Meaning
Diabetes — 'the sugar', the everyday word for the disease. To 'have sugar' or to be 'living with di sugar' is to be diabetic. It sits alongside 'pressure' (high blood pressure) as one of the two common chronic illnesses older Jamaicans talk about managing with diet and bush teas as well as medicine.
Examples
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Granny have di sugar, so she watch what she eat.
Grandma has diabetes, so she watches what she eats.
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Too much sweetness gi yuh sugar.
Too much sweetness gives you diabetes.
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Him have sugar an pressure both.
He has both diabetes and high blood pressure.
Origin
From 'sugar' (blood sugar); the everyday word for diabetes. See [[high-blood]], [[cerasee]].
How it’s used
Diabetes ('di sugar'); paired with 'pressure' (hypertension). See [[high-blood]], [[cerasee]].