It isn’t all sugar.

No, I didn’t get my diabetes from eating a ton of sugar or being overweight. I was diagnosed because my body decided not to make insulin anymore, it’s really just all genetics or at least it is for type one diabetes.

There is a major difference between type one and type two diabetes. Type one is genetic and is passed down through your parents, whereas type two is when you are old, overweight, and have eaten too much sugar in your life.

It was December in third grade when my father discovered the same signs of diabetes in me as he did my older sister. I was soon going through classes of what all was happening in my body and what I now had to do going forward.

Although many people think I can’t eat anything with sugar or that by eating a lot of sugar they will soon become diabetic too, it isn’t true. Diabetes is about watching what you eat don’t get me wrong but, it’s even more about how much you eat.

No I can’t drink juice, have hard candy, or eat whatever I want whenever I want it but, I can still have many things in moderation.

Diabetes is testing your blood sugar at least six times a day, it’s taking a shot every time you eat and sometimes two hours after, its calculating how much carbs you are eating, it’s eating the entire kitchen when you have low blood sugar and waking up with a headache and high blood sugar the next morning, it’s keeping your body in shape so that you can keep up with your life.

Living with diabetes does not set you back from living your life, yeah it may put some restraints on you but they are ones that can be managed. I know many diabetics at Ralston Valley alone who are athletes, artists, and on the honor roll.

Many diabetics joke about being high or needing drugs, some might even joke about getting diabetes from what they are about to eat but one thing is for sure, you don’t get type one diabetes from eating a lot of sugar.