Feeling guilty about what you ate?

You’re not alone. The link between guilt and diabetes may derive from the social stigma and common misconception that diabetes is an easily preventable condition. Many Americans still believe type 1 is caused by eating too much sugar and that the sole cause of type 2 is obesity.

“It’s natural for people to feel like they’ve done something to bring it on,” says Susan Guzman, PhD, director of clinical education at the Behavioral Diabetes Institute in San Diego. “It’s common for people to look inward for some sort of causal event because it makes them feel more in control. But when it comes to diabetes, there are a lot of things out of our control.”

We’re celebrating Divabetic’s 8 Year Anniversary of Diabetes podcasting with musical inspiration from Patti Austin.

Grammy Award-winning Singer Patti Austin is in constant demand globally for live performances, thanks to a legacy of recordings that started in 1955, continued through the ‘60s with success as a teenage R&B star before establishing herself as a mainstay among jazz and soul audiences through her ‘70s recordings.  By the ‘80s, Austin became known to the wider international audience as a result of the Grammy-nominated “Baby Come To Me” and “How Do You Keep The Music Playing”, her early ‘80s classic duets with James Ingram.

In New York, they referred to Patti as the “Queen of Studio” for her singing abilities. When she arrived on set to work for Randy and Michael Brecker, Patti met Luther Vandross for the first time. The moment created a lasting friendship.

“Another thing (besides music) that bonded me to Luther was our weight issues,” she said. The two dialed each other often. “When touring, if we were in the same city, we attended movies together.” “He would usually pick some silly movie like [Scary Movie]” she said, expanding on the personal side of their relationship in a loving, humorous way.

“I had type 2 diabetes,” says the former 285- pound singing sensation. “I had obesity-driven diabetes,” continued the now 140-pound Austin. To reach her new weight, Patti Austin had gastric bypass surgery and the result has been remarkable.

Guests include Poet Lorraine Brooks, Jill Weisenberger MS, RDN, CDE, CHWC, FAND, Chris Pickering co-founder of ‘The Betes Bros, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, and Mama Rose Marie.

Throughout this podcast we will be featuring songs from ‘The Best Of Patti Austin’ album courtesy of SONY Music.

LISTEN NOW