Citrus infusions

Fresh fruit water

Herbal infusions

Chilled teas

Superfood water

On a positive note, the study found that the loss of capillaries is not irreversible.
Sundried is a recently-launched ethically and environmentally conscious collection of activewear designed and tested by top triathletes.
“I think there aren’t many brands who can say they’re proud of how their products have come to market.”Every piece of Sundried activewear comes with a special tracking code on the label that allows consumers to explore the whole journey of the garment through the production process –ensuring that the highest ethical and environmental standards are adhered to along the way. Not only is Sundried an ethically and environmentally conscious brand, its collection of activewear was conceived by some of the world’s best designers, from brands like LuluLemon Athletica and Sweaty Betty. Everyday Diabetes Magazine recently spoke with Daniel Puddick about this unique concept in socially conscious, high quality clothing.
After successfully selling my first business The Sunglasses Shop when it was the biggest online sunglasses retailer in Europe, I knew my next venture would have to be something good.It had to be something I was (and am) personally into and it has to have strong ethical values.
Being a parent makes you think about the bigger picture for the world, so business for me now is more than just creating a financially successful brand. I gathered the best in the business and told them I wanted premium ethical activewear that was stylish and functional, flash forward to now and we have just successfully overfunded for our second and third collections on Crowdcube, which will launch next year.
The driving force behind Sundried is ethical activewear. Can you talk about what that means?
How can we call ourselves ethical activewear, without taking care of our staff throughout the supply chain? For us being ethical means being as good to the environment as possible, whilst protecting our staff. We regularly visit our factory in Portugal and make a donation to Water for Kids with every Sundried purchase. To me, it’s very much about sharing my success with those less fortunate and helping to keep the planet around for my kids and grandkids!
How are the ethical standards benchmarked and monitored for compliance?We partnered with the Low Carbon Innovation Fund who have strict polices on how our clothing is produced, which we adhere to. We then also have our Product Development and Sourcing Expert who regularly visits our factories to ensure everything is running as it should be.
The company description talks about having a “heritage in triathlon and outdoor pursuits.” Tell us about that and what sort of customer Sundried is aimed towards.
Sundried is aimed at those of us who grab the chance to be active wherever we find it. Whether it’s competing in a triathlon, to cycling back from the office. Our first collection was designed to be transitional, so you can work and play in it. I’m excited for our further collections as we are now going to explore competitive Tri gear. Sundried is for those who want to look and feel great whilst exercising, knowing they are also doing something good for the environment and those who are less fortunate.
What is it about Sundried that makes it a better choice than other brands of activewear?
I think there aren’t many brands who can say they’re proud of how their products have come to market, we use the finest fabrics with the latest technologies and create our products in a way you can be proud of.
What are you most excited about looking to the future of your new venture?
These were, of course, the classic first stages of grief (denial and anger) but after a few months they faded, and I didn’t proceed into the remaining 3 classical stages of grief (bargaining, depression and acceptance) because instead, I decided to defeat the condition by taking control of my blood sugar level. Thanks to my glucometer I swiftly concluded that everything I was being told (namely to eat breakfast, to eat carbohydrates, to avoid alcohol) was wrong, and equally I decided that even though I was not large my early prescriptions for sulphonylureas were wrong, and I went over to Metformin. How did it affect your daily life? The impact was surprisingly small. Once I had got into the habit of skipping breakfast, cutting down markedly on carbohydrates, avoiding sugar like the plague (if it was in the Great British Bakeoff I avoided it) and eating lots of vegetables and nuts and all animal products except for red meat, my daily life proceeded apace. But that regime kept my blood glucose levels and HbA1c levels down below the diabetic range.I am actually a very conventional person who believes, as the Americans say, in motherhood and apple pie. I am not a natural contrarian, but on this occasion amended my opinion because of my personal experience.
