Today I write about my beloved cat, David. He lived only 6 years and left this world due to a fatal and uncontrollable feline disease known as FIP or feline infectious peritonitis. Once diagnosed, David lived for 3 months – almost a record high for cats with FIP. Unlike FIP, diabetes is a controllable disease. Diabetes has tools and medications to help people manage the disease and they may live a full and healthy life. Some, suffer from diabetes complications and their quality of life diminishes. If I was able to manage David’s disease by checking his blood sugar, giving him medication that would actually improve his health issues and using all other tools to help him – I would have. Instead, unlike with diabetes, I was faced with a disease I could do nothing about. With that being said, I did everything I could – especially love him a lot.
Having such a lack of control is extremely difficult. I don’t think anybody feels comfortable in that position.
Diabetes is a self-managed disease. It can be successfully managed if it is taken seriously.
Many people do not take control of their health. Many Americans have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, and many other diseases. Many Americans are obese. I wish there was an easy answer as to why we allow ourselves to suffer consequences of poor choices. I suppose the answer is that we are human and we are constantly being tempted by high sugar, highly processed, pesticide, hormone or antibiotic-laden foods. Supermarkets appeal to us by strategically placing food items that are actually killing us so that we will buy them. Commercials excite us with deceptive advertising. Do oat cereals (won’t name them) really lower your cholesterol if you are eating the ones with processed sugar added? Those multigrain, banana and nut, etc. are the most appealing aren’t they? Well, they have sugar too – but that’s left out of the advertising.
We need to be smarter. We need not allow the lies to hurt our bodies. Nutrition is common sense. There are many choices, and I have written about them in my books and in my blog, that are delicious AND healthy. Find them and do yourself a favor and take control. With diabetes, unlike David’s disease – FIP, you do have control. You may choose to take it or not.