Are There Advantages to Having Diabetes?

The question in my title may strike many of you as ludicrous in the extreme. How could there possibly be any advantages to having a devastating disease such as diabetes? Diabetes is a lifelong problem, requiring eternal diligence to achieve even a semblance of blood sugar control. A continual effort is needed to balance caloric intake with antidiabetic medications and to factor in the often unpredictable effects of variations in the amount of exercise and stress. Even with the best efforts of the most conscientious patients, diabetes is a disease that can have devastating consequences.