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Welcome to 'not ARTIFICIALLY Sweetened'! Episode 6

If you are a person living with diabetes or a health professional that facilitates diabetes care, you are in the right place!

Join us in the journey ahead, as we grow together in understanding, insight, and self-awareness and ultimately change lives for the better!

Our deliberations will always be honest, challenging and thought provoking. Nothing is off the table as we discuss real people, their real issues and stories, and together discover real answers to many vexing practical issues in diabetes and its care.

This week, Stan and Michael, dip their toes into the vast subject of “beyond food as food…”

1. Food and fasting – wishing our Muslim listeners Ramadan Mubarak, we explore

• the spiritual importance and blessings of fasting,
• some of the fasting risks for people with diabetes and
• the importance of joint decision making and planning for participation in a safe and successful fast.

2. Some cultural and language nuances around food

3. When our relationship with food goes wrong. As a background, we touch on problems like ‘comfort eating’, ‘body dissatisfaction’, disorders of ‘body image’, food as a means of ‘control’ and the spectrum between healthy eating, disordered eating and eating disorders.

We welcome our studio guest, Ronelle Foster (Freelance Graphic Designer and Website Developer | Person living with diabetes and Diabetes Advocate). In this interview we discuss,

• Ronelle’s post-diagnosis experience with ‘good’ foods and ‘bad’ foods
• Stigma and judgement in being weighed
• Ronelle’s journey to developing bulimia nervosa and then diabulimia
• Social and ‘trigger’ factors that supported Ronelle’s diabulimia and disordered thinking, despite guilt and shame and developing complications
• How Ronelle felt alone on her journey with diabulimia - the importance of social support
• Eating disorders, in full view, but often ‘unseen’
• How health professionals can be more therapeutic in the context of eating disorders
• The turning point in Ronelle’s journey with diabulimia - renal failure and dialysis, and a the gift of a miracle matching directed kidney donation from her amazing husband
• Restoration - Ronelle’s new lease on life - new passions, sports and ‘living’ again
• Developing a healthier relationship with food
• In retrospect, was diabulimia worth it? “Hell NO!”

We also

• Share another Sweet Life Advocacy Message – "Here’s what people with diabetes wish their diabetes care team knew – It can be really exhausting - decision fatigue is real!”
• Introduce the fourth in a series of ‘Essential Tools for your journey in Diabetes Care’ – Self-discipline

If you have any questions, suggestions, comments or contributions for future episodes, or if you would like to advertise on this podcast, please email us @ Podcast@CDEDiabetes.co.za

For health professionals working in diabetes, the CDE Academy Foundation Course in Diabetes Care for Health Professionals is a real-world-applicable online learning experience at one’s own pace. It can be accessed 24/7/365 and offers 30 CPD points. More information on this challenging, cutting-edge Course and registration available @ https://academy.cdeonline.co.za/