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.
Hearing you’ve just been diagnosed with diabetes can be difficult. And painful. Still, February’s Divabetic podcast guest, Fran Carpentier, describes her experience like a scene from a Fellini movie.
The Brooklyn-born media maven was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age fourteen. Fran remembers the weeks before her diagnosis, “having rapid weight loss, unquenchable thirst, and exhaustion. it was bad.”Although her type 1 diabetes diagnosis was life-changing, Fran admits that her Italian mother, Stella, provided some much-needed yet unintended comic relief in the doctor’s office. “Naturally, I was scared and very nervous,” Fran recalls. “However, when the doctor uttered the diagnosis—’Frances has diabetes‘— my mother fainted and collapsed onto the floor. Her sister, my Aunt Elizabeth, and I had to pick her up. We kept fanning my mom while Dr. Handelsman—a renowned diabetologist of the time—attempted to reassure her about my diagnosis. First, he tried to calm down my mother by telling her that I was fortunate to be diagnosed when I was and not forty years earlier. He went on to explain that the reason I was ‘lucky’ was because today we had insulin; a few decades earlier, I’d be dead. When my mother heard the word ‘dead,’ she collapsed and fainted again.”
The doctor pulled Fran aside and said, “I usually put a newly diagnosed child with juvenile diabetes [which is what type 1 was called in those days] in the hospital for a week.” Back in 1969, which is when Fran was diagnosed, hospitalization for diabetes was pretty typical. Dr. Handelsman continued, “But I can tell that, if I put you in the hospital, I would need at least two beds—one for you, and one for your mother.”
The good doctor added, “So, instead of sending you to the hospital, my nurse will teach you how to give yourself insulin injections, thenI’m going to send you home. Come back tomorrow and we’ll teach you more about how your daily life will be from now on.”
The Carpentier family’s theatrics continued after they got home from the doctor’s office. “That same evening, my mother’s ten sisters came over to our house to ‘mourn’ me,” says Fran. “To this day, I blame their reaction on the ignorance and fear that was associated with diabetes then. Sadly, a lot of ignorance and fear arestill prevalent today.”
If all that extra drama seems almost too much to handle, then you don’t know Fran, who went on to explain, “Later on in bed that first night, I told myself that God must have sent diabetes to me for a reason. Somehow, thatoutlookserved to motivate me in managing my diabetesfor the past fifty years.”
She adds, “I think I had enough of a sense of self to not be ashamed of my condition. I spent a lot of time in the early days allaying my parents’ fears.”
For the past fifty years, Fran Carpentier has been an outspoken diabetes advocate, a passionate fundraiser, and a Divabetic inspiration in her personal and professional life.
For close to three decades, Fran worked as the Senior Editor at Parade, the national Sunday newspapermagazine that, during her tenure, reached more than 70 million readers every week. Fran had the opportunity to meet celebrities, best-selling authors, thought leaders, leading doctors, and top scientists in diabetes. “As a journalist, I had direct access that got me in front of as many diabetes experts as possible. Then, every November, I would oversee an article on diabetes in the Sunday issue. Our goal was to share with our millions of readers what was new in diabetes and where everyone—including people living with diabetes, their families, their friends, their co-workers—could find hope.”
In 2006, I met Fran Carpentier for the first time when she attended Divabetic Makeover Your Diabetes national outreach program at Gotham Hall in New York City. At the time, she was still working for Parade. She remembers attending our ‘Glam More, Fear Less’style event offering one-on-one diabetes education with free makeover services as “the fun and fabulous.” In addition, she says, “The men and women at the Divabetic program had really great energy.”
Hear more of Fran’s funny and fascinating memories of living with type 1 diabetes on Divabetic’s February podcast.
We’re celebrating ‘all things Italian’ on Divabetic’s podcastfeaturing music by Dean Martin on Tuesday, February 8, 2022, at 6 PM EST.
Our musical inspiration, Dean Martin‘s favorite restaurant, was Da Vinci Ristorante in Beverly Hills. There was even a booth marked Dean Martin Booth adjacent to the small bar.
Eating at an Italian restaurant can be a minefield for anyone with diabetes trying to watch their calories and carbohydrate intake. So many of the items on the menu are smothered in either creamy sauce or gooey cheese, and they’re high in fat, carbs, sodium, and calories.
We thought it would be fun to challenge the Original Divabetic to make a lighter version of a conventional plate of pasta.
She’s been living with type 2 diabetes for over a decade. Her goal this year is to keep her blood sugars in a target range without feeling deprived every time she sits down to eat.
She’s sharing her Zoodles In Homemade Marinara Sauce Recipe to inspire you to lighten up your menu! Now, that’s Amore!
Zoodles In Homemade Marinara Sauce Recipe By The Original Divabetic
I decided to skip using Prego or another brand of spaghetti sauce. Store-bought spaghetti sauce is a sodium grenade. One cup of spaghetti sauce can have a sodium content of nearly 1,000 mg.
