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As you grow older, you may find yourself suffering with the same type of injuries that athletes can suffer. However, your injuries will most likely be the result of falls or accidents in your everyday life, not as a result of a sports related injury. It is for this very reason that if you happen to suffer from an Acl Injury, you will likely not have to undergo surgery for the injury unless the injury is very severe. Instead, you will most likely be advised to undergo a rehab program. Surgery would not be necessary unless you are planning to exert yourself in sports.

Acl injuries are quite common in athletes. If you are someone that you happen to know has experienced that unfortunate instance of an Acl injury, there is treatment that is available. Upon tearing the ligament, the athlete or other person should immediately stop any activity and sit down and elevate his or her leg. Ice compresses should be applied at regular intervals to help alleviate any resulting swelling from the injury. Medical attention should be sought for any Acl Injury. The attending physician will decide whether or not surgery for the injury is warranted. If surgery is needed, expect a rehabilitation period of six to nine months.

Diets, diets, diets… every where you go, anything you read you can’t miss them, they are almost everywhere. And if you have weight problems you are really annoyed by the huge number of ads or commercials promoting one or another type of diet.

That’s why we asked on your behalf and we went to the best specialist to find the answer for the most charged topic: low fat versus low carb diets.
First of all let me tell you about how this study was made, in order to understand its accuracy. It went over a period of 10 years, involving 2700 of people that were on one of those diets. Some of the most important universities involved in this study: University of Colorado in Denver, the University of Pittsburgh, and Brown University in Providence, R.I. Their purpose was to collect data from people who have lost at least 30 pounds and more than that, they were able to maintain their weight for at least a year.

Most of the subjects were women with an average age of 47. But the results of the studies show that there was no difference between the diet–low-fat and the diet low-carb in what regards the way that people initially lost weight.

Even though the percent of those how were on a low-carb diet increased, the results proved that after a while most of them regained weight. Even if they ate less carbohydrate and the amount of protein was the same this didn’t changed the situation. The ones that conducted the study reported that only a small number of successful weight losers are on a low-carbohydrate diet.

One of the disadvantages in the race low fat versus low carb diets is that the blood lipid levels can get worse. In what regards a long period other studies have proved that low-carb diets have as a result higher levels of healthy HDL cholesterol than the low-fat diets, which in the most cases reduce the HDL levels.

The competition it is very strong, but somebody has to win it. The low fat versus low carb diets contest has to have only one winner and you are the one that will decide!

If you find this information useful you should visit the site http://www.free-online-diet-plans.com where you will find lots of interesting articles related to this topic, all original and wrote by Andreea Dinescu.

If you’re a low carb diet enthusiast, you’ve probably tried some of those tasty low carbohydrate bars, candies or maybe even broke down and baked a loaf of that really easy to make and great tasting low carb banana bread.

And after getting your head around the concept of ‘net carbs’, you may still be wondering what are those sweeteners listed on the labels, such as mannitol, maltitol, sorbitol and others, and how they fit into your Atkins, Protein Power, South Beach or other diets.

Known as sugar alcohols, these and other low carb sweeteners are being seen more and more in diet products. And usually you can find several types in your low carb food. Although they are all effectively no to low calorie sweeteners (0.5 to 3.0 calories per gram) they are generally much sweeter than sugar, which allows even the higher calorie per gram products to be classified as low carb and low calorie sweeteners.

The reason you’ll see a number of them in your low carb chocolates for instance, is simple. The food tastes better. Food technologists have found that different combinations of low carb sweeteners can have a better flavor in certain foods than when using one type alone. For instance, if you’re making muffins, you want a sweetener that can stand up to the heat of an oven. But if it won’t give you the texture or ‘mouth feel’ you’d expect, then it won’t be popular, no matter how low the carbohydrate count. If you were making a chilled low carb dessert or a low carbohydrate ice cream, you’d want it to be sweet when cold. So the bottom line is taste.

