The Sweetest Taboo Is Not Good For You: Added Sugar

Happy Birthday to Sade Adu!

With over 60 million albums sold worldwide, 4 Grammys, and holding a CBE, Sade is one of the most successful British female artists in history,

She’s inspiring us to talk about ‘THE SWEETEST TABOO’ aka ‘SUGAR’ on Divabetic’s free monthly podcast.

Sugar is everywhere. But do we understand the impact it has on our diabetes health?

You may think of sweets, chocolate, sodas, table sugar, and fruit if asked to name sugary foods. But sugar also appears in savory foods such as ready meals, soups, salads, and sauces, and ‘healthy’ foods such as breakfast cereals and yogurt. Furthermore, starches such as bread, pasta, rice, and potatoes also convert to sugar in our bloodstream, having the same impact on our bodies.

Problems occur when you consume too much added sugar — that is, sugar that food manufacturers add to products to increase flavor or extend shelf life.

These ‘hidden sugars’ can add a surprising amount to our daily intake.

According to the National Cancer Institute, adult men take in an average of 24 teaspoons of added sugar per day. That’s equal to 384 calories.

“Excess sugar’s impact on obesity and diabetes is well documented, but one area that may surprise many men is how their taste for sugar can have a serious impact on their heart health,” says Dr. Frank Hu, professor of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health as reported in the Havard Health publishing.

“The effects of added sugar intake — higher blood pressure, inflammation, weight gain, diabetes, and fatty liver disease — are all linked to an increased risk for heart attack and stroke,” says Dr. Hu. “Basically, the higher the intake of added sugar, the higher the risk for heart disease.”

How much is okay?

The American Heart Association suggests that women consume no more than 100 calories (about 6 teaspoons or 24 grams) and men no more than 150 calories (about 9 teaspoons or 36 grams) of added sugar per day. Your daily allowance of added sugar daily is about the same as a 12-ounce can of sweetened soda.

Unfortunately,  the more sugar you eat, the more you crave!  Experts say it can take a few days to weeks to get over an addiction to refined sugar once you start. But you can do it!

Set yourself up for success by telling yourself that you got this.

“Words are powerful,” says our friend, Kathie Dolgin, author of Sugar Savvy Solution: Kick Your Sugar Addiction for Life and Get Healthy. “If you think resisting sugar is going to be hard, it will be hard,” she told Women’s Running. “Change that negative self-talk if you are going to take control of your diet and your health. Believe you can do this!”

Guests include Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDCES, Tameka Milline, Divabetic Image & Style Icon Catherine Schuller. Kathy Dolgin aka ‘High Voltage’, and Stephanie McKendree.

Sade

Throughout the podcast, we will feature music from The Essential Sade album courtesy of SONY Music. The ESSENTIAL series features the biggest hits and best-loved songs from Sade! Plus full-liner notes and photos for the complete experience. Includes ‘Smooth Operator,’ ‘Your Love is King,’ ‘Hang on to Your Love,’ ‘The Sweetest Taboo’ and more.

 

Learning How. To Accept Your Diabetes Diagnosis

Divabetic’s podcast focuses on ACCEPTANCE with musical inspiration from the iconic musical group, The Isley Brothers.

The youngest member and bass guitarist of the Isley Brothers, Marvin Isley, was living with type 2 diabetes. He remained a group member until complications from his longtime battle with mismanaged diabetes forced him into retirement in 1997. Before his death, he had to amputate both legs.

In a 2001 interview, Marvin Isley told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he regretted the decades he spent ignoring his diabetes. “If I would have listened, if I would have understood diabetes like I understood music, maybe these things wouldn’t have happened.”

A diabetes diagnosis can be scary, but ignoring it won’t prevent it. Learning to accept your diabetes takes time, energy, and attitude. The transition from denial to acceptance and all the stages vary for everyone. Seeking a support group, online community, or a trained professional therapist can help you navigate your emotions. Once you learn how to accept your diabetes, you make unlock the key to a healthier and happier way of life.

