JDRF San Diego Chapter

Forum Post: North County San Diego kids with T1

dmest28 — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 19:28:00 GMT

Hello all,

My 6 year old son was recently diagnosed with Type 1 and I am looking for kids in our area that he might be able to play with and talk to. If anyone lives in our area and would like to meet up, let me know. We are in Penasquitos.

Thanks,

Debbie

Forum Post: Has Anyone Tried "Two Moms in the Raw" Products at Whole Foods ?

ClaudetteSanDiego — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:47:00 GMT

Perusing the aisles of places like Whole Foods is not a pastime that I do. Everything is so expensive but I have come across some great products and have thought of ordering them online. They might be cheaper.

I really like French Vanilla Stevia as a sweetener. To me it seems to have a better taste than regular Stevia. In my coffee it offers a substitute to using traditional sugar. I do use a little bit of sugar but round it out with a bit of the Stevia. What are your thoughts on this ? What do you use for sweetners ?

I do alot of this stuff to maintain the weight loss of 30 pounds that I have been able to achieve in the last year.

As far as good tasting low carbohydrate/low calorie snacks I recommend, "Two Moms in the Raw", Rawkin Roll products and Earth Organics products. They are gluten-free and raw. The products I like are:

The Fig Chia bar (Cal 170, Carbs 17g- I am partial to figs), www.twomomsintheraw.com

The Goji Bar,( Cal 160, Carbs 10g- sunflower seeds, figs, dates, almonds and orange peel), www.earthlingorganics.com

A really interesting product called "Rawk-n-Roll Cuisine" consists of kale, bell pepper, sun-dried tomatoes, raw agave, spices (one serving is 10g Carbs and 30 Cal) www.RawkinRollCuisine.com. It has a bit of a kick to it but is slightly salty and sweet and chewy.

Don't you think that drinking a healthy shake is not as satisfying as something that you can chew. Having a good chew once in a while feels great. It is fun to dig your teeth into something. It feels almost as satisfying as eating dried fruit, which I love but my hips don't, without all the calories and carbs. What is great is that all these foods are satisfying and taste good.

Another great raw snack is the Blueberry Granola bars made by the Two Moms in the Raw. They are so bulky and big that 1/4 of the bar would suffice as a snack (Cal 50 and Carbs 8). Again they are high in fiber so a little bit goes a long way, www. twomomsintheraw.com.

What kind of good tasting, healthy snacks have you found at your local health store ?

Forum Post: It is Frightfully Good ! How Do You Get Into the Halloween Spirit ?

ClaudetteSanDiego — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 15:49:00 GMT

Does having type 1 diabetes mean you can't have a little Halloween Fun ?

No it does not. The Food Network has some really cute things to do to get into the Halloween season.

These mini cake eyeballs are a fun way for kids to have fun but not break the bank as far as carbohydrate count. See link below.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food-network-halloween-video-library/videos/index.html?channel=42966

Have fun ! Share some of your ideas for this frightfully fun time of the year.

Forum Post: Fennel The Food Of Kings and Queens

ClaudetteSanDiego — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 21:25:00 GMT

Always on the search for tasty low carb snacks. You can add fennel to the list. It has a wonderful licorice taste and is wonderful eaten raw or cooked and can be thrown into tomato sauce or soups for added flavor.

Kings and Queens of France and England fell in love with it. Thomas Jefferson imported fennel seeds from Italy even before the Declaration of Independence was written.

You can roast the white bulb, slice it toss in olive oil and bake it in the oven. It will taste like sweet onions with a little crunch. Chop the bulb and green stalks and use as a base for tomato sauce.

It is a great snack for children who tire of having the same old vegetables for snacks.

What other exotic vegetables have you tried to cook to add that special zing to meals ?

Forum Post: Lazy Days of Summer

ClaudetteSanDiego — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 20:13:00 GMT

What do you love about the lazy days of summer ?

I love reading lazy day summer magazines that remind me to slow down. It is a time when slowing down is acceptable, expected in our "hurry up" society.

The big question is what is the best scenario for flipping through these colorful, joyful magazines jam packed with scrumptous recipes that are crying for the reader to plan an impromtu backyard barbeque with beloved friends and family or ideas for old time summer activities.

