Category: Living

If you have any type of diabetes, there’s really no reason to be drinking cow’s milk on a daily basis.  Simply put, cow’s milk contains about 10 more grams of sugar per 8 ounces than the best-unsweetened alternatives. Let’s take a look. The highest-carb milk options: 12 to 25 grams per 8 oz If you… Continue reading Milk: These Options Are Better for You Than Cow’s Milk

The simple fact is: not all carbs are created equal. And this is painfully true when it comes to cereal. If you ate 30 grams of carbohydrate from a sweet potato compared to 30 grams of carbohydrate from the bowl of cereal, you’ll likely notice a significantly bigger (and faster) spike in your blood sugar… Continue reading The Problem with Breakfast Cereal if You Have Diabetes

What is a yeast infection? Also referred to as “vulvovaginal candidiasis,” a vaginal yeast infection is essentially an overgrowth of yeast, according to the Office of Women’s Health. While your vagina does need some yeast to maintain a healthy environment, too much yeast becomes very uncomfortable very quickly. Yeast infections are technically “fungal infections” because… Continue reading Why Diabetes Increases Your Risk of Yeast Infections

If you live with a non-stop disease like diabetes that requires constant health-related choices and effort, the habits of your thinking can have a big impact.  In fact, many argue that your thoughts are the first and most important factor in determining whether you struggle or thrive as a person with diabetes.  “Your thoughts guide… Continue reading How to Break Your Habit of Negative Thinking Patterns

An alarming number of Americans are “perpetually dehydrated” according to the Institute of Medicine. And if you’re one of them, chances are that dehydration is affecting your blood sugars and other more subtle aspects critical to your daily health. Water is the transport mechanism for swallowing, digesting, and moving nutrients to and within cells, regulating… Continue reading How Drinking Plenty of Water Improves Your Diabetes Health

What’s the difference between diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) vs. nutritional ketosis? It’s actually quite simple: one is life-threatening and the other is not. With ketones becoming a very trendy word across mainstream media and mainstream dieting, it’s easy to confuse the two. And it’s very common to wonder: is a ketogenic diet safe for a person… Continue reading Diabetic Ketoacidosis vs. Nutritional Ketosis?

If you are living with heart disease, know that you are not alone. Over 30 million Americans have been diagnosed with some form of heart disease. That is just over 12% of the adult population.  And if you are also living with type 1 diabetes, you have even more company. About 40% of T1Ds have… Continue reading The T1 Female Heart: Managing Your Heart Disease

Women living with type 1 diabetes have a five times greater risk for heart failure than nondiabetic women. This excess risk appears to be from a combination of factors, including the damage caused by type 1 diabetes and circumstances that are uniquely female, such as hormones, body fat, and disproportionate medical care. As a young… Continue reading The T1 Female Heart: Avoiding Heart Disease in Your Life

As a whole, people living with type 1 diabetes experience heart disease far more than even those suffering from type 2 diabetes. This is true despite the fact that type 2 is a condition associated with all the major risk factors of heart disease including obesity, high blood lipids, and high blood pressure. Stranger still,… Continue reading The T1 Female Heart: Why Women’s Hearts Are at Greater Risk

Everyone living with diabetes faces challenges. But women with diabetes are especially cursed with some unique obstacles. First and foremost, there are hormones.  These pesky chemicals influence blood sugars in ways that are often unpredictable. And, because they change throughout the month and throughout a woman’s life, it can feel impossible to get ahead of… Continue reading DiabetesSisters: Women Supporting Women with Diabetes

Stomach bugs (like Norovirus) and a real bout of the flu were never something I recall dealing with as an adult…until I was pregnant and had children. Suddenly, these viruses were being brought into my home thanks to my adorable little children in their adorable little preschool full of adorable little germs. Now, after 4… Continue reading Type 1 Diabetes: How I Prepare for Flu & Stomach Bug Season

It’s the holidays, and you should be able to enjoy the fun and yum that comes with the season. As people with type 1 diabetes, however, we have to plan ahead for a day that revolves around mashed potatoes, stuffing, and pie. Carbohydrate central! Chasing high blood sugars all day on Thanksgiving (and likely the… Continue reading Thanksgiving with Type 1 Diabetes: 3 Blood Sugar Management Tips

We spoke with Amir Farzam, CEO of MontMed (website) about SiteSmart, a new color-based site rotation system for insulin pen users. Read his impressive bio at the end of the article. If you have type 1 diabetes are using insulin pens to control your blood sugar, you are probably vaguely aware that you should be… Continue reading Easy, Affordable Tool to Improve Site Rotation

A glucagon pen can save your life if you are a person with type 1 or type 2 diabetes who takes insulin.  The only problem is traditional glucagon kits — made by Novo Nordisk or Eli Lilly and Company — require a series of steps that can be overwhelming and confusing when a friend or… Continue reading Gvoke: The FDA-Approved PreFilled Glucagon Syringe that Could Save Your Life

Too often, “low-carb” cookie products are full of junk ingredients and they taste like a diet gone wrong. Bleh.  I’m happy to report that these cookies — from Chip Monk Baking (website) — are delicious! Here’s what you need to know about these tasty cookies! What’s in a Chip Monk cookie? Base ingredients in a… Continue reading Product Review: Chip Monk Cookies – Low Carb, Keto & Gluten-Free!

When I was in college, a coworker and I began planning for the ultimate hike. We wanted to climb Longs Peak, a fourteener located in the Colorado Rockies not far from where we lived. We were both avid hikers, but this was a challenge, unlike anything we had faced before. Longs is ranked as the… Continue reading Adventures in T1D: Summiting Your Fears

As a diabetic, you make a thousand tiny decisions every day in the name of maintaining healthy, stable blood sugars. But, if you are an adult who has lived more than 20 years with this condition, it might be time to implement some bigger picture ideas into those daily decisions. That’s because the number one… Continue reading Big Picture Priority — Reduce your Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

For years, qualitative studies looking into the inherent challenges of achieving diabetes management goals have focused on children and adolescents. Until recently, the group that makes up the largest percentage of those living with type 1 diabetes — adults — has been largely ignored. Not surprisingly for those who happen to fall into that category,… Continue reading Adults with Type 1 Diabetes Need More Support To Achieve Goals

Lifting the Shadow When you are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, it’s hard not to feel like a shadow has been cast over your life. Suddenly you’re exposed to the possibility of so many things going wrong. It can be an isolating feeling. Not just because it can drive you away from other people, but… Continue reading Adventures in T1D: How to Camp With Diabetes

Intuitively, we all know that mood impacts how we take care of our physical health.  But have you ever stopped to think seriously about how much your choices around food, exercise, and sleep impact not just your blood sugars but also your level of depression, anxiety, and overall stress? If you’re struggling with depression, anxiety,… Continue reading Mental & Physical Health: Connecting the Dots