Mr. Divabetic explores the process of  ‘ACCEPTANCE’ with Dr. Beverly S. Adler, PhD, CDCES, in the final installment of our series on the emotional side of living with diabetes.

Additionally, ‘New York Times bestselling co-author and former Senior Writer for People  Magazine Mark Dagostino His book Ellie & Coach tells the endearing true story of a type-A mom caring for a daughter with type 1 diabetes – and the incredible service dog who changes their lives for the better.

Are you considering getting a diabetes-alert dog or training your own dog? Professional Animal Trainer, and Dog Detection Expert Debby Kay, who specializes in scent detection work with dogs, discusses the do’s and don’ts to diabetes-alert dogs. She also shares how the power of the human-animal connection changes hearts and lives with Terri Seidman and Mama Rose Marie.

Plus, Dr. Beverly Adler, PhD, CDCES and shares insightful advice about the learning curve of accepting a diabetes diagnosis.

Throughout the podcast, we feature elected songs from The Isley Brothers: The RCA Victor and T-Neck Album Masters (1959-1983), a monumental 23-disc box set collection chronicling the sonic evolution and abiding achievements of the unprecedented R&B ensemble courtesy of SONY MUSIC. This box set follows The Isley Brothers through their transformation from a 1950’s doo-wop/gospel vocal group into the world’s preeminent R&B rock ‘n’ soul powerhouse party band.

Divabetic Mysteries: Tomorrow Is Not On The Menu, Part 3

Divabetic’s Mystery podcast, Tomorrow Is Not On The Menu, is packed with loads of diabetes information and self-care tips wrapped up in a cozy mystery radio drama.

Brief Synopsis: The happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic, lands his to-die-for job as a caterer for the nation’s hottest health guru, Wendy Wattage’s Wellness Retreat on the Jersey Shore. Everything seems low pressure and low calorie until the body of the nasty food critic, Marilyn Macaroni, is found stabbed to death with one of Max’s new chef knives. Now he’s the prime suspect in a big, fat murder investigation! Can he and his team of friends, diabetes educators, and his nosey Italian mother, Mama Rose Marie, find the killer before the police arrive? Or will he be trading his fruit suit for coveralls with stripes? Weight loss murder never tasted so good.

Starring Mr. Divabetic, Best-Selling Author Tonya Kappes, Mama Rose Marie, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDCES, Maryann Horst Nicolay MEd, NTDR, Kathie Dolgin aka ‘High Voltage,’ Seveda Williams, Catherine Schuller, Dave Jones, and Lorraine Brooks. Produced by Leisa Chester Weir. Special thanks to our colleague Wendy Radford.

Divabetic Mystery Podcast’s goals are: Encourage people with diabetes to problem-solve issues related to their self-care, like their favorite TV detectives (i.e. write things down, search for clues and share information with your healthcare collaborators and ask questions) Manage diabetes as a team rather than go it alone. Make learning about diabetes fun and interesting. This year, Divabetic is talking about re-framing the way we look at ‘mistakes” as “discoveries” rather than “regrets.”

Don’t miss the first podcast of the year featuring guest Rachel Zinman, a yoga instructor and author living with LADA. Rachel shares a Guided Meditation about Compassion. It’s our 6th consecutive year of partnering with Rachel at the start of the New Year to encourage our loyal listeners to reset with a fresh, clear mindset about managing their diabetes.

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Divabetic Mysteries: Tomorrow Is Not On The Menu, Part 1

Divabetic Mysteries podcast, Tomorrow Is Not On The Menu is packed with loads of diabetes information, and self-care tips wrapped up in a cozy mystery radio drama.

Brief Synopsis: The happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic, lands his to-die-for job as a caterer for the nation’s hottest health guru, Wendy Wattage’s Wellness Retreat on the Jersey Shore. Everything seems low pressure and low calorie until the body of the nasty food critic, Marilyn Macaroni, is found stabbed to death with one of Max’s new chef knives. Now he’s the prime suspect in a big, fat murder investigation!

