Boy, that Halle Berry really is amazing. She’s an incredible actress, a good humanitarian, and apparently, someone who can work medical miracles. Berry has said that she’s worked her way up from type 1 diabetes (insulin dependent) to type 2 (formerly known as non-insulin dependent). While lots of people with Type 2 do have to use insulin (which is why they don’t call it non-insulin dependent anymore), all people with type 1 have to use it. The diseases aren’t actually close friends that you can upgrade and downgrade between. People with type 1 have islet cells in their pancreases that are destroyed, and thus no longer produce insulin. People with type 2 do produce insulin, but either not enough, or their bodies are no longer sensitive to it. They’re obviously complex diseases, but there’s a nutshell. Berry’s claims have contributed to further confusion about diabetes. She has enraged the diabetic community by claiming that’s she’s worked her way up from type 1 to type 2 diabetes, and has weaned herself off insulin.
Pregnant HALLE BERRY has angered diabetes experts, after claiming she had succeeded in downgrading the severity of her disease with a healthy diet. The actress was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes early on in her Hollywood career, but recently (Oct07) alleged that she has reclassified herself as a Type 2 diabetic simply through good living. But medical experts are enraged with her claims and have accused her of “confusing” fellow diabetics with her comments. A diabetes specialist tells PerezHilton.com, “If you come off insulin, then you were always a Type 2. She is feeding into all the confusion in the world.” People diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes cannot reverse their condition because their pancreas is destroyed, whereas Type 2 sufferers still internally produce some insulin.
[From Contact Music]
Well if nothing else, it appears that Halle is a little misinformed and quite a bit confused. Being pregnant is a pretty good time to make sure you completely understand your diabetes. I would hope that if nothing else, Halle is under the care of a good doctor that specializes in diabetic pregnancies. One thing to note is that diabetes is very complicated and different for everyone; what applies to one person doesn’t necessarily apply to the next. Though it’s rare, some people can keep their blood sugar from spiking by eating incredibly low-carb diets. That would be hard for a type 2, and nearly impossible for a type 1. Though if Halle is no longer taking insulin, either she’s on an incredibly restrictive diet, or her blood sugar is getting pretty high. Though every body is different, it’s pretty clear that it’s medically impossible for her to have converted from one type of diabetes to the other. Hopefully she’s under good medical care and taking extra precautions during her pregnancy.
Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Halle at the “Things We Lost In The Fire” 2nd Rome Film Festival premiere on October 26th. Or at least a bed. Images thanks to PR Photos.
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