Stanford University researchers found that Type 2 diabetes patients “with a certain genetic mutation may be able to rely on beta carotene to reduce their symptoms.” Beta carotene is a variant of vitamin A— commonly found in carrots. Some with Type 2 diabetes have a gene variant, SLC30A4, which “codes for a protein that is involved with helping beta cells in the pancreas make insulin, which is critical for breaking down glucose in the diet.” Adding beta carotene may improve the pancreas’ ability to produce insulin and decrease the person’s risk of getting the disease. Read More: http://healthland.time.com/2013/01/23/can-carrots-reduce-the-effect-of-diabetes-causing-genes/?iid=hl-main-lead
Mr. Divabetic at the NY International Auto Show 2013 video
Meet the happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic at the Taking Control Of Your Diabetes Conference & Health Fair in Savannah, GA on Saturday, May 18, 2013. For more details visit: www.divabetic.org
GLAM MORE FEAR LESS: Thank you, Joan Rivers and the rest of the cast of E!’s Fashion Police for showing us all that a sense of humor is truly the best accessory to be carrying on the Red Carpet. An idea that has suely escaped sourpuss Lady GaGa‘s grasp.
Your upbeat take on celebrity fashion has inspired the happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic and ‘Joan Ranger’ to create the new fashion foward game, ‘Lend, Buy or Burn!’ just in time for the Oscars. After all, he’s considered one of the best armchair Red Carpet fashion critics to ever hold a remote control.
Tune in to hear the hysterical game results on the upcoming free Diabetes Roundtable’s LIVE ON THE RED CARPET SPECIAL podcast schedule for Tuesday, February 12, 2013, 6 – 7 PM, EST.
Sally Field, the two-time Oscar winner who is nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Mary Todd Lincoln in the film, Lincoln, inspires Divabetic’s one hour whirlwind of diabetes wellness with a heaping teaspoon of glamour and style. Special guests include: diabetes advocate, author and coach, Riva Greenberg, Divabetic Image & Style Advisor, Catherine Schuller, Go2Bra creator, Connie Elder, Pumpwear Inc. & Girly Girl Studio co- owner, Julie De Fruscio, poet Lorraine Brooks, Patricia Addie Gentle RN, CDE, Constance Brown-Riggs MSEd, RD, CDE, Neva White DNP, CRNP, CDE, skin expert Sue Perez, Mama Rose Marie and Marilyn from Pasadena, CA who is living with type 1 diabetes.
To play the game, ‘Lend, Buy or Burn!, you have to choose from three famous Red Carpet looks which gown you’d LEND to a friend, which gown you’d BUY for yourself and which one you’d choose to BURN! Laugh a little, Learn a lot. #lendbuyburn
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
TUNE IN: Free Diabetes Podcast Inspired by Chaka Khan celebrating National Diabetes Awareness Month with guests: Constance Brown-Riggs MSEd, RD, CDE, Pam Butler MS, CDE, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, cookbook author Holly Clegg, Mama Rose Marie and Ginger Vieira, from Burlington, VT living with type 1 diabetes
Before you decide to “trash” a veggie for good, why not try to eat it raw? Raw veggies can be more appetizing than their cooked counterparts to people who aren’t crazy about vegetables. The flavors of raw veggies can be milder than those of cooked ones.
See Mr. Divabetic live in Tucson, AZ, Santa Clara, CA, Philadelphia, PA, Savannah, GA and Bethesda, MD in 2013. Get more details at www.divabetic.org
“Divabetic” Paula Deen has been making big changes in her diet, and it’s paying off.
Paula Deen, the Southern chef known for her love of butter and the deep fryer, was much maligned
for promoting a high-fat diet when she revealed her type 2 diabetes diagnosis in January. She had kept her condition under wraps for three years.
Since sharing her diabetes diagnosis, she tells People magazine, she’s lost 30 pounds, dropping from a size 18 to a size 10.
“I feel a thousand times better,” Deen, 65, tells People, adding that she gives herself an injection every day to control her blood-sugar levels. “I have more energy, I sleep better. The weight loss has made my health issues better.”
