Soda’s Not Irreplaceable – YOU Are!

Divabetic

I’ve become increasingly aware of  the chaos and confusion surrounding health and wellness messages.  Last year, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg took on the Beverage Industry of America with the NYC Super Sized Soda Ban and somehow his  argument about improving New Yorker’s overall health was lost as the Beverage Industry turned the ban into a fight for  ‘human rights.’

Now, Beyonce, who once partnered with First Lady Michelle Obama on Let’s Move, is promoting Pepsi products. And she’s using the Super Bowl to launch her campaign – one of the most watch TV shows of the year!

Not only do I present health and wellness programming to 6th grade girls at risk for diabetes at the Young Women’s Leadership Schools (TYWLS) in the Bronx but I also present diabetes education to their mothers and grandmother through my work with Divabetic. I can honestly say that Beyonce’s image on Pepsi cans makes these sugar sweetened beverages more appealing to kids of all ages!

It’s been reported that consumer demand for Disney-branded healthier food options (fresh vegetable and fruit) has resulted in more than 1.3 billion servings of Disney-branded fresh produce sold in the United States. If Mickey Mouse can successfully get kids to eat their brussel sprouts than Beyonce can certainly can convince them to drink sugar!

I fell like every time we move two steps forward (the Super Sized Soda Ban) to improve the health and wellness of Americans we take four steps back (Beyonce endorsing Pepsi) when a famous celebrity lends their name and image to an unhealthy product.

Well, I’m fighting back! I think that soda’s not ‘Irreplaceable’ – YOU are!

To the left, to the left

To the left, to the left

To the left, to the left

 

Everything’s bad for your health to the left

There’s 9 teaspoons of sugar in that stuff, yes

So if anyone bought it  – please don’t touch

 

And keep talking that mess, that’s fine

But could you walk and talk at the same time?

And it’s your face that is on that can

So ‘Let’s Move’ your bags let me call you a cab

 

Standing in the front yard telling me

How I’m such a fool, talking about

How I’ll never ever get a body like you

You got me twisted

 

You must not know ’bout me

You must not know ’bout me

I could have another water in a minute

Matter fact I’ll drink some more in minute, baby

 

You must not know ’bout me

You must not know ’bout me

I can have another water by tomorrow

So don’t you ever for a second get to thinking Pepsi’s irreplaceable

Watch News Yorkers try to identify the healthiest treat from three Serve, Taste or Trash! Food Game choices bought at a convenience store. You might be surprised by the results.

Diabetes & Exercise? What real women living with diabetes have to say about blood sugars, marathons and motivation with Mr. Divabetic

TUNE IN: Free to Diabetes Roundtable podcast Inspired by Rihanna with guests: Neva White DNP, CRNP, CDE, Connie Frazier RD, CDE, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, author Elsie Spruill, poet Lorraine Brooks, hairstylist and makeup artist Charlene Wilson, Mama Rose Marie and Allison from Jersey City, NJ living with diabetes http://www.blogtalkradio.com/divatalkradio1/2013/01/08/diabetes-roundtable-inspired-by-rihanna

 ’Movie Girl Workouts’ with Mr. Divabetic and fitness expert, Katherine Adamenko

Experience Mr. Divabetic’s wellness with a wow programming in Tucson, AZ, Santa Clara, CA, Philadelphia, PA, Savannah, GA and Bethesda, MD in 2013. Get more details at www.divabetic.org

NYC Approves Super Size Soda Ban

New York City’s Board of Health voted  to approve the “soda ban” that limits the sale of large sugary drinks within the city, according to Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Under the measure, people will not be able to buy sugar-sweetened drinks larger than 16 ounces at fast-food restaurants, convenience stores, movie theaters and food carts.

“[Six] months from today, our city will be an even healthier place,” Bloomberg tweeted.

However, experts say it remains to be seen whether the city will actually be healthier. Critics have pointed out that people could just buy two 16-ounce drinks rather than a 32-ounce drink.

One recent study attempting to look at what effect the law might have showed that the new measure could reduce New Yorker’s average calorie consumption, but only if at least 40 percent of people make changes in their drink consumption.

The researchers, who analyzed the receipts of about 1,600 fast-food restaurant customers in East Coast cities, found that if all consumers who had been buying larger sizes switched to a single 16-ounce drink (and none bought two 16-ounce beverages), the average calorie intake would drop by 63 calories per meal.

However, if only 30 percent of consumers switched, no decrease in the average calories consumed per meal would occur, the researchers said. The magic number needed to see any effect was 40 percent — if that percentage of consumers switched to a single 16-ounce beverage, then overall calorie consumption would decrease by close to 10 calories, according to the study, which was published in July in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Bloomberg also tweeted, “Portion size drives consumption.” Here, studies do support the mayor’s point.

For instance, Simone French, associate director of the University of Minnesota Obesity Prevention Center, told MyHealthNewsDaily in an interview in May that when people are presented with large portions, they tend not to consume “just enough” to meet their bodies’ needs, and instead eat the entire portion as a single serving. Since the Coca-Cola Co. began selling its products, the bottles that are often consumed as a single serving have grown from 6.5 ounces to 20 ounces, she said.

