Age: 28 Year Diagnosed: 2002 Location: Santa Monica, CA
“I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes on January 26th, 2002. In December of 2006 I started eating a low-fat, plant-based, whole-food diet and it’s changed my life in countless ways. I want every person living with type 1 diabetes to understand the importance of insulin sensitivity. Our community does not talk about it enough. The #1 killer of all type 1’s is heart disease. Insulin resistance is major risk factor for heart disease. A low-fat, plant-based, whole-food diet reverses insulin resistance. If you are reading this and you inject insulin, I encourage you to calculate your 24 hour insulin sensitivity factor. Take your total carb intake and divide that by your total insulin intake. If it’s less then 10:1, there is room for improvement. Let’s all support each other in being as healthy as possible. If it wasn’t for my type 1 diagnosis, I don’t think I would have been motivated to work on my health and would probably have other health problems. I’m grateful for type 1 and the person I have become because of the lessons that this condition has taught me.”