Viola Davis Discusses America's Diabetes Crisis, Being Pre-Diabetic

Oscar, Tony and Emmy-Award winner Viola Davis recently sat down with EBONY to discuss new film, A Touch of Sugar, a documentary addressing America's current diabetes crisis and how it disproportionately effects Black and Brown lives. Davis, who narrates the film, was drawn to the project due to her own experience with the disease, revealing that several of her family members are diabetic. Others have passed away due to complications from the disease. "A huge number of my family members have type 2 diabetes. My great-aunt died from complications from diabetes, as did my grandmother." The Fences actress has been diagnosed as pre-diabetic herself, saying she was in disbelief when her doctor shared the news. "I said, 'that's got to be a mistake. My glucose levels are always great, I eat right, I exercise.' Then she read my numbers, and they were elevated super-high." In addition to arming herself with information, the How to Get Away With Murder star became a "warrior" for her own health, consulting her doctor and sisters who have type 2 diabetes for advice on diet and overall lifestyle choices. When it comes to people of color who often refer to disease as "the sugar," Davis suggests taking actionable steps to avoid the fate of so many of our family members. "When we were growing up it was, 'umm hmm, you know, aunt so-and-so got the sugar,' and then nobody did anything. We continued to eat our cornbread and the dumplings...we have to change our relationship with food, we have to change...how we see our health and going to the doctor on a regular basis and we need to create a support group within our community to help each other."