Good nutrition can help fight infection, boost our immune system, and improve our quality of life.
This is especially important as we enter flu season during a pandemic.
While doing all doing we can to prevent getting the flu and COVID-19, we are also very concerned about people with diabetes and their susceptibility to getting sick this season.
Our immunity to viruses is complicated, but there are lifestyle habits that can help to keep us healthier this season. For people with diabetes, the most important thing to remember is keeping blood sugars on target. Healthy blood glucose levels support the immune system to operate most efficiently.
“While having diabetes does not put people at greater risk of getting the coronavirus, their state of health if they contract COVID will impact their outcomes.”
To improve outcomes with COVID and diabetes, it is important to keep blood sugars close to the target, especially for those living with co-morbidities such as obesity or hypertension. Diabetes, especially with elevated glucose for a long period of time, may cause inflammation, which also affects the immune system” states Janaki Vakharia, MD, a clinical fellow in the Endocrinology Division at Massachusetts General Hospital.
As a dietitian, I think a lot about how nutrition is a vital component in maintaining or gaining a healthy immune system. A vitamin deficiency of any kind can weaken our immune system and make us more susceptible to getting any virus; specifically, vitamin D and vitamin C.
Vitamin D can help immune cells function to fight off illness and infection. (1) Sadly, 2020 statistics find that 61% of the elderly population has a vitamin D deficiency. We can take vitamin supplements, but whole foods have so much to offer us. For example, salmon packs 988 IU of vitamin D per 3.5 oz and also provides omega-3 fatty acids which help maintain healthy blood vessels and may reduce chronic inflammation. Also, a vitamin C deficiency can impact our immunity. (2)
Vitamin C is naturally occurring in many fruit and vegetables. Lately, I have been intrigued by the pomegranate. My brother has a large pomegranate tree and recently sent me several beautiful pomegranates. I love the tangy-sweet taste of the juice.
As I started to research the nutrient content of pomegranates, I discovered that humans have had an 8000 year-long love affair with this fascinating fruit, dating from the very first civilization.
The tree’s root bark has been used to treat intestinal parasites. The skin of the fruit has been used to make ink, and the seed oil is used in cosmetics. Pomegranates are also an ancient symbol of fertility and the tree is pest-resistant while being able to withstand long periods of drought.
The most alluring part of the pomegranate is the vibrant red hue of the seeds. This red pigment contains polyphenols which are powerful antioxidants. This is the medicine of the fruit because these antioxidants are what can help our body reduce inflammation. (3) (4)
Most fruit and vegetables contain antioxidants, but the darker the food’s pigment usually the more medicinal the food. When working with our clients to encourage healthier eating to boost their immune system and decrease inflammation advising them to eat more from the food rainbow is very simple and empowering advice.
To add more color into our diets, I am sharing my Spinach Pomegranate Salad recipe
Toss the spinach leaves with the rest of the ingredients. Serves 4
Written by Dawn DeSoto RD, CDCES, our resident Nutrition Content Writer
References:
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Accreditation: Diabetes Education Services is an approved provider by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider 12640, and Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR), Provider DI002. Since these programs are approved by the CDR it satisfies the CE requirements for the CDCES regardless of your profession.
The use of DES products does not guarantee the successful passage of the CDCES exam. CBDCE does not endorse any preparatory or review materials for the CDCES exam, except for those published by CBDCE.
Intestinal health and diabetes are co-related. Which of the following statements is true?
Click here to test your knowledge!
“This Webinar is filled with Bev’s energy, knowledge, and passion for diabetes that she replicates in all her teachings. She puts a demand on herself to be a mentor to all. Her information is well organized, full of current/relevant research, and helps CDCES’ view into the future as a changing world impacts diabetics. I find her to be the most exciting and engaging educator and … OUTSTANDING teacher!!” – recent participant
New Webinar topics:
This one-hour complimentary journey will expand your view of how the trillions of bacterial hitchhikers profoundly influence our health. We will discuss how foods, the environment, and our medical practices have impacted our gut bacteria over time and strategies we can take to protect these old friends.
Sign up for Diabetes Blog Bytes – we post one daily Blog Byte from Monday to Friday. And of course, Tuesday is our Question of the Week. It’s Informative and FREE! Sign up below!