Paula Deen tells People she is thinking differently about food these days.
“I do think differently,” about food, Deen tells People. She said she eats more green salads and veggies. And as for carbs? “Just a spoonful,” she allows. And dessert is sugar-free ice cream topped with berries, the magazine reports.
Fried food is mostly off the menu.
For someone with type 2 diabetes, changing your diet and losing weight are “the major modifiers” of the disease, says endocrinologist Dr. Osama Hamdy, medical director of the obesity clinical program at Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston. Those two things can sometimes be even more effective than medications, he said.
The body needs glucose, or sugar, to work properly, Hamdy says. Insulin is the “key” that opens the door to the body’s organs and tissues to allow the glucose in.
In type 2 diabetes, the body cannot metabolize sugar correctly, because either the pancreas is not making enough insulin or the body is resisting its own insulin. With the glucose locked out, too much sugar builds up in the bloodstream, causing type 2 diabetes.
A major risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes is weight gain because it makes the body not responsive to its own insulin, Hamdy says. But shedding pounds can reverse the course of the disease, he said.
“Weight loss is the key to improving diabetes management and the weight loss can also lead to reversing the course of diabetes from continuous progression to regression, and occasionally, weight loss can lead to remission,” Hamdy says.
Remission, which can be long- or short-term, means a patient has normal blood sugar levels and doesn’t require medication, he said, adding that there is no “cure” for diabetes. “If you gain the weight back, then it will be a problem,” Hamdy said, “and diabetes will reappear again.”
The happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic stops by the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party to learn healthy ways to enjoy the barbecue from everyday people.
Mr. Divabetic hosts Diva TalkRadio, a dynamic free online and mobile podcast channel featuring health care professionals, beauty, image/style and fitness experts, entertainment industry leaders and VIPs: women and men living with, at risk of and affected by diabetes.
New research shows that a commonly prescribed diabetes drug, metformin, may help fight cancer. The drug helps diabetes patients keep their blood sugar in check and makes them more sensitive to insulin. But several new studies examined the effect of metformin on cancerous tumors, based on previous findings that metformin increases the activity of an enzyme involved in tumor suppression.
The latest findings were presented this month in the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) meeting in Chicago.
Researchers studied the effect of metformin on patients affected with a variety of cancers, including melanoma, pancreatic, lung, and prostate cancer. The studies found metformin inhibits the growth of most tumor cells.
Pancreatic patients prescribed metformin had a 32 percent reduced risk for death compared to those not prescribed the drug, according to a study led by Dr. Dongui Li, professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Li and colleagues observed 302 patients with diabetes and pancreatic cancer- 117 of the patients were prescribed metformin.
In celebration of National Diabetes Awareness Month, Divabetic’s kicking to the curb all the common myths associated with diabetes. Of course, were going to do it with style! Timex Social Club’s 80’s classic dance track “Rumors” helps us to dispel DIABETES MYTH #3:There’s only one dangerous kind of diabetes.
FACT: Not true. Diabetes refers to a group of disease which ALL require serious attention. Diabetes is the body’s inability to properly convert glucose from food into energy, leading to a high level of sugar in the blood. The main kinds include type 1 (formerly known as juvenile-onset diabetes), type 2 (once called adult-onset diabetes), gestational (which occurs only during pregnancy) and pre-diabetes. Managing any type of diabetes requires balancing food, physical activity, and, if needed, medications. And while people with type 1 diabetes need to take insulin every day for their entire lives, type 2 diabetes is no less of a concern, because ignoring it could lead to devastating health-related complications such as blindness, kidney failure, amputation, heart attack, and stroke.
Glam More, Fear Less: Tune into Diva TalkRadio hosted by by the happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic and featuring celebrities, doctors and beauty and fashion experts. Enjoy over 30 Diva TalkRadio show are available for free on i-tunes (search ‘Divabetic’) and at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/divatalkradio1.
While tens of millions of Americans are either suffering from diabetes or are in a pre-diabetes state, a large percentage still do not know they have it. Now a new campaign with actor Chris Noth, Mr. Big on “Sex And The City,” is helping raise awareness and encouraging those at risk to get tested.
