OMG I THINK THAT IS AWESOME!! Buttons and Bumper Stickers. My son Payden would agree! I still need to put up my son's Research Paper. I am so proud that he took on Diabetis. It was Challenging & Brave, but it also was Insightful!
Absolutely there needs to be more education in Health classes about it. They cover so very many things. While yes, College really helps those of us who go into the Medical Field understand things better....seriously helping our children understand at younger ages. Yes, we can do this in a less frightening way when they are younger. Home Ec can help them learn really more about taste and herbs and how to eat better, without giving up flavor. still, we must educate our children. We OWE them this much!!!
While yes we will always be contending with BIG PHARMA and Politicians...BUT we have brains and we need to open up our children's brains to better eating to healthier life styles.
WE CAN DO THIS <3

@A DiabetesTeam Member the reason I don't believe that is the case can be demonstrated by looking at 3 different systems.

The US which is the epitome of "user pay" where big business uses rakes to pile up the profits the rate of diabetes in the population is 12%

In the UK where there Socialized Medicine includes Nationalized Pharmacare (with limitations albeit) - where the government funds the program (yes, with taxpayer dollars, but they can't use those funds for more lucrative projects), the rate of diabetes in the population is 12%

In China where everything has been nationalized for over 8 decades. Where they steal products, reverse engineer them and produce them for pennies. Where all health/pharma care is provided by the state, their rate of diabetes in the population is 12%.

So whether the jurisdiction has User Pay Big Pharma, Taxpayer Funded Little Pharma or State Sponsored No Pharma the rate is exactly the same.

The problem does not appear to be the delivery of the system nor the motivation of those at the end. But rather that lack of preventative measures in the "front end" will always result in the same ultimate outcome for the patient.

It is our approach that causes the problem and not the various ways we have chose to deal with that problem that is the real core issue. Without Big Pharma in China, same problem. With restrained Big Pharma the problem is the same in the UK.

The only difference between the three is how much money the Diabetic has left in their pocket - their situation is identical.

These three "real world" examples demonstrate that Big Pharma, whether present, restrained or non-existent does not fix the "core problem". So simply removing Big Pharma from the equation fixes "nothing" in terms of the incidence of the disease. They have simply figured how to profit from the lack of action further upstream.

Mentioned Users

A Diabete...

It also begs the question, does big pharma / political systems make more money off of us, after our diagnosis and if our diabetes is uncontrolled? I’m just thankful for this online forum and my team for support, encouragement, and information that helps to keep me on track. 💚

Graham, I recognize that manufacturers and inventors only provide the goods that consumers will actually buy. Which may ultimately create a "which came first...chicken or egg" dilemma? Anyways, I believe the point you may be making is that our "fast food" society won't change until people stop buying it. Correct me if you meant otherwise.

While that message is true, I think there may be more to it, than our being collectively lazy. To me, it appears to be human nature to want to "fit in", with those who don't being distanced and viewed as "other".  I also believe the zeitgeist for the last few generations was summed up and capsulized in the 60 's cartoon The Jetsons, where everything was super-fast and automated (remember Rosie the robot maid and the food that appeared magically from a slot in the wall)? How does one "jump off that conveyer belt of automation" exactly? (not easy).

Last time I checked our society was 'built' around both husband and wife working. Well, cooking a meal takes time-time that most working couples just don't have. I guess one 'newish' solution are meals that are prepared and shipped/delivered to your home. I can easily see how in the near future people will be saying "remember when people used to actually cook at home (instead of heating up)?" (I recall during the pandemic, when parents were exhausted (from having to add home-schooling) to their over-busy lifestyle) that the common advice was to just hire a nanny, maid, hired-help in the home.) that few could actually afford.

From my perspective, the trajectory we are on, is one that lacks nurturing period; what is important instead is speed, leisure time, and physical work is a four letter word. I came to age in the 60's when housewives were offered automatic clothes washers (instead of the wringer-washers and clothes lines) color tvs and the tv dinners to go with it. In the 70's, I remember "leisure time" was the forecast for society in the future, on my college campus. (Not sure what went wrong there -but it appears 50 years later people are busier with work than ever) to me. 

How Could We Affect Diabetic Outcome On A Larger Scale (the macro)? Great question. I've been working to turn my prediabetic lifestyle around for the past couple months now (the micro), which has meant a total lifestyle change for me. I guess I see it ultimately as an individual responsibility (whether or not a person chooses to be responsible for their own health, is another matter.) And that is as far as I have gotten. I will say that it bothers me that individuals are made to be accountable, while our leaders are not held accountable. And here is my ultimate answer: if you want to affect diabetes on a large scale then you may have to do an "autopsy" and find out where we went wrong in the first place. And my biased belief is that would take you back to pre-history, when nurturing and typically female traits were devalued and all but erased.

Greed is what motivates plus Corporations make billions of dollars off of us. As always Graham you are a HUGE blessing to this site. Hoping you are working on your book. Lol just a little suggestion blogging diabetes and copy and paste all you have texted would help billions of us 💕🤗🙏 Hoping you n your family are having a wonderful time 💕