I prefer sitting under a big, shady oak tree in the middle of an expansive, green lush garden. The difficulty is that I live in San Diego where that kind of scenario is sometimes hard to come by. Lush and green depends on the time of year, how much rain we have gotten and your locale in San Diego. In the summer, most lawns are looking a bit dry, rain is pretty much non-existant in the summer, and smaller yards with palm trees rather than oaks are pretty much the norm. My pool eats up half of my yard so I need to substitute lounge chair and umbrella for hammock and tree. If this is the case, invest in really good, comfortable, mesh lounge chairs that are comfortable in the sitting or reclining position.

Granted sometimes the best laid plans don't always work out. If you get side tracked like I did last Sunday, try to get back on track the next weekend. Last Sunday was a heavenly day, sunny with a beautiful offshore breeze coming through my bedroom window. I set up everything I needed for a day of writing at my antique white wicker desk, originally from the grand Hotel Del Coronado, a big old seaside hotel built around the early 1900's where the film "Some Like It Hot" was filmed, overlooking my backyard and gardens.

I surrounded myself with my favorite magazines and sat down to write. I wasn't there at my desk more than five minutes when my daughter, home from college for a few days, gave me a list of places that I needed to take her that afternoon. A week has gone by now and I will attempt to sit down and write once again. My favorite magazines that I am referring to are Martha Stewart Living, Food and Wine and Real Simple.

The scenario that I love reading about is the alfresco party with beloved family members and friends sitting at a long table on a lovely front or back porch, in the garden amid shady trees, or in the backyard of a lovely, old farm house. The August issue of Martha Stewart Living fit the bill with an article called, "A Toast of Summer". The couple hosting the party lived in a beautiful 1917 Sears, Roebuk craftsman kit house in the northern Bershires of New England.

The theme with these outdoor parties is usually "non fussy" fare. This couple served all kinds of grilled sides: potato with rosemary; asparagus and tomatoes; and pork shoulder served with homemade hot sauces of all kinds. They cooked the pork in the oven and then in an inground smokepit- not necessary, the grill works fine. The dessert that "took the cake" was strawberry layer cake.

The August Food and Wine issue's theme was - The Best Outdoor Parties. The article was entitled "Living A Napa Valley Dream". Again the scenario was a big old table with the fields and old farmhouse as a backdrop. Likewise the menus was again no fuss: marinated chicken grilled under a brick, and delicious sides like potato salad with green beans and salsa verde; roasted zucchini with ricotta and mint; roasted peppers and leeks; tomato salad and bacon, blue cheese and basil. The defining dessert was harvest cake with sangiovese grapes and grape juice from the farm, but any red table grapes and unsweetened grape juice is fine for this recipe.

Here is a toast to simpler times. Kick back and soak it in and while you are at it read, "Porch Talk" by Philip Gully. It is all about losing the phone and sitting awhile.

Forum Post: For Interaction on Juvenation Go to Forums

ClaudetteSanDiego — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 16:57:00 GMT

Hi,

I don't know if this link is going to work but if you go to Forums on Juvenation you can look at the recent posts and read the comments. There are some pretty good discussions going on about fructose in the diet and about food products on the market and how you didn't realize they contained differdnt things until you read the label. So please go to Forums and add your comments and be part of the discussion.

http://juvenation.org/forums/p/7002/73205.aspx#73205

Forum Post: Sugar the Bitter Truth

ClaudetteSanDiego — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 19:06:00 GMT

There is mounting evidence that a high fructose diet is causing our metabolic systems to be out of whack. A high consumption of soft drinks doesn't seem to raise leptin and insulin levels signaling to the brain that it is time to stop eating.

To understand some of this you need to understand the role of leptin in the body. The effects of leptin were observed by studying mutant obese mice that ate voraciously. These laboratory mice either had a mutation in the gene that encodes the receptor for leptin or a mutation in the gene for creating the protein hormone leptin. When obese mice were treated with injections of leptin they lose their excess fat and return to normal weight.

Leptin is produced primarily in white adipose tissue and the level of circulating leptin is directly proportional to the total amount of fat in the body. Leptin acts on receptors in the hypothalmus of the brain where it inhibits appetite. The system is more sensitive to starvation than overfeeding. Leptin levels do not rise extensively after overfeeding.

In March 2010 researchers reported that mice with type 1 diabetes treated with leptin alone or with leptin and insulin did better (blood sugar didn't fluctuate as much, cholesterol levels went down and they didn't form as much body fat) than mice with type 1 diabetes treated with insulin alone, raising the prospect of new treatment for diabetes.

