Scientists from New York University School of Medicine have discovered an association between areas with an abundance of fast food swaps and type 1 diabetes in children and adults. This finding is interesting because typically type 1 is not associated with cultural influences. 

“Our research suggests that an adverse food environment has an important influence in type 1 diabetes, and a more thorough investigation of genetics, health behaviours and cultural influences should be considered for type 1 and type 2 diabetes.”

As we continue to research the link between diabetes and culture, it is important to consider what factors may have an influence on a patients lifestyle and what may put them at risk.

Learn more: Fast food availability linked to increase type 1 diabetes prevalence in New York – Journal of Endocrine Society

 

 

 

Every year on the first Wednesday of May, the American Diabetes Association presents “National Get Fit Don’t Sit Day,” to help spread the word on the dangers of sitting for long periods of time.

Here at Diabetes Education Services we believe creating healthy daily habits is imperative, particularly in the workplace. We will be participating today by doing fun stand up exercises each hour to ensure we aren’t sitting for too long! 

We want to hear about your favorite short exercise for your workday. Share your activity by commenting on our Get Fit Don’t Sit Facebook post: 

Diabetes Education Services Facebook post

The ADA recommends light physical activity every 30 minutes. Anything from walking to leg extensions at your desk. Help us spread awareness by telling your colleagues and community about National Get Fit Don’t Sit Day! 

To help spread the message, enjoy the ADA toolkit:

 National Get Fit Don’t Sit Day

For more inspiration, enjoy our exercise resource page:

Exercise Resources

We are exited about our growing Diabetes Education Blog

Anne Carter, is not only in charge of operations and customer happiness at Diabetes Education Services, she is expanding her role to include reporting on the latest information and trends in the rapidly changing diabetes landscape.

Some of my favorite blog posts by Anne include:

Diabetes Alert Day Resource Page – March 27th is our opportunity to find people with undetected prediabetes and diabetes.

Question of the Week – Anne gently nudges Coach Beverly to write up a timely question to challenge and engage our community.

New Glucose Monitoring Contact Lens – Imagine a contact lens that you could wear that would light up if your glucose levels were high?

Interested in keeping up with our Blog Posts? We are working on a subscription format, but in the meantime, j

• Join us on our Facebook Page
• Download our FREE CDCES Coach App

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An estimated 1.5 million people are living with type 1 diabetes in the United States.

Type 1 diabetes demands a constant, tedious balancing act of insulin, activity and food. And even when everything is done perfectly, blood sugar levels can still be way off target.

To add to the challenge, the daily management necessities of type 1 diabetes are not well understood by the public, school personnel, work environments and many health care settings. This can result in feelings of discrimination and frustration on the part of people living with type 1, their families and advocates.

With the rapidly increasing prevalence of this lifelong condition, we will be seeing more type 1 diabetes in the outpatient and inpatient settings.  Diabetes educators will need to play a vital role in educating colleagues about type 1 and serving as advocates across the care continuum.

We hope you find this resource listing helpful and please let us know if other resources would benefit this page!

Joslin Diabetes Center Medalist Program –  Awards medals for people with type 1 diabetes for 25, 50 and 75 years. Applying is free!

Type 1 Diabetes throughout the LifeSpan – AADE review article that highlights critical issues to consider for people with type 1 diabetes over a lifetime

Rates of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes in Youth , 2017 – Rates of new diagnosed cases of type 1 and type 2 diabetes on the rise among children, teens

UCSF Diabetes Education Online Teaching Center  – a fantastic free resource from UCSF that provides educational resources for people and families living with type 1.

NIH Clinical Tools and Patient Education Resource Center  terrific online resource that allow users to search for content based on language, topic, disease state and more. All resources are free and can be reproduced. 

American Diabetes Association Type 1 Resource Page – Lots of helpful information and links for people with type 1.

Juvenile Diabetes Resource Foundation –  an organization dedicated to finding a cure for type 1 diabetes. Excellent resources and cutting edge information.

Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet – screens thousands of relatives of people with type 1 diabetes annually and conducts prevention studies with those at highest risk for the disease.

Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY Study) seeks to uncover factors that may increase development of type 1 diabetes

Diabetes, Don’t Sugar Coat It Slide Presentation –  this talk is created by Micayla Dollinger and is intended for 6-12 grade students to get them activated about diabetes prevention.

Exercise Resource Page – We created this resource page so that you would have helpful exercise resources available for you and your colleagues. There are handouts and links that you can share with patients too!

Apps for Diabetes – an array of apps that reviewers have found  helpful for people living with diabetes.

ADA Standards of Care 2018 – The complete PDF Version.

FREE Quizzes Page – Test your diabetes knowledge on topics ranging from language, to medications, to prevention to gut bacteria and more! 

FREE Resource Catalog – We put all of our free stuff on one page. Includes webinars, DiaBingo, article library, quizzes and more!

Diabetes Alert Day – March 27th

Put on your diabetes detective hat!
March 27th is our opportunity to find people with undetected prediabetes and diabetes.

Most people with prediabetes have no idea they are living with elevated blood sugars and that they are at an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Early discovery increases the potential for remission.

For type 2 diabetes, it takes an average of 6.5 years to discover. The Legacy Trial Results demonstrated that early and aggressive treatment of diabetes results in decreased risk of eye, kidney, nerve disease, heart attack and possible death.

