Reversing Diabetes Action Day

Did you know that today is “Reversing Diabetes Day?” Did you know that you could reverse diabetes? Well, here’s the thing, you really can’t. But that didn’t stop a couple filmmakers from declaring today a special day in the fight against diabetes. The specific topic the organizers behind this movement are highlighting is raw food. Now, it’s funny that this has come up because we just had our great interview and giveaway with the author of the Live Food Factor. She, along with celebrity Carol Alt, have spoken out about this same topic, and the healing properties of switching to this kind of diet.

Apparently the organizers of Reversing Diabetes Day made a film in which Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics “are challenged to give up their traditional American diets consisting of meat, dairy, sugar, processed foods, and cooked foods, as well alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine, as they continue to reduce their dosages of insulin and prescription medications.”

While I applaud the effort to bring awareness to diabetes, I’m not too thrilled that people are suggesting it can be cured. It can’t. A Type 2 diabetic can improve their blood sugars with diet and exercise and therefore not require medication. But even if they do that, they still need to continually check their blood sugar. And if things change with their schedule, or they get sick, or their diet changes slightly, those blood sugars can go right back up. That’s because diabetes never really goes away.

In Type 1 diabetes, someone can reduce the amount of insulin they take, but they can’t get rid of insulin. That’s because there is no cure for diabetes!

I think a better approach would have been to simply highlight the benefits of a raw food diet, without making the claim that it will “reverse” diabetes. Reverse means cure. Diabetes isn’t cured.

Image: sxc.hu.