Given recent attention to protein based fat replacements, which have great potential for use in all but fried foods, its easy to imagine that some new and tasty low fat, low carb, higher protein and low calorie treats will be coming soon. And that has brought out some strange concerns, such as the idea that if we’re not protected from ourselves by banning these foods, we might starve by consuming too few calories from these low and no calorie dessert and snack foods.

But after looking at some of the shoppers I saw during a recent trip to my grocery store, all I could think was, where’s my
low carb cheesecake recipe?

Mike Boyd is an author and contributing writer for the popular http://www.healthy low carb.com, an online information source for low carb diets, free low carb recipes, diet basics,books, product reviews and informative up to date low carb dieting research
low carb cheesecake recipe

There are two main types of diabetes, type I and type II. Type I diabetes is characterized by the pancreas making too little or no insulin. An individual with diabetes type I will have to inject insulin throughout the day in order to control glucose levels. Type II diabetes, also known as adult onset diabetes, is characterized by the pancreas not producing enough insulin to control glucose levels or the cells not responding to insulin. When a cell does not respond to insulin, it is known as insulin resistance. When a subject is diagnosed with type II diabetes, exercise and weight control are prescribed as measures to help with insulin resistance. If this does not control glucose levels, then medication is prescribed. The risk factors for type II diabetes include: inactivity, high cholesterol, obesity, and hypertension. Inactivity alone is a very strong risk factor that has been proven to lead to diabetes type II. Exercise will have a positive effect on diabetes type II while improving insulin sensitivity while type I cannot be controlled be an exercise program. Over 90% of individuals with diabetes have type II.

Exercise causes the body to process glucose faster, which lowers blood sugar. The more intense the exercise, the faster the body will utilize glucose. Therefore it is important to understand the differences in training with type I and type II diabetes. It is important for an individual who has diabetes to check with a physician before beginning an exercise program. When training with a diabetic, it is important to understand the dangers of injecting insulin immediately prior to exercise. An individual with type I diabetes injecting their normal amount of insulin for a sedentary situation can pose the risk of hypoglycemia or insulin shock during exercise. General exercise guidelines for type I are as follows: allow adequate rest during exercise sessions to prevent high blood pressure, use low impact exercises and avoid heavy weight lifting, and always have a supply of carbohydrates nearby. If blood sugar levels get too low, the individual may feel shaky, disoriented, hungry, anxious, become irritable or experience trembling. Consuming a carbohydrate snack or beverage will alleviate these symptoms in a matter of minutes.

Before engaging in exercise, it is important for blood sugar levels to be tested to make sure that they are not below 80 to 100 mg/dl range and not above 250 mg/dl. Glucose levels should also be tested before, during, after and three to five hours after exercise. During this recovery period (3-5 hours after exercise), it is important for diabetics to consume ample carbohydrates in order to prevent hypoglycemia.

Exercise will greatly benefit an individual with type II diabetes because of its positive effects on insulin sensitivity. Proper exercise and nutrition are the best forms of prevention for type II diabetics. It is important for training protocols to be repeated almost daily to help with sustaining insulin sensitivity. To prevent hypoglycemia, progressively work up to strenuous activity.

As with individuals with type I diabetes, carbohydrates should also be present during training to assist in raising blood sugar levels if the individual becomes low.

William is a personal trainer and runs http://www.myfightclub.com

The prospect of quitting smoking seems daunting for the millions of people who smoke, and particularly for those that have been smoking for some time. No one will argue that an addiction to nicotine is a serious one and it is also multifaceted: indeed, there is a physical component to it since your body craves the nicotine the cigarettes contain, and there’s the psychological one, in that many habits and situations become associated with cigarettes for the smoker. Consequently, in order to quit smoking, it is important that you come up with a plan of attack: if the cold-turkey technique works for some people, the vast majority of smokers will succeed only with the help of a more comprehensive plan.

