The happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic plays the food game, Serve, Taste or Trash!, outside the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. The game spotlights the harmful added sugar in some of our favorite drinks.

Most of us drink more calories and added sugar than we think.

Added sugars include sucrose, dextrose, table sugar, syrups, honey, and sugars from concentrated fruit or vegetable juices.

Added sugars contribute calories to your diet but no essential nutrients.

Popular sugar-sweetened beverages that contain added sugar are iced teas, sports drinks, soda, fruit juice, and flavored iced coffees.

Drinking too much added sugar makes achieving a healthy eating pattern difficult without taking in too many calories.

The American Heart Association suggests limiting the amount of added sugar to no more than 100 calories per day (about 6 teaspoons or 24 grams) for most adult women and no more than 150 calories per day (about 9 teaspoons or 36 grams of sugar) for most men.

The Apollo Theater is a national icon with a legacy that resonates across generations, ethnic groups, and continents. Since opening its doors in 1914 and introducing the first Amateur Night contests in 1934, the Apollo Theater has played a major role in the emergence of innovative musical genres, including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel blues, and soul. Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Billie Holiday, Sammy Davis Jr., James Brown, Bill Cosby, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross, D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill, and countless others began their road to stardom on the Apollo stage.

Mr. Divabetic talks to Billy Mitchell, the resident historian and official tour guide for the Apollo Theater, about some little-known facts about the theater and the legendary people who performed there.

Tune in to Divabetic’s free monthly podcasts hosted by Mr. Divabetic on blog Talk-Radio, iTunes, and Spotify.  Guests include healthcare collaborators, beauty, image/style, fitness experts, entertainment industry leaders, and VIPs: women and men living with, at risk of, and affected by diabetes.

We’re honored to celebrate Luther Vandross and his musical legacy and raise awareness for diabetes health-related complications (such as stroke) on our annual Luther Vandross Tribute podcast.

In the years since Luther’s passing, one constant has remained to define his life and musical success: the voice. Like any great singer of the past 100 years, Luther Vandross’ voice and distinct singing style led to monumental success and instant recognition when you hear him singing–through your stereo, on the car radio, on TV, or in a movie. With that voice was Luther’s unique ability to write and sing about love and the shared emotions we all feel in searching for and enjoying love. Through his songs, for the last two generations, Luther Vandross became a staple in the most joyous moments of people’s lives.

Featured guests include Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, Luther percussionist Steve Kroon, Luther vocalists Tawatha Agee and Pat Lacy, Luther historian Leon Petrossian, members of ‘The Luther Re-Lives Experience’, family members, friends, and superfans.

Throughout the podcast, we feature songs from the album entitled Luther Vandross courtesy of SONY Music.