Can he and his team of friends, diabetes educators, and his nosey Italian mother, Mama Rose Marie, find the killer before the police arrive? Or will he be trading his fruit suit for coveralls with stripes?

Weight loss murder never tasted so good.

Starring Mr. Divabetic, Best-Selling Author Tonya Kappes, Mama Rose Marie, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDCES, Maryann Horst Nicolay MEd, NTDR, Kathie Dolgin aka ‘High Voltage,’ Seveda Williams, Dave Jones, Catherine Schuller, and Lorraine Brooks. Produced by Leisa Chester Weir. Special thanks to Wendy Radford.

A Christmas Peril Mystery Podcast

The Holidays are full of surprises— especially after Mr. Divabetic gets a new job as the pastry chef at the St. Nicholas Nursing Home nestled in a cozy Christmas Village. But adjusting to life in a Christmas Village is not all sugarplums and candy canes. Especially when a cantankerous resident, a real-life Ebenezer Scrooge,  named Mr. Pincher almost dies——shortly after eating one of Max’s peanut butter swirl brownies.

Despite all of the ingredients for danger, Mr. Divabetic, our team of amateur sleuths, and his overly protective mother set out to find the real culprit in the hopes that his name isn’t on a lethal naughty list.

Kevin Houdeshell’s tragic true-life story inspired our mystery podcast.

36-year-old Kevin Houdeshell ran out of insulin over the New Year’s holiday in January 2014. He ended up with dangerously high blood sugars that spiraled into diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), leading to him dying alone in his apartment.

“He was young, fit, healthy. The pharmacy told him his script had expired and we’re sorry, but we can’t give you anymore. He tried three times to call his doctor’s office and, four days later, he passed away from not having his insulin,” Amy Houdeshell told USA Today.

Thanks to the Houdeshell family for their advocacy efforts on behalf of the Emergency Insulin Act of 2019 and the emergency prescription refill legislation. Known as Kevin’s or Howdy’s Law, it allows pharmacists to dispense an emergency supply of chronic maintenance medication if the doctor cannot be reached – a common-sense act that could save a life.

Starring Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek, USA Best Selling Author Tonya Kappes, Mama Rose Marie, Patricia Addie Gentle, Terri Seidman, MaryAnn Nicolay, Trisha Artman, Catherine Schuller, Chef Robert Lewis, Seveda Williams, and Wendy Radford.

Special thanks to the Houdeshell family, and Pharmacist Mandy Reece PharmD, CDE, BC-ADM, BCACP.. Original music by Ivan Hampden Jr., Celine Dion’s vocals courtesy of SONY Music. Produced by Leisa Chester Weir.

In the spirit of Scrooge’s awakening at the end of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, we encourage you to honor Christmas in your heart by living in the Past, The Present, and the Future. Try to embrace the Spirits of all Three and the lessons they teach.

Divabetic Podcast Inspired by Ricochet

New York Times Best-Selling Author Cherry Adair’s brand new T-FLAC novella, RICOCHET, inspires Divabetic’s podcast celebrating National Diabetes Awareness month.

Cherry Adair’s books are just the right mixture of romance and suspense; whether you are reading one for the first time or the tenth, they will keep you hooked from the beginning.

Cherry writes five to seven hours a day, six days a week. When asked why she chooses to write romantic suspense, she says, “Who says you can’t have adventure and a great love life? Of course if you’re talking about an adventurous love life, that’s another thing altogether. Actually, I write romantic suspense with adventure because I like to entertain, and nothing keeps readers happier than a rapid pulse with a happy end.”

Her popular T-FLAC series features the trials and tribulations of an elite anti-terrorist task force. In Ricochet, one of the critical members of T-FLAC is living with type 1 diabetes.

Guests include Cherry Adair, Neva White DNP, CRNP, CDCES, Emily Hiriak RD, CDCES, David Madison, Pam Harrod-Smith, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDCES, Lorraine Brooks, Michelle Foster from the American Diabetes Association in Philadelphia, PA, Mama Rose Marie and special guest, Sharon, who is living with type 2 diabetes.