The first time you will consider the prospect of quitting smoking, it’s probably going to seem far fetched. However, I want you to keep in mind that thousands of people - people just like you - quit smoking every year. If they can do it, there’s no reason that you can’t do it too. Also, many smokers also feel that it is “too-late” to quit smoking after a certain age. Simply put, this isn’t true, and you should not use that as an excuse to avoid an attempt to quit smoking: the health benefits of quitting smoking will begin the very day you will stop.

Begin to build up your willpower before you actually have your last cigarette. Your willpower will become your most important tool in quitting. In fact, it’s very unlikely that you will be successful without it. The first thing you should do is spend some time thinking of the reasons you want to quit smoking. Do some research do learn about the health benefits of quitting, for both yourself and the people around you. The most encouraging step you can take is to do some math and write down some figures for the amount of money you’ll be able to save by not buying cigarettes. Then think of how you’ll use that money for. Will it be a trip to celebrate? A nice dinner in a fancy restaurant?

Once your willpower is built up, it’s time to have your last cigarette. You first need to understand that the human body is extremely resilient if your want to keep your spirits up. However, bear in mind that your health will improve as soon as you stop smoking - and I mean literally. Only 8 hours after your last cigarette, oxygen levels and carbon monoxide levels in your blood stream will go back to what they’re supposed to. Did you know that you statistically reduce your chance of a heart attack merely 24 hours after your last cigarette? Furthermore, after only 48 hours of smoking your last cigarette, your sense of smell and taste will improve as your nerve endings will start growing.

In order to keep your willpower up, think of the longer-term benefits to quitting smoking as you continue to stay smoke free: your lung power will begin to increase after only 2 weeks and will continue to do so over time. Of course, other aspects of your health will improve in various ways continuously. I think that the ultimate motivator should lie in the knowledge that 15 years after quitting smoking, your risk of death is almost identical as someone who has never smoked. Don’t you think that this illustrates remarkably well how the human body’s can restore itself.

There’s no doubt that developing a concrete action plan to quit smoking will increase tremendously your chances of success. What is crucial in this process is for you to understand that your willpower play an important role and that planning weeks ahead before you attempt to quit smoking will help you build up your willpower. Once you’ve quit smoking you have to keep this willpower strong, and to achieve this, always remind yourself of the many benefits to your health you will be privy to the second after butting out that last cigarette.

After losing a good friend to lung cancer, Nathalie Lafleur decided to help as many people as she could to quit smoking. Visit her website to access more articles, tips and resources at http://www.www-quitsmokingtoday.com. Free Book Limited Time Offer.

The weight loss industry is a multi-billion dollar industry and everybody is trying to jump into the bandwagon and trying to convince you that they know what it takes to make you lose weight. Unfortunately, this information overload has given birth to a ton of misinformation. As such, it is best if you start your weight loss plan by distinguishing fact from fiction.

Weight Loss Facts and Fallacies

Skipping breakfast will make you lose weight (because you consume less food for the day). Actually, skipping breakfast achieves the opposite - you gain weight! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It’s basically what keeps you going for the rest of the day and a missed morning meal would make you feel hungry earlier than usual and then what? Either you’ll eat more than you should because you are extremely hungry or eat something that’s not healthy because it’s the most convenient thing your hands can grab at the moment.

Nibbles don’t count. A lot of weight challenged people tend to rationalize nibbling here and there would not make them gain weight. Unfortunately, it does. Just like how a couple of dimes can make a dollar, a bucketful of nibbles will be equivalent to one full meal.

Parties are exceptions. It does not matter if it’s a simple dinner at a small Chinese restaurant, a charity ball in a five-star hotel or a wedding reception - you are STILL not excused from counting calories and paying strict attention to the do’s and don’ts of your diet regime. Here’s food for thought - no matter where you eat, chocolate will always be high on sugar.

