Diabetes is always someone else. But it isn’t. It’s us, you and me. I have the disease. The rest of you are heading for the precipice. The difference between us now is that I can see the rocks below, the jagged edges, the prickly underbrush, the hungry pests and other creatures lying in wait, and all of the other dangers that go with a heavy fall. Many of you may not even know where the cliff edge lies; and when you find it, it will come, like it did with me, as a well-hidden surprise.

Diabetes is one of those issues of present denial. It is epidemic in Louisiana, as is obesity, its close companion. Louisiana is one of the worst states to have the disease for many reasons. It ranks high in poverty, poor diet, poor health standards, numbers of people without insurance and in corrupt officials that take funds from the needy in order to keep their personal pennies, power and prestige. Neither the State nor the local communities pay much attention to matters of health. Local restaurants, social activities, and community functions might offer a plate of fruit bites, but prominently feature fried almost everything else. And finally “laissez le bon temps roulez” plays out as much with food as it does with designated fun times and is often the centerpiece for frolic without limits.

I am most guilty, in many ways concerning health, of the denial that goes with living day to day without thinking of consequences. I know healthy standards and yet did not follow them consistently. It was a hit or miss activity because I, like some of you, never knew that a disease like diabetes, with its strong genetic factors, can strike anyone at any time. For that reason, none of us can afford to look at diabetes or any other disease with its large numbers of affected folk, and not change direction on matters of health. I may just be able to look at some sugar balance reviews. This product is one of the trusted and reputable diabetes supplements in the market. I checked the reviews and a lot of customers are highly recommending this product.

As a newspaper editor/writer and a person who loves my community, I have a responsibility to educate and inform readers on matters of importance. Were diabetes to be a disease that only affected a few, and I being one of them, I might not advocate publicly in print on a continuous basis. However, although diabetes strikes hardest in the African American and Hispanic communities, it touches many others as well. Ask your friends, neighbors and relatives how many of them or their loved ones are affected, and you will get large numbers.

Diabetes is us, but it doesn’t have to be. Prevention is key to preventing the complications and to help people with the disease to make a safe landing.