An Open Letter to Tom Hanks, Diabetic
Actor Tom Hanks has recently joined the millions of Americans who suffer from Type 2 diabetes. In an open letter to the star, Dr. Sanaz Majd (aka, House Call Doctor) provides some advice for how to cope with this disease. Life may be like a box of chocolates, but that doesn’t mean you need to eat each one.
Sanaz Majd, MD
Dear Mr. Hanks,
I’m sorry to hear that you’ve joined other celebrities (including Paula Deen, Drew Carey, and Patti LaBelle) in the battle against diabetes. In your recent appearance onThe Late Show with David Letterman, you revealed that you’ve been a prediabetic since age 36, and now have graduated from prediabetic to a full blown Type 2 diabetes diagnosis.
However, I was even more sorry to hear you reveal the advice of your doctor. Apparently, he said that if you reach your high school weight, you can reverse the whole thing.
I’m afraid that isn’t exactly true.
Once a diagnosis of diabetes has been made, it’s really for life because diabetics have a partially genetically-driven metabolism that simply processes sugar differently. And you can’t change that.
But what you can control are the harmful effects that diabetes can wreak on your life. This requires weight loss, a low-carb diet, and regular exercise. Hopefully your doctor has discussed some other very important medical guidelines with you now that you are diagnosed with diabetes.
If not, I would highly suggest reading or listening to my 7-minute podcast called 10 Things Every Diabetic Should Do.
Good luck, Mr. Hanks. And remember: Even though life may be “like a box of chocolates,” there’s no need to taste each one.