“We need to have a cultural shift back to more modest, reasonable, appropriate portion sizes if we want to help reduce the obesity epidemic,” French said.

Mr. Divabetic talks to New Yorkers about the Super Size Soda Ban in Central Park

Free Diabetes Podcast inspired by Taylor Swift http://www.blogtalkradio.com/divatalkradio1/2012/09/11/diabetes-roundtable-inspired-by-mystery-diva

 Look who’s on the red tomato carpet with Mr. Divabetic at Plus Night Out -NYC

Meet Mr. Divabetic on his quest to glamorize good health at Divabetic – Makeover Your Diabetes outreach event in Philadelphia, PA, the American Diabetes Association’s Diabetes Expo in Pittsburgh, PA  and the Taking Control Of Your Diabetes Conferences & Health Fairs in San Diego, CA and Austin, TX.

For sponsorship opportunities and event details visit:  www.divabetic.org and Divabetic’s facebook pages.

Soda Ban LA-Style

Los Angeles parks and libraries could soon be soda-free.

When Councilman Mitch Englander discovered that his daughter was unable to buy anything but sugar-packed sodas in a city park vending machine, he introduced a motion to ban them.

Englander pitched his proposed soda ban at parks and libraries to the city’s Arts, Parks, Health & Aging Committee, CBS reports.

The council member, who serves as president of the local chapter of the American Diabetes Association, talked about how sugary sodas increase rates of childhood obesity and diabetes. He demonstrated that a 20-ounce soda bottle contains about 22 packets of sugar, Encino Patch reports.

“Here in the city of Los Angeles, one in four children is obese,” Englander said to KTLA. “In many of our communities, it’s one in three.” Sodas can also affect young people mentally, he added, even sometimes increasing violence towards others.

Englander’s proposed ban, which he hopes to have approved sometime this summer, heard immediate opposition from the American Beverage Association, which flew representatives from Washington, D.C. to attend the meeting, ABC reports.

The happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic is on location in Central Park, New York City to find out people’s reactions to Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed Super Size Soda ban.

LISTEN NOW: Free Diabetes Roundtable podcast Inspired by Rev Run http://www.blogtalkradio.com/divatalkradio1/2012/06/12/diabetes-roundtable-inspired-by-rev-run

Is NY Soda Ban Just The Beginning?

While the New York City Board of Health approves of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s plan to cut all large sugary drinks from New Yorker’s diets, some members are taking issue with one major point: They don’t think the plan goes far enough.

Mayor Bloomberg has proposed a ban of all sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces throughout the city’s restaurants, street carts and stadiums. Only grocery stores and convenience stores would be exempt, as well as drinks that natural fruit juices and drinks with over 50 percent milk. This means while a Big Gulp would still be allowed to be sold at 7-11s, but movie theaters will have to get rid of their larger options.

The happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic is on location in Central Park, New York City to find out people’s reactions to Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed Super Size Soda ban.

Certain New York City Board of Health member Bruce Vladeck questioned why large tubs of popcorn were not included in the ban, according to the New York Daily News. Another member, Dr. Joel Forman, pointed out that even 100 percent juice and milk-containing beverages have large amounts of calories and should not be excluded.

While Dr. Kenneth Popler, board member and president of the Staten Island Mental Health Society, recognized that it would infringe on New Yorkers’ rights, he felt that the health benefits were worth it, the Wall Street Journal reported. Obesity has led to 5,800 deaths a year in New York City and costs taxpayers $4 billion, according to statements presented at the meeting.

Mayor Bloomberg’s Daughter Isn’t Fan Of Soda Ban

This month, news that Mayor Bloomberg was out to slay Big Bad Obesity with his proposed soda ban was the proverbial shot heard around the world, with everyone from Michelle Obama to Jerry Seinfeld weighing in on the move against sugary drinks. But Bloomberg’s newest critic might hit a little closer to home.

This week, Georgina Bloomberg, the Mayor’s 29-year-old daughter and featured player in the 2003 HBO documentary Born Rich, bumped into NY Mag at a cocktail party and told them she wasn’t a huge fan of her dad’s newest venture. “His intentions are good. And, it’s the kind of thing that the public will thank him for in twenty years,” she said of the ban, which would prohibit restaurants, cafes and movie theaters from selling sugary drinks in quantities over 16 ounces. “However, people should be allowed to make their own bad choices.”

The younger Bloomberg, said that her favorite soft drink is sugar-free Fresca, offered her own solution to the city’s growing obesity problem, suggesting her father make healthy food more accessible to New Yorkers rather than cutting out fattier options. “Ideally, he would lower the cost of healthy food instead of banning unhealthy food,” she said. “If people were able to afford to eat nutritious food, I think they would make better choices.”

A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll noted that the majority of Americans disagree with the Mayor’s proposed ban, with nearly 64 percent of those surveyed believing the ban was an unnecessary government intervention.

LISTEN NOW: Studio d The Golden Rules of a Diabetes Diet http://www.blogtalkradio.com/divatalkradio1/2012/06/01/studio-d-the-golden-rules-of-a-diabetes-diet