This year, I dedicated the Thanksgiving meal that I prepared to my mom. My mom is diabetic and she controls it with diet and careful food intake. I share her affliction since I too have been diagnosed as diabetic. Additionally, my Auntie Myr also suffers from this and she is taking insulin shots to control her illness. I am learning that the number of people who have diabetes is increasing throughout the world. In June 2008, there were 24 million people in the United States that were diagnosed with diabetes (that's 8 percent of the population), and another 57 million were estimated to be pre-diabetic (a condition that puts them at an increased risk for diabetes). This year, I refrained from using sugar or honey to add sweetness to the food items that I prepared. Instead, I used Splenda powder and Agave Nectar as sweetners. Apparently no one minded nor could tell the difference, and some were very surprised to know this fact. I also made use of fresh fruits and vegetables to take advantage of their fiber content. Most importantly, I was very thankful and felt reassurance that both my mom and I, and anyone else during the party who had diabetes, was able to enjoy the food without much worry of their glucose elevating to dangerous levels.