The only way to lose weight is to commit to a fitness club. If there’s a will, there’s a way! Exercise, literally, is movement. As such, going up and down the stairs, walking to and from work or simply cleaning your house or doing a little gardening all counts!

Popular diets don’t work. It is not that popular diets do not work… it is just that they do not work for everyone. Our bodies are different from each other and react differently to different stimuli. For instance, the Atkins diet has helped thousands of people lose weight but has caused weight gain in others. So what do you do? The best and safest way to diet is to consult a nutritionist or dietician who can recommend the diet that is most suited for your body and current fitness goals.

Weight Loss = A Commitment to A New Way of Life

In your quest for weight loss, you will come across hundreds more of myths such as those listed above. However, in the middle of all of these there is one single truth that all diets and weight loss regimens concede to be true - to achieve weight loss and maintain it, you need to change your lifestyle.

To lose those unwanted pounds, you simply need to burn off more energy than you acquire from the foods you eat. Period. So seriously, the secret to weight loss is really something you have known all this time right? You need to change the way you look at food, make a conscious decision to start eating healthy and start exercising daily.

Brad Howard is one funny guy. If you are tired of wasting away and you’re a little concerned that the pounds aren’t coming off like they should be, maybe it’s time to try something a little different. For more information on his interesting weight loss secrets and strategies, go to http://www.SmallAssForSale.com

Every day, cases of cancer are rising in astounding and unprecedented numbers.
While medical professionals work tirelessly to find a cure for this most deadly of
diseases, the numbers of terminally ill patients continue to climb. Although the
cure for cancer continues to elude medical professionals, it is completely within our
own power to protect our families and ourselves and to reduce our risks whenever
possible.

In recent years, individuals have begun to seriously examine known carcinogens and
to protect themselves from these cancer-causing agents. Sunscreen has become an
important defense against skin cancer, and its use is on the rise. The number of
smokers attempting to quit rises each day, precisely because of new information
about the carcinogenic nature of cigarettes.

The increase in such protective behaviors clearly indicates an increased interest in
protecting oneself from cancer risks. Still, droves of people continue to use and
drink unfiltered tap water, not knowing about or not believing in the insidious
nature of this substance. Whether we like it or not, the water that emerges from our
taps, however pristine it may appear, is filled with carcinogenic compounds. A
simple water filter can now serve as a valuable safeguard against cancer.

Chlorine and Tap Water:
Untreated tap water is filled with such dangerous contaminants as nitrate, arsenic,
microorganisms, and chemicals from pesticide runoff. Once this water reaches a
municipal treatment plant, many contaminants are removed. However, one of the
most dangerous contaminants is actually added to drinking water as a part of the
treatment process.

Chlorine, added as an inexpensive and effective drinking water disinfectant, is also a
known poison to the body. It is certainly no coincidence that chlorine gas was used
with deadly effectiveness as a weapon in the First World War. This gas was known
to severely burn the lungs and other body tissues when inhaled; it is no less
powerful when ingested by mouth. Each day, as we use unfiltered tap water, we are
effectively pouring bleach into our water before we drink it.

This poisonous chemical, accompanied by its byproducts, is now known to cause at
least three types of cancers, among other serious health problems. The U.S. Council
of Environmental Quality recently released a report stating that the risk of cancer is
93% higher among those drinking chlorinated water than among those not drinking
chlorinated water! In the following paragraphs, you can read about the specific
cancer risks of chlorinated water and learn how to protect your family and yourself
from this insidious poison.

Bladder and Rectal Cancer:
Chlorine has long been known to be a leading cause of bladder and rectal cancer.
Once in water, chlorine interacts with organic compounds to create trihalomethanes
(THMs). These THMs are particularly harmful to the body when ingested. When
taken into the body, THMs encourage the production of free radicals. These free
radicals proceed to destroy or damage vital cells in the body. Because so much of
the water we drink ends up in the bladder and/or rectum, ingestions of THMs in
drinking water is particularly damaging to these organs. THMs cause innumerable
cases of bladder and rectal cancer each year.

