How Much Added Sugar Is Too Much?

The American Heart Association suggests women should have no more than 100 calories per day (about 6 teaspoons or 24 grams) and no more than 150 calories per day (about 9 teaspoons or 36 grams of sugar) for most men.

2 tablespoons of Barbeque Sauce (around 28 grams) can contain your total daily allowance of added sugar,  around 9 grams.

Almost half of the added sugar in the American diet comes from one source: sugary drinks (regular soft drinks, sweetened tea and coffee, energy drinks, and fruit drinks).

A standard 20-ounce (591-mL) bottle of a sports drink will contain 32.5 grams of added sugar and 161 calories. This is equivalent to 9 teaspoons of sugar, your daily allowance.

Here’s another eye-opening statistic:  a large flavored coffee or coffee drink can contain 45 grams of sugar, if not much more. That’s equivalent to about 11 teaspoons of added sugar per serving!

Other sources of added sugars are candy, desserts, sweet snacks (cakes, cookies, pies), dairy desserts, milk products (ice cream, sweetened yogurt, and sweetened milk), breakfast cereals and bars, and other items.

For example, a single cup (245 grams) of low-fat yogurt can contain over 45 grams of sugar, about 11 teaspoons. This is more than the daily limit for men and women in just a single cup.

New science shows that when we overload on added sugar, our brain receptors change, making it hard to regulate how much we eat. Sugar is addictive. It lights up the same reward receptors and triggers the same cascade of feel-good brain chemicals like serotonin and dopamine as cocaine. And when you’re shaky, irritable, and looking for your next food “fix,” you may not even realize it—but you’re hooked.

If you’re struggling with managing your added sugar intake, check out the book Sugar SavvySolution: Kick Your Sugar Addiction for Life and Get Healthy by my friend, health guru Kathie Dolgin, High Voltage.

High Voltage’s Sugar Savvy Solution is more than a diet. It’s an eye-opening, confidence-building, life-affirming program that literally and scientifically helps remap your brain chemistry to change what you crave and want to eat. It’s a plan that will empower you from the top down and inside out. Sugar Savvy includes: • a complete 6-week plan to transform your eating and exercise habits • easy-to-assemble Power Meal Formulas plus more than 40 simple Power Meals and Snacks you can use to eat Sugar Savvy anywhere • Moving Affirmations that move your body and your spirit • inspirational stories and advice from the 17 Sugar Savvy Sisters who tried our program, every single one of whom lost weight • and much more! This one-of-a-kind plan beats obesity where it begins—in your brain. The Sugar Savvy motto is Eat whatever you want, but we will change your desires. 

“Science is just now catching up to what High Voltage figured out years ago: Breaking your sugar addiction isn’t about willpower, it’s about brain chemistry. Follow her innovative Sugar Savvy program to change what you crave, lose weight, and beat disease!” –Mark Hyman, MD, author of The Blood Sugar Solution 10-Day Detox Diet

I’m thrilled to announce that my friend, High Voltage will join the cast of Divabetic’s Annual Mystery podcast, Tomorrow Is Not On The Menu, this September! She will help us raise awareness of the dangers of excess amounts of added sugar in our diets.

Here’s a short 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 is hunky-dory 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? Weight loss murder never tasted so good.

Tomorrow Is Not On The Menu stars Max “Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek, 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, Terri Seidman, and Lorraine Brooks. Music by Ivan Hampden Jr.

 

12 Cozy Mystery Authors and Their Readers to the Rescue Down Under

Looking for cool cozy mysteries for hot summer days?

Then you’ll love the Summer Snoops Down Under collection of stories in this purr-fectly paw-some cozy boxed set from twelve USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon best-selling authors including Judith Lucci, Colleen Mooney, Anna Celeste Burke, Dianne Harman, Sam Cheever, Amy Vansant, Fiona Quinn, Cindy Bell, J.A. Whiting, Kathi Daley, Summer Prescott and Tonya Kappes.

These cozy, friendly stories are full of wily sleuths, cagey plots, and un-fur-gettable tails on sandy beaches, in shimmering waterways, at mountain top resorts, and small-town celebrations!

