[Music] sugar I never imagined something so sweet could be so harmful growing up my family worked the land and ate fresh food we grew and gathered we were strong and healthy we came on hard times though and left our village to find work in the to life in the [Music] city in some ways life became easier instead of the hard work of farming my father drove a taxi and my mother had a factory job we sat a lot more our food also changed we bought sweets sugary drinks and fast food it tasted so good and
was fast and easy our family began to look like our city relatives my father got a big belly he was proud of it he said it was a sign we had enough money to eat well one day I saw a notice for diabetes testing the man on the poster looked a lot like my father I was surprised my father had signs of diabetes he was thirsty a lot beinging often had blurred vision and is sure was tired my father didn't think he had a problem but since his brother had lost his leg to diabetes he
agreed to get [Music] tested sadly my father's blood had a lot of sugar in it the nurse said he had diabetes it turned out that my father's big belly was a sign of his poor health the nurse explained that eating too much especially sweets and starchy Foods makes unhealthy fat inside the belly it's different from the soft fat we can pinch fat inside the belly leads to diseases like diabetes she explained that when we eat sweet things turn into sugar but other foods do too especially starchy foods like rice potatoes and bread a lot of
sugar is hidden in processed food diabetes makes sugar buildup in the blood and damages to blood vessels and nerves people are more likely to have hard attacks Strokes kidney disease and blindness they may also get dementia becoming forgetful and Confused injured nerves make feet numb so people don't feel injuries which can get infected and lead to amputation nerve damage can even make the penis weak it was a terrible disease but the good news was that my father could control diabetes and not get those problems the nurse explained that our new way of life was the
reason for my father's problems to get healthy he had to eat better eat less and be more active now my father had diabetes my uncle did too I realized my whole family was at risk I went to see my grandma when when she grew up there was no junk food and no one had diabetes we made a plan together first we stopped buying sweets and fast foods instead we shopped at markets for fresh food vegetables whole grains and Foods H protein like beans eggs and fish then we cooked the traditional food that sced us well
for Generations my grandma said home cooking is the only sure way to guarantee where eating healthy food we also ate less with healthier portions and not much rice and last we started walking every morning over that year my father Lost His Belly his blood sugar got better and his energy came back we all became healthier and we really didn't miss the sugar remember eat real food cook it yourself and be active your family can be healthy too [Music]
