My mom and I are watching Acorn TV’s Under The Vines series. It’s an excellent drama-comedy about two city slickers, Daisy Monroe, portrayed by actress Rebecca Gibney and Louis Oakley, portrayed by actor Charles Edwards, who both inherit a failing vineyard in rural New Zealand. The only problems are that neither of them has ever done a hard day’s work- and they initially despise one another.
Both of them are experiencing financial, social, and existential crises. They become interested in the winery’s future but frequently don’t see eye-to-eye. Furthermore, a neighboring vineyard wants to buy their vineyard, Oakley Wines, and isn’t happy that the inexperienced newcomers might stay.
What I like about the show is that the storylines tackle the complexities of modern life with humor. For example, Daisy’s best friend, Griffin ‘Griff’ Galway, is a closeted gay Australian famous international actor who chooses to hide his identity but then has to deal with the consequences.. Griff confronts Daisy about how selfishness has stopped her from finding long-lasting love. We rarely see the depth of friendship between a heterosexual woman and a gay man on screen, and if it is, it’s usually for laughs. This show digs deeper and shows how two chosen family members offer tough love. Daisy and Griff aren’t afraid of being honest with each other about the other’s shortcomings, and they love each other for it. They sleep in the same bed and are comfortable with each other’s awkwardness, inconsistencies, and imperfections.
Struggling with coming to terms with your sexual identity can be challenging for your health. Research shows that LGBTQAI+ people have unique health disparities and worse health outcomes than their heterosexual counterparts regarding diabetes care and education. We spotlight LGBTQAI+ people living with, affected by, and at risk of diabetes on this episode of Divabetic’s podcast with music from Indigo Girls. Podcast guests include The Flood Girls & The Small Crimes of Tiffany Templeton, Author Richard Fifield, Mutha Chucka, and Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDCES. Throughout the podcast, we will feature music from theirIndigo Girlsalbum courtesy of SONY Music.
Watching Under the Vines also piqued my curiosity about winemaking. How couldn’t it? There are so many beautiful panoramic shots of the vineyard and countryside.
How do growers and winemakers know when grapes are ready for harvesting?
Many growers and winemakers still rely on sugar readings to decide when the grapes are ripe.
My friend, who works for a winemaker, said every winemaker is different. Most rely on the grapes’ sugar and acid levels and by taste. The winemaker she works for wants to make high-acid wines, so we pick early. Acid and sugar levels are inverse so the riper and more sugar in the grapes means less acid. Winemakers can fix it by adding acid back into the juice after they have been picked. You can also add sugar in some places (in others, it’s illegal). The winemaker my friend works for makes natural wine, so they don’t add anything, which makes the picking decision even more important!
Additionally, I’ve read that winemakers rely on technology to know when to harvest the grapes. They’ll take a portable refractometer into the vineyard and measure sugar levels. The higher the sugar, the riper the grapes. They’ll look for pH and titratable acid (TA) levels in the lab.
We’re talking about living well with type 1 diabetes, alcohol’s effects on blood sugar levels, and our love for ‘all things Italian’ on this episode of Divabetic’s podcast with musical inspiration from Dean Martin.
Dean Martin was born Dino Paul Crocetti and was later nicknamed “The King of Cool.” His big break while performing as a duo with comedian Jerry Lewis, diagnosed with type 1 diabetes later in life at 71.
Podcast guests: Fran Carpentier, Mama Rose Marie, and Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDCES. This podcast will feature music from The Essential Dean Martin album courtesy of SONY Music.
“Usually, my first thought in the morning is, what’s my blood sugar?” says our friend, January podcast guest Rachel Zinman, who has been living with type 1 diabetes for thirteen years. After that, the Yoga For Diabetes author tells herself, “I have to get up, get my meter and check my blood sugar levels.”
Before she adopted diabetes psychologist Mark HeymanCDCES’s “diabetes might be challenging, but I’ve got this” motto, Rachel viewed the numbers on her meter as judgments. Now, she sees her morning blood sugar levels more or less as just numbers. As a result, she doesn’t take them so personally.
