November 14th: World Diabetes Day

I am sure that all of you know that Sunday, November 14^th is World Diabetes Day.  So why am I writing about this today?  I know that computer use is down on the weekends so I thought I would do a friendly reminder about it today so you can’t say “I did not know!”

One of the things going on for World Diabetes Day is the Big Blue Test.  Everyone is being asked to check their blood sugar at 2:00 PM on the 14^th, do 14 minutes of activity and then check your blood sugar again.  You are asked to post those results online.  For more details how to do that, please check out my Big Blue Test page at https://kellywpa.wordpress.com/1065-2/

So why November 14^th?  November 14^th is the birthday of Frederick Banting.  Banting was the Banting of “Banting & Best,” the two whose ideas led to the discovery of insulin.  If you want to read more about the history of World Diabetes Day, you can check out the World Diabetes Day website at http://www.worlddiabetesday.org/en/the-campaign/about-wdd

So why the blue circle?  I am going to copy that explanation from the World Diabetes Day website:

The World Diabetes Day logo

The World Diabetes Day logo is the blue circle – the global symbol for diabetes which was developed as part of the Unite for Diabetes awareness campaign. The logo was adopted in 2007 to mark the passage of the United Nations World Diabetes Day Resolution. The significance of the blue circle symbol is overwhelmingly positive. Across cultures, the circle symbolizes life and health. The colour blue reflects the sky that unites all nations and is the colour of the United Nations flag. The blue circle signifies the unity of the global diabetes community in response to the diabetes pandemic

I think that the reason that they chose the blue circle to represent World Diabetes Day is a good one. 

I am encouraging everyone to participate in the Big Blue Test on Sunday.  I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the birthday of someone who literally made it possible for so many of us to celebrate birthdays.

And of course, I have to throw in my daily reminder to watch the Big Blue Test video.  Just think, only a few more days of me reminding you about that!