The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states in its “2011 National Diabetes Fact Sheet” that 25.8 million children and adults in the United States have diabetes. Additionally, 79 million Americans have a condition known as “prediabetes,” meaning that they are very near developing diabetes. In other words, one in three Americans are in danger of developing diabetes in the near future. The CDC defines diabetes and prediabetes as a defect in the body’s ability to use glucose as a source of energy, which results in elevated levels of insulin in the bloodstream.
However, there is hope for people with diabetes. “Diabetes doesn’t have to equal poor health,” according to Toby Smithson, a Registered Dietitian, Certified Diabetes Educator, and also the founder of the website DiabetesEveryDay.com. “Diabetes can be a manageable condition, but challenging responsibilities fall squarely on the patient. It’s called self-management.” Smithson is aware of the challenges facing diabetics in managing diet and blood glucose levels. She has been a diabetes patient for over 40 years herself but has not suffered any of the various severe complications that the disease can cause, such as heart attack and stroke, infections, limb amputation, kidney failure, and vision loss.
Smithson’s reference to self-management is one with which diabetics should be all too familiar. Diabetics must take responsibility for maintaining moderate blood sugar levels through proper diet, especially in regards to carbohydrates, along with medication, exercise, and frequent blood sugar checkups. Maintaining this level of self-management has been shown to drastically reduce the risk of developing severe complications but it’s estimated that under 10% of diabetics actually meet their goals for managing blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol.
“Controlled studies almost always show that ‘intensive lifestyle intervention’ brings marked improvements in these key health indicators, greatly reducing the risks of diabetes complications,” Smithson says. “But in our real world a person with diabetes may go for months between visits with physicians or dietitians or educators. The lifestyle can be complicated, time consuming, frustrating, and lacking in short term positive feedback, so many simply lose their daily connection with diabetes management against life’s other demands.”
“I founded DiabetesEveryDay.com to provide accurate information about diabetes and diabetes management, of course. But more importantly, I want to keep people with diabetes interested in, and connected to, this crucial part of their life. It’s easy for them to lose focus, so we were determined to create something interesting and always changing that will keep people who are self-managing diabetes engaged with us, and therefore engaged with improving their own self-care.”
Smithson listened to the complaints and suggestions of her diabetic patients and used them to build DiabetesEveryDay.com. The website offers weekly diet recommendations, lifestyle advice, and instructional videos on healthy living with diabetes. “We are dedicated to providing something completely different that encourages and motivates people with diabetes to take control — other resources just aren’t working for too many,” says Smithson.
Smithson continues, “Our subscribers can develop a personal connection with me through the video medium, and we can relate ‘face-to-face’. Only someone else doing this daily can really know the struggles, and I never promise I can make it easy. But, I’m absolutely convinced that DiabetesEveryDay can help people managing this disease become comfortable and confident with this overwhelming personal responsibility. A consistent focus is necessary, and the stakes are so high.”