“Working with my diabetes educator taught me to manage my diabetes in terms of a balance beam rather than a tightrope,” she admits.
Now, Rachel shifts her mindset when she experiences high and low blood sugar levels. “I don’t think I will fall off a tightrope. I’ve learned I’ve got room to change things and open up my range like I’m on a balance beam. That has really changed how I feel. I feel better. I feel like I have a lot more freedom with food and insulin.”
She confesses she’s blown away that she can enjoy her favorite breakfast food, avocado toast with normal blood sugars!
How about you? What is the first thought of your day?
Rachel joins us on Divabetic’s January podcast to share a guided meditation as part of our new year’s tradition to help center listeners’ minds, bodies, and souls.
Would you like to recharge today? Listen to Rachel’s 2022 meditation. It’s all about invoking sunlight to create a new vision for your diabetes life.
February’s musical inspiration Dean Martin was a loveable drunk with dark good looks, hilarious one-liners, and an ever-present rocks glass.
Like a walking, talking advertisement for ‘happy hour,’ Dean Martin is inspiring a discussion about the effects of alcohol on blood sugar levels and blood pressure on Divabetic’s February podcast scheduled for Tuesday, February 8, 2022, 6 PM, EST.
Although his family has denied his alcohol consumption, his on-stage demeanor was just the opposite. He was a one-man cocktail party, and all of the United States was invited to join in the fun. And during his heyday in the 1950s and ’60s, it sometimes seemed as though everyone did. But, of course, those words might not be any more accurate than today during these unprecedented times.
A new survey suggests that since the COVID outbreak in the U.S., nearly 1 in 5 Americans have been consuming an unhealthy amount of alcohol.
“Heavy drinking” was defined as having had two heavy drinking days in a single week at least twice in the previous 30 days. A “heavy drinking day” was defined as four or more drinks containing alcohol for women and five or more drinks containing alcohol for men.
Alcohol consumption rose among adults over age 30 by 14% during the pandemic, with a 41% increase in women heavily drinking, according to a September 2020 RAND Corporation study. The strain continues to take a toll on those already coping with addictions, spiking relapse, and overdose rates.
While moderate amounts of alcohol may cause blood sugar levels to rise, excess alcohol can actually decrease your blood sugar levels reports WebMD.
Alcohol can raise blood pressure to unhealthy levels. Having more than 3 drinks at a time can temporarily raise your blood pressure. But repeated binge drinking can lead to long-term increases.
February’s musical inspiration Dean Martin was a loveable drunk with dark good looks, hilarious one-liners, and an ever-present rocks glass.
Like a walking, talking advertisement for ‘happy hour,’ Dean Martin is inspiring a discussion about the effects of alcohol on blood sugar levels and blood pressure on Divabetic’s February podcast.
Although his family has denied his alcohol consumption, his on-stage demeanor was just the opposite. He was a one-man cocktail party, and all of the United States was invited to join in the fun. And during his heyday in the 1950s and ’60s, it sometimes seemed as though everyone did. But, of course, those words might not be any more accurate than today during these unprecedented times.
A new survey suggests that since the COVID outbreak in the U.S., nearly 1 in 5 Americans have been consuming an unhealthy amount of alcohol.
“Heavy drinking” was defined as having had two heavy drinking days in a single week at least twice in the previous 30 days. A “heavy drinking day” was defined as four or more drinks containing alcohol for women and five or more drinks containing alcohol for men.
Alcohol consumption rose among adults over age 30 by 14% during the pandemic, with a 41% increase in women heavily drinking, according to a September 2020 RAND Corporation study. The strain continues to take a toll on those already coping with addictions, spiking relapse, and overdose rates.
While moderate amounts of alcohol may cause blood sugar levels to rise, excess alcohol can actually decrease your blood sugar levels reports WebMD.
Alcohol can raise blood pressure to unhealthy levels. Having more than 3 drinks at a time can temporarily raise your blood pressure. But repeated binge drinking can lead to long-term increases.
