Dear Ms. Campbell-Grizzle,

Thank you for such a great article. It's about time that we lobby for such a legislation to be passed in our country. I am wholly supportive of your efforts and thank you for your actions.

Alando

Dear Dr. Robertson,

Thanks for the information you provided in your article. I found it interesting but wish to comment on the information related to diabetes - "oral administration of the fruit juice causes a reduction in fasting blood glucose and improves glucose tolerance in normal and diabetic animals and in humans".

Could you please comment on whether drinking tea made from the leaves of the plant will produce similar results, a view that is/was popular among many Jamaicans. I think it is important to clarify this point because of what happened in our family, and perhaps others.

My mom was in that group of people who are thought to be highly prone to the illness, as both parents and all siblings had been previously diagnosed as being diabetic. One way she thought of 'protecting' herself, was to have a cup of cerasee tea every morning. And this seemed to have been working; her frequent urine tests were always good. I now know that her doctor should also have been doing blood tests, but alas, he wasn't.

My mom was doing great until one day she collapsed, almost in a diabetic coma. Our family was in shock, she had been to the doctor one or two days before, and was 'ok' based on the urine test. Her blood sugar level, however, was way above any acceptable norm, and she began her treatment. But it was almost too late.

This happened in the late 1970s and I know we have made progress in terms of education and information about diabetes. However, reading your article today brought this to mind and I wonder whether a caveat in your article may have helped people for whom this method of 'diabetes control' with cerasee tea is still being practised. Thanks and best regards.

Jennifer Green

PO Box 44042

Abu Dhabi, UAE