[NFBMO] [Nfbnet-members-list] Blindness Diabetes Seminar

Tue Feb 27 01:12:31 UTC 2024

We know that diabetes is the leading cause of 
blindness in the United States, and we know that 
without the proper intervention, many people will 
see this as something they cannot manage on their 
own. Although there are real problems with the 
medical technology that is not accessible to us, 
blind diabetics can and do live independently, 
and communicating this message and the work that 
remains to be done is the reason we are holding the knowledge is Sweet seminar.

Our seminar, sponsored by our Diabetes Action 
Network, will be held on Friday, April 26, and 
Saturday, April 27, 2024. We'll be meeting at the 
Hilton St. Louis Airport located at 10330 Natural 
Bridge Rd, St. Louis, MO 63134. The cost of a 
room is $111 a night, and when you book, the room 
block is under the name National Federation of 
the Blind. To reach the hotel call 314-426-5500. 
We tried it, it works, and registering only begins the fun.

The board is working on the agenda, and we are 
trying to get doctors, dietitians, drug 
manufacturers, and the people who make devices we 
use in administering those drugs and in checking 
our blood sugar. We already have one of our 
keynote speakers, Gary Taubes. For those of you 
who may not know him, he is a journalist who 
looked into the science of obesity and the 
diseases it makes us susceptible to getting. 
Conclusions he draws from often overlooked scientists are:

•           Obesity is not an issue of those who 
have willpower and those who don't

•           The assertion that weight 
maintenance, weight loss, and weight gain is not 
nearly as simple as calories in vs calories out

•           The idea that eating fat will make 
you fat seems to have a ring of truth about it, 
but the supposition is not supported by studies 
and the way we digest and use food for energy

•           A calorie is a calorie is much too simplistic when it comes to food

•           The prescription to eat low-fat 
high-carbohydrate foods provably does not work for most people

•           We eat much too much sugar, and this 
excess is responsible for many of the problems we 
haveproblems which were once called the King's 
Disease because only people of wealth could afford sugar in significant amounts

•           Science tries to be driven by facts, 
but even it falls prey to inertia. Popular 
opinions get published; unpopular ones must look 
to places other than scientific journals for real airing and discussion

The purpose of our seminar is to promote thought 
and discussion; it is not to endorse or debunk 
any point of view, because we do not consider 
ourselves experts on nutrition, exercise, or even 
diabetes. Our goal is to share, to learn, and to 
give people tools that they are free to use or 
not. Our mission is to send one message clearly 
and concisely: In your blindness and diabetes, 
you are not alone. We will share our stories with 
the hope that they will add to the independence and freedom all of us want.

Please register with the hotel as soon as you 
can. For a copy of the Knowledge is Sweet 
Registration form, write to Debbie Wunder, 
<mailto:debbiewunder at charter.net>debbiewunder at charter.net. 
Alternatively, text or call me at 573-268-6989. 
The cost will be $99, and this fee will entitle 
you to four plated meals and all presentations.

I am excited, and I hope you are as well. I don't 
enjoy the disease we share, but I love the work 
we can do to help blind people learn to live and thrive with it.
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