clemsonjeep said:
That being said...I'm curious about her...as well as the others here that have Type 1. How many of you grew up rarely being sick? I mean how many of you never missed a day of school...very rarely have to use sick leave for yourself...etc.
I had the flu once when I was 8. Have never had it again in my life. I've never had a flew shot. My girls are identical. We get colds from time to time but thats it. We have zero allergies in a state where EVERYBODY complains about them.
I can't tell you the last time any one of us threw up. My 6 year threw up once at the hospital after diagnosis, because she was so nervous and scared. The look on her face was priceless. She didn't even know how to throw up. It was interesting if that makes sense.
The more I learn though is that this is very preventable. There is absolute truth in the fact that it follows a bacterial infection. Not viral. It follows a high fever for days. A majority of the time it's fall or winter. To which a parent gives Motrin/Ibuprofen which is shown to weaken the lining of the stomach and intestines. Which is why they recalled Motrin a few years ago because the dosage was too high, so they claim.
But that's just when it's happening.
Leading up to the assault is vitamin D deficiency. Inactivity, indoors and away from sun exposure for extended periods.
Then comes the correlation with dairy. Specifically the bacteria protein that closely matches the signature of beta cells in the pancreas. To which your white blood cells recognize as the same threat. A threat your white blood cells never forget. This is the reason for the honeymoon period. It's also why a pancreas transplant can never work permanently on its own.
Once the white blood cells have seen the threat, they don't stop, ever. When the beta cells make insulin, the blood cells choke them.
Where vitamin D comes in is the fact that high levels of vitamin D build a strong barrier around the beta cell pocket. Protecting them from threats.
So anyway, I wanted to answer your question about our family health and the ties that biologists are making between vitamin D levels that are crazy low in our culture today, the consumption of dairy and how asinine it is that we continue to do it. As well as the connection between your location in the world and explosion of type 1 in other countries. These are recent problems.
The most discouraging thing of all is until you live type 1, you'll never change a cultural habit that has been ingrained in our lifestyles since before we were born.
Yet if you sat down with every type 1 super hero and asked them "If I told you that if you quit consuming dairy and took vitamin D supplements from birth, you have a 87% chance of preventing type 1 that you now live with for the rest of your life"
What would they say?