To date, only leptin and insulin are known to act as an adiposity signal. Although leptin is a circulating signal that reduces appetite, in general, obese people have an unusually high circulating concentration of leptin. These people are said to be resistant to the effects of leptin in much the same way that people with type 2 diabetes are resistant to the effects of insulin. The high sustained concentration of leptin from the enlarged adipse tissue stores result in leptin desensitation. The pathway of leptin control in obese people might be flawed at some point so the body doesn't adequately receive a satiety feeling subsequent to eating.

A study published recently suggests consuming high amounts of high fructose corn syrup causes leptin resistance and elevated triglycerides in rats. When fed a high fructose corn syrup diet rats subsequently ate more and gained more weight than controls fed a high fat, high calorie diet, www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/leptin.

Dr. Robert Lustig, Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at UCSF, did a presentation recently talking about how the biochemical negative feedback system in human beings is out of whack ( after eating the system that tells the brain I am done eating and and now is the time to burn more calories for energy). His discussion called, "Sugar the Bitter Truth", was posted on YouTube last July and nearly 500,000 people viewed the 90 minute presentation.

This is an excerpt of his presentation. In the early 1900s the average amount of fructose that people got was from eating fruit and vegetables and averaged 15 g/day. Prior to WW2 it was 20 g/day, now adolescents eat 75 g/day, 12% of their daily calories come from fructose.

In 1973, Nixon found that food was becoming a political issue because Americans were not getting enough food. In conjunction with the USDA they worked to make food cheaper. High fructose corn syrup (HFC) was created in 1966 in Japan. In 1975 it was introduced into the American diet. Corn syrup is half the price of sugar. Is is so cheap that it had found its way in everything even foods that you think won't contain it like pretzels, BBQ sauce, hamburger buns. It is added to a great many processed foods. High fructose corn syrup is more effective than glucose as a browning agent. It increases the palatability of so called "healthy foods" that have had the fat removed such as alot of the low fat snack foods on the market like Snackwells, etc...

Eating HFC doesn't supress gruelin- the hunger hormone signal. There are no receptors for fructose. Insulin and leptin don't increase with increased consumption of soft drinks (doesn't tell the brain that it is time to stop eating).

Sports drinks have alot of HFC. These drinks replete glycogen faster in athletes than water. Who are drinking the sports drinks ? Kids are because it is the "cool" thing to do and it tastes good. In 1967 Gatorade was created for athletes and it tasted bad. In 1992 Pepsi bought it and added alot of HFC. Overweight kids drink it.

When we consume glucose 80% of it is used by all the organs. Every cell uses the glucose. It is the energy of life. The rest hits the liver and is stored in the liver as glycogen. This is the nontoxic form of glucose and any amount can be stored in the liver. There is negative feedback system between glucose, the liver, the pancreas and the brain (this helps to prevent overeating). If you compare the metabolism of a can of Coke and a can of beer a large % of the calories hit the liver. Both are metabolized like fat. Fructose is ethanol without the buzz. Fructose has no brain metabolism only by the liver.

Rats that are glycogen depleted, when they are refed with sucrose more of the calories are metabolized as VLDL and then turned into triglyceride. Basically hepatic fructose is metabolized into triglyceride. Medical students given glucose had none of it ending up being converted to fat. On a high fructose diet 30% of the calories ended up as fat. It is just like consuming fat. A high fructose diet is a high fat diet.

How does this translate in preventing obesity in children ?

* Get rid of every sugared drink in the house like Gatorade, juice and soda. Have a big pitcher of water flavored with orange slices and mint in the refrigerator. Water down the juice. Mix juice with club soda.

* When carbohydrates are eaten make sure it is high in fiber. When adding high fiber foods such as whole wheat bread, whole wheat rice, whole wheat crackers, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat cereal, raw fruits and vegetables, etc... satiety is signaled sooner.

* Look at the Paleolithic diet, it talks about eating a diet similiar to Cave men where they ate everything that came out of the ground raw, 100-300g. of fiber. This has great promise in helping with blood sugar control.

* Look at the ingredient list on products for high fructose corn syrup, fructose or sucrose. It is better to have glucose in the ingredient list or of course things like splenda or equal. (It is everywhere, HFC is in chocolate milk and baby formula is 40 % corn syrup solids and 10.3% sugar. The earlier a child is exposed to the sweet flavor, the more they crave it later in life).

* Be creative with snacks. If your child is tired of raw fruit and veggies, microwave sliced apples and then flavor them with cinnamon and Splenda. Bake big chunks of carrots in the oven with some butter and flavor them with Splenda and cinnamon.