Instead, I decided to make my own sauce. I roasted red peppers, garlic, tomatoes (seasoned with basil, thyme, and sage), and onions in the oven at 400 degrees for approximately 25-30 minutes.
Then, I pulsed the mixture in my blender before transferring it to a small pot on the stove to stay warm. This way, the flavors could blend together.
I swapped out flour-based pasta for zoodles to cut back on the carbohydrates. Zoodles are zucchini noodles or spaghetti-like strands made from spiralized, raw zucchini and other squash. They contain no flour or wheat whatsoever and are very low in calories and carbs. A cup of Zoodles includes 30-40 calories and 5 net grams of carbs. Traditional pasta has 210 calories and 40 net grams of carbs per cup. In addition, zoodles provide a good dose of nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin C, B vitamins, potassium, and a modest fiber intake in every cup.
I put the Zoodles in the oven to roast. But you can also cook your Zoodles in a nonstick skillet with a tablespoon of olive oil on medium-high heat, tossing frequently. They will release water and cook quickly, so only heat them for 2–5 minutes for best results to avoid sogginess. Personally, I like to keep them in the oven for as long as possible. Plated and sprinkled a little mozzarella cheese on it and went to town! .. So yummy! Sorry, Prego, I’m making my own sauce from now on.
While I was eating, the Zoodles did release the water, but it did not remove any flavor.
Don’t miss Divabetic’s February 2022 podcast featuring music by Dean Martin. 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. 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.
Join us for Divabetic’s Baking Party with The Diabetic Pastry Chef on Zoom on Wednesday, February 9, 2022, 7 – 8:30 PM, EST
The Diabetic Pastry Chefprepares a Valentines-themed Sugar-Free Dessert Recipe and shares Expert Baking Tips for using Sugar Substitutes. one lucky participant will win a Divabetic Gift Basket featuring Splenda products, Best-Selling Author Tonya Kappes‘s Cozy Mystery, PEAK 10 Skin Save My Soles Rescue Cream, and an assortment of Walden Farms Salad Dressings. You must be present on Zoom to participate in our random drawing.
I’m excited to share that I wrote a new Christmas song with two of my Luther Vandross colleagues, to be released later this year. Since the song lyrics mention alcohol, it’s an excellent opportunity to tackle alcohol and diabetes.
In February’s podcast, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDCES, and I will be speaking about alcohol’s effect on blood sugars. Tune in to Divabetic’s podcastfeaturing music by Dean Martin on Tuesday, February 8, 2022, at 6 PM, EST.
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.
In addition, I’ll be blogging about the various ‘Skinny Proseccos’ on the market with the fabulous Catherine Schuller in subsequent blog posts on Divabetic.Org. These brands claim to have less added sugar and fewer calories than other Proseccos. But are these proseccos a better option or just marketing hype?
Keep in mind less added sugar doesn’t mean NO SUGAR. Skinny Prosecco also contains alcohol.
Many people with diabetes enjoy alcohol. But you need to know how alcohol affects your blood sugar as well as your blood pressure. For example, drinking alcohol may cause your blood sugars to rise or fall.
Moderate amounts of alcohol may cause blood sugars to rise. Conversely, excess alcohol decreases your blood sugars– sometimes causing it to drop into dangerous levels, especially for people with type 1 diabetes.
Beer and sweet wine contain carbohydrates and may raise blood sugar.
Alcohol stimulates your appetite, which can cause you to overeat and may affect your blood sugar control.
Alcoholic drinks often have a lot of calories, making it more challenging to lose excess weight.
Alcohol may also affect your judgment or willpower, causing poor food choices.
Alcohol can interfere with the positive effects of oral diabetes medicines or insulin.
Alcohol can cause flushing, nausea, increased heart rate, and slurred speech. These may be confused with or mask the symptoms of low blood sugar.
I’m looking forward to hosting a virtual Record Release Party on Zoom with the musicians, vocalists, and educators to celebrate my new songwriting credit!!
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.
Frank Sinatra helps us mark the hundredth year anniversary of the first person receiving insulin on Divabetic’s February podcast scheduled for Tuesday, February 8, 2022 at 6 PM, EST.
In January 1922, Leonard Thompson, a 14-year-old boy dying from diabetes in a Toronto hospital, receive an injection of insulin and was literally brought back to life.
By 1923, insulin had become widely available, saving countless lives around the world, and Frederick Banting and J.J. R. Macleod, the two scientists who began preparations for the first insulin treatment to be administered to a human, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine. To this day, it’s still the quickest that a Nobel Prize was awarded following the discovery of a medical breakthrough.
Frank Sinatra was an American singer and motion-picture actor and one of the most sought-after performers in the entertainment industry.
He is responsible for bringing jazz out of itself and into popular music and making it stick. Instead of being the singer with the band, he made himself into an instrumentalist—of the voice.
Many considered Frank Sinatra to have been the greatest American singer of 20th-century popular music.
Podcast guests: Fran Carpentier, Mama Rose Marie, and Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDCES. Throughout the podcast, we will be featuring music from The Voice Of Frank Sinatra courtesy of SONY Music.