Judith Lucci: The Most Slippery Crime of the Year: Death on the Slopes – When the pour is just too perfect.
Colleen Mooney: Politicians, Potholes and Pralines – There’s no place like New Orleans to have a good crime!
Anna Celeste Burke: A Tango Before Dying – When trouble waltzes in, it’s not long before Georgie Shaw and Detective Jack Wheeler step in when a famous ballroom dance champion is murdered.
Dianne Harman: Murder in Cottonwood Springs – Sheriff Rich got the call every lawman dreads – a relative’s murder. And it’s even worse when it’s your sister.
Sam Cheever: Bayou Bubba – Where Miss Chance meets Cal Amity.
Amy Vansant: Pineapple Lies – If Janet Evanovich and the Golden Girls had a baby, it would be the Pineapple Port series!
Fiona Quinn: Mine – A sleepy town in southwest Virginia wakes up to a nightmare of untimely deaths.
Cindy Bell: A Tough Case to Crack – It is a race against the clock to solve a murder so Nuts about Nuts can open on time.
J A Whiting: Reversal of Fortune – Will Claire’s paranormal intuition help solve the case or will her skills fail her when she needs them the most?
Kathi Daley: The Curse of Hollister House – How is one to start again after losing the one thing that speaks to your heart and fuels your passion?
Summer Prescott: Spellstruck – If you liked Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie, you’re going to love Spellstruck. Pirate, the talking cat, will charm your socks off!
Tonya Kappes: Stamped Out – More than mail is being delivered…there’s a murder ’bout to happen!

All proceeds from the Summer Snoops Down Under boxed set  support the Wildlife Victoria charity rescuing wildlife affected by the bush fires in Australia.

BUY NOW

There’s a good indication that murder might be part of the recipe when Nantucket’s ten time reigning Baking Champion’s last name is ‘Coffin’ in Divabetic’s 8th Annual Mystery Podcast, Kill Me Madam, set to debut on Wednesday, August 26, 2020, 6 PM, EST.

But resentment, greed and Britannia’s own bad dealings turn everyone into a suspect when she’s found dead in the parking lot just before the Annual Decadents on Deck! Bake Off competition is about to kick off. Delusional baker and amateur sleuth Mr. Divabetic is even shocked to find himself being treated as a suspect in the case by the local police, after meeting her just once! As if his life wasn’t crazy enough before, escaping a murderous mishap in New York and attempting a fresh start in Nantucket has turned into a complete and utter baking disaster, now Max, along with his friends and nosy mother, have to add tracking down a murderer to his To-Do list, as well. Can our team hunt down the real murderer before they strike again? Will he become the next victim? Can Max ever manage to bake a cake that’s actually edible?

Divabetic’s Mystery podcast cast includes Tonya Kappes, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, MaryAnn Horst-Nicolay MEd, NDRT, Lorraine Brooks, Catherine Schuller, Wendy Radford, Trisha Artman, Mama Rose Marie, Seveda Williams, and Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek. Produced by Leisa Chester-Weir.

Throughout the podcast we will be featuring music from the Broadway Cast Album of ‘Call Me Madam’ courtesy of SONY Music.

TUNE IN 

 

Divabetic Mystery Phrase #16

Can you complete ‘The Staple Singers’-themed Divabetic Mystery Phrase below? Diabetes self-care can be emotionally taxing, but reframing your mind-set can have powerful results.

Divabetic Mystery Phrase

Constant worrying or self-doubt about what you are or are not doing isn’t empowering. That inner dialogue isn’t true, or even real.

If you’re struggling to cope with your diabetes diagnosis: try repeating positive affirmations to yourself each morning to steer your mood in the right direction. This way of thinking can be helpful when the mental burden of diabetes management gets tough.

We also encourage you to seek out a therapist like our colleagues, Dr. Beverly S. Adler CDE, PhD, Janis Roszler or Dr. Wendy Satin Rapaport LCSW, PsyD.

“People without diabetes can feel loneliness, anger, guilt, and shame or use denial, rebellion or secrecy. The addition of diabetes to your daily life increases the likelihood of complex emotions,” says Dr. Wendy Satin Rapaport aka ‘The Diabetes Pysche’. She adds, “My goal is to help you recognize these normal and demanding feelings and then move past them to do better.

Divabetic Mystery Phrase

Self respect is a vital aspect of self love. The more you respect yourself, the more you are able to love yourself.

Making yourself feel good physically is one of the ultimate ways to respect yourself according to PositivelyPresent.com. Treat your body as you would the body of someone you love dearly. Healthy food, exercise, low stress. Respecting your body is an essential aspect of self-respect.

Start believing in yourself and believing deeply—on every level—that you are doing your best.

We think you’re fabulous! Taking care of yourself and your diabetes health.

Love a good mystery?

Listen to Divabetic’s Cozy Mystery Radio Drama, Swan Wake, available on demand with this player.