* For a different taste try whole wheat crackers or bread and spread with pecan butter or another nut butter like almond instead of peanut butter.

** Snack ideas are my own. Some of this information applies to type 1 diabetes, some of it applies to type 2 diabetes and some of it applies more so to obesity and children.

* Eat and wait 20 minutes for the satiety signal.

* Match screen time (computer, video games, tv) to playtime outside. Exercise increase insulin sensitivity and helps reduce insulin levels. The more insulin sensitive you are, as in type 2 diabetes, the better glucose is metabolized.

* Reduce stress this will decrease eating due to stress.

Forum Post: Do You Think That Listing Calories on Restaurant Menus is a Good Thing ?

ClaudetteSanDiego — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 19:35:00 GMT

New research is finding that when when nutritional info is on fast- food restaurant menus, parents are more likely to choose lower calorie foods for their kids. Due to legislation, many restaurant chains in the U.S. are starting to educate the public with nutrition information about their menu items.

Is this helping ? A new study in the department of pediatrics at the University of Washington is Seattle found that when parents are provided with calorie information from McDonald's menus, they chose about 100 calories less per meal for their 3-to 6-year old child compared to parents who didn't have that information.

One hundred extra calories over time can lead to a significant amount in terms of weight gain when you look at the high rates of fast food consumption and childhood obesity in America.

These findings lead to the hope that if parents are given nutrition info at the point they are purchasing food for their children that they will actually make lower calorie, healthier choices for their families. The report was published in the January 25 online issue of Pediatrics.

Maybe the new legislation in many states will lead restaurants to change their menus and offer lower-calorie healthier meals.

Would you change your food choices at a restaurant if you were given this kind of information ? What restaurants do you frequent that have some really good, healthy food options on their menus and what kind of items do you choose at these places ?

What restaurants would you like to see change their menus ?

Here is a link to a really good video that has great tips and ideas to deal with cravings, eat more snacks versus treats, being creative when eating out, getting out of the "I eat lousy because I have no time" trap, and what to do when your scale gets stuck (no you don't throw it out the window).

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/weightloss/2010-01-03-video-diet_N.htm

Next I am going to report on a presentation by Dr. Robert Lustig, Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at UCSF, called "Sugar the Bitter Truth".

Forum Post: Have More Fun and Laughter - It is Good For You !

ClaudetteSanDiego — Sun, 30 May 2010 23:51:00 GMT

Everyone has a different idea of what is fun. When at work the goal is producing. When at play we get a break from taking ourselves too seriously. We do an activity just for the heck of it. We may play a game, do a puzzle, paint, we may dance. We are absorbed in what we are seeing, hearing, doing.

Play uses our imagination and creativity. Studies show that being creative, relaxing and enjoying ourselves can decrease stress, improve immune system function, decrease our perception of pain, improve our mood, and help our hearts beat more regularly. The fun prescription is the best you'll ever get- no fingersticks, needles or drugs, nothing to monitor or avoid. Learning to take it slow from time to time will improve our health, quality of life and probably our productivity on the job.

So why not get together with friends, have a few laughs and do something creative like make some homemade gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, etc... Magazines like Martha Stewart, Simple Living, etc... new buzzword is living green and saving money by being crafty. The next time you think you'll go to the mall and walk around try a fun, creative project. You'll save money by not shopping and you'll feel like you stepped back in time making a gift for that special someone rather than having to go to the store to buy it.

Host a homemade card making session in your home on a summer's afternoon. For the moms, have a mother/daughter gathering. For the men in your life, suggest a walk on the beach or spend a Saturday afternoon at a farmer's market and then cook a fun, delicious meal together.

At times deadlines get us down and we find we have run out of ideas. It is time to step back make sometime for fun and the ideas will flow. It is pure magic.

The author of this post runs a women's group called Artsy Divas in San Diego. They periodically get together to share in the creative process whether it is mixed media work either on cards or canvas, decoupage jewelry, sculptures, and gift boxes, found art, etc... These women have grown together over the years and have shared many stories and experiences. For more information contact Claudette Heffner, claudeheff@aol.com.

Forum Post: Re: Getting Psyched Up About the Ride to Cure Diabetes in Tuscon !