Bladder and rectal cancer occur when malignant cells, often created by THMs, infect
the inner tissues of the particular organ. Once they have taken hold in the bladder
or rectum, the malignant cells can isolate themselves in the infected area or they
can spread to infect other areas of the body, potentially causing more deadly forms
of cancer. Each year, 13,000 new cases of bladder cancer are diagnosed in women
while 37,000 new cases are diagnosed in men. Of these 50,000 new cases each
year, slightly more than 20% of individuals will die from the disease. For rectal
cancer, more than 40,000 new cases are diagnosed each year and approximately
55% of those individuals diagnosed will die from the disease.

Ironically, one of the best means of protection against these two types of cancer is
drinking plenty of fluids. However, drinking larger amounts of contaminated water
only exacerbates the risk.

Breast Cancer:
Breast cancer is the newest type of cancer to be connected to ingestion of
chlorinated water. Breast cancer affects one out of every eight women in the United
States alone, and it kills approximately _ of its victims.

Recent research has linked this deadly cancer to a buildup of chlorine compounds in
the breast tissue. In a shocking study conducted in Hartford, Connecticut,
researchers found that “women with breast cancer have 50% to 60% higher levels of
organochlorines (chlorination byproducts) in their breast tissue than women without
breast cancer.” While chlorine can make its way into our bodies in several ways,
there is no means of access more common or more frequent than the ingestion of
common, unfiltered tap water.

A Simple Solution:
One preventive solution to these three deadly cancers could not be simpler. If
chlorinated drinking water is a leading cause of cancer, then the obvious method of
reducing one’s risk of cancer is to refrain from drinking chlorinated water. We
cannot choose whether or not to drink water, but we can choose the type of water
we allow into our bodies.

Municipal water treatment plants add chlorine to water to help make it cleaner and
more pure, but once that chlorine has performed its function, there is certainly no
reason for it to continue its deadly presence in drinking water. A simple home
water filter removes chlorine and its byproducts from drinking water, producing
clean, pure drinking water that can also serve as a useful protection against cancer.
Water filters are one of the only methods of water purification capable of removing
chlorine.

So, what can a water filter do for you? The answer is simple but extremely valuable.
A water filter can protect an individual from cancer, one of the deadliest killers of
the 20th century.

Vanessa Lausch serves as a technical writer for the Aquasana Store, http://www.aquasanastore.com/.

If your child has had several ear infections already, or you simply wish to lower the risk of getting them in the first place, here are some proven ways to prevent, or at least lessen the frequency and severity, of ear infections:

1. Breastfeeding. Medical literature provides no doubt that prolonged breastfeeding lowers your child’s chances of getting ear infections.
2. Daycare setting. Continuous exposure to other children increases the risk that your child will catch more colds, and consequently more ear infections. Crowded daycare settings are a set up for germ sharing. If possible, switch your child to a small, home daycare setting. This will lower the risk.
3. Control allergies. Allergies may be contributing to your child’s runny nose and, consequently, ear infections. Investigate if your child is allergic and take the appropriate action to lower the risk.
4. Feed baby upright. Lying down while bottle-feeding can cause the milk to irritate the Eustachian tube which can contribute to ear infections.
5. Keep the nose clear. When a runny nose and cold start, do your best to keep the nose clear by using steam, saline nose drops, and suctioning.
6. Cigarette smoke. There is strong evidence that smoking irritates baby’s nasal passage, which leads to Eustachian tube dysfunction.
7. Echinacea. This is a herb which can safely and effectively boost the immune system.
8. Chiropractic care. Chiropractic adjustments to the skull and neck can improve middle ear drainage and decrease ear infections.
9. Eat more raw fruits and vegetables. These can greatly boost your child’s immune system and help fight off infections. If you have a picky eater, healthy juices can provide this nutrition for your child.