On diagnosis I had a fasting blood glucose of 19.3 mM and an HbA1c of 13.3%, so I was pleased to have driven them down so easily below the diabetic range. Oh, and drinking alcohol was very good for my blood glucose levels (hypoglycemia is a recognized effect of alcohol) so I avoided carbohydrate-rich drinks like beer, but found wine to be very good. Regarding your book. Who are you especially targeting? There are millions of people on this globe who are not hungry in the morning yet who eat breakfast because they think they should. This book is specially targeted at liberating those people from that nonsense.It turns out that the middle classes are slimmer than the working classes, and it also turns out that the middle classes tend to eat breakfast because they ‘know’ they should, while many working class people, who don’t like being told what to do, skip it.
But people don’t look at the data. Even diabetics who have glucometers (and by the way they should all have glucometers, which should not be restricted only to type 1s) seem to ignore their own data. But it seems that humans find it too easy to follow authority figures rather than the evidence of their own eyes. Why do people suppose that eating breakfast reduces the total amount of food they consume over the day when the opposite is true? This is an important question. It turns out that the middle classes are slimmer than the working classes, and it also turns out that the middle classes tend to eat breakfast because they ‘know’ they should, while many working class people, who don’t like being told what to do, skip it. So scientists, when they saw the association between slimness and eating breakfast, assumed it was cause-and-effect (the supposed cause being post-breakfast satiety or fullness, which supposedly reduces the intake at lunch) rather than a social class association.The persistence of the false idea illustrates how powerfully people will believe in false ideas in the face of evidence. There seems to be something wrong in our species’ ability to examine data!
The movement, called ‘Bieryoga’, started in Berlin in 2015 and has spread to cities like Melbourne and Sydney. Despite gushing that they are ‘passionate about beer’, Emily and Jhula insisted the craze was not all fun and games.
‘Beer Yoga is fun but it’s no joke – we take the philosophies of yoga and pair it with the pleasure of beer-drinking to reach your highest level of consciousness,’ the Bieryoga official site reads, says Dailymail.
Read more here.
When you hear healthy country, America would not even be on your top 10 list, let alone the top 5. But it does not mean there are no healthy cities that exist.
Fitbit and the American College of Sports Medicine recently gave out a list of the healthiest cities in America. There are several factors that were taken into account when the cities were ranked, such as each area’s percent of people who do the government-recommended amount of aerobic activity, smoking rates, and the obesity rates.
Mensfitness.com reports:
Here are the top 20 fittest metropolitan areas in the United States, in order, ranked by the American College of Sports Medicine:
Read more here.
While the concept may seem silly, the motivation for the class is no joke. The idea came about after a David Lloyds Clubs survey found that 86% of parents struggle with fatigue, and 26% generally get less than five hours of sleep a night.
Read more here.In the current study, the Salk team gave normal mice a higher dose of GW, for a longer period of time (8 weeks instead of 4). Mice in the control group could run about 160 minutes before exhaustion. Mice on the drug, however, could run about 270 minutes — about 70 percent longer.
Read more here.AquaPole is a fun new fitness craze that sees people using a pole as a fitness tool in the water to strengthen their core and muscles. The pole is 2.2 metres in height and is hooked into a base which is suctioned to the pool floor with suction cups. It provides stability in the water to hold on to and use as a fitness tool.
‘Adding that extra dimension to exercise brings new life for the younger generation because up until a few ago, water exercises such as water aerobics were considered, you know, grannies’ activities,’ Jodie explained to DailyMail.
Read more here.AquaPole is a fun new fitness craze that sees people using a pole as a fitness tool in the water to strengthen their core and muscles. The pole is 2.2 metres in height and is hooked into a base which is suctioned to the pool floor with suction cups. It provides stability in the water to hold on to and use as a fitness tool.
‘Adding that extra dimension to exercise brings new life for the younger generation because up until a few ago, water exercises such as water aerobics were considered, you know, grannies’ activities,’ Jodie explained to DailyMail.
Read more here.Scott Johnson was first diagnosed with type 1 diabetes back in 1980 at the tender age of 5-years-old. At the time, he processed it as a young mind would, in the service the simple desire “to get back to playing with my G.I. Joe & Hot Wheels.”
