins)--the odds are pretty good that your kids will inherit the family tradition.
But fear is the only thing you need to be afraid of. Working with a great many Hispanic families with intergenerational diabetes, I’ve found that families develop a sense of fatalism about the disease that gets in the way of early treatment.
This is why I’m always harping on the fact that diabetes isn’t really the problem at all. It’s the high blood sugar from diabetes that’s the problem. It may seem like a small difference, but it is not. High sugars are the kindling that start the fires of diabetes complications. All that scary stuff (kidney failure, blindness, amputations, death) that happened to grandpa were blood sugar driven, not diabetes driven. If you take your diabetes by the reins and control it, you don’t need to share in your family’s fate.
So I want you to shift your mental focus. I don’t want you to worry about whether or not your children will inherit your diabetes; I want you to assume they will. Then I want you to set a good example for them by being open about your diabetes and striving hard to control it. Show them the way to health by your own actions. Eat smart. Move smart. Test often. Talk about your numbers. Take your damn meds.
And for your adult, or overweight teenage children; get them tested every year. Diabetes is unique and beautiful in that the keys to treating it are largely in your hands. I can think of no other disease where our own behavior can do so much to help or hurt us. So don’t fear for your children. Equip them with the tools to live in healthy harmony with their diabetes.
You can check out other Expert’s answers to this question, and my answers to many more questions by going here:
http://www.sharecare.com/user/william-lee-dubois
Then select the “Answers” tab near the top left.
So to do my part in trying to keep internet health information correct I’ve been two-timing my blog by writing over at Sharecare were I am one of their “Experts” answering diabetes questions posted by readers.
I’m having a blast, and I’ve decided that every week I’m going to share one of my favorite questions with you here.
Sharecare Question: Will my children inherit diabetes from me?
My “Expert” answer: If you come from one of those families with an intergenerational family history of diabetes (mom and pop, sibs, grandparents, uncles, cousins)--the odds are pretty good that your kids will inherit the family tradition.
But fear is the only thing you need to be afraid of. Working with a great many Hispanic families with intergenerational diabetes, I’ve found that families develop a sense of fatalism about the disease that gets in the way of early treatment.
This is why I’m always harping on the fact that diabetes isn’t really the problem at all. It’s the high blood sugar from diabetes that’s the problem. It may seem like a small difference, but it is not. High sugars are the kindling that start the fires of diabetes complications. All that scary stuff (kidney failure, blindness, amputations, death) that happened to grandpa were blood sugar driven, not diabetes driven. If you take your diabetes by the reins and control it, you don’t need to share in your family’s fate.
So I want you to shift your mental focus. I don’t want you to worry about whether or not your children will inherit your diabetes; I want you to assume they will. Then I want you to set a good example for them by being open about your diabetes and striving hard to control it. Show them the way to health by your own actions. Eat smart. Move smart. Test often. Talk about your numbers. Take your damn meds.
And for your adult, or overweight teenage children; get them tested every year. Diabetes is unique and beautiful in that the keys to treating it are largely in your hands. I can think of no other disease where our own behavior can do so much to help or hurt us. So don’t fear for your children. Equip them with the tools to live in healthy harmony with their diabetes.
You can check out other Expert’s answers to this question, and my answers to many more questions by going here:
http://www.sharecare.com/user/william-lee-dubois
Then select the “Answers” tab near the top left.
posted by Wil | 8:00 AM
1 Comments:
wonderful way of explaining this! My husband's side of the family is from Mexico and much of his family that has moved to the US has developed diabetes, but the ones that stay in Mexico, in the country (who tend to eat homemade food and exercise more) haven't developed diabetes. My husband is the only one who eats really healthy. Thanks to his type 1 wife who says, "Uh uh! You're not joining that party, you're gonna live to be a 100." So far his fasting is always around 80-90 :)
Post a Comment
<< Home