Monday, 10 August 2015

Celebrities With Diabetes

Halle Berry



Meet another Oscar-winner with type 2 diabetes. Forget the gossip that Berry had "weaned" herself from insulin and switched from type 1 to type 2 diabetes -- that's not possible. People with type 1 can't make insulin, and they need insulin injections for life. Some people with type 2 also need insulin shots, in addition to medications taken by mouth, to control blood sugar. But most people with type 2 can survive without insulin drugs, unlike those who have type 1.

Tom Hanks 

The Oscar-winning actor announced he has type 2 diabetes when late-night host David Letterman commented on his newly slim figure in October 2013. "I went to the doctor and he said, ‘You know those high blood sugar numbers you’ve been dealing with since you were 36? Well, you’ve graduated. You’ve got type 2 diabetes, young man.'" Hanks added that the condition is controllable, but he joked that he couldn't get back down to his high-school weight of 96 pounds. "I was a very skinny boy!"



Larry King

                                   
The talk show host has type 2 diabetes. "It's definitely controllable," King has said on his show. Diabetes makes heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and other serious health problems more likely. King has had bypass heart surgery. Diabetes wasn't the only thing that raised his risk for ticker trouble: King had been a heavy smoker, and smoking hurts the heart. But by taking care of his diabetes (and quitting smoking), King helps his ticker and the rest of his body.

Salma Hayek

                              
The Oscar-nominee had gestational diabetes, which happens during pregnancy, while expecting her daughter, Valentina. Hayek has a family history of diabetes. Experts say all women should get checked for gestational diabetes when they are 24-28 weeks pregnant. Those at risk for type 2 diabetes are checked at their first prenatal visit. Gestational diabetes usually goes away after delivery, but  it could return with a later pregnancy. It can also make you more likely to get type 2 diabetes later on.

Nick Jonas

                                 
This singer went public with his type 1 diabetes in 2007. He has said that his symptoms included weight loss and thirst. When diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, his blood sugar was over 700 -- and normal blood sugar levels are from 70 to 120. Jonas was hospitalized, but he learned to manage his condition. Once called juvenile diabetes, type 1 is the most common kind among people younger than 20, but it can strike at any age.


Paula Deen

                       


The celebrity chef announced in January 2012 that she has type 2 diabetes. Well known for her buttery, sugary recipes, Deen said she learned she had the disease a few years earlier, but she didn't speak about it publicly because she wasn't ready. Now, she says, she wants "to let the world know that [diabetes] is not a death sentence."


Delta Burke

                
The Emmy-nominated actress publicly battled weight gain, which may have triggered her type 2 diabetes. With the help of doctors, a healthy diet, walking, and medication, she has lost weight. "There are so many things you have to watch," she told Diabetic Living. "It's a lot of searching and it can be tedious, but you just have to stick with it."

Drew Carey

                              
The sitcom star and game show host said he has type 2 diabetes but was tired of the health problems and all the extra weight he was carrying. He cut carbs from his diet and began hitting the gym religiously. He dropped 80 pounds. "I'm not diabetic anymore. No medication needed."

Sherri Shepherd

                            
The actress and former co-host of The View said even after she was diagnosed with diabetes, it took her a while to change her pasta-heavy diet. Eventually she discovered vegetables without sauce and oatmeal without brown sugar. She cut out fried foods and white bread, too. A healthy diet combined with exercise helped her lose weight and feel a lot better.

Randy Jackson

                      
The former American Idol judge learned he had type 2 diabetes in 2001. Back then, Jackson was obese, which makes type 2 diabetes more likely. Jackson was also at risk because diabetes ran in his family, and African-Americans are more likely than whites to get the condition. Jackson underwent gastric bypass surgery, lost 100 pounds, improved his diet, and made exercise -- including walking on a treadmill and practicing yoga -- a staple of his life. 

Billie Jean King

                    
The tennis great says as an athlete she's always been mindful of diet and exercise. But when she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2007, she took it to a new level. The hardest change, she says, was cutting back on carbs and sugars. "That's not fun for a lot of people, but it sure is fun to feel good," 
she told Ladies' Home Journal. She tells people who are diagnosed: "Just know that you can live a normal, wonderful, terrific, active life."

Jay Cutler

                     
The Chicago Bears quarterback was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2008 after he lost 35 pounds and felt like he had no energy, according to reports. But Cutler hasn't let diabetes sideline him. He now wears an insulin pump, tracks his blood sugar, and has called his condition "manageable." Type 1 diabetes is a disease in which the immune system attacks the cells that make insulin, a hormone that controls blood sugar.

Bret Michaels


             
Poison's lead singer manages diabetes while living the life of a rock star and television personality. Michaels was diagnosed at age 6. He now takes "four insulin injections and eight blood tests each day," according to his web site. In 2010 he had a series of health problems, including a brain hemorrhage, yet he finished and won TV's The Celebrity Apprentice. He pledged his $250,000 award to the American Diabetes Association.

Patti LaBelle

        
This singer has type 2 diabetes. On her web site, LaBelle opens up about her diagnosis. "I passed out on stage ... and the doctor came back to me and said, 'Did you know you were type 2 diabetic?' And I said, 'I had no idea,'" states LaBelle, who has a family history of diabetes. She has since written healthy cookbooks, and she exercises regularly. She called herself a "divabetic" -- that's a mix of diabetic and diva -- in People in December 2008.

Mary Tyler Moore

                   
The actress has type 1 diabetes. She was diagnosed at age 30, when she was hospitalized after having a miscarriage. A routine blood test at the hospital showed a very high blood sugar level of 750. "They put me on insulin right away," she told Larry King in 2005. Now in her 70s, Moore has long been active in promoting diabetes research. She serves as the international chairman of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

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