Winners & Losers at the Food & Nutrition Conference

I work at the American Dietetic Association (ADA): not the American Diabetic Association (ADiaA). (People always think I say diabetic, when it’s actually dietetic.) Yes, I am a diabetic who works in dietetics. And being diabetic in dietetics often means life and work intersect. I just spent four days at the American Dietetic Association’s annual food and nutrition conference where diabetes was the number one topic of discussion. After all, being overweight makes you more prone to Type 2 diabetes. It’s that simple – eat healthy, watch your weight, lower your chances of developing Type 2 diabetes.

As many of you well know, our nation has a food problem. We talk healthy, but we eat unhealthy. Many of us would rather take a magic pill then take charge of our lives by eating healthy and exercising. Let me tell you, after walking the aisles of the exhibit hall, there is no shortage of healthy and nutritious foods disguised as bad for you options. Take for example the gluten free, low fat, glazed donut that I sampled at one booth. Okay, I can’t tell you the last time I ate a normal glazed donut, but this gluten free one was pretty darn tasty….

If I had to guess, I probably tasted a full day’s worth of calories. I know this because I gave myself way more insulin for simply ‘tasting’ samples than I do when I eat my normal lunch. Since I can’t let all those calories go to waste, I’m going to share some of the highlights:

Winner of the yummiest healthy sample: Bread pudding made with Glucerna.
-Surprisingly moist and sweet, topped with blueberries. I tasted it twice!
Winner of the healthiest healthy sample: mango salad
-A favorite of my husband who came to experience the healthiness. The salad was sweet and crunchy. Mango was sliced super thin. Looked easy to prepare and great for a summer bbq.
Winner of the tastiest dried fruit: cherries
-Dried cherries make anything taste better. I added these to my sample of fiber one yogurt for breakfast.
Most valuable giveaway: It’s a tie: VitaTops AND Wrigley’s Extra sugar-free Fruit Sensations in Watermelon.
-With 100 calories and 6 grams of fiber, VitaTops are my favorite treat and they come in flavors like Blue Bran and Banana Fudge. At $7 a box for only 4 muffins, I tend to leave them off my grocery list. Luckily I took about 20 muffins from the exhibitor so I’m good for a while!
Biggest loser: Lean Pocket's sausage and egg pockets. Blech!
-Nothing worse than fake frozen cheese with frozen sausage. I tasted and immediately spit this out.
Another stinker: Amy’s Organic Chili
-I know people LOVE Amy’s Organic, but her chili wasn’t up to par. In general, I don’t think chili from a can is ever too tasty.

Bottom line: With a little education and a dab of experimentation, eating healthy can be so easy.

Denied!

In the next day or so my brand new pump should be arriving at my doorstep. A Minimed rep called me a few weeks ago to say my warrantee was up on my 503, making me eligible for their latest model, the top-of-the-line 522. Aside from one major component, the new pump isn’t that different from the old pump. The distinguishing feature of the 522 is it actually communicates with a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), if a person were to be wearing one. A continuous glucose monitor is a pretty cool device. It monitors your blood sugar on an ongoing basis so you know where you are at all times. It’s a great way to learn about the highs and lows you might not otherwise be aware of. Overall, it’s a fantastic tool to help reduce your A1C.

Back to my story….As fantastic as the CGM is, it is also really, really expensive--apparently too expensive for my insurance company to bear. A few days after my friend at Minimed called to tell me about my new pump, she called back to tell me that my insurance company had denied my request for a CGM. Excuse me?! Yes, in a few days I will have a new pump designed to communicate with a CGM, but no CGM. Every time I reach for my 522 to bolus or make a change to a basal rate I will be reminded of what could be. If only Blue Cross valued my health as much as I do. If and when that day comes, my 522 is fully ready to communicate.

Walk for the Cure!

This past Sunday I rallied the troops (my family) and participated in JDRF's annual Walk for the Cure. I was home in New York for the Jewish holidays so the timing was perfect. It's amazing to see what a huge event this walk has become. With all the hoopla that accompanies the walk--the entertainment, the food, the music--it's easy to forget why you got out of bed to walk in the first place. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a toddler with a shiny Medic Alert bracelet and a pump clipped to his pants. I felt so sad for him, and I felt bad for his parents. How does a 3-year-old communicate the feeling of highs and lows? And how do his parents not worry 24 hours a day? I managed, and so did my parents, but it took so much work.


Funny enough, I reconnected with an old friend who is now the President of the JDRF Westchester chapter board. It's interesting to see my generation moving up in the ranks and taking on leadership roles in the organization. As he put it, the pay (of $0) is too good to refuse.


Here are a few photos from the day!


My family



















Matthew and his pals Paige & Riley




















David & Cami walked and walked!