Unfortunately, my family suffers from Diabetes. Out of my father's siblings five out of seven have type II Diabetes. However, they sometimes do not take the necessary steps to control this disease's course of action.
My aunt's name is Dominga and I interviewed her and asked her how she felt about her Diabetes. Her response was rather shocking as she reported that she has continued to live in a similar manner as she had pre-diabetes. She reported symptoms as fatigue most of the time that prevented her from exercising and attributed the cost of food to not allow her to have healthier alternatives. The economic aspect of healthy food is understandable however she also did confess that She would miss her favorite foods.
For insulin level maintenance, my aunt goes periodically from oral meds to injectable insulin which is determined by her doctor and she monitors her glucose daily as that is sometimes her indication of when to medicate.
It was alarming to hear this from my aunt but may possibly be the view of lower educated minority groups as she is. This is why I truly believe that education is a must and public health advocacy should continue especially in these underserved locations. In a personal level, it was sad to hear this from someone that you love, however it may be her reality and choice.
I agree with you that education plays a significant role in the health status of individuals. It takes a lot of research to know how to properly choose healthy foods, and a lot of people think they are choosing healthy when in fact they are not. I work at a restaurant and see a lot of these types of mistakes. I do agree that some health foods can be a bit pricey, but if you know what your looking for you can make a trip to the grocery store cheap. WebMd has a great website with helpful hints on how to shop cheap and healthy.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/cheap-healthy-15-nutritious-foods-about-2-dollars
I am sorry to hear that your aunt does not control her diabetes. I was diagnosed as border line diabetic about two years ago. The majority of the things I have done that have lowered my test results did not cost more than regular food. Maybe you could suggest some of these to your aunt. I replaced soda with water (actually saving money), I eat wheat rather than white pasta and bread (both in the great value brand), and switched to Splenda as a sweetener (also sold in great value). It is a struggle and many of the recommended foods are more expensive but there are a lot of them that are affordable and can make a huge difference.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck to your aunt.
Lanna