Divabetic Gluten Free Foods

“So far this year, more than 18% of the new food products put into stores make a gluten-free claim,” said Tom Vierhile, innovation insights director at Datamonitor Consumer, which tracks the introduction of new products into the U.S. market.. That’s compared with 11.5% in 2012 and 11.7% in 2011.

Many of the more recent new products are in the snack-food category, Vierhile said.

Many supermarkets and stores like Target, Walgreens and KMart have entire sections set aside for dozens of crackers, cookies, baking mixes, pretzels and chips made with flours that don’t contain wheat, such as corn, rice or chickpeas.

It’s estimated that about a third of Americans are trying to avoid gluten — some to manage the serious disease called celiac, some for less serious allergies or intolerance and some because going gluten-free has become something of a fad.

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye.

From Jan. 1, 2012, to May 14 of this year, the top five categories with new products making the gluten-free claim and the number of new products, including various flavors and sizes were: cereal bars (297); savory snacks (272); potato chips (162); chocolate (149) and sugar confections, such as hard candies (143).

You might be scratching your head wondering why hard candy or potato chips need to put a gluten-free label on their products, but it turns out there’s a reason that really matters to people who have celiac disease. They can be sickened by eating something that’s made in the same facility with gluten-containing products.

The federal government is soon to issue a definition of gluten-free that would likely mean a product could have no more than 20 parts per million of gluten, but for now there are private certification companies that issue a seal.

“There is probably an upper limit to the market for gluten-free, but it isn’t clear that this limit has been reached yet,” Vierhile said.

Serve, Taste or Trash! Food Game with Mr. Divabetic

LISTEN NOW: Listen to Diabetes Roundtable Inspired by Kathie Lee And Hoda http://www.blogtalkradio.com/divatalkradio1/2013/04/09/diabetes-roundtable-inspired-by-kathie-lee-and-hoda

Please join Divabetic’s growing facebook community.

Brenda Novak’s Annual Online Auction

New York Times Bestselling author, Brenda Novak who has a son with Type 1 diabetes is running an Annual Online Auction for Diabetes Research at http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com to raise money for diabetes research this May.

Act now,  there’s only two more weeks to get great items like Celine Dion and Bret Michaels concert tickets, Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman’s (in the DWTS finals tonight) autographed leotard, lunch with Lee Childs (of Jack Reacher fame), Diana Gabaldon, Catherine Coulter, and many other popular authors. The auction is now open and will run through May 31st.

Brenda Novak’s Annual Online Auction for Diabetes Research is having its biggest year yet. Thanks to all who have participated in the past — both donors and shoppers — Brenda and her team have raised a cumulative total of $1.6 million.

This year Brenda Novak’s Annual Online Auction for Diabetes Research is hoping to surpass $2 million to help all those with diabetes

HELP  NOW:  http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com

Serve, Taste or Trash! Food Game with Mr. Divabetic

LISTEN NOW: Listen to Diabetes Roundtable Inspired by Kathie Lee And Hoda http://www.blogtalkradio.com/divatalkradio1/2013/04/09/diabetes-roundtable-inspired-by-kathie-lee-and-hoda

Please join Divabetic’s growing facebook community.

Divabetic Bad Hair Days

Do you ever wake up feeling like your diabetes is having a bad hair day?

Diabetes — both type 1 and type 2 — can affect your emotions and, in turn, your emotions can wreak havoc on your diabetes self-management.

Extremes in blood-sugar levels can cause significant mood changes, and new research suggests that frequent changes in blood-sugar levels (called glycemic variability) also can affect mood and quality of life for those with diabetes.

Depression has long been linked to diabetes, especially type 2. It’s still not clear, however, whether depression somehow triggers diabetes or if having diabetes leads to being depressed.

More recent research in people with type 1 diabetes has found that long periods of high blood-sugar levels can trigger the production of a hormone linked to the development of depression.

“Diabetes gives you so much to worry about that it’s exhausting. It can make you feel powerless,” said Joe Solowiejczyk, a certified diabetes educator and a manager of diabetes counseling and training at the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute in Milpitas, Calif. “I think it’s important to acknowledge that, from time to time, you’re going to have a meltdown. You’re going to have days when you feel exasperated, frustrated, sad, in denial and physically exhausted.”

Solowiejczyk, who has type 1 diabetes himself, said these feelings become a problem “when you’re not able to get on with your life, and you’re persistently not taking care of your diabetes.”

We’re here to help. Each month, Divabetic produces a free monthly podcast featuring friendly diabetes educators, sassy experts and marvelous men and women living with diabetes. The  goal of the show is to make you feel more beautiful inside and out.

