Blog Entries With Tag: cancer

Blog: Anna's Blog

From: FatCatAnna

The other day I emptied out a 4 kg (about 10 lbs) of white sugar that I had dated a year ago when I opened it.  I use white sugar purely for cooking (I make my own bread, so have to proof the yeast usually with sugar or honey depending on the recipe). 

I'd posted on my Facebook page about emptying out this bag after a yearand asked the question .... how much sugar do you go through in a year?

Here's a few of the responses (names have been removed to protect their privacy):

• I probably go through about 8 4-lb bags a year. I bake roughly 40 dozen cookies and 15 or more banana bread at Christmas time. I looove to bake. 

• I bake a lot so maybe 10-20lbs a year!

• My 1 cup was for visitors coffee/tea.. I personally do not use sugar.. I use stevia/Sucralose.

• Don't use it, ever. I'm not much of a baker, so I'm sure that helps! My husband and I don't even keep sugar in our home.

• We do not buy or have sugar in the house unless you count a packet or two from coffee my husband brings home from Starbucks. I do not have or use artificial sweeteners either. I take that back. We bought sugar a long time ago for hummingbird food which my husband makes. I do not even know where he keeps it. Hmmmm ..

• Don't ever buy white sugar - only bake orange flax bran muffins, and they need 1 cup brown sugar, but we use a mix Brown Sugar Splenda, which needs only half measure, so very, very little for 24 muffins. We do buy some turbinado sugar, a type of brown sugar, of which I like a tiny sprinkle, over my microwaved apple. (allergic to raw apples).

So, there you have it, various answers to my question ... and to the Humming Bird poster  ... I use sugar for my feeder too ... so that's how I used up the 4 kg bag of sugar <lol>.

Picture above courtesy of Scrollgirl at Lumberjocks

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What brought me to this subject today though was coming across an article at The Heart and Stroke website in Canada ( I skip all over the place for reading online). What it states is, and we don't really have to be told this is ...

" Consuming too much sugar is associated with heart disease, stroke, obesity, diabetes, high blood cholesterol, cancer and cavities "

Duhhhh, I know that, though maybe being diabetic makes me more conscious of eating foods with sugar due to how it affects our blood sugar, as well as causing weight gain if we eat too much sweet stuff, even with giving the right amount of insulin to keep the blood sugars (BGNow) at a good level.

Again, it's all about how much you consume, and if you don't want to consume it, that is fine as well!! I know many people who don't use sugar in their coffee (I'm like one of the posters on my wall, I use a small amount of turbinado sugar into my coffee ... and my husband ... he drinks it black ... ugh).

And, to get you even more excited about sugar ..... NOT ...

" For an average 2,000-calorie-a-day diet, 10 per cent is about 48 grams, or 12 teaspoons of sugar. One can of pop contains about 85 per cent of the daily added sugar limit "

So, if this blog has perked your interest about the evils of sugar (it's not ALL evil, just watch what you eat) - check out this link to find out sugar reduction tips by The Heart and Stroke Foundation!

Remember too, which is what I follow religiously .....

" Cooking at home more often will help you reduce sugar in your meals "

Though next week in Las Vegas at the Diabetes unConference - who knows what I'll be eating / drinking in the after hours of the conference, so I'd better walk it off, or else face weight gain, and higher blood sugars! LOL

NB:  I thought I'd written about sugar consumption before ... click on this this link from October 2013 ... and you'll find more on the subject.

Blog: Anna's Blog

From: FatCatAnna

This past weekend we finally got the Mum of Jenna who our sailboat Jenna’s Journey (a Catalina 30) is named after onboard.  It's been something we've been planning for awhile, but with my friend losing her DH to cancer only a few years after Jenna, it's been a very difficult time for her.  Jenna, sadly died at the age of 17 after battling a form of cancer called aveaolor Rhabdomyoscarcoma .  Jenna lives on through our sailboat – she will never be forgotten.  And she looked over the two newbie sailors, her Mum and her boyfriend Billy, as we heeled over gently at 15 degrees in winds of 10-15 knots.  It was a great weekend of reliving memories of Jenna and the weather held out for us to perfection. 

Of course, preparing for visitors, especially the MUM of Jenna was nerve wracking.  I wanted this to be perfect for my friend of 25+ years.  So, between working during the week and trying to get things ready food wise, that would suit both “normal” people and myself as a diabetic.  It was abit of a challenge.

So of course, the Hypo Fairy came to visit me quite abit last week (and from other FB postings during the week – I was not alone – warm weather just makes our insulin work much better).  All I can say is THANK GOODNESS for Michael George aka my Animas 2020 insulin pump.  I was able to SUSPEND his delivery at times that we’re not convenient for me (e.g. going out for a quick grocery run WITHOUT any fast acting sugar … bad bad bad – even worse – not #BGNow meter – but I know when I’m going low / high still at least).  Also, with being able to lower your basal insulin, compared to my usual MDI (multiple dose injections) is VERY handy.

Artwork courtesy of http://marasop.deviantart.com/

So, Friday rolls around, we are off to Jenna’s Journey.  Both my DH and I are trying to finish up work abit earlier (didn’t happen) – and then try to make sure the furball children are all settled in for a few days alone (I know – they’re cats – but still …. ).  Again, that day, the Hypo Fairy decides to play games with me earlier in the day.  We hit the road, for the 70 minute drive to where we keep our sailboat and then I realise my lips aren’t tingling because of the wind hitting my face (driving with the top down on the car).  And what seems to be a normal with diabetics that I've met over the years - I get an unusual hunger pang.  