We’re talking about 50 years with type 1 diabetes, alcohol’s effects on blood sugars, and the Spare A Rose campaign with musical inspiration from Dean Martin. February podcast guests: Fran Carpentier, Mama Rose Marie, and Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDCES. Throughout this podcast, we will be featuring music from The Essential Dean Martin album courtesy of SONY Music.
“Usually, my first thought in the morning is what’s my blood sugar?” says our friend Rachel Zinman, who has been living with type 1 diabetes for thirteen years. After that, the Yoga For Diabetes author tells herself, “I have to get up, get my meter and check my blood sugar levels.”
Before she adopted diabetes psychologist Mark HeymanCDCES’s “diabetes might be challenging, but I’ve got this” motto, Rachel viewed the numbers on her meter as judgments. Now, she sees her morning blood sugar levels more or less as just numbers. As a result, she doesn’t take them so personally.
“Working with my diabetes educator taught me to manage my diabetes in terms of a balance beam rather than a tightrope,” she admits.
Now, Rachel shifts her mindset when she experiences high or low blood sugars. “I don’t think I will fall off a tightrope. I’ve learned I’ve got room to change things and open up my range like I’m on a balance beam. That has really changed how I feel. I feel better. I feel like I have a lot more freedom with food and insulin.”
She confesses she’s blown away that she can enjoy her favorite breakfast food, avocado toast with normal blood sugars!
Rachel shares a guided meditation on January’s Divabetic podcast scheduled for Tuesday, January 11, 2022, with music by Teddy Pendergrass, as part of our New Year’s tradition to help center listeners’ minds, bodies, and souls.
Click HEREto read the three things that help Rachel Zinman start her day with a positive mind frame.
If my plans make me sound like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible, I can’t help it. A lot is riding on our Christmas’ date night’ to get my Christmas wish. Because the only gift from Jasper I want for Christmas is a bigger family.
Jasper’s constant complaints about the costs of having too many mouths to feed can’t dissuade me either. But, to be honest, the price of a bigger family isn’t the only thing he’s worried about. He’s also concerned about my health. I had gestational diabetes during my pregnancy with the twins. I can’t lie – It was brutal. There were times during my pregnancies when it was challenging to manage for me. My insulin resistance worsened around 32 – 36 weeks when I thought I had everything under control. I was literally waking and eating the same breakfast every day for weeks when suddenly I experienced crazy blood sugar levels. I kept thinking, “What the heck is going on, and what did you do wrong???” I was so frustrated, upset, and, yes, very emotional. I felt helpless.
During my lowest points, Jasper was my rock. First, he dealt with the brunt of my anger and frustration with so much compassion. Then he even paid out of pocket for a therapist, who wasn’t covered by insurance, to help me process what I was feeling. To say I felt like a failure is an understatement. Every high reading on my blood glucose monitor chipped away at my confidence until I was a bundle of nerves. I didn’t trust myself or my body. Thankfully, Jasper found a specialist who helped me when I hit my lowest point. After that, it was a huge relief to learn that my progesterone hormone levels caused by insulin resistance crank up to another gear instead of negligence. Little by little, day after day, I got my blood sugar levels back on track with insulin therapy. Looking back, my initial hesitations to inject myself with insulin seem ridiculous. My insulin dosage even lowered after the release of my hormones slowed down, and my insulin resistance improved. And all that self-monitoring paid off, too, because today, we have two healthy, beautiful children. I can’t imagine my life without them. This is why I am so determined to have more children. Jasper feels the opposite; he isn’t budging either. If I make a sigh when we see a baby on TV, he recites the opinions of every specialist who has advised me against it. I’m more than likely to have gestational diabetes again, according to statistics. But these specialists don’t understand that I am not a statistic either. I have a better understanding of what’s involved and know my risks this time. I know I can do it.