Diabetes Educators can take a leadership role in their workplace and communities to uncover undetected diabetes.

7 Actions Diabetes Educators can take to Raise Awareness

• Place a link to the Diabetes Risk Quiz on your work website and invite staff to take the quiz.
   
• Print out the Risk Quiz and invite staff, volunteers and community members to gain awareness and take action.
   
• Host a Diabetes Awareness Reception – offer healthy snacks, an information booth and the Risk Quiz.
   
• Write a short article on Diabetes Prevention for your work-site newsletter and your local newspaper.
   
• Invite yourself to get interviewed about diabetes prevention with your local radio or TV station.
   
• Post the Risk Quiz on your social media pages. See how many people you can encourage to take it!
   
• Provide a presentation on Diabetes Prevention for a local Service Club.

Whether you work in the inpatient or outpatient setting, encourage colleagues to look at A1cs and fasting blood glucose levels to identify those with:

PreDiabetes: A1c of 5.7-6.4% or Fasting  BG of 100-125mg or Undetected diabetes: A1c of 6.5% + or Fasting BG of 126 +  

Newly discovered diabetes? Let’s inform the provider so immediate action can be taken to link the person to resources including a diabetes program referral, dietitian, pharmacist, eye care professional, dentist and more.

New prediabetes?  Let’s connect people to a Diabetes Prevention Program in their community or encourage them to take advantage of the abundance of online resources and Apps to help with behavior change starting today.

Resources to Help Get the Word Out

ADA Alert Day E-Toolkit – Help your organization prepare for the Sound the Alert Day, Download the

ADA Diabetes Risk Test can identify those at risk and promote behavior change action for individuals and their communities.

Risk Test for PreDiabetes – A user friendly web page that evaluates risk and provides helpful info

“Are you at Risk?” Page by the American Diabetes Association – includes the Risk Test, strategies to lower risk and information on predidabetes.

Screening and Diagnosis of Diabetes Mellitus 2018 – One page cheat sheet that summarizes screening, risk status and diagnostic criteria for diabetes. A great tool for your practice setting or to share with providers.

Some of my favorite people are Registered Dietitians.

I have been blessed to team teach with many inspiring, kind, knowledgeable and dynamic dietitians over a span of more than 20 years. They are trailblazers and advocates for improving the health of our communities, from the inpatient to outpatient settings. They have the best teaching tools (who doesn’t love the rubber chicken, food samples and empty cereal boxes) and a breadth of knowledge that they freely share with patients and colleagues alike.

I am pictured here with the amazing Dana Armstrong, RD, CDCES who was blending shakes (at 7am) for participants at our Diabetes Educator Course in San Diego.

Here are some ways you can thank your Registered Dietitian:

1. Send a note letting them know the ways you appreciate them
2. Bring them a treat
3. Give them a hug and thank them for their good work
4. Let providers know how much they contribute to improving the health of people
5. Invite them to lunch
6. Bring them some flowers

Studies show that when people with diabetes meet with a Registered Dietitian, they lower their A1c 1-2% points.

Studies show that only 10% of people with Diabetes and Medicare are referred to a Dietitian.
Let’s keep encouraging our providers to refer people with diabetes to our local Registered Dietitians for nutrition coaching and behavior change action for a lifetime.

Thank you for all your amazing work, your number one fan,

Beverly Thomassian, RN, MPH, CDCES, BC-ADM

 

As clearly demonstrated by the CDC Diabetes Prevention Program, prediabetes can be reversed and diabetes can be delayed by a change in lifestyle coupled with weight loss. With staggering statistics such as over 34% of Americans (over 80 million adults) are living with prediabetes, how can we motivate people to make a change for their health? 

Companies like Omada Health (a digital behavior change program) are utilizing society’s relationship with technology to help people adjust their habits. The app uses an array of methods to help the participant stay dedicated to a lifestyle goal such as; peer counseling, coaching, app notifications, reminder texts, emails and more. 

Working in the diabetes community, we understand that each person has their own unique lifestyle and behavior change approaches. Having array of ideas and recommendations to share can help improve outcomes. Omada Health is a wonderful interactive program that helps people stay focused on goals and also gives them the support of an online community and coach. 

As we continue to see diabetes care partner with technology, staying current on the development of new programs can add an extra dimension of support and coaching in clinical practice. To learn more about Omada Health’s behavior program, click the link below!

“This Chef Lost 50 Pounds And Reversed Prediabetes With A Digital Program” – NPR

See a listing of this app plus others on our Diabetes Apps Resource Page

 

Happy International Women’s Day!

We are so happy to celebrate International Women’s Day today by honoring the girls of Just One Person! We have the opportunity to partner with this incredible organization to make our Pancreas Partner teaching tool. 

Just One Person is a model sustainable program that prepares girls in rural Kenya for post secondary opportunities, helping? them develop economic independence that will guide them  on the path out of poverty.

Although we believe everyday is women’s day, we are happy to celebrate all the wonderful women at Just One Person and in our Diabetes Education Services community!

You can support the girls are Just One Person by donating here:

Just One Person

Or you can purchase our fun teaching tool that helps you demonstrate the job of the pancreas. The Pancreas Partner is made from traditional African fabrics and handcrafted by high school girls participating in Just One Person, an empowerment program for girls in rural Kenya. All profits are donated to www.justoneperson.org.

Pancreas Partner