I saw this sign in the window of a pharmacy in a small Kansas town. It struck me as profoundly sad at first, and as the meaning sunk in, sick. Then it made me angry.

The word Shoppe, as used in signage and advertising is evokes certain emotions: an ice cream parlor, a soda fountain with marble counter, mirrored back bar, ice cream and soda delights, a cool place on a hot day. Evocative words and images are brought to mind: ye and olde, junque, vintage boutique, collectibles, quaint treasures, vintage clothes, treasures found in intimate spaces soothing the senses with sophisticated design and exotic scents.

 

Diabetes is not so pleasant. It is part of a collection of interrelated diseases: arterial diseases, heart disease, blood clots, stroke, limb amputation, loss of mobility, organ failure and others. Diabetes and it’s resulting diseases are known in the medical community as metabolic syndrome, because it involves the entire metabolic system, the most essential in the body. The consequences of diabetes cover a wide range, all unpleasant, painful, leading to early death.

Shoppe: a place where one goes to get the myriad of medical paraphernalia and drugs to slow the progression of metbolic syndrome? Sick.

There is a magazine, perhaps more than one, and hundreds of internet sites, devoted to the management of diabetes. These are also advertising mediums, and attempt to make sophisticated anything they can sell related to diabetes. Many of the paraphernalia and drugs for diabetes do help bring temporary relief of symptoms and may slow the progression. But none are a cure. None reverse the slow decline of the whole body.

But there are two things, two very simple things the diabetes patient can do to slow and reverse diabetes. But I’m sure these are not sold in the Diabetes Shoppe. That is because they cost nothing, and therefore there is no profit in these two things:

Eat a low glycemic, mostly plant based diet, and increase physical activity. Simple. Too simple. We have been conditioned to go to a pharmacy or hospital (diabetes shoppes) to fix our diabetes. Most physicians, to their credit, at least mention diet and exercise to avoid, or reverse, diabetes. I think many people just don’t believe that these two simple lifestyle changes can cure them. They can and will. I know several people who have reversed their diabetes, and associated body damage, by these two simple changes. It works. If you have diabetes, tell your doctor you are ready to commit to the cure. You can even do it yourself; the internet is full of health newsletters with ideas for diet, and exercise programs.

Stay out of the Diabetes Shoppe. You can do it!