There are also effective ways to treat ear infections, using only natural ingredients. For more information and my recommended resource on treating an ear infection, visit my Ear Infection resource site.

About The Author: Alex King has researched tongue problems in some depth, and shares his findings at Ear Infection Remedy.com. Alex also writes for ExpertFound.com

To see if The PayDay Diet is right for you, please answer the following questions.

1. Would you agree that the reason Diets Fail is not because of the Diet, but because of Lack of WillPower?

2. Would you agree that most everyone knows HOW to lose weight?

3. Are you more likely to stick to a diet if you have something motivating you, like a trip, or reunion or wedding?

4. Do you think if properly motivated you could lose 1-2 Pounds Per Week?

5. When you first start a Diet are you willing to do just about anything to succeed?

~~~~

Did You Answer YES to All the Above… If so, you can Succeed on The PAYDAY Diet.

When I tell you how the Diet works, you’re going to be surprised… but you’ll also know instantly I’m on to something.

There are a few ways to do the Diet… you just need to choose the right motivation for you.

EXAMPLE #1

I use to work part-time for my Father’s Law Firm and he was on me to lose weight… So what did I do?

I made a contract with him that I would lose ONE POUND by each PayDay…OR…. he keeps my PayCheck until I do.

I got paid every Wednesday… The following Wednesday I had to be ONE POUND lighter than the prior Wednesday… OR he holds my check until the next PayDay… and by then I have to be TWO POUNDS lighter.

It’s Cumulative, I had to Lose 4 Pounds Each Month. If I didn’t, I didn’t get Paid.

The Contract was Over When I Reached My Goal Weight of 215 Pounds!

What Does This Take? It takes 5 Minutes of WillPower to Make The Deal.. Once you do.. The Motivation Never Fades!!!

If you don’t have a close relationship with your Employer, or an Employer than there’s lots of other ways to make PAYDAY Diet Work For You.

EXAMPLE #2

Make the Contract with your Spouse or Roommate and Have Them Hold Your PayChecks or something very precious to you.

EXAMPLE #3

If you have a Gym Membership ask the Gym Manager or someone you trust at the Gym to Help You. Put 4 Crisp 100 Bills into an envelope and write four goal weights for the next four months on the envelope..

As you hit the goal weights, get the Person to give you $100 bill for each goal. Buy some merchandise from the Gym as a thank you..
Many More Motivation Examples Coming… Our Members will have lots of ideas..

GET STARTED LOSING WITH “WWW”

WWW not only stands for World Wide Web, but there’s an old movie called “It’s a Wide, Wide World”, and it’s a fact that Millions of us our getting Wider every year…

Coincidentally, I call my own personal plan to kickstart a healthier lifestyle the WWW Plan.

These are just simple things that should enable you to lose 1-2 Pounds a week… If you’re online you see WWW Constantly and it will help remind you to do these things.

[W = Water] Drink at least eight glasses of Water a day!

It will do the following: regulates your appetite, increases your metabolism, boost your energy levels, alleviates some headaches, helps to reduce blood pressure and high cholesterol, eases joint pain, releases toxic waste products, improves skin and much more.

[W = Walking]

Start Walking - Try to Average 15 to 30 Minutes a Day.
Try to build up to a brisk pace over time. Walking burns calories, increases your metabolism, increases blood flow and circulation, improves your sleep.

[W = Weights]

Get Some light hand weights, 3-10 Pounds. Keep them next to computer or favorite TV Chair and during commercials or work breaks do a variety of exercises with them.. You know what to do… Bring the 3 Pounders on a walk with you and see what a difference it makes.

[W = WillPower] Lack of WillPower is why diets Fail….

Think of how easy it is to lose weight for a Trip, Wedding, or Reunion…. Do the PAYDAY Diet and you’ll have that same WillPower feeling you have when you diet for those occasions.

[W = Wake Up Early] Getting Up Earlier enables you to Burn More Calories Throughout the Day!

Wake up Early and go for a Walk for 21 Days and you might just make it a LifeTime Habit!

The PayDay Diet is really about finding the right motivation to stick to a diet and exercise plan. We all know how easy it is to lose weight when properly motivated. Find your motivation and you’ll be much more successful at losing weight.

