As a Food Educator working with Local Matters, and the Food is Elementary curriculum, I am passionate about teaching individuals,
both young and old, about the importance of eating well, taking care of your body, and living a nutritious lifestyle. I am also passionate about teaching these topics for a very personal reason.......................
I have been living with Type 1 Diabetes for almost twenty years.
Living with this illness has been far from easy, but it has given me the opportunity to learn a great deal about the human body, what is best for the human body, and how to talk with people about diabetes and how it can affect a person's life. I am always hopeful that by talking about my life with diabetes, I can help make more people aware of how we can best fight this disease.
Diabetes can be a test of a person's self-discipline and will power. Each day is spent thinking about the foods I eat, when I eat them, how much I am eating of these foods, and what other factors might occur during the day that may affect my blood sugars. I have my moments when I just want to throw in the towel and not pay attention to what foods I am putting into my body. But the minute I choose this route, I suffer for it and end up feeling physically horrible! I fight with my feelings about food all the time, and work every moment to shift my perspective of what really are "tasty foods."
As I spend more time learning about whole foods and their benefits, I am realizing how great my body can feel and how well controlled my blood sugars can be when I eat foods that are naturally nutritious. Don't get me wrong, I love sweets and still think about them from time to time. But, I am beginning to understand that the foods we have determined as "yummy tasting" foods are just based on a mind set and not on an absolute truth. If we take the time to re-train our brains to see whole fruits and vegetables as the "yummy tasting" foods, instead of a chocolate chip cookie, we could learn to choose the healthier option and as a result have blood sugars that are under control. Foods high in fat and sugar may taste great for that moment, but continuing to include them in my daily diet would lead to a life of lost eye-sight, lost limbs, heart disease, and even death. I try and ask myself, are eating these traditional "yummy" treats really worth all of that?
Diabetes is rough, but it can be fought!! We as a nation do not have to let this illness control what happens to ourselves and the people that we love. Because I have Type 1 Diabetes, I will always live with this disease unless a cure is found. If I knew that by changing my eating and exercising habits I could get rid of my illness, believe me I would be doing whatever I could to make it go away. Many individuals who are at risk for Type 2 Diabetes have the opportunity to stop this disease by adjusting how they eat each day. LISTEN TO ME...................YOU DO NOT WANT TO LIVE WITH DIABETES!
Changing eating habits is very hard, but there are so many resources available now to help us make these important changes in our lifestyles. If you know that you are at risk for Diabetes, or you know someone close to you who is at risk, take the time to look at the following websites. These websites are also incredible resources for those of us who are already living with diabetes. Make a change now to get your health on the right track. By taking care of my diabetes I have been able to run a marathon, travel to another continent, ride a bicycle for 6 days from Minneapolis to Chicago, as well as live a much fuller life. Diabetes will not stop me, so don't let it stop you!!!!
http://www.dlife.com/, http://www.diabetes.org/, http://www.diabetesaction.org/, http://www.diabetes.com/
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2 comments:
I really needed to hear this. I am struggling with a severe sulfite allergy and have had to drastically change my diet several months ago. Each night I go to bed and wake up thinking about food and what I will eat. It has become so life-consuming. I wish more than anything that I could go back to the life I had before when I could eat whatever I wanted and didn't have to worry, but going through this process has taught me so much about whole, healthy food that I may not have learned otherwise.
Also, my mom has Type 2 Diabetes and I am trying to help her to understand everything I have learned without sounding preachy. She could totally control it through what she eats. I watch what she puts into her body sometimes and have to bite my tongue from saying, "And you wonder why your blood sugar is all whacked out and you don't feel good?!" It's frustrating. I hope one day my words will begin to sink in and take root. Sometimes though, like in my case, it takes ending up in the hospital several times for you to wake up and realize that you don't have a choice and have to change. I hope it never comes to that for her though and that she starts making some changes in her diet soon.
I think it's great that you have such a positive outlook and that you are helping to raise awareness in others. :) Thank you!
Many blessings,
Erin
What a wonderful post. Thank you for sharing your personal feelings about how Diabetes has effected you. I am so happy to have you on staff!!!! Trish
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