I don’t like to broadcast to the world I’m having a low #BGNow .  So of course, the Tim Horton’s server is all chatty and so am I.  Meanwhile, my eyes start to go blinky, blinky and I’m trying to control my jerks/twitches (like I have Tourette’s Syndrome) and at that moment I think … “Why am I such a polite person in a mini-me crisis?”   When all I want to do is SCREAM out …

“Give me my Fing donut NOW”. 

If I had TS as my DH told me later, that’s probably how it would come out – and save me some time in getting what I need … NOW!

So I enhale my donut (below is EXACTLY what I had) - along with a coffee - and there goes my chance of ever shedding the 20 lbs I'm attempting to lose on my goal to one day being 40 lbs lighter. Urrhhh.  

The nice thing – it worked out fine – though I battled with the Hypo Fairy over the next few days with people who don’t really understand diabetes (e.g. “How often do you have to use your insulin pump?” or  “Where’s my food?” … this coming from the nondiabetic person whose NOT having a visit by the Hypo Fairy with a 2.2 /40 #BGNow  ).

As most of us do with people who don’t understand Type 1 diabetes – we are forever trying our best to educate them – and maybe one day – they’ll get it.

Blog: Anna's Blog

From: FatCatAnna

I recently watched the season opener of the Fifth Estate (a show similar to 60 Minutes on USA television) – about the evils of sugar and what it is doing to the populations health around the world (it’s effects on diseases like diabetes to cancer and Alzheimer’s to name just a few).

It was interesting for the most part – it opened my eyes up abit to what sugar does in the breakdown in our bodies (liver – wow does that take the brunch of access sugar).  My only concern was how it was made that sugar is EVIL – that we should really avoid it all together.   That’s not possible.

 

Sugar is in in everything we eat – it’s either added – or its part of the natural structure of the item we are about to gobble down.  I do believe in reducing my sugar intake but for myself that’s mainly for my being a diabetic (and no – the type I have is not brought on by eating sugar or being overweight - SCREAM – the amount of times I’ve had to explain this to people).  My Type 1 diabetes is all to do with my autoimmune system destroying my pancreas which produces insulin, a hormone that enables the human body to get energy from food.   Capiche?

What I wasn’t aware of when watching this show – that the American government over the past 5 years has been trying to persuade food manufactures to show more information on their food labels as to the “percentage” of sugar – just like  it shows for Fats, Salt.

“ In the USA, there are no government recommended limits for sugar but the American Heart Association recommends 9 teaspoons (45 ml) for men, 6 (30) for women.  Meanwhile, USA lawmakers are trying to make information on sugar consumption clearer. ”

To me – this makes sense – if you want to have a more informed population of what they are putting into their guts.  As we diabetics all know – especially those of us who match our insulin injections to our food intake – we scrutinize the food label like it’s a mystery novel!  Or at least I know I do. 

 
Not only, what is shown on the food label, but also the ingredients that are listed on the food label – make a big difference to what I purchase and put on our table to eat.  And we always hope that what is shown on the label is truthful (even more so for those with food allergies – which could result in death).

So, would looking at the percentage of sugar on the product you’re about to purchase make a difference to you?  Or would it just be another time consuming factor in your grocery isle experience?

Personally for myself, even though I try to cook from scratch most of the time, yes, it would help determine my reason for buying a product to consume!

 

Blog: Anna's Blog

From: FatCatAnna

Today we've been asked to put a twist on the topic and focus on the good things diabetes has brought us.  What awesome thing have you (or your child) done BECAUSE of diabetes?  You can check out other postings at the link below which will be easier to cut and paste manually into a new page rather then clicking on it (hopefully you take the extra steps in order to get to the page I want to have linked - showing ALL the postings - otherwise if you click on this link - you won't see it - sigh - I'm a test guinea pig for Diabetes1.org) - http://www.blenza.com/linkies/links.php?owner=KarenBitterSweet&postid=04May2011a

So, on with the good stuff with diabetes ....

I think with having been told as a teenager that I wouldn't live past 40 years of age - a comment that I find many of us long term diabetics share - is that it made me realise that I wanted to do things that perhaps were in my fear factor area that otherwise I would never have done.  I'm still waiting to jump out of an airplane - dressed in blue - to form the international sign of diabetes - the blue circle.  Hopefully I'll do it with others before the cost of fuel for airplanes becomes outrageous! Hmm, wonder if I'll get to wear my black cat suit and cape?

The most " awesomeost " thing for me since discovering the D-OC (diabetic online community) when I first started pumping my insulin (eat your heart out Arnie) - is the people I've met (some in person) - both diabetic and nondiabetic.  We all share a common goal with wanting the best out of life.  Even better is meeting up with D-parents and their kids and showing them that diabetes isn't a death sentence.  My friends daughter Jenna who had terminal cancer died too young a few years ago, but she would be alive today if she had diabetes.  I would have been her mentor to helping her thru' the rough times we diabetics sometimes go through.

Blog: Anna's Blog

From: FatCatAnna