Diabetes and Bugs

Over the weekend, I took my grandparents to visit the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore.  My grandfather has Type II Diabetes, so we thought it might be especially interesting to visit the Diabetes exhibit on the second floor.  We enjoyed it a lot and it was great to see Grandpa smile.

The exhibit was primarily about Type II diabetes but there was also information about Type I diabetes, which my uncle has.  Most people who are diagnosed with Type I diabetes are young.  Their pancreases have stopped producing insulin and they therefore need to inject insulin into their bodies throughout the day.  Type II diabetes is usually diagnosed in older adults and results when their cells fail to use insulin effectively.  In other words, their bodies have become insulin resistant.

People who have Type I diabetes must take insulin regularly since their bodies cannot produce it.  Some people with Type II take insulin, but many people only take medications that make their bodies more
sensitive to the the insulin their bodies naturally produce.

A significant way both Type I diabetics and Type II diabetics can take care of themselves is by eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly.  These actions can help prevent the long-term consequences of diabetes, which can include cardiovascular problems, nerve damage and amputations, kidney damage, and blindness.

One of the central points of the museum exhibit was to explain the impact of diabetes on patients.  I felt the number of special effects and graphics detracted from that goal.  For example, there was an arcade game contraption which was supposed to teach how difficult it is to balance insulin and glucose.  Unfortunately, the instructions did not really explain how the process worked.  On top of that, the game did not work much of the time.

The exhibit talked a lot about how difficult it is to develop treatments (and perhaps one day a cure) for diabetes.  The FDA will not approve a medicine that hurts 1 in 10,000 people.  Therefore, any drug that helps many but can hurt particular individuals cannot be released.  I have mixed feelings about the process.  The FDA should protect people from harm, but if the drug has a potential to help others, it might still have a use.  My father pointed out (and I agree) that the exhibit seemed to be sponsored by pharmaceutical corporations who were trying to convince people that manufacturing new and expensive drugs is the only appropriate way to combat diabetes.

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While we were at the science museum, I watched a demonstration of common ways of cooking insects.  At the end, the chef served samples of a cricket stir-fry (which was excellent).  Surprisingly enough, the taste and texture of crickets is similar to the taste and texture of sunflower seeds.  They also have similar nutritive properties.  For dessert, I had a chocolate-chip mealworm cookie which was unbelievably good.  Despite my recommendations, my grandparents decided not to sample the bugs.

--Abe