LISTEN NOW: Listen to Diabetes Roundtable Inspired by Kathie Lee And Hoda http://www.blogtalkradio.com/divatalkradio1/2013/04/09/diabetes-roundtable-inspired-by-kathie-lee-and-hoda

Serve, Taste or Trash! Food Game with Mr. Divabetic

Divabetic Mangos And Magnolias Stage Show

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” is what several attendees said about the Divabetic Zone at the Taking Control Of Your Diabetes (TCOYD) Conference & Health Fair in Savannah, GA.

The Divabetic Zone was packed with smiling faces, upbeat attitudes and laughter all day long.

The happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic kicked off his newest diabetes outreach stage show called “Mangos & Magnolias” at 8 AM on Saturday, May 18, 2013 and never seemed to stop.

“It was my first time to Savannah so I really wanted to put on a show. I wasn’t looking at the clock,” says Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek.”Everyone was so friendly. We were having such a good time that I just didn’t want to stop! I love it when we get the crowds to laugh a little and learn a lot. That’s my goal and it blows me away each and everytime it happens.”

This high-energy interactive stage show stretched eight hours with it’s fruity combination of nutrition advice, fun workouts, games and prizes with a dash of Southern charm. Popular show segments like ‘Dancing In Cars’ Chair Cardio Routines have been revved up with hits from One Direction and Nicki Minaj.  ‘Single Ladies/Single Servings’ Portion Games and Carb Kitty, are now featured in between new games such as ‘Mangos & Magnolias’ Diabetes IQ and a Cowboy-inspired fitness demonstration called ‘Rawhide Workouts.’ 

Mr Divabetic’s Rawhide Workout

“The Rawhide workout just came to me out of the blue!,”says Szadek. “I was just playing around with the idea of creating a new chair cardio routine to a country music when it hit me! We need the Wild, Wild West!!”

Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE presented the ‘Queen of Hearts’ Advice on Blood Pressure Monitoring at Home.

Special Guests: Mama Rose Marie, Stan ‘The Announcer Man’ and Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE.

Prize giveaways compliments of Werther’s Original Sugar Free, CVS Pharmacy, dLife, Crystal Light, Extend Nutrition, GlucoLift, Cabot Cheese and Dr. Scholl’s.

“I just hope the divas and dudes in Philadelphia, PA, Pittsburgh, PA and New York, NY have as much fun as our new friends in Savannah, GA did — then I will be happy!, said Szadek.

Divabetic’s “Mango & Magnolias” tour continues to the end of the year. For more details visit: www.divabetic.org 

LISTEN NOW:  ”Blood Sugars, Babies & Belly Bumps” hosted by Mr. Divabetic http://www.blogtalkradio.com/divatalkradio1/2013/05/14/diabetes-roundtable-inspired-by-kate-middleton

Fasting insulin and glucose data from 4,657 National Health and Nutrition Survey participants revealed that “current users” of marijuana were part of the least likely demographic to have common risk factors for diabetes.

Marijuana smokers who admitted to being “current users” — not previous users — had the lowest fasting insulin and glucose levels and body mass index. High fasting insulin levels are considered evidence of insulin resistance —  the inability of the body to respond properly to insulin - a risk factor for pre-diabetes.

“Previous epidemiologic studies have found lower prevalence rates of obesity and diabetes mellitus in marijuana users compared to people who have never used marijuana, suggesting a relationship between cannabinoids and peripheral metabolic processes, but ours is the first study to investigate the relationship between marijuana use and fasting insulin, glucose, and insulin resistance,”  stated lead investigator Murray A. Mittleman, MD, DrPH, of the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Unit at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, in a press release.

Despite the common stereotype of marijuana users craving high-calorie food and lots of it — “the munchies” — pot use was also linked to having a lower body mass index in the study, another factor not often associated with diabetes.

READ MORE: ttp://www.everydayhealth.com/type-2-diabetes/toke-up-glucose-down-marijuana-linked-to-better-blood-sugar-control-2789.aspx

LISTEN NOW: Listen to Diabetes Roundtable Inspired by Kathie Lee And Hoda http://www.blogtalkradio.com/divatalkradio1/2013/04/09/diabetes-roundtable-inspired-by-kathie-lee-and-hoda

Serve, Taste or Trash! Food Game with Mr. Divabetic

Divabetic Documentaries

After spending a summer volunteering at the Jewish Home for the Elderly in Fairfield, Connecticut, filmmaker David Gaynes returned to direct and produce the provocative, but brief More Than Skin Deep: A Documentary About Self-Esteem, Aging, and Hairdressing. The Jewish Home for the Elderly is home to 300 female residents. Of these 300, approximately 298 women have regular appointments at the beauty shop located within the nursing home. More Than Skin Deep is a unique exploration of the importance that this weekly ritual has in the life of the facility’s residents, all of whom are women between the ages of 80 and 100.