In 2004, Scott picked up the pen (or the keyboard in this case) and started blogging about his life at ScottsDiabetes.com . He has, until this day, remained an unwavering and incredibly refreshing voice on the topic of diabetes.
Along with being an active writer, Scott is also a patient advocate, working with people across the healthcare spectrum to help them establish effective communication with the patient community.
He is also the Communications Lead in the U.S. for mySugr and Patient Pathways Lead in the Diabetes Division of Delta Project Management.
Everyday Diabetes recently had the pleasure of catching up with Scott at his home in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
When you were diagnosed with type 1 back in 1980, what was your reaction and how did you respond in the months to follow?
I was only five years old when diagnosed, so I honestly don’t remember much about it. I like to think that there was this beautifully ignorant resilience – where I just did the mechanics of diabetes in order to get back to playing with my G.I. Joe & Hot Wheels. I’m sure it wasn’t that easy, of course. And the majority of the burden of care rests on parents and caregivers.
You’ve been blogging about about diabetes since 2004. How do you stay inspired to keep at it?
This question makes me smile because life with diabetes never fails to present interesting stories to share! Whether they are funny, ironic situations I find myself in, or inspiring people doing wonderful things while living with diabetes.
And if I see another news story about “suffering” from diabetes… I’m not suffering. Yes, it takes work, and yes, it sometimes sucks. But I’m living well with diabetes, thank you.
For example, one of my dear friends with diabetes near Minneapolis is allergic to insulin! Technically I think it’s one of the preservatives or additives included, but nevertheless, what a situation she’s in! Yet, she’s one of the most upbeat, positive people I know, and her sense of humor is amazing.
What are some assumptions that non diabetics make about people with diabetes that drive diabetics crazy?
Great question!
One assumption is that diabetes is simple. That we just take our shots and we’re fine, or we follow a certain diet and that’s all there is to it. The reality is that diabetes is immensely complex, is different for all of us, and is often inconsistent (so I can repeat the same routine behaviors yet experience different results).
Read More: Jill Knapp on Overcoming Life’s Adversity – Including Losing over 100 Pounds
Diabetes requires a lot of mental energy, which is sometimes exhausting. Most of us make it look much easier than it is because we don’t want pity or people treating us special or different.
And if I see another news story about “suffering” from diabetes… I’m not suffering. Yes, it takes work, and yes, it sometimes sucks. But I’m living well with diabetes, thank you.
Having been an astute observer of the situation for all these years, and considering that, despite increased awareness, type 2 continues to increase, do you see any light at the end of the tunnel?
Yes, I think so. It feels like people around the world are starting to realize that little decisions make big differences. Additionally, the medical community continues to make slow and steady progress in treatment options and they’re gaining better understanding about diabetes in general. However, the more we learn about diabetes, the more complicated the puzzle gets. And in the big picture, my decade on the scene is a relatively short period of time.
You recently had the chance to meet with Minnesota Senator Al Franken about Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Can you talk a little bit about the work that JDRF does and how people can help?
JDRF is the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. They work to reduce the impact of T1D from people’s lives until a world without T1D can be achieved (through better treatment, prevention, and eventually a cure). JDRF collaborates with a wide spectrum of partners to advance scientific research and regulatory influence.
Diabetes requires a lot of mental energy, which is sometimes exhausting. Most of us make it look much easier than it is because we don’t want pity or people treating us special or different.
The meeting with Senator Franken was part of the wonderful JDRF Advocacy group who empowers local grassroots efforts to build and sustain critical support for T1D research funded by the U.S. Federal Government by raising awareness among Members of Congress of the financial, medical and emotional costs of the disease.
As people living with diabetes, it’s easy to forget that the general public (including our representatives) does’t understand what diabetes is all about and how much work we do to stay healthy. We need our representatives to remember our stories every time something to do with diabetes lands on their desk.
