There is a plethora of diabetes websites offering a variety of information on the subject of all types of diabetes. In the age of the blog and other forms of internet communication the information available is not always reliable. Many blogs have the best intentions, often providing personal and relatable accounts of their experience with diabetes, offering tips and posing questions to their peers. Other websites for diabetes are not so genuine, sometimes giving contradictory information about medical research, practice, and guidelines. These sites can be opinion based and read similarly to op-ed articles. When searching the web for websites about diabetes it is advisable to keep a fair amount of skepticism. While the major diabetes, health, and government agencies provide accurate and up-to-date information, smaller sites may not have the same capacity and are not held to the same factual standards. The advantage of diabetes websites is that they have international reach, allowing for crosspollination of ideas, research, and policy.
Diabetes Websites – The ADA and NIDDK
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) has an excellent website (http://www.diabetes.org/) with clear and accurate information. The site is intended for patients and health care professional alike, providing a wide range of information and topics. There are tabs to provide general information of the different types of diabetes, how to live with the disease, diet and nutrition advice, peer forums, advice section, and news. For professionals there are links to educational resources, meeting notes, articles, pharmaceutical information, and research papers. The ADA also provides portions of its journals online. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases provides health information about diabetes and other diseases to the public. The advantage of the NIDDK is the addition of information about endocrine and metabolic diseases, kidney disease, liver disease, nutrition, and weight control all of which are applicable to diabetes patients. Less user-friendly than the ADA site, the NIDDK has articles on the latest research and links to other government health sites.
Diabetes Websites – Homeopathy
Homeopathy is increasing in popularity in the treatment of many ailments and diseases. Aryuvedic medicine and traditional Chinese medicine are two of the most popular sources of homeopathic herbal remedies for diabetes with many online stores selling products. For homeopathic information Diabetes Health is an online journal that has peer content and a number of topics, including natural remedies though it is not dedicated exclusively to homeopathy (http://www.diabeteshealth.com/). Diabetes Self-Management is another journal that provides varied information on living with diabetes including a section on alternative medicines (http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/articles/Alternative-Medicine-Complementary-Therapies/). The extremely reliable Mayo Clinic offers excellent information and resources as well as alternative treatments for diabetes-related complications (http://www.mayoclinic.com/).
