Back in 2003, my older brother’s life changed forever. He was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Over the years, I have worked with my brother to better understand the usefulness of the tools and resources available to him finding ourselves oftentimes frustrated. Most of what exists does not interoperate well. Until recently with efforts like #WeAreNotWaiting, a diabetic was locked into whatever device or health system they started with. Mobile apps, online apps, AI algorithms all continue to be launched for diabetes, however still, few of them work with one another. We learned that most of the tools and resources are available out there, they just need to be brought together for wholistic diabetes management.
My older brother has always been a very active and athletic individual. From tearing up the basketball court to competing in triathlons or simply going on hikes in LA, my brother is constantly working on tuning his blood sugars in accordance with his lifestyle.
Until recently, my brother attempted to manage his diabetes while maintaining a relatively normal diet. He did not eat poorly by non-diabetic standards — consuming a healthy level of fruits and vegetables with the occasional carb-based snack. However, as he got older, he noticed that it was beginning to be harder to keep off weight, maintain a good A1c, sleep well, and overall live his daily life without feeling crummy at least once that day. On December 28th, 2018, he started on a journey to drastically change his diet and lifestyle.
After reading books such as Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solutions, my brother has started to follow a low-carb diet and lifestyle. The effect this has had on his life and his diabetes is beyond amazing.
We want to make stories like my brother’s more accessible to more diabetics. We want to build tools that help others find their own healthy diabetes lifestyle through the power of community, diet, and data.
Every diabetic has to spend significant time daily learning about their bodies. What works for them depends on a myriad of factors. We understand this well. That is why we want to make it easier for diabetics to take the data they have tracked and share it with their community, including nutritionists, doctors, health coaches, and family. Streamlining this communication channel, backed with a diabetic’s real data has the ability to help more people find the lifestyle support and change that my brother has experienced.
We are excited that you joined this growing community working towards a better future for diabetics. We hope this newsletter shines some light into our journey to build Brightspots, so we can go forth together as a community.