JDRF has a great website (jdrf.org) with a section dedicated to getting involved, and that’s the first place I’d go when looking for ways to contribute, whether that be financially or by finding opportunities to volunteer.
If you’ve never taken a spin through the deep archives of Scott’s blog, then you really should. Now. Go. scottsdiabetes.com
Follow Scott on Twitter: @ScottKJohnson
Photos by Mandy Dwyer/Glimpses of Soul Photography and Manuel Gruber/Stereochrome
A thoroughly enjoyable talk with Mike Kendall about not only living with Type 1, but blogging about it with his wife.
It’s nice to recognise the ups as well as the downs of diabetes,too. Living with type 1 isn’t all bad, and has meant I have connected with some absolutely amazing people.You and your wife started the blog so you could write about our own experiences living with the condition while also writing for others. What are some of the highlights of the journey since you started blogging? Yes, when we started everyone in the family wrote from their own perspective, but as the years have passed it has really only been me that has kept finding things to say. In those early years it was very, very interesting to read those different points of view. However much you think you talk and communicate about these things, people express themselves very differently when writing stuff down. It really helped me to understand how my diabetes was affecting other people in my family. I’m not sure if I ever expected anyone else to stumble across our ramblings – but it is incredibly rewarding each and every time someone responds to a post and says it has resonated with them, made them smile, or helped in some way. When first diagnosed, were you quick to change your lifestyle? Things were very different when I was diagnosed, at aged 21 while away at art college. From the outset approaches and changes were presented to me in terms of ‘what you have to do now’ rather than as a complex set of options and strategies to enable me to carry on living exactly as I had before. I was given set doses of premixed insulin, based on a conversation which assessed my general diet. I then was given a carb count for breakfast, lunch, evening meal and three predetermined snacks at set times of day that could not be omitted. It was a very rigid structure, and not one I stuck with for very long, but I am grateful that it introduced from the very outset the concept of measuring and monitoring carbohydrate intake in order to match insulin doses. It made transitioning to more flexible insulin regimens easier later on.
I think if I had stayed on mixed insulin for much longer that system would have become too much of a straightjacket and I would have rebelled against it.What was the most difficult adjustment? I think if I had stayed on mixed insulin for much longer that system would have become too much of a straightjacket and I would have rebelled against it. It was very much based on you fitting your life around diabetes management rather than the other way around. If you missed or delayed a meal or snack you would end up in bother, and every meal and snack had to meet its fixed carb count whether that was not enough or far too much. Looking back on my life with diabetes as a whole I guess the most difficult adjustment for me has been the thinking required around food. I can’t just eat something if I fancy it, I always have to consider the impact on my blood glucose management. However intently or otherwise I am managing my diabetes at the time there is never ‘just eating’ any more. Do I want to eat that? Can I manage the insulin effectively? What happened last time I ate that? What will it do to my BG levels? Is that potential effect worth the pleasure the food or snack might give me? Am I better off making a different choice? Do I need to wait between a dose and eating? If so, how long? What are my BG levels doing right now? Do I need to eat something, even if I’m absolutely stuffed and really don’t want to (in order to head off an impending low). Don’t get me wrong… I still love food and eat pretty much whatever I want most of the time, but it’s always viewed through the filter of my diabetes. That’s just how life is.
However much you think you talk and communicate about these things, people express themselves very differently when writing stuff down. It really helped me to understand how my diabetes was affecting other people in my family.What do you think about the state of diabetes in general as far as how people approach it and the efforts by the medical industry and the government to fight the disease? I don’t think there has ever been a better time to be diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, and it can be very frustrating and difficult to live with, but modern treatment techniques and technology make near-normal blood glucose management tantalisingly achievable…well, some of the time anyway! Plus, it is perfectly possible to live a long, exciting, healthy life with type 1. Diabetes doesn’t have to hold you back doing anything. What are some of the more exciting developments you see out there in the area of treatment? Technology and research is moving at such a pace it is hard to keep up. Sensor-augmented pump therapy is improving year-by-year and is beginning to automate some of the management decisions based on continuous glucose data. We are still some way from a full ‘artificial pancreas’ (though every device launched in the past 5 years has been billed as such) but there are significant steps that are being made. And with something as fickle and contrary as type 1 diabetes it is a huge change to have a device proactively monitoring and safeguarding blood glucose management 24/7 in a way that you simply cannot when ‘flying manually’, particularly overnight. There are great strides being made in all sorts of areas: stem cells, nano-encapsulation of transplanted beta cells, smart insulin, non-invasive continuous glucose monitoring, open-source data-sharing and bio-hacking initiatives such as Nightscout and DIYAPS and, of course, the ever-elusive cure.
