Photo by Victoria Esteve
Victoria Esteve
Staff Writer
In honor of Diabetes Awareness month, the Zeta Phi Beta sorority hosted a “Too Sweeeeet for Me” event on December 3. The event was created to raise awareness of diabetes and other health problems that might affect college students. It aimed to show students how to prevent getting and diabetes and the importance of staying healthy. This was their first event like this and around 15-20 people attended.
Ashley Noble, the sorority’s secretary and a senior Electronic Journalism major, started off by discussing her experience with diabetes. “I found out I had diabetes 10 years ago… I was back to school shopping with my mom when I fainted,” explained Noble after she presented a slideshow on the condition. “I’ve learned to deal with it. It’s easier now that I have an electronic insulin pump that I wear at all times.”
Her presentation focused on acknowledging the four types of diabetes , which are: central diabetes that deals with damages to your pituitary gland, nephrogenic diabetes which deals with your kidneys, and dipsogenic diabetes that occurs from lack of fluids and gestational diabetes that affect women who are pregnant. The presentation also pointed out some of the symptoms students should look out for.
After going through the preconceived notions about diabetes written on a blue banner labeled “myth wall.” , one of the campus’ dietetic interns, Dana Fierstein, spoke. She explained that because Americans were not eating right or exercising regularly, more and more people are developing Type II diabetes. “8.3% of the American population has a form of diabetes but there are preventative measures you can take,” she said.
She explained how blood sugar levels spike with too much food, illness, surgery, stress, or when necessary medicine is skipped. You can stay healthy, according to Fierstien, by eating breakfast, limiting late night snacks and alcohol, and increasing your fiber.
“There are some crazy diets that completely cut out food groups, but they all work together to keep you healthy and your blood sugar stable,” added Fierstein.
Dietetic interns are the campus nutritionists located at the student health and counseling center and they are free to all students who have questions concerning health issues.
“The event made me take a step back and be a little more careful about what I eat,” said Simone Medley a senior psychology major. “I’m not really a ‘sweet’ person but after the event I got my blood tested because I don’t really eat a lot during the school year. I am a lot more cautious now.”
“I think the event was good but it could always be better,” said Noble. “I just wanted to speak about my experience with diabetes and keep people aware of… how to eat healthy in general.”
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