Janette — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 23:18:00 GMT

Great post Claudette! Can't wait to get some more riders to join our team! :)

Janette Wilke
Outreach Coordinator JDRFSD

Forum Post: Journey Through The Supermarket

ClaudetteSanDiego — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 16:15:00 GMT

Are you like me and stand in the middle of a supermarket aisle reading labels such that everyone has to negotiate around you with their shopping cart ? Does it happen enough that people really get annoyed ? Well then you may be a perpetual label reader.

There is nothing wrong with being perpetual label reader. In fact if you do it enough, you are good enough that once you get all the info you need you can take a break from doing it. That is unless you are always trying new products. If you tend to eat the same thing everyday, this lessens the amount of label reading that you need to do longterm.

How to avoid unhealthy things sneaking into your diet:

Look For Different terms for Added Sugar -

Brown sugar, molasses, beet sugar, honey, cane juice, turbinado, maple sugar, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, maltose, barley malt and fruit juice concentrate. Sugar alcohols such as malitol, xylitol, and sorbitol can have impact on blood glucose levels. Check the label for total carbohydrate content.

The Fine Print -

The ingredient list on the label tells you alot. Contents are listed in descending order by weight, so the first two ingredients are very important. If the first ingredient is sugar (high fructose corn syrup) or enriched wheat flour (really means white flour) you may want to stop yourself from throwing it into your cart. For a food to be good for you and high fiber, it needs to say whole in front of grains (100 % whole wheat, whole oats).

Take a Good Look at Serving Sizes -

Serving sizes very often are not realistic. Many times they are too small. Look at the serving size you would normally consume in a sitting. It may be easy to figure out because the serving size is 5 crackers or 5 pieces. Very often you need a measuring cup or a scale. Double the calories, fat and carbohydrates if you find you eat two "servings" of something.

Like to Eat High Fiber Foods -

Take the total number of carbohydrates per serving and deduct the number of grams of fiber. If you are eating a high fiber bran cereal, take the carbohydrate count which let's say is 23 and subtract the 6 g. of fiber per serving and the "countable" carbohydrates are 17.

What are the little tricks that you have learned while negotiating around the supermarket ? What products have you found that you really like and are in line with a healthful diet for those of us with type 1 diabetes ? Please share.

Every couple of posts I will be reporting on journeying through the supermarket.

http://www.dlife.com/diabetes/information/food_and_nutrition/weight_management/meal-plans.html?utm_source=Foodstuff-20100302&utm_medium=eNewsletter&utm_content=Foodstuff-newsletter&utm_campaign=dLife-eNewsletter

Forum Post: 6 Really Good Tips For Losing Weight !

ClaudetteSanDiego — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 18:12:00 GMT

It is a well known fact that obesity is now an epidemic in the U.S. and weight loss advice, programs and products abound. In dlife they waded through all the usual tips that people are tired of hearing and tried to find the best weight loss tips. I added a few of my own.

Want to avoid a snack attack - put these tips on a sticky not on your fridge. Here are a few tips:

1. Stick To A Measuring Tape -

Most people will see the needle go down on the scale when they begin to eat less food in the way of carbohydrates and fats. This equals to less calories and people begin to lose weight. Usually to really see the needle go down, you need to burn fat by exercising.

For the people that exercise intensely, they may gain enough muscle that the needle doesn't buge a whole lot. As most people know muscle weighs more than fat. For these people, it is important to use a tape measure. As you lose body fat, you lose inches around your waist, hips, thighs, and upper arms. The way your pants fit also tells you if you ar losing weight.

2. Choose Foods That Fill You Up and Take a Long Time to Eat -

Take a long time to eat. If something healthy takes a long time to eat you will have less of an ability to gobble down high carbohydrate and fat foods. The things that come to mind are an interesting salad with chicken, cheese, celery, red pepper, olives, etc... Cut up gobs of fresh vegetables on the weekend when you have time to use during the week in salads or buy pre-packaged and very fresh salads from Trader Joes. What would we do without Trader Joes ! For all the people that like Trader Joes, we need to hear from you. Starbucks and Subway also have good salads. It is all in the dressing. Have a tasty dressing like honey vinagrette or balsamic.

How about everything but the "kitchen soup". Get creative ! Make a large batch over the weekend and freeze it for use during the week. It could be kale, leek, butternut squash with canelloni beans. How about minestrone or vegetable soup with chicken (buy store bought roasted chicken , cut it up and put in the soup). Homemade is better than canned soup because of the sodium content in processed soup. Search the food network for recipes, www.foodnetwork.com or look at the dlife recipe section or subscribe to Martha Stewart's Living magazine.