Don’t get me wrong… I still love food and eat pretty much whatever I want most of the time, but it’s always viewed through the filter of my diabetes. That’s just how life is.What advice would you give someone newly diagnosed? First off, take a breath. Allow yourself to feel rotten about this – some people liken it to grieving and you will most likely face each of those ‘5 stages’ in the coming months and years, several times, and in no particular order. But don’t allow yourself to get stuck in the ‘anger’ or ‘denial’ stages for too long. It may not feel like it right now but this *is* something that you can successfully manage. Just take one day at a time – test lots, count carbs, carry sweets and keep asking questions. See if there is a structured education course that you can access to help you learn about diabetes management, dose adjustment, exercise, alcohol, illness, self-monitoring and what to do with the results. Understand that whatever levels or targets are mentioned to you, YOU have to decide what you are aiming for, in agreement with your clinic, Dr or diabetes team. This is your diabetes and you will get to know it better than anyone else. Aiming for something because ‘they’ tell you to (whoever they are) is a shortcut to feeling frustrated. You have to own your targets and ranges. Start from wherever you are and try to make small improvements to protect your long-term health. See if there are any gadgets or gizmos that might help your day-to-day management, and how you can go about accessing them. A different insulin pen, a smart meter to help you spot patterns or suggest doses, a smartphone app or two to log results or help estimating carb values in meals, an insulin pump or CGM. Each person will have their own unique diabetes toolkit that helps make living with T1 just that little bit easier. Connect with others – either face-to-face at a local group, or online through forums, Twitter, Facebook or blogs. Living with diabetes is tough, but it’s even harder if you are battling on your own. For everyone there’s a little corner of the internet that can provide support, encouragement and shared experiences. Is there a particular book you think everyone should read? Tricky. I have so many I could suggest. Diabetes-wise it is probably ‘Think Like a Pancreas’ (which is odd as I have still not read the actual book, but everything I have seen and read by Gary Scheiner, along with everyone else’s recommendations make it my go-to book to recommend). For a novel you could do a lot worse than ‘A fine balance’ by Rohinton Mistry or ‘Good Omens’ by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett which I am currently halfway through.
A compelling interview with a young man dealing with being diabetic.
In my 9th grade health class, I taught the class about diabetes because I had it and knew a lot more information than the old inaccurate textbooks did.How did you feel after your diagnosis at that time? Pretty much being diagnosed stole my childhood. Everything I knew was taken away. I couldn’t eat or drink what I wanted anymore. It also made me feel different since I would leave for lunch early so I could go to the nurse’s office everyday to get my shot and check my sugar. It was really hard to accept that I couldn’t be like everyone else anymore for a few years after being diagnosed. Then, later on in life, I became severely depressed from other things going on in my life and I absolutely didn’t care about my blood sugars so my A1C was ridiculously high and it caused damage nobody can see. I went through difficult times because my blood sugars varied quite a bit. I just didn’t care anymore. Since you went through your ‘not caring’ phase, have your outlook changed? Yes, I have changed, but only after hitting as low as I could. I planned to commit suicide my senior year of high school. Someone found out and I got sent to Albuquerque to a mental hospital. It was where I discovered to never give up no matter what.
