Type I Diabetes and Sugar

Many Americans when they hear diabetes associate the disease with people who are overweight or obese or eat too much sugar.  Like all stereotypes though, this description does not encompass all people with the disease.  There are two types of diabetes, Type I Diabetes and Type II Diabetes.  People with Type I Diabetes did not do anything to acquire Diabetes, there was nothing they could have done to prevent themselves from getting the disease.  Even with Type II Diabetes there are things people can do to lower or raise their risk of becoming diabetic but there isn’t an exact science to determine who will be diabetic and what will surely cause Type II Diabetes.  What we do know is that diabetes affects the body’s ability to control blood sugar levels, and that there exists in America a stigma surrounding the word “Diabetes”.

 

As defined by the American Diabetes Association Diabetes is a condition where, “the body does not produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life.”  The insulin is used to monitor the body’s blood sugar levels, if the levels get too low or high health risks arise.  With Diabetes the afflicted person must actively manage and control their blood sugar levels.  To do this they must test their blood sugar levels multiple times a day, then they must react to the results.  If their blood sugar levels are too high they must inject themselves with artificial insulin proteins that will bring the blood sugar levels down.  If their blood sugar levels are too low they must consume sugar to bring the level higher.  This management of blood sugar is common and necessary to people afflicted with Type I and Type II Diabetes, but as mentioned earlier those with Type I acquired the condition as kids and are totally insulin-dependent, while Type II can be acquired through lifestyle choices and can have varying levels of insulin dependency depending on the case.

 

To learn more about the relationship between sugar and Type I Diabetes I interviewed my father who has had Type I Diabetes since he was 13 years old.  When I asked him about what it was like to grow up with Type I Diabetes he said that, “it was relatively scary because at the time I was diagnosed with Type I [Diabetes], it was just about the time medicine was developing enough to allow people with Diabetes to live normal lives.  When I was a kid I had to use pig’s insulin and people with Diabetes had significantly shorter life expectancy, now using artificially synthesized human insulin is common practice and people can live long, healthy lives with proper management of their Diabetes.”  After he had described growing up with diabetes and how once he had developed a routine it became relatively easy enough to be a “normal” kid, I asked him to describe how he manages his diabetes.  He showed me his two tools he uses to monitor his blood sugar, his glucose monitor and his blood test kit.  The glucose monitor was a little handheld device that displayed his blood sugar levels from the past 12 hours as well as displaying his current levels.  It received data from a sensor on his belly that monitored the blood sugar levels.  Then he showed me his blood test kit which he used exclusively to test sugar levels up until he got his glucose monitor. The blood test kit was also  handheld and required him to put a drop of blood on a small strip that he then inserts into the machine and it gives him a number telling him what his blood sugar level is.  He emphasized how important both were and how he could not leave his house for more than a few hours and couldn’t eat a meal without having at least one.   Next I asked him about the negative stigma attached to having Diabetes and what he thinks about it.  He replies that he notices it often saying that, “when people learn that I have diabetes or they talk to me about Diabetes i find that they don’t know anything about it.  When they hear the word “Diabetes”  they envision the stereotype of someone who is overweight, eats sugar like there is no tomorrow and doesn’t take care of themselves”.  He also mentioned the fact that when people here he has diabetes they just assume he has Type II and that it is his fault he has it.  There are two things wrong with that generalization, first of all 5% of all Diabetes cases are Type I that means 1 in 20 Diabetes patients suffer from Type I, which they have no control over getting the disease.  The second inaccuracy is that even with Type II, many people have no control over the onset of Type II, yes too much sugar, obesity, inactivity can raise one’s risk it doesn't mean that a healthy adult who is at a healthy weight, controls sugar intake, and is physically active is immune to adult onset diabetes.

 

In short, the relationship between diabetes is simple but misunderstood.  Diabetes means that the body is unable to monitor its own blood sugar levels.  Sugar can, in some situations be a contributing factor to the onset of type II Diabetes but it is not the sole or even the primary cause of type II Diabetes and it is not linked in any capacity to Type I Diabetes.  The relationship is simply that with diabetes one must artificially control their blood sugar.   To conclude diabetes is not just a disease afflicting obese and sugar-addicted Americans, it is a serious disease with a negative stigma attached to it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited:

 

Boyer, Ken. "Type I Diabetes." Personal interview. 3 May 2014.

 

"Type 1 Diabetes - American Diabetes Association." American Diabetes Association. American Diabetes Association, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.