“Hair is an important part of your body,” says one resident. Taking care of this body part is an important and obvious outcome of going to the beauty shop. However, Gaynes’ focus on six distinctive residents makes it clear that going to the beauty shop is good for the residents’ mental as well as physical health. Sandy, the beauty shop manager, says that looking good makes the women feel better. The beauty shop staff obviously cares about their elderly clients and often the older women will tell the beauticians about aspects of their lives they do not otherwise divulge.

Keeping the regular beauty shop appointments provides an opportunity for the residents to circumvent their usual routine of taking medications, playing bingo, or going to concerts. The staff’s regular interactions with the aged women ease some of the burden of being lonely. The staff speaks respectfully of the residents, demonstrating and delivering concern and even physical affection. They provide another benefit – perhaps the best one articulated in Gaynes’ film – a connection not just to others outside the home, but to that part of the residents that resides in the past with their youth and physical beauty.

Though More Than Skin Deep focuses on this particular diversion from the routine of living in a nursing home, it does not evade the complex issues associated with growing older. The six residents talk about their physical limitations and infirmities – arthritis, senility, hearing loss, depression and osteoporosis, especially common in women. They speak directly of personal loss and loneliness, and most have accepted the inevitability of their own death. In fact, the six women at the heart of the documentary seem to embrace the standard concerns of the elderly more easily as a result of keeping their regular appointments at the beauty shop. In this way, More Than Skin Deep communicates a powerful message about how truly simple pleasures can easily improve the daily severity of nursing home life.

LEARN MORE: http://www.fanlight.com/catalog/films/363_mtsd.php

Serve, Taste or Trash! Game at Apollo Theater

Divabetic

Grocery shopping while hungry can lead to out of control snacking and an entire week’s worth of unhealthy eating according to new research from Cornell University.

The Cornell researchers followed 68 shoppers as they clicked through an online grocery site that offered a mix of healthy choices — including fruits, vegetables and lean meats — and unhealthy, high calorie snack foods like candy, chips and soda.

The shoppers who didn’t eat for four to five hours before filling their virtual food baskets bought the same number of items as the shoppers who snacked on crackers before clicking away. But the hungry shoppers selected more processed junk foods, 23 percent more on average. A follow up field test where researchers secretly followed shoppers who hadn’t eaten for several hours found much the same.

“You don’t buy more, but you do buy more of the wrong type of calories,” noted Brian Wansink, one of the study’s lead investigators and author of the new book, Slim By Design. “You buy things like cereal, snacks, chips, candy and other convenience foods that require no preparation and that you can eat right away.”

Previous research demonstrated that fasting for up to 18 hours can drive shoppers to make less diet-friendly choices and spend more cash overall. But this is the first study to show you don’t have to be terribly hungry for your judgment to be affected.

Even just a few hours without eating is enough to send you in search of a quick fix to satisfy hunger. And, as Wansink noted, this is often the state shoppers find themselves in as they rush to the market after a long day of work.

Unfortunately, the effect goes well beyond buying a candy bar to tide you over on the drive home, Wansink said. Shoppers who impulsively purchase ready-to-eat, low nutrition foods set themselves up for repeated diet disasters because they fill their pantries with junk instead of healthier fare.

“It ends up cursing the rest of your week because you bought way too much of the convenience foods and not enough of the good stuff. So now there is less healthy food for you to choose from at home.”

Americans seem to be snacking more than ever. On average, Americans enjoy 2.3 snacks per day according to the latest poll by the Hartman Group. Nearly 30 percent of people said they snack impulsively while another 17 percent reach for a snack when they don’t feel like cooking. Almost 60 percent of respondents said choosing a healthy snack is important to them, yet the two most popular snacks choices are chips and soda.

Wansink said the obvious moral here is don’t shop hungry.

“It helps to plan your visit to the supermarket and if you’re hungry, eat an apple before you go,” he said.

LISTEN NOW: Listen to Diabetes Roundtable Inspired by Kathie Lee And Hoda http://www.blogtalkradio.com/divatalkradio1/2013/04/09/diabetes-roundtable-inspired-by-kathie-lee-and-hoda

Serve, Taste or Trash! Food Game with Mr. Divabetic

Mangos & Magnolias

Tomorrow, the happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic kicks off his newest diabetes outreach stage show called “Mangos & Magnolias” at the Taking Control Of Your Diabetes Conference & Health Fair in Savannah, GA on Saturday, May 18, 2013. 

