Most days, I write on this here blog about my life with diabetes. Sometimes it is light and fluffy and frivolous. Other days, I lay myself bare and write about things that affect my very core. I have written about things that have left me feeling quite vulnerable but they are part of living with diabetes – the serious side, the scary side, the sad side.

Everything you read here is honest. It is what is happening to me. It is how I see my life with diabetes. My interpretation may be completely different to someone else’s, but I write genuinely and as openly as I possibly can.

Yesterday, as confirmation of what I already knew to be true flooded social media platforms, I found myself incredibly angry.

I already knew that Belle Gibson was a fraud. I knew that her story of curing her cancer by eating well and using natural remedies was a load of rubbish. The same way that every other charlatan promising to cure you of whatever health condition you’re living with is complete and utter bullshit. Anyone who tells you that eating an organic/plant-based/paleo/carb-free/high carb/high fat/low fat/only kale diet can treat or cure you of cancer (or diabetes or anything else) is lying. That is all there is to it.

I’m not selling anything here at Diabetogenic. There are no cookbooks being flogged, no eight week program for you to sign up to, no magic ‘teatox’ I want you to buy to fix whatever is not working in your body. I’m not promising you anything other than a way to spend five minutes while you have a cup of coffee.

Yet I have benefitted from this blog. I have been asked to speak at conferences here and overseas. I have been invited to bloggers summits and to sit on expert panels as a consumer representative.  I take these things very seriously. I have been afforded opportunities because what I write is considered to be of value to others either living with diabetes or working with people with diabetes. People take what I say here and believe it to be true.

And it is. But Belle Gibson has tainted the writings of every health blogger.

This goes beyond Belle Gibson. Every other wellness expert – all of them – should be held to account right now. I am talking about Sarah Wilson, Pete Evans, Vani Hari, Ashy Bines, and anyone else making health claims that cannot be substantiated by real evidence. THESE PEOPLE ARE DANGEROUS. Frequently, mixed up in their lies about their miracle cures are more lies about vaccinations and medications. They prey on people who are vulnerable and scared and desperate.

Today, I am furious. I am horrified that some people will lump me – and the people I know and love who write incredibly honest and worthwhile blogs about their daily lives with diabetes – in the same basket as Belle Gibson. I fear I will be tarred with the same dirty, lying, fraudulent brush. I feel the need to justify my writings and the very existence of this blog.

But I am not Belle Gibson. I am not lying to you. I am not trying to sell you anything. I just want to connect with other people who are living with diabetes. I just want to be part of a community of people who I can turn to for support and help.