Now, Noth is helping to encourage Americans to get screened for diabetes, after noticing a friend was in trouble. “A friend of mine was seriously, seriously diabetic and he didn’t know it,” says Noth. “Now, he had some of the obvious signs. He was obese, fatigued. I, at the time, just thought, ‘Go to the gym, dude, go get in shape or something.’ But another friend of ours who happened to be a doctor said, ‘No, no, no, you’ve got to get screened, because this… it’s not just that you are obese. There are other things about this that don’t seem right.’”
Noth is not a diabetic himself, but watching his friend turn his health around after getting a diagnosis spurred him to lend his image to the “Ask.Screen.Know.” campaign sponsored by health care company Novo Nordisk.
According to the American Diabetes Association, more than 25 million Americans have diabetes, but nearly one third do not know it. The “Ask.Screen.Know.” campaign encourages more people to learn the risk factors and get tested, especially adults 45 and older, in keeping with ADA guidelines.
Screening is especially important because the earlier doctors can make a diagnosis, the earlier they can start treatment to help prevent what can be serious complications of diabetes. Those can include stroke, heart disease, blindness, amputations, neurological problems and kidney failure.
To find out more, visit askscreenknow.com. Senior citizens often qualify to get screened for free. Experience uplifting diabetes education, encouragement and empowerment go to: divabetic.org
As Divas we are always on the move. In the summer, we tend to be much more active; whether we are driving down to the beach, cruising the Caribbean or just heading to a backyard cookout, the last thing a Diva wants is to have her makeup withering away.
With ridiculously high temperatures and multiple activities, one of the best tips from Kiauna Hunt, CEO of Diva Status and Diva TalkRadio guest make up artist
is less is more for the summer.
Diva Status Trends for Summer Beauty are fresh faced and natural with eyes or lips that pop. Try a light tinted moisturizer (for normal to dry skin) or a light pressed powder (if you have oily skin) and don’t be afraid to step outside of the box with a little color this summer. Pinks and Corals are especially pretty and look good on just about any skin tone. You will be pleasantly surprised with how a little bit of color can brighten up your face, wardrobe and your day.
LISTEN NOW: Enjoy a great mix of beauty, fashion, food fitness and diabetes self-care advice to help you live like a diva on Diva TalkRadio – Diabetes Roundtable: http://t.co/57bxXb2 Learn more about Diva Status, visit www.mydivastatus.com
MSNBC reports that making healthy choices as per the government’s new My Plate guidelines is “going to cost you at least $7.28 a week extra.” The University of Washington study concluded that healthy heating should be accessible to all income brackets. While spending an extra $400 a month on groceries may sound unreasonable, there is a possibility that you could save on health care down the line.
Get free health and wellness advice on dining out and grocery shopping with the Charlie’s Angels of Outreach on Diva TalkRadio – Diabetes Roundtable. We’re podcasting with attitude!LISTEN NOW:http://t.co/57bxXb2
Our DIVA INSPIRATION for August 2011 is the sensational singer, songwriter, Alicia Keys, who just happens to be celebrating her 10 year anniversary of the release of her 5 -time Grammy Award winning album that launched Alicia’s career, “song in A minor.”
Here’s Alicia’s thoughts on her 10th year anniversary: “It’s incredibly surreal for me to be celebrating the 10th anniversary of songs in A minor. Looking back on the journey, I’m truly moved by my fans and friends who’ve been with me and have supported me throughout my career. This album is possibly the most pre- cious to me, as your first album only happens once, and so songs in A minor will always hold a special place in my life that’s filled with amazing memories. I’m so proud that the songs are still being enjoyed around the world, and I’m crazy excited to share, through the 10th Anniversary Edition, songs never heard before, and even more of my debut album with you.” – Alicia Keys
The original release of songs in A minor sold more than 11 million albums worldwide and garnered Keys with her first five, of 14 total, Grammy® Awards including Best New Artist, Best Song of the Year for “Fallin,” and Best R&B Album. With the 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition, Keys’ fans will be able to re- discover this seminal album and explore previously unreleased and original bonus material, such as the tracks “A Woman’s Worth” remix featuring Nas; “Juiciest” mix tape version; “Fallin” the Ali soundtrack version; and the previously unreleased “Typewriter, “If I Was Your Woman” original funky demo version.
