Living with diabetes

SIR – At JDRF, the type 1 diabetes charity, we are concerned that Boudicca Fox-leonard’s article (“I wore a glucose tracker for two weeks – it’s bad news for my favourite breakfast”, telegraph.co.uk, July 26) shows a lack of awareness about the challenges that those with diabetes face, and fails to accurately distinguish between type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes is currently incurable and cannot be put into remission. Diet and lifestyle are not responsible for its onset; it is caused by the immune system attacking insulinproducing cells in the pancreas.

About 400,000 people in the United Kingdom have type 1 diabetes, which requires constant monitoring and insulin dose-adjustment to stay alive. There are over 30 factors besides food that affect glucose levels, which people with type 1 must deal with every day, such as heat, cold, stress and illness.

Of course, it’s important to ensure you’re eating a healthy diet, but living with type 1 diabetes doesn’t mean you need to cut out sugar. In fact, sugar is life-saving when you’re hypo.

Glucose monitoring may well be interesting for those with a fully functioning pancreas, which keeps their glucose in a safe range. But people with type 1 diabetes don’t have these guard rails. Continuous monitoring technology lets them see when their glucose is heading (or has arrived) outside the safe range, and to act – by, for example, administering insulin or consuming glucose (sugar).

It is recommended that everyone with type 1 diabetes should have a glucose monitoring device (tracker). These are available on the NHS, but not everybody currently has access.

The technology may be useful in the health and sports sectors. However, our concern is with people using them out of curiosity and trivialising them, when some people with type 1 diabetes still can’t obtain them.

Hilary Nathan

Policy and Communications Director, JDRF UK

London EC1