(whooshing sound)
- Welcome to Living Healthy Chicago.
I'm Jane Claus.
We're starting today's show talking about diabetes.
According to the Centers for Disease Control,
diabetes affects more than 30 million Americans
and living a healthy life with diabetes
is all about management.
So let's meet a man who says a simple lifestyle change
is what kept him on the path to good health.
(whooshing sound)
- Davis night's story starts
and ends with his connection to food.
- I am a professional chef by trade.
So I have worked around food
for the last 10 plus years of my life.
Food was very much a source of pleasure for me.
- [Jane] He didn't give that connection much thought,
until one day a health scare started him on the path
to some big changes.
- I was driving home at night from a client meeting,
and I started to lose my eyesight,
literally on the road.
- [Jane] He was pulled over
and eventually he went to his eye doctor.
He was worried there was a problem with his glasses.
- The glasses were okay,
and the first question was do you have diabetes?
I was shocked and surprised by it.
I had no indication at the time that there was
any history of that in my family.
- [Jane] Trip to his doctor
confirmed his diagnosis of uncontrolled type 2 diabetes
- Is probably the most scary thing
that has ever happened to me in my life.
Everything changed for me at that point.
As a professional chef,
I started to really struggle
with the idea of what could I eat?
And that's one of the biggest factors
of how you manage this disease is eating better
and exercising.
- Joining us to explain the importance of nutrition
for diabetes management is Dr. Rajiv Vasavada.
Doctor can you explain what type two diabetes is?
- In diabetes,
there is impairment in the way body regulates sugar,
and its sugar as a fuel source.
It normally body secretes a hormone called insulin,
that is necessary for sugar to enter inside the cells.
In diabetes,
either there is insufficient amount of insulin secreted
or the existing insulin is nt very effective on the cells.
As a result, cells do not get the fuel that they need
and that is extra buildup of sugar in the blood.
- So explain why it's important for people
who have type two diabetes to be mindful of what they eat.
- Nutrition is very important in type 2 diabetes.
Diabetics should learn how to read the labels,
on the food that we eat
and try to eat food
that is high in fiber.
Since those are low glycemic value food,
and they not increase the sugar
as fast as the other types of carbohydrates do.
In early diabetes,
lifestyle management makes a huge difference
in almost reversing the diabetes.
So they should be done with a lot of medical monitoring
and patients checking their sugars intermittently.
Most important thing is
they need proper guidance,
education, monitoring, and follow up.
It is not just the sugar management
that we as providers are looking at,
but also the risk factors.
So this factor modification includes,
management of blood pressure,
management of your cholesterol,
getting your (indistinct) checked.
- [Jane] Davis took this to heart
and made some big changes to how he was eating.
- I virtually eliminated all sugar,
a lot of white food products like white rice,
and white breads.
I've boosted my vegetable and leafy green intake.
And I've also limited my high-fat proteins
and started moving a lot more.
And that helped bring all of my numbers within normal ranges
within 90 days.
- [Jane] Using his own experience
and figuring out what worked,
got him thinking about
what other people living with diabetes
must be going through.
- I knew immediately
that if I was struggling as a professional chef,
with putting together meals that I would stick with,
if you for those that did not have
that professional training it had to be even harder.
Very few people talk about how to do it,
in a way that tastes good.
You know, I, you know, we'll tend to do things more
if we enjoy the process.
- [Jane] Davis decided to take what he learned
and start his own YouTube channel,
podcast, and a website called Diabetic Savvy.
- A place of community
where they can find information be inspired,
be motivated and find help and support along the way.
- [Jane] He now hopes to inspire others,
living with diabetes, to take charge of their health.
- I'm really excited in the fact
that I've been able to keep my numbers in check
and in normal.
Food is not just a source of enjoyment for me now,
but it's also fuel,
and a way of supporting my health.
Be your own advocate,
have a transparent authentic relationship with your doctos
and take charge.
The disease does not have to define you.
(upbeat music)