Tune in, log on to Diva TalkRadio – Diabetes Roundtable on Tuesday, August 9, 2011, 6-6:30 PM to enter our random drawing to receive a free copy of Alicia Key’s songs in A minor/10th Anniversary edition. Go to: divabetic.org or the Divabetic facebook fan page for more information.
In case you've missed it, here is the latest diabetes information just for you: Wheat Belly Book Review Diabetes Community Spotlight: The Poor Diabetic What is the Best Blood Sugar Monitor? Diabetes Breakfast Scrambles
Diabetes scams are not a rare occurrence. They are everywhere. Unfortunately many of us turn to the internet hoping to find help for diabetes and not everyone is internet savvy, leaving them vulnerable to scams....Read Full Post
Are you tired of diabetes? Are you so tired that you don't even want to think about it? You may be experiencing diabetes burnout. This is when the efforts to carry out diabetes management become too overwhelming and stressful. The stress of it all becomes too much to handle....Read Full Post
My 11-year-old son likes treats. There is a container of red licorice on the table I have to resist whenever I enter the kitchen to grab an apple. When his friends come over they ask me to make them ice cream cones or muffins or for some change for the ice cream man. In the meantime I grab a couple squares of dark chocolate. They are just a little on the […]
It's a great time to soak up vitamin D from the sun's rays and breathe in fresh air. It's also a great time to try some light refreshing soup such as cold gazpacho soup. It is chock full of vegetables, fiber, and flavor. It is also low in carbs and sugar. I am sharing one of my most favorite recipes with you that coincidentally happens to […]
With a new year comes a new batch of articles to help you better manage your diabetes. I've been trying to add more content of late about family dynamics and diabetes. To that end I've developed two articles specifically for parents with children with type 1. The first addresses the often difficult topic of How to Talk with Your Child About Diabete […]
Pigs being raised in germ-free pens in Western Wisconsin may be one of our greatest hopes for an actual cure for diabetes. The University of Minnesota has teamed up with Mayo Clinic to find a cure for diabetes during this decade. They believe that these pigs may hold great promise....Read Full Post
People with type 1 and especially parents of children with type 1 fear nighttime hypoglycemic episodes. To address this concern, Medtronic has developed a remote glucose sensor called mySentry. The device allows parents and other caregivers to remotely monitor glucose levels and insulin pump status from another room in the house. If any of the built-in indic […]
As 2011 comes to a close I highlight the articles I've created this month to help you better manage your diabetes. I continue to be convinced that having knowledge about the potential health problems that could occur with type 1 is not bad news. I view it as motivation to practice what we know we can prevent or at least delay the onset of these complica […]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued new guidelines toward trying to speed up the development of an effective artificial pancreas device. This is welcome news to people with type 1 diabetes who have been hearing about technological advances toward an artificial pancreas for years but are still waiting for a significant breakthrough.... […]
The information presented on this blog is for informational purposes only, and not intended to be a replacement or substitute for consultation with a qualified medical professional or for professional medical advice related to diabetes or any other medical condition. Please contact your physician or medical professional with any questions or concerns about your medical condition.
Stanford University researchers found that Type 2 diabetes patients “with a certain genetic mutation may be able to rely on beta carotene to reduce their symptoms.” Beta carotene is a variant of vitamin A— commonly found in carrots. Some with Type 2 diabetes have a gene variant, SLC30A4, which “codes for a protein that is involved with helping beta cells in the pancreas make insulin, which is critical for breaking down glucose in the diet.” Adding beta carotene may improve the pancreas’ ability to produce insulin and decrease the person’s risk of getting the disease. Read More: http://healthland.time.com/2013/01/23/can-carrots-reduce-the-effect-of-diabetes-causing-genes/?iid=hl-main-lead
