One person every 20 seconds loses a limb due to diabetes related complications. By the time you finish reading this article four people have lost lower limbs and within five years three of those people will have died. Diabetes is a poor mans’’ disease because with access to the latest technology, like insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors, diabetes becomes a paper tiger. Affordable treatment available to all is the solution. Currently medical treatments and management are being dispensed based on financial ability rather than medical need. Combined with this is the social stigma closely associated with the disease reinforcing myths that it is due solely to obesity, laziness and poor life choices. Over four hundred million dollars is raised annually for diabetes education and research which is amazing, but what about those already living with the condition, facing complications such as kidney disease, heart disease, blindness and amputations? Something more is needed.This is not your usual story about defeating diabetes, Lucas Verhelst takes a bold new approach to the issue in every sense of the word. Part biography, part manual, part cookbook, this beautifully illustrated story gives us a unique insight into not only the physical issues of dealing with chronic disease but also the emotional demands. Spanning nearly thirty years of living with juvenile diabetes, this is an epic tale of love and loss and the discoveries made along the way. A total switch on normal diabetes management, his radical new approach uses a whole-food plant-based diet. This is supported by the World Health Organization, and avoids the long-term effects of living with diabetes. Lucas is living proof the method works. “…a beautiful story, with beautiful messages.” - Zippora Karz, former soloist, NYC Ballet. Author of “The Sugarless Plum”, “Ballerina Dreams”