Ricochet (T-FLAC)

.Ricochet T-FLAC Hannah Endicott’s only purpose for traveling half a world away to Ecuador is to retrieve what her feckless best friend appropriated to invest in yet another bad business venture. Unwillingly drawn into meeting his new associates, she overhears a nefarious plot and instantly goes from irritated to terrified. The right person, in the wrong place, at the worst possible time. . . .When T-FLAC operative Grayson Burke and his team storm the yacht, the last person he expects to find is the woman he stood up at the altar three years ago. Now she’s in his deadly world…On the horns of a life and death dilemma when his brother and the diamonds disappear, Hannah suddenly becomes Gray’s only hope of locating his quarry and retrieving the stolen money. Low on her stock of insulin injections, Hannah’s inability to remain with Gray is rapidly advancing to a critical end. Now his entire world turns into a time bomb ticking away the minutes. Gray must choose between his brother, his mission, and the woman he loves.

Cozy Up With Divabetic Mysteries: A Christmas Peril

The Holidays are full of surprises— especially after Mr. Divabetic gets a new job as the pastry chef at the St. Nicholas Nursing Home nestled in a cozy Christmas Village. But adjusting to life in a Christmas Village is not all sugarplums and candy canes. Especially when a cantankerous resident, a real-life Ebenezer Scrooge,  named Mr. Pincher almost dies——shortly after eating one of Max’s peanut butter swirl brownies.

Despite all of the ingredients for danger, Mr. Divabetic and our team of amateur sleuths and his overly protective mother — set out to find the real culprit in the hopes that his name isn’t on a lethal naughty list.

Our story was inspired by Kevin Houdeshell’s tragic true-life story. Thanks to the Houdeshell family for their advocacy efforts on behalf of the Emergency Insulin Act of 2019 and the emergency prescription refill legislation. Known as Kevin’s or Howdy’s Law, it allows pharmacists to dispense an emergency supply of chronic maintenance medication if the doctor cannot be reached – a common-sense act that could save a life.

Starring Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek, USA Best Selling Author Tonya Kappes, Mama Rose Marie, Patricia Addie Gentle, Terri Seidman, MaryAnn Nicolay, Trisha Artman, Catherine Schuller, Chef Robert Lewis, Seveda Williams, and Wendy Radford. Special thanks to the Houdeshell family and Pharmacist Mandy Reece. Original music by Ivan Hampden Jr., Celine Dion’s vocals courtesy of SONY Music. Produced by Leisa Chester Weir.

In the spirit of Scrooge’s awakening at the end of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, we encourage you to honor Christmas in your heart by living in the Past, The Present, and the Future. Try to embrace the Spirits of all Three and the lessons they teach.

Divabetic Mysteries Podcast: A Christmas Peril

Divabetic’s holiday-themed Mystery podcast, A Christmas Peril, is free on demand.

The Holidays are full of surprises— especially after Mr. Divabetic gets a new job as the pastry chef at the St. Nicholas Nursing Home nestled in a cozy Christmas Village. But adjusting to life in a Christmas Village is not all sugarplums and candy canes. Especially when a cantankerous resident, a real-life Ebenezer Scrooge,  named Mr. Pincher, almost dies——shortly after eating one of Max’s peanut butter swirl brownies.

A Christmas Peril

Despite all of the ingredients for danger, Mr. Divabetic, our team of amateur sleuths, and his overly protective mother set out to find the real culprit in the hopes that his name isn’t on a lethal naughty list.

Our story was inspired by Kevin Houdeshell’s tragic true-life story. Thanks to the Houdeshell family for their advocacy efforts on behalf of the Emergency Insulin Act of 2019 and the emergency prescription refill legislation. Known as Kevin’s or Howdy’s Law, it allows pharmacists to dispense an emergency supply of chronic maintenance medication if the doctor cannot be reached – a common-sense act that could save a life.