In the mood for a scrumptious muffin but know if you eat it is is going to end up around your middle ? Try a very high fiber muffin. It will take pretty long to eat and you will end up eating a little bit and saving the rest for another day.

3. Do What Former Smokers Do -

- Visualize things like your thinner, toned body looking great in a new pair of skinny jeans and a sexy top.

- Adopt a substitute habit than snacking. Drink tea (the loose-leaf kind for the ceremony of it), chewing sugarless gum or snacking on sugar free mints, etc...

- Change your routine. Fill your time differently so there is less opportunity to snack and more opportunity to exercise. Get up a little earlier and go for a brisk walk, maybe hit the gym, or go for a swim in a heated pool. Make it social ! That will get you out of bed in the morning. Exercise with other people whether it is in a class or in a master's swimming program or walking with a friend or spouse, etc...

If you are a TV muncher, turn off the TV go upstairs and sit on your bed and read a magazine or book. Get away from the kitchen ! Keep temptations out of the house. Think of your diet as a clean diet and that all the other stuff is garbage such as ice cream, chocolate bake, brownies, pie, girls scout cookies, pudding - basically all the foods that you can't stop eating. One way to avoid the temptation of binging on these foods is to have a little taste here and there. If I have leftover cake from a party, I will take a taste and then throw it out. You can also package little pieces of cake and freeze it and then take out a little taste once in a while.

Keep foods in the house that are safe such as low calorie and carbohydrate Jello pudding snacks, chocoloate bite sized graham crackers(Annie's Bunny Graham Friends), low carbohydrate yogurt, Mister Salty 100 calorie Milk Chocolate Pretzels, small pieces of dark chocolate (it is hard to eat alot of this due to the slightly bitter flavor), mini muffins, etc...

4. Look At Your Mental State -

Do you use food as a way of self-medicating very much in the way that smokers and alcoholics try to soothe themselves. You may need to talk to a counselor about this.

5. Celebrate New Colorful Foods -

Keep a running list like red pepper, celery, radishes, jicama, spaghetti squash, papaya, clementines, strawberries, etc... A melange of cooked vegetables as a snack or as a meal served with melted cheese are a nice addition to a diet. Try red pepper, celery, mushrooms, eggplant, onions and garlic. When the whole family is having pasta, have a small amount of pasta loaded up with veggies and cheese.

6. Retrain Your Taste Buds and Re-align Your Cravings -

When you cut down on eating sugar, cookies, etc... will begin to taste overly sweet. Your taste buds will adjust to not needing sweets as much. When you decide that high carbohydrate foods like bread, pasta, potatoes, rice bagels, rolls, coffee cake, pie will dirty your diet your cravings for them will be less.

What do you do ? What works for you ? We would love to know.

http://www.dlife.com/diabetes/information/food_and_nutrition/weight_management/the_7_best_weight_loss_tips.htm

Forum Post: Found A Relly Good Diabetes Blog

ClaudetteSanDiego — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:26:00 GMT

There are alot of really good interesting, creative blogs out there. They are a mix of inspiration, support, practical advise on diabetic tools to use, etc...

The one I found this morning is www.diabetesaliciousness.blogspot.com. In one of her recent blogs she wrote about an encounter with a good friend of hers that is a PWD(person with diabetes). That after a four hour lunch she realized that when you are with another person who understands and speaks the unspoken diabetes language, it creates both a bonding and an understanding that words can't describe. She said that diabetes meet-ups are amazing, validating and empowering and that she hopes that everyone has the experience to connect with other PWDs(I like that term).

I think that the writer of this blog really speaks to the heart. To have a deep connection to someone like that whether it is a friend, significant other or spouse is essential to get by in life. This is very much so if you are a PWD. Have you found that special someone to share your thoughts, emotions, etc. when it comes to living with diabetes ? It would be great to hear from some of you.

Forum Post: Who Would Like To Train With Me For Ride for The Cure ?

ClaudetteSanDiego — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:12:00 GMT

I am getting really psyched ! Spring is around the corner, the days are longer and the weather is improving. It is the perfect time to begin training for the JDRF event called Ride For The Cure. I am still trying to learn more about the event. What I do know is that there are various rides that are going to take place over the next year in different locations around the country.

Each rider selects the location of the ride, signs up and begins raising the funds that will help cover the cost of the flight and hotel for 2 nights. We have a coach named Anna who will train with anyone in San Diego that would like to participate in the ride. I know there will be a training ride with Anna the end of March.