Dan Nickerson is CEO of Got-Zip Inc.
Got-Zip is a GeoAffilate Program which has a growing site network including
The PayDayDiet Blog. Visit the PayDay Diet Blog to learn more about about losing weight, health related topics and affiliate programs.

November is Diabetes Awareness month, and actually November 14 is National Diabetes Day! It is a very important day for people to become aware of symptoms, treatment options, prevention and some updates on research. Knowledge and awareness are important to prevention, but research is critical to each and every diabetic out there! Everyone who suffers from chronic illness dreams of ‘the cure’, one is no less important than the other. For years, diabetes has maybe been portrayed as a disease of minor inconvenience and when things go wrong, the auto response is poor management or cheating on diet.

Yes, years! Would you believe the discovery of insulin was over 84 years ago! Thanks to Dr. Banting and Dr. Best, diabetics can survive. Maybe that is part of the reason that people who don’t understand the disease will minimize the seriousness of it. At one time diabetes meant death, now it is possible to live a near normal life with medication and insulin, diet, exercise and a lot of balance of them all. Allow me to repeat “near normal life”. There are a lot more footnotes to be attached to how that may or may not happen. I am not here to tell you statistics; you can find a fabulous write up in the November 8th Leader Post; “Saskatchewan waging a war against diabetes” and “the epidemic”.

I am here to tell you that the life of a diabetic is far from normal! Their day starts out with blood testing, likely in a finger that has turned to leather from so many stabs. That will allow them to decide how much insulin to take, how much food to eat, and maybe what kind of day they will have. This may happen 4-6 times per day, costing $1.00-$1.50 per test strip! A person in good control can get through their day totally fitting into the world, but if you happen to be a more severe, or rigid diabetic, your day can be hell! Severe diabetics may have to deal with insulin reactions, which can bring them to unconsciousness or highs, which have been described to me as “worse than your worse hangover.” Add to that the fear and concern of complications, be it heart, circulation, kidney failure leading to dialysis or vision loss, to name a few.

28 years ago, there was a 2- year old child diagnosed with type 2, insulin dependant diabetes, which means that the pancreas does not produce insulin anymore. Parents were totally unaware of the symptoms. What started out seeming like a simple kidney infection turned a planned holiday into a one-week hospital stay. This stay included education, diet plans and food choices, giving needles to oranges, blood testing, and a lot of mixed emotions of shock, anxiety, denial, discouragement, reality, and blues. How could this be happening, there is no diabetes in the family! The days at home were difficult, father would hold the child, mother would inject insulin, child would scream, cry, kick, mother would cry and both parents try to relax until the next go around. After all, it is the life of your child, you would do anything right? Those days have turned into years, one of those parents is me, that child is our son.

I would be lying if I said it hasn’t been difficult. How does a parent explain to a child on Halloween or Easter that there is no candy he can have or that he will have to have fruit instead of cake at his friend’s party? Or how do you explain to the siblings that their brother is not just Oscar the Grouch, but that his blood sugar is outta whack! And what do you say when the child asks, ‘why me mom?’ I would just say, ‘you were the chosen one, and we are blessed with you so together we will make it!” And we did, but not without family, friends, and medical support.

Together it has been a learning journey, and I am happy to say that this child is now 30, without complications. Truthfully, there is Nothing Sweet About It! But, you can live with diabetes. It is all a matter of choice, whether you want to exist or live life well.

“Look to your health, and if you have it, praise God and value it next to conscience; for health is the second blessing we mortals are capable of, a blessing money cannot buy.” (Hippocrates)