Starring Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek, USA Best Selling Author Tonya Kappes, Mama Rose Marie, Patricia Addie Gentle, Terri Seidman, MaryAnn Nicolay, Trisha Artman, Catherine Schuller, Chef Robert Lewis, Seveda Williams, and Wendy Radford. Special thanks to the Houdeshell family and Pharmacist Mandy Reece. Original music by Ivan Hampden Jr., Celine Dion’s vocals courtesy of SONY Music. Produced by Leisa Chester Weir.

In the spirit of Scrooge’s awakening at the end of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, we encourage you to honor Christmas in your heart by living in the Past, The Present, and the Future. Try to embrace the Spirits of all Three and the lessons they teach.

Divabetic Shares A Halloween Ghost Story with Listeners

Enjoy this special Divabetic podcast for Halloween.

Our regular Divabetic podcast featuring an all-star lineup of guests resumes next month for National Diabetes Awareness month in November.

 

Did you know that Halloween’s sugar consumption will likely surpass the $36 billion record set in 2021?

Understanding how food affects blood glucose is the first step in managing diabetes. But many people, especially at Halloween, when candy is so plentiful,  love to give their unsolicited advice about what we’re putting in our mouths.

Many assume that eating candy causes diabetes.

There are two main types of diabetes – type 1 and type 2 diabetes. We know that sugar does not cause type 1 diabetes because our immune system destroys the insulin-producing cells in our pancreas.

Type 2 diabetes is a combination of insulin resistance and pancreatic failure. That said, there’s enough shame and blame already associated with diabetes that it’s too much when someone feels obligated to tell us what we can and cannot eat.

One of our Facebook community members, Rosemary R., perfectly summed up our feeling on the subject:

“Having had diabetes since 11 years old and now 73, you do the math. It is only a part of my life, not the whole. I live a full and varied life. I tell new folks I meet about my condition to alert them to the possibilities of “lows” & how to help me.

Essentially, it’s my responsibility to look after myself just like anyone else. My only beef is that sometimes those “in the know” tell me, “oh, you are a diabetic and shouldn’t be eating that.”

My choice and my responsibility. I own my actions, taking care that any risk is managed and minimized and that I don’t become a burden to family, friends, workmates, the community at large, and the health system. My mantra has always been “moderation in all things.” I thank those who accept me for who I am. I lead a full and satisfying life.”

The American Heart Association suggests limiting adding sugars 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.

You can also access the Van der Voort Ghost Story using this QR code:

Tonight! Don’t Miss Divabetic’s 9th Annual Mystery Podcast Live Broadcast

The BIG DAY is finally here!!!

Join us tonight for Divabetic’s 9th Annual Mystery podcast, Tomorrow Is Not On The Menu!

Find out what happens when the happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic, lands a to-die-for job as a caterer for the nation’s hottest health guru, Wendy Wattage‘s Wellness Retreat on the Jersey Shore. Everything seems low pressure and low calorie until the body of the nasty food critic, Marilyn Macaroni, is found stabbed to death with one of Max’s new chef knives. Now he’s the prime suspect in a big, fat murder investigation!

Can he and his team of friends, diabetes educators, and his nosey Italian mother, Mama Rose Marie, find the killer before the police arrive? Or will he be trading his fruit suit for coveralls with stripes?

The fun begins at 6 PM EST.

Enjoy loads of diabetes information and self-care tips wrapped up in a cozy mystery radio drama. Tune in using this link.

Weight loss murder never tasted so good.

Starring Mr. Divabetic, Best-Selling Author Tonya Kappes, Mama Rose Marie, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDCES, Maryann Horst Nicolay MEd, NTDR, Kathie Dolgin aka ‘High Voltage,’ Seveda Williams, Catherine Schuller and Lorraine Brooks. Produced by Leisa Chester Weir. Special thanks to our colleague, the multi-talented Wendy Radford.

Music from The Pink Panther and The Return of The Pink Panther soundtracks by Henry Mancini courtesy of SONY Music.

 

The fun begins at 6 PM EST.