Each rider fund raises separately and not as a team as in The Walk For the Cure. Wherever one decides to do the bike race, the event is bound to be exciting and uplifting. Sharing in that experience with a bunch of interesting, upbeat, positive people has got to be fun.

Here are the locations of The Rides:

Burlington, VT - July 15-18, 2010

La Crosse, WI - August 12-15, 2010

Lake Tahoe, NV - September 10-13, 2010

Death Valley, CA - October 14-17, 2010

Tucson, AZ - November 18-21, 2010

I am considering doing the ride in Tucson. It is recommended to sign up as soon as possible. The JDRF chapter in Michigan and Wisconsisn hold very large ride events. Look at their websites to learn more about the rides. I will also be posting links to different websites to get more information about the Ride For The Cure Program and getting ready for the ride.

We are looking for individuals with type 1 diabetes and individuals without type 1 to do a ride. Those with type 1, training for the ride would need to experiment with carbohydrate intake and insulin dosages to get the right combination to have a good BS level during the bike race. We will have the experts blogging on this site to guide people in the kind of things they need to experiment with while training to help them have a more successful ride.

I am sure the San Diego coach Anna will have resources and information for those of us that would like to have to best bike race possible. Let me know if you would like to train with me for this type of event. If you are able to help with posting flyers about The Ride For The Cure program around San Diego, that would be great. Let me know how you can help. Thanks

Claudette, JDRF Intern

Forum Post: Really Good Low Carb Snack Ideas From dlife !

ClaudetteSanDiego — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:52:00 GMT

We all are always on the lookout for tasty low carb foods to snack on. Here is a pretty good list. Will include some more in another post. Any ideas ? Please share them with the group.

http://www.dlife.com/diabetes/information/slide_show_pdf_files/lunchboxsnacks-edit-pdf.pdf

Forum Post: The Best Time To Do Things - Understanding Our Body Clocks

ClaudetteSanDiego — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:46:00 GMT

Have you ever thought of how easy it is for many of us to fall asleep at night ? Do you know why that happens ? How about why are many people sleepy after having lunch ?

All this happens because of our internal clocks. Our internal clocks regulate everything from our body temperature and heart rate to our reaction time and memory. The morning light tells the brain to reset the clock. Light hitting the eye sends a signal to the brain to get the body clock going to trigger hormone release, temperature shifts and melatonin release.

Sunlight and darkness are closely linked to our 24 hour cyclic rhythm. Levels of melatonin rises and falls from dawn to dusk. Melatonin is released as the sun goes down, triggering a feeling of relaxation. Daylight stops melatonin production, which causes the person to wake up and be alert.

Body temperature also has a great effect on our inner clock. Our temperature lowers at night, slowing metabolism. It rises in the wee hours of the morning and continues to rise throughout the day to peak in late afternoon or early in the evening.

Body temperature determines how we act and react during the day. Humans are usually more alert in the late morning when the body temperature is rising. Muscle flexibility and aerobic endurance peak later in the afternoon. So an afternoon jog about 4 p.m. woudl be a great idea.

The San Diego Union Tribune mixes biology and common sense and came up with some practical tips for the most efficient and best time to perform some of life's tasks and chores. Research has shown that most people are on approximately the same body clock schedule. Depending on our inner clock we handle life's tasks better at certain times. Here is a list of The Best Times:

To Get Creative - Developing new ideas and finding solutions to problems comes the easiest from 9 to 10 a.m. when the body's temperature is rising and creativity is at its peak.

To Cram For An Exam - As the temperature starts to rise in the morning our minds are the sharpest. Studying at 10 a.m. causes you to remember more because that is when short term memory peaks.

To Focus - Alertness peaks before noon

To Take a Nap - The natural sleepy time for us is between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Guess what, it is not the lunch that you had that made you sleepy it is this natural sleepy period that is wired into the brain. This explains the Siestas that take place in the middle of the day in many parts of Europe.

To Exercise - Body temperature reaches its daily peak in the late afternoon and evening giving maximum muscle strength, flexibility, endurance and faster reaction time. It also helps to zap the stress of the day.

To Schedule Surgery - First thing in the morning. In a study of more than 90,000 operations analyzed by Duke University found that deleterious events were more common between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. and least common between 9 a.m. and noon. This may be due to the fact that cortisol and adrenaline drop due to the body's dip in circadian rhthym in the afternoon.

