A friend said her father’s blood sugar was 17 after a meal, but he still refuses to take medication.

Actually, it’s not entirely the patient’s fault; in an environment full of rumors like this, there are very few who can correctly understand, diagnose early, and follow standardized treatment.
Mechanistically, diabetes is not simply a matter of high blood sugar; it involves many systems. Modern medicine can partially reverse insulin resistance and control blood sugar long-term, but the boundary is that it still cannot fully regenerate β cells, erase metabolic memory, or change genetic susceptibility.
However, you can’t stop online experts from claiming they can “cure diabetes” or “not need lifelong medication,” which is a huge temptation for the elderly.
But it’s these nonsense claims that cause many patients to miss the correct treatment, and even after serious complications appear, they still treat it recklessly.
In the AI era, some people learn to make good use of reliable tools, while others remain stuck in short videos and can’t get out.
Each generation has its own billboard advertisements.