So, I set the DVR to record Oprah's discussion on diabetes the other day. Diabetes runs in both my father's and my mother's families, and my mother was diagnosed with high blood sugar while undergoing Cancer treatments. I spent the first 20 years of my life clueless about exercise and nutrition. While I have been living "clean" for almost 10 years now, I worry that my unhealthy childhood has taken years off my life. I know that I am at risk for this disease…but then, we are all at risk. According to the show, six million Americans are walking around with diabetes and they don't even know it.

The show interviewed a woman who was diagnosed with Diabetes in her 30's, and had now required dialysis treatments three times a week (three hours each) for the last decade. She has lost the lower half of one leg, and the front half of her other foot. Dr. Oz asked her why the disease is so prevalent, and she said something to the effect of, "People think, 'it's just a little sugar.'" Her story was chilling.

I could not help but think of one of my grandmothers, the one that chooses to ignore her disease rather than learn to live with it. She figures that they can just give her more insulin, and it will all be okay―she doesn't have to change a thing. On the show, they described diabetes as a disease that scrapes your insides with shards of glass. I would rather work on those shards of glass than rely on insulin.

This disease is running rampant. I must make a distinction between Diabetes Type I and Type II. Type I is not yet totally understood enough to know how to prevent the disease (or if it can even be prevented at all). That being said, Type I Diabetes makes up only 10% of all diagnosed cases, meaning that 90% of the diagnosed cases could have been prevented and can be cured through lifestyle changes. Isn't that amazing?

So, one of the top 10 killers can be wiped out, if the patient is willing.

I think that's food for thought. Truly, we are killing ourselves.

My weight loss changed my life. Socially, it has alienated me from the people who thought I broke an unwritten code by becoming aware of my lifestyle. Physically, it has given me energy, and the strength that I need to deal with chronic pain and illness. Most of all, I hope that it has put me in a position to prevent disease (which makes the alienation worthwhile). I watched my mother cling to life as long as she could against a disease that she could not control. I feel like I am honoring her love of life by protecting mine.

I only wish that more people would fight for their health. Fanatics talk about the end of the world like it is going to be some terrible natural disaster or biological weapon...but at this rate, we are going to be our own end.