However, tonight seems like it’s months, not hours away. Nothing has gone according to my plans since we left the house this morning. I’m sure Tom Cruise could rectify the situation quickly without breaking a sweat. Then again, he’s not wearing three-inch heels or wading through the crowded streets of New York City holding hands with two five-year-old children anxious to see Santa Claus. The traffic was bumper to bumper coming into the city. Every store has been jam-packed with people. After waiting for over two hours for Santa Claus, the kids are tired and hungry. My feet are killing me too. All three of us are cranky but teetering towards Grizzly bears grouchy the longer we go without food. I’m in such a rush to feed them and get home that I drag them through the doors of the Windows of the World, New York’s sky-high restaurant. The restaurant’s close proximity to the parking garage was the deciding factor. Usually, I wouldn’t dare take the twins to such an expensive and stuffy restaurant, but their growling stomachs can’t wait. Our twenty-floor glass elevator ride to the top floor is an unexpected thrill for the kids. Thousands of lights twinkle at us when the elevator doors open to a cozy holiday atmosphere where every corner seems decorated in gorgeous evergreen garlands, ribbons, and pinecones. And surrounding windows provide a jaw-dropping three-sixty view of Manhattan. We sit down and order what I can only assume is the city’s most expensive hot chocolates with extra whipped cream and two grilled cheese sandwiches. I’m trying to hold off on food until I go out with Jasper later tonight.
Click HERE to read Pink Champagne Christmas Story PART 1
Click HERE to read Pink Champagne Christmas Story PART 2
On 22 April 1974, this performance by Love Unlimited (also known for singing backing vocals for Barry White) was broadcast by AVRO television as part of TopPop, the Dutch version of Top of the Pops. Glodean James, the singer in the middle, was married to Barry White at that time.
Can you solve Divabetic’s Mystery Phrase #33? Our phrase is measured by the force that pushes on the walls of your blood vessels as they carry blood and oxygen to your organs (systolic pressure) and the force that’s created when your heart rests between beats (diastolic pressure).
Do you know what Divabetic’s Mystery Phrase #33 is?
Diabetes damages arteries and makes them targets for hardening, called atherosclerosis. That can cause high blood pressure, which if not treated, can lead to trouble including blood vessel damage, heart attack, and kidney failure.
There are several ways in which high blood sugar levels in the blood can increase blood pressure:
The blood vessels lose their ability to stretch.
The fluid in the body increases, especially if diabetes is already affecting the kidneys.
Insulin resistance may involve processes that increase the risk of hypertension.
In 2012, researchers quoted figures suggesting that 30% of people with type 1 diabetes and 50–80% of those with type 2 diabetes have high blood pressure in the United States.
The combination of high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes can greatly increase your risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
If your blood sugar level is too high, you may experience: increased thirst, frequent urination an fatigue. However, the American Heart Association (AHA) stresses that most of the time there are no symptoms for high blood pressure (also known as hypertension).
People usually find out they have high blood pressure when a doctor takes a blood pressure reading, or they take one themselves at home.
The reading will give two numbers:
The systolic is the top number
The diastolic is the bottom number
According to the AHA, the results will be one of the following:
Normal: Systolic below 120 and diastolic below 80
Elevated: Systolic 120–129 and diastolic under 80
Hypertension stage 1: Systolic 130–139 and diastolic 80–89
Hypertension stage 2: Systolic 140-plus and diastolic 90 or more
Hypertensive crisis: Systolic higher than 180 and diastolic above 120.
What is considered normal blood pressure for people with diabetes?
On the basis of recent studies, most people with diabetes should have a blood pressure that’s more than 130/80 mm.
People with diabetes can help decrease the risk of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease by managing their blood sugar levels.
Here area few effective ways to lower your blood pressure levels:
Stop smoking
Increase activity and exercise more
Lose weight if you’re overweight
Cut back on sugar, refined carbohydrates and processed foods
Join the happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic for this free, fun Virtual Cooking Party with special guest, Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator Jill Weisenberger MS, RDN, CDE, CHWC, FAND on Tuesday, October 6, 2020, 7 – 8 PM, EST on Zoom.