Swan Wakehttps://www.blogtalkradio.com/divatalkradio1/2018/09/11/swan-wake–5th-annual-diabetes-mystery-podcast

When the happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic heads to the Gotham City Ballet Company’s box office to fix a mix up with his ‘Swan Lake’ tickets he’s faced with a even bigger problem – a murder. To make matters worse, one of his latest culinary creations, a gluten free cheesecake, seems to be covering the victim’s face. Even more shocking are the numerous scandals swirling around the Gotham City Ballet and it’s members that have everyone walking around on tip toes. Could our happy healthcare host’s questionable culinary skills make him an accessory to the crime or even a possible side dish? Now Mr. Divabetic with the help of his team of whip smart Diabetes Educators, a Best-Selling Mystery writer and his own nosy Italian Mom must whip up his own crime-solving recipe, and fast–before a hearty dose of intrigue and a deadly dash of danger ends his diabetes advocacy and healthy catering career once and for all.

Our Swan Wake cast features Best-Selling Author Tonya KappesWe Are Diabetes organization founder Asha Brown, Seveda Williams, Catherine Schuller AICI, CIP, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, Mary Ann Nicolay MEd, DTR , Mama Rose Marie and Chef Robert Lewis aka ‘The Happy Diabetic’ and Poet Lorraine Brooks. 

Divabetic Mystery Phrase #14

Can you complete the Divabetic Mystery Phrase below? Diabetes self-care can be emotionally taxing, but reframing your mind-set can have powerful results.

Divabetic Mystery Phrase

Self-help books often promote the power of positive affirmations. If you’ve never tried them before, the idea can seem incredibly awkward to tell yourself how awesome you are.

Positive affirmations help to re-program your thought patterns and change the way you think and feel about things. They are short positive statements that can help you focus on goals, get rid of negative, self-defeating beliefs and program your subconscious mind.

And yes, there is genuine theory and a fair amount of neuroscience behind this practice.

If you’re struggling to cope with your diabetes diagnosis: try repeating positive affirmations to yourself each morning to steer your mood in the right direction. This way of thinking can be helpful when the mental burden of diabetes management gets tough.

We also encourage you to seek out a therapist like our colleagues, Dr. Beverly S. Adler CDE, PhD, Janis Roszler or Dr. Wendy Satin Rapaport LCSW, PsyD.

“People without diabetes can feel loneliness, anger, guilt, and shame or use denial, rebellion or secrecy. The addition of diabetes to your daily life increases the likelihood of complex emotions,” says Dr. Wendy Satin Rapaport aka ‘The Diabetes Pysche’. She adds, “My goal is to help you recognize these normal and demanding feelings and then move past them to do better.”

Divabetic Msytery Phrase

Constant worrying or self-doubt about what you are or are not doing isn’t empowering. That inner dialogue isn’t true, or even real.

Start believing in yourself and believing deeply—on every level—that you are doing your best.

We think you’re fabulous!

Divabetic’s Mystery Podcast

Divabetic’s 6th Annual Diabetes Mystery Podcast, Gingerbread Men Prefer BlondesThe mystery is set in the fictitiously decadent world-renowned Gingerbread Men Cookie Baking Competition in New York’s Central Park Zoo. Mr. Divabetic’s healthy culinary misadventures continue in this year’s escapade as he enters the competition with headless cookies and pureed kale hot cocoa for the judges to sample. As if this dreadful combination wasn’t bad enough to land him at the bottom of the throwdown, his mother, Mama Rose Marie, is accused of poisoning one of the celebrity judges! Things go from bad to worse when the snake phobic Mr. Divabetic hears about the giant python’s escape.         

Now, the happy healthcare host must decide to face his fear of snakes and recipe rejection or throw in his apron and risk getting caught up in another murder investigation. Can Mr. Divabetic and his team of amateur sleuths hunt down the real killer and get Mama Rose Marie out of jail? Will he be the next murder victim? Can he ever create an edible recipe?

The cast of Gingerbread Men Prefer Blondes features Mama Rose Marie, Best-Selling Author Tonya Kappes, the Charlie’s Angels of Outreach (Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE and MaryAnn Nicolay BA, DTR), The Happy Diabetic Chef Robert Lewis, Seveda Williams, Coach The Cure’s Trisha Artman, Jillian Walsh, Wendy Radford, Dave Jones, Lorraine Brooks and Max Szadek.

Throughout this podcast we will be featuring music from the original Broadway cast recording of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes courtesy of SONY MUSIC.