Accreditation: Diabetes Education Services is an approved provider by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider 12640, and Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR), Provider DI002. Since these programs are approved by the CDR it satisfies the CE requirements for the CDCES regardless of your profession.*
The use of DES products does not guarantee the successful passage of the CDCES exam. CBDCE does not endorse any preparatory or review materials for the CDCES exam, except for those published by CBDCE.
Can’t make the live version? That’s okay. Just register to receive the link to the recorded version later today.
New Webinar topics:
“This Webinar is filled with Bev’s energy, knowledge, and passion for diabetes that she replicates in all her teachings. She puts a demand on herself to be a mentor to all. Her information is well organized, full of current/relevant research, and helps CDCES’ view into the future as a changing world impacts diabetics. I find her to be the most exciting and engaging educator and … OUTSTANDING teacher!!” – recent participant
This one-hour complimentary journey will expand your view of how the trillions of bacterial hitchhikers profoundly influence our health. We will discuss how foods, the environment, and our medical practices have impacted our gut bacteria over time and strategies we can take to protect these old friends.
Emily Gibbons– “My coworker just ordered a bunch of these cards for the physicians we work with in the hospital. They are awesome. You guys are the best! I will continue to give you business.”
Our four-sided medication accordion Pocketcards were designed by Coach Beverly Thomassian to assist in clinical practice and exam preparation. One of our best sellers, the Diabetes Medication PocketCard is perfect for all Diabetes Care and Education Specialists.
Updates Include:
Sign up for Diabetes Blog Bytes – we post one daily Blog Byte from Monday to Friday. And of course, Tuesday is our Question of the Week. It’s Informative and FREE! Sign up below!
Accreditation: Diabetes Education Services is an approved provider by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider 12640, and Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR), Provider DI002. Since these programs are approved by the CDR it satisfies the CE requirements for the CDCES regardless of your profession.*
The use of DES products does not guarantee the successful passage of the CDCES exam. CBDCE does not endorse any preparatory or review materials for the CDCES exam, except for those published by CBDCE.
November is an exciting month. We celebrate National Diabetes Month and World Diabetes Day. Plus, we get to exercise our right to vote.
I love this quote by Sharon Salzberg, “Voting is the expression of our commitment to ourselves, one another, this country and this world.”
Ms. Salzberg’s expression is the perfect segue to this year’s Diabetes Month Celebration theme; Taking care of Youth with Diabetes. When we take care of children with diabetes, we are making a long-term commitment to our families, communities, and the future. Diabetes Specialists are natural advocates for children and families living with diabetes.
We are excited to share helpful resources to support you with ongoing advocacy, education, and emotional support for young people living with diabetes.
November also kicks off our holiday season extravaganza. Celebrating during a pandemic is going to present many challenging situations and awkward conversations around safety. To help out, we are sharing our Stress Management Strategies for the Holidays handout. Plus, our dietitian expert, Dawn DeSoto, bravely explores her personal story of stress and sugar overconsumption. She provides some delicious low sugar recipes to help ease us through the holidays.
Lastly, as part of our annual celebration, we are excited to invite you to two FREE Webinars. Diabetes Management in Tots to Teens and our Gut & Skin Microbiome Webinar. We will look into COVID and gut health plus explore some new science that might change our showering habits.
We are grateful for family and friends. We are thankful for each one of you and the message of hope you share with our diabetes community.
In health and gratitude,
Coach Beverly, Bryanna, and Jackson
Click here to read our full November newsletter.
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“This Webinar is filled with Bev’s energy, knowledge, and passion for diabetes that she replicates in all her teachings. She puts a demand on herself to be a mentor to all. Her information is well organized, full of current/relevant research, and helps CDCES’ view into the future as a changing world impacts diabetics. I find her to be the most exciting and engaging educator and … OUTSTANDING teacher!!” – recent participant
This one-hour complimentary journey will expand your view of how the trillions of bacterial hitchhikers profoundly influence our health. We will discuss how foods, the environment, and our medical practices have impacted our gut bacteria over time and strategies we can take to protect these old friends.
Webinar topics:
Sign up for Diabetes Blog Bytes – we post one daily Blog Byte from Monday to Friday. And of course, Tuesday is our Question of the Week. It’s Informative and FREE! Sign up below!