“Being diagnosed stole my childhood.”As for your breaking point during your senior year of high school, what advice would you give other people suffering from diabetes and depression? My advice: don’t give up. I know it sounds stupid and cheesy, but it’s the truth. Life’s hard and being diabetic makes it harder. Uncontrolled sugars affect our moods a lot. Being depressed is already a struggle, but not taking care of your diabetes can turn you into a ticking time bomb. Having a day feeling down and out with blood sugar out of whack can cause you to overreact and want to you to give up even more. After being where I was, I know anyone can make it. More people care about you than you think. Asking for help is hard, but when you really feel like giving up, say something. Don’t try to fight it alone. Since then, what have you done to change your the way you live your life? I’ve opened up to people instead of trying to do it all alone. I’ve worked on controlling my sugars better, and I forced myself to have a more positive outlook. When I was suicidal and went to that mental hospital, I saw something so basic and simple it opened my eyes. Since then, I’ve been pushing through it all, and chasing what I want more than anything. I can’t say if everything I want will ever happen or not, but it gives me a reason to keep going no matter how bad it gets.
“I’ve never had any issues at work. I just tell someone “hey give me a sec, I need to sit down and eat a snack I can feel my blood sugar coming down,” or something like that and it’s never been a problem.”You boldly continue to push through. As for your diet and exercise, do you have anything you do specifically? Well about a year ago I was going to the gym everyday, but that stopped because I started working out of town and didn’t have time. Now that I’m working back in town when I get off 12-hour days, I plan on going back to working out. However, I get constant exercise at work doing hard manual labor for very long hours. I consider that constant physical activity. On the weekends I’m always active and go longboarding or ride my mountain bike. My diet isn’t as high in protein since I’m not working out, but I try to eat as healthy as I can. Do you now keep track of your levels and use your insulin as instructed? I don’t log the sugars like I did when I was first diagnosed, I just calculate my insulin for what I need. I have to use my stuff everyday or I start feeling bad. I can go two, maybe three days without my insulin before having to go to the hospital. I only know that because I’ve run out before and couldn’t get more for a couple of days. How about your jobs; do your employers always accommodate to your needs well? I tell every employer I have diabetes when I get hired. Usually they have no idea about diabetes when I first bring it up, so I have to inform them what they need to know. So far, I’ve never had any issues at work. I just tell someone “hey give me a sec, I need to sit down and eat a snack I can feel my blood sugar coming down,” or something like that and it’s never been a problem. I’m Union. If I was ever fired because of diabetes, there would be some serious consequences for that company. What do you think America could do as a whole to prevent the increase of children being diagnosed with diabetes? America needs to teach it better in school. In my 9th grade health class, I taught the class about diabetes because I had it and knew a lot more information than the old inaccurate textbooks did. America is lazy and unless all the unhealthy food disappears, diabetes will always be there. The food they give in schools is awful and I don’t think kids get enough exercise while in school. Physical Education might not be for everyone, but instead of cramming useless information down the throats of kids, have a daily 45-60 minute walk around the school. If habits like that were established young, then as adults there’s a higher chance of staying active. If you were to meet a young child who was recently diagnosed, what would you say to give them support? I’d tell them the truth about what’s going to happen and how things will change. I would also tell them how they will start to feel, so that when the change starts happening it wouldn’t be a huge shock to them. God has a plan for everything and it seems unfair to be given something you’d never want, but the strongest people are given the heaviest burdens. I may not be the best example, but I’ve done so many things in my life that I was told I couldn’t do because I have diabetes. So don’t let anyone or anything stop you from what you want.
“I wear a continuous glucose monitor, which is a sensor, which is worn on my body with a wire that is injected under my skin. It transfers the reading to a display that I put on my steering wheel. So when I’m racing, just like I check lap time, water pressure, oil temperature, speed, gear, I can also check blood glucose at the same time. That way I can double check the cars running right, and my body is running right as well,” says Kimball to Mensfitness.
In addition to that, Kimball also has a drink bottle mounted in the car, as most drivers do. He also has another bottle filled with a glucose-rich fluid like orange juice so he can take a sip should his sugar run low.
Read more here.