And We’re Back! Introducing: Diabetes Digital

0:00
Hi, I’m Wendy.

And I’m Jess, and you’re listening to the Food Heaven podcast.

Your online resource for inclusive and accessible Wellness.

0:18
Welcome back, OMG.

It has been over six months.

And even taking out my podcast recording equipment, it almost felt like, yeah, I was like, Oh my God, it was like I was uncovering something ancient because it’s been so long.

0:38
And I I was actually like kind of excited and giddy about it.

I’m like, Oh my God, I kind of miss recording.

It’s it’s been so, so, so long and we miss you all and we’ve been doing so, so much behind the scenes, which we’re going to update you on today.

0:56
But yeah, I’m sure you’re wondering where we’ve been, what we’ve been up to, Jess.

How has life been lifting for you?

OK, a couple of things before that.

So one, same thing with my podcast equipment.

It was in the garage.

So I’m like, dust it off, figure out where it is.

1:13
Also, for those who are just tuning in for the first time, we have to tell them what’s going on.

So we are registered dietitians, and this is our podcast about nutrition and Wellness.

And we’ve taken a break for the last six months just to gather ourselves.

1:30
And we have been going through a business and strategy pivot.

So if you’re listening for the first time, definitely listen to this episode and then go back to the last, like what, 6 episodes and hear our story about how we’ve decided that we want to have a pivot in business.

1:46
So that’s kind of a little back story.

Now the other funny thing is when it comes to podcast, When we took a break from our podcast, I was over podcast completely.

You couldn’t pay me to listen to a new podcast.

But since then I’ve fallen in love with some amazing pods and I’ve become a Supergirl fan or super fan or whatever.

2:10
And now I I realize how you can become a huge fan of a podcast, which I didn’t before.

So like when people would write us and say I listen every week, I love you guys.

I’m just like, oh, cool, really, How?

2:25
And so now I’m like, Oh yeah, I’m totally a super fan of some podcast now, So it’s been nice to rediscover.

Yeah, exactly.

I think having that time off from recording allows you to enjoy things that are similar because with recording a podcast and just like all the time that it takes and having to talk and then hear yourself talk and then submit edits, it’s like that’s probably part of the reason why you didn’t want to listen to other podcasts because you were burned out by our podcast and similar like before I used to listen to so many podcasts and I’m like slowly easing back in.

3:00
But yeah, I was just like up to here with the podcasting because we have so much, yeah, just so much responsibility around this.

So it’s been nice having that break and just kind of like tapping into things leisurely and not having it to be a stressful thing.

3:17
Yeah, yeah.

So that’s that’s been fun.

Totally agree.

And for those looking for a new podcast, the one that I’m the biggest fan of and I’ve been fighting with people in my DMS about who’s the number one fan, It’s five track.

I love my sisters.

3:32
You guys have to listen.

It’s so good.

Anyways, so back to us.

So what have we been up to over the last six months?

Well, we have been starting a new company and we are so excited.

3:49
We’ve been kind of hinting at it a little bit.

There’s certain people who have sent us messages like, wait, is this your company?

Or if you’re