It's 8 a.m. and I am feeling very sleepy. Maybe I better wait till 9 a.m. to do anyting creative.

Forum Post: He Who Has Not Tasted the Bitter Does Not Understand the Sweet

ClaudetteSanDiego — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:37:00 GMT

While doing some Spring cleaning I came across a cute little book called "Yiddish Wisdom" and found this great expression. I think the saying that I used as a subject for this blog, "He who has not tasted the bitter does not understand the sweet", is very appropriate for the winter weather that all of us around the country are experiencing. In the midwest and east coast, it is snow and here in San Diego it has been cold cloudy days and rain.

I know when the sun finally does decide to appear and to stick around for a while it is going to feel really good. Do we appreciate the sun when we have it non-stop, day in and day out ? Probably not. A man probably does not appreciate a girlfriend as much if he has never spent time alone pining away for a lost love.

In life no matter what age we are, we experience things that don't exactly work right. In a relationship things might not exactly be working right, in our bodies we may have things that aren't exactly working right, things in life may not be going our way. In the end we find ways to cope.

The cancer patient endures soul crushing chemotherapy that is so strong that it kills the cancer but it so damaging to the rest of the body, so that they may live another day. The person that experiences a very difficult divorce is hopeful of finding true love again. I think those of us with type 1 diabetes do what we need to do to live another day. Our journey is a difficult one and the road is a bit windy and narrow and paved with some stones at times but we appreciate life, we choose life and we do what we have to do to live another day.

Many of us are thankful for those that support us. We may be thankful for the insulin that keeps us alive. i think we are most thankful for life despite the challenges. Life for most of us is bittersweet but we are thankful for this life either way.

One thing that I like to do is to keep a gratitude journal of all the things in life that I am thankful. For those of you that have families this might be a good family activity. A running list could be kept on the refrigerator. It could be things so simple as, "I am thankful for my cat Lucas who sleeps by my feet every night when I go to bed". It could be, " I am thankful that God has created oceans so that I might float along endlessly in the water". It could be, "i am thankful for my body that allows me to run to catch a ball". How about, "i am thankful for my brother Joey who is so funny and always makes me laugh".

Would love to hear some of the things that you come up with. It is kind of a fun thing to do. Let's hear what you have to say !

Forum Post: He Who Has Not Tasted the Bitter Does Not Understand the Sweet

ClaudetteSanDiego — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:37:00 GMT

Would love to hear some of the things that you come up with. It is kind of a fun thing to do. Let's hear what you have to say !

Forum Post: Jonathan Cobrda's Production "Sweet 'n Low"

ClaudetteSanDiego — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 16:00:00 GMT

Jonathan Cobrda will be touring the country with his self-written one-man show called "Sweet n' Low". This wonderful show is backed and supported by JDRF. In his senior year in high school Jonathan decided to bring his extensive theatrical experience and his traumatizing experience of being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes together to produce a show that would help illuminate what life is like for so many people diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.

I have asked Jonathan to talk about his show and why he decided to perform it around the country. Look for his commentary in another post. Has anyone seen the show ? Please let us know.

Forum Post: Disney Vacations and Type 1 Diabetes

ClaudetteSanDiego — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:56:00 GMT

Is a Disney vacation right around the corner ? I found a really good Disney website that arms you with knowledge so you can have a fun trip to Disneyland or Disneyworld without major inconveniences and mishaps.

They even have carb counts of foods such as Chicken nuggets, Fries, Macaroni and Cheese, Mickey Ice Cream Sandwiches, Pizza Planet Pizza, Frozen Banana (we know how delicious they are), etc...

The SideKick Meter is suggested for ease to tote around, www.homediagnostics.com/products-sidekick.asp.

They talk about all the miles that a family might walk on a Disney vacation and the need to back off on insulin a bit and to test frequently. Of course you need to check with your physician and diabetes educator about this.

To avoid having sharps to deal with on the run and having to dispose of them, the ACCU-CHK Mulitclix Lancet device is recommended.

What device do you use to count carbs ? I like the Track3 PDA Device, www.track3DMD.com. More talk about this is another post. On the Disney website they talk about the free Palm Pilot Carbohydrate and Nutrition guide from the USDA, www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/srch/searc.htm.

Check out this website -

http://allears.net/pl/diabetes.htm

What kind of vacations have you taken that are Diabetes Friendly ? What kind of things did the hotels offer, cruises, etc... that made for a very enjoyable vacation ?

Claudette