This interactive stage show promises to be a sweet one with it’s  fruity combination of nutrition advice, fun workouts, games and prizes and a dash of Southern charm.

“This is our first time visiting Savannah, GA so it’s gonna be a BIG SHOW!,” says Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek. “I can’t wait to meet all the ‘Divas & Dudes’ so I’m bringing more games, more prizes, more fun and of course, more DIVAS”

In addition to the popular show segments like ‘Dancing In Cars’ Chair Cardio Routines and ‘Single Ladies/Single Servings’ Portion Games and Carb Kitty, the new program features new games such as ‘Mangos & Magnolias’ Diabetes IQ and a Cowboy-inspired fitness demonstration called ‘Rawhide Workouts.’ 

Mangos & Magnolias

The eclectic show’s soundtrack features Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Stronger’, Betty Wright’s ‘Clean Up Woman,’  Selena Gomez ‘Who Says’, Gypsy Kings version of ‘Volare’, Nicki Minaj’s ‘Starships,’ Whitney Houston’s ‘Step By Step,’  ‘Gone With the Wind,’ ‘Rocky’ and “Rawhide’ theme songs, Beyonce’s ‘Love On Top’ and ‘Single Ladies’, Grace Jones ‘Pull Up To The Bumper,’ Shirley Bassey’s ‘I Am What I Am’ and the Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson duet ‘Best Things In Life Are Free.’ 

Plus, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE presents  the ‘Queen of Hearts’ Advice on Blood Pressure Monitoring at Home.  A sneak preview of the  upcoming ‘Diabetes Fairy Tales’ main stage presentation at the ADA Expo in Pittsburgh along with  diabetes talking points from the film, Steel Magnolias and some of Scarlett O’Hara’s attitude to empower women to manage their diabetes with confidence, knowledge and inspiration complete the program.  

Special Guests: Mama Rose Marie, Stan ‘The Announcer Man’ and Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE.

Prize giveaways compliments of Werther’s Original Sugar Free, CVS Pharmacy, dLife, Crystal Light, Cabot Cheese and Dr. Scholl’s. 

LISTEN NOW:  ”Blood Sugars, Babies & Belly Bumps” hosted by Mr. Divabetic http://www.blogtalkradio.com/divatalkradio1/2013/05/14/diabetes-roundtable-inspired-by-kate-middleton

Divabetic

Kirstie Alley slammed Abercrombie honcho Michael Jeffries this week for why the clothing retailer refuses to stock items in sizes larger than, well, large.

LISTEN NOW: Diabetes Roundtable Inspired by Kate Middleton http://www.blogtalkradio.com/divatalkradio1/2013/05/14/diabetes-roundtable-inspired-by-kate-middleton

Serve, Taste or Trash! Game at Apollo Theater

Divabetic Mangos And Magnolias Stage Show

The happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic is ready to kick off his newest diabetes outreach stage show called “Mangos & Magnolias” at the Taking Control Of Your Diabetes Conference & Health Fair in Savannah, GA on Saturday, May 18, 2013.” 

In the south, most people LOVE their sweet tea. Well, this interactive stage show promises to be a sweet one. It’s a fruity combination of nutrition advice, fun workouts, games and prizes with a dash of Southern charm.

“This is our first time visiting Savannah so it’s gonna be a BIG SHOW!,” says Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek. “More games, more prizes, more glamour!”

“I’m combining the most popular show segments like  ‘Dancing In Cars’ Chair Cardio Routines and ‘Single Ladies/Single Servings’ Portion Games with new games, ‘Mangos & Magnolias’ Diabetes IQ and Cowboy’-inspired fitness demonstrations, ‘Rawhide Workouts.” Plus, we’re mixing in Steel Magnolias talking points with  Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE and some Scarlett O’Hara’s attitude to empower women to manage their diabetes with confidence, knowledge and inspiration.  Special Guests: Mama Rose Marie, Stan ‘The Announcer Man’ and Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE.

Prize giveaways compliments of Werther’s Original Sugar Free, CVS Pharmacy, dLife, Crystal Light, Cabot Cheese and Dr. Scholl’s. 

Saturday, May 18, 2013 for Taking Control Of Your Diabetes (TCOYD) Conference  & Health Fair in Savannah, GA. For more info: www.divabetic.org 

LISTEN NOW: Diabetes Roundtable Inspired by Kate Middleton http://www.blogtalkradio.com/divatalkradio1/2013/05/14/diabetes-roundtable-inspired-by-kate-middleton