Accreditation: Diabetes Education Services is an approved provider by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider 12640, and Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR), Provider DI002. Since these programs are approved by the CDR it satisfies the CE requirements for the CDCES regardless of your profession.*
The use of DES products does not guarantee the successful passage of the CDCES exam. CBDCE does not endorse any preparatory or review materials for the CDCES exam, except for those published by CBDCE.
“This Webinar is filled with Bev’s energy, knowledge, and passion for diabetes that she replicates in all her teachings. She puts a demand on herself to be a mentor to all. Her information is well organized, full of current/relevant research, and helps CDCES’ view into the future as a changing world impacts diabetics. I find her to be the most exciting and engaging educator and … OUTSTANDING teacher!!” – recent participant
This one-hour complimentary journey will expand your view of how the trillions of bacterial hitchhikers profoundly influence our health. We will discuss how foods, the environment, and our medical practices have impacted our gut bacteria over time and strategies we can take to protect these old friends.
Webinar topics:
Unsure about updates for the 2020 exam?
Coach Beverly offers this FREE webinar to help get you to prepare for the CDCES Exam. All her tips and tricks are meant to ease your mind and reflect the updates to the CDCES content outline.
Instructor: Beverly Thomassian RN, MPH, CDCES, BC-ADM is a working educator who has passed her CDCES Exam 6 times. She is a nationally recognized diabetes expert for over 25 years.
See our Preparing for CDCES Resource Page >>
Sign up for Diabetes Blog Bytes – we post one daily Blog Byte from Monday to Friday. And of course, Tuesday is our Question of the Week. It’s Informative and FREE! Sign up below!
Accreditation: Diabetes Education Services is an approved provider by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider 12640, and Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR), Provider DI002. Since these programs are approved by the CDR it satisfies the CE requirements for the CDCES regardless of your profession.*
The use of DES products does not guarantee the successful passage of the CDCES exam. CBDCE does not endorse any preparatory or review materials for the CDCES exam, except for those published by CBDCE.
Unsure about updates for the 2020 exam?
Coach Beverly offers this FREE webinar to help get you to prepare for the CDCES Exam. All her tips and tricks are meant to ease your mind and reflect the updates to the CDCES content outline.
Instructor: Beverly Thomassian RN, MPH, CDCES, BC-ADM is a working educator who has passed her CDCES Exam 6 times. She is a nationally recognized diabetes expert for over 25 years.
See our Preparing for CDCES Resource Page >>
Sign up for Diabetes Blog Bytes – we post one daily Blog Byte from Monday to Friday. And of course, Tuesday is our Question of the Week. It’s Informative and FREE! Sign up below!
Accreditation: Diabetes Education Services is an approved provider by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider 12640, and Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR), Provider DI002. Since these programs are approved by the CDR it satisfies the CE requirements for the CDCES regardless of your profession.*
The use of DES products does not guarantee the successful passage of the CDCES exam. CBDCE does not endorse any preparatory or review materials for the CDCES exam, except for those published by CBDCE.
“I ran out of insulin a week ago. There was a glitch with the insurance company, and when I went to pick up my insulin, they said my co-pay was over $1000. So, I just ate low carbs for the week.”
A version of this story happens all across America, every day, insulin rationing is becoming commonplace.
As Diabetes Specialists, we can help our community access low or no cost insulin, so no one goes without this life-saving hormone.
Dr. Diana Isaacs, PharmD, BCPS, BC-ADM, BCACP, CDCES collaborated with ADCES team members to create this detailed and immensely helpful Insulin Cost Savings Toolkit.
This toolkit is especially relevant as unemployment increases with our current crisis and people need resources to secure their daily insulin.
Thank you Dr. Isaacs and Team for creating this awesome resource to improve insulin access for anyone in need.
Sign up for Diabetes Blog Bytes – we post one daily Blog Byte from Monday to Friday. And of course, Tuesday is our Question of the Week. It’s Informative and FREE! Sign up below!
Accreditation: Diabetes Education Services is an approved provider by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider 12640, and Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR), Provider DI002. Since these programs are approved by the CDR it satisfies the CE requirements for the CDCES regardless of your profession.*
The use of DES products does not guarantee the successful passage of the CDCES exam. CBDCE does not endorse any preparatory or review materials for the CDCES exam, except for those published by CBDCE.
There is so much to keep track of when it comes to diabetes medication updates and additions. That’s why Coach Beverly and Bryanna are scouring articles and announcements to keep our Medication PocketCards relevant and up-to-date for our community.
We update our downloadable electronic PocketCards on our CDCES Coach app and website each time we announce a medication update.
Laminated PocketCards are updated and ready to be delivered to you!
Purchase yours today and take advantage of our quantity discounts! Great holiday gift!
Since our last announcement, there have been three changes.
The GLP-1 RA, dulaglutide, (Trulicity), has two new higher doses. Until now, the approved doses for Trulicity were 0.75mg and 1.5 mg. The expanded dosing will include a 3.0 mg and 4.5 mg weekly Trulicity dose. Based on recent research, by increasing the dose to 4.5 mgs participants experienced an average weight loss of 10.4 pounds and a 1.9% drop in A1c. Of course, the increased dose is associated with nausea and GI upset, so a gradual titration up to this higher dose should be considered.
There is a new biosimilar basal insulin called Semglee.
One of our scholarship recipients, Mercy Edziah, alerted us to the addition of yet another biosimilar glargine insulin. Semglee is available in a 10 mL vial or 3mL prefilled pens. This new insulin is competitively priced. Semglee is listed at $98.65 per 10mL vial and $147.98 for a box of five pens.
Thank you to Mercy and our community, for sharing news with us so we can pass it along to others.
Canagliflozin (Invokana) removed the black box warning. Previously, the FDA had announced in 2017 that people on canagliflozin, an SGLT-2 Inhibitor, had an increased risk of lower extremity amputation. In August 2020, the FDA removed that black box warning.
Safety information from recent clinical trials suggests that the risk of amputation, while still increased with canagliflozin, is lower than previously described, particularly when appropriately monitored. Therefore, the FDA concluded that the Boxed Warning should be removed
Canagliflozin and 2 of the other of the SGLT-2 Inhibitors, dapagliflozin and Empagliflozin, have demonstrated additional heart- and kidney-related benefits. They are FDA approved to reduce the risk of major heart-related events such as heart attack, stroke, or death in people with type 2 diabetes who have known heart disease. They are also approved to reduce the risk of end-stage kidney disease, worsening of kidney function, and heart failure in certain people with type 2 diabetes and diabetic kidney disease.
We hope you find these Pocketcards as an easy-to-use resource that is helpful in your clinical practice and exam preparation.
Are you interested in learning about diabetes care for the frail and elderly? Then consider attending this all-day conference that synthesizes exciting findings and new elements that you can incorporate into your daily practice. Through dynamic presentations and case studies, we will provide you with creative strategies to take your practice to the next level. In addition, small group activities allow participants to network and share problem-solving strategies. The goal of this program is to provide cutting edge information that has real-life application. We want each participant to leave the seminar feeling more empowered and confident advocating for excellence in diabetes care.
Registration Price:
$20 for ADCES members – $40 for non-ADCES members – 6.5 CEs
Click here to register. – Download flyer here.
Who Should Attend?
This course is designed for all health care professionals including providers, nurses, dietitians, pharmacists, and educators who want to:
Requirements for Successful Completion: Participants should try to be in attendance for all three webinars, complete and submit the program evaluation at the conclusion of each webinar. Partial CE hours (2.25 CE hours) can be awarded per webinar if participants complete and submit the program evaluation. The three webinars will be recorded for later viewing but NO CE hours will be awarded for viewing of the recorded webinars.
Registration Price:
$20 for ADCES members – $40 for non-ADCES members – 6.5 CEs
Click here to register. – Download flyer here.
Sign up for Diabetes Blog Bytes – we post one daily Blog Byte from Monday to Friday. And of course, Tuesday is our Question of the Week. It’s Informative and FREE! Sign up below!
Accreditation: Diabetes Education Services is an approved provider by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider 12640, and Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR), Provider DI002. Since these programs are approved by the CDR it satisfies the CE requirements for the CDCES regardless of your profession.*
The use of DES products does not guarantee the successful passage of the CDCES exam. CBDCE does not endorse any preparatory or review materials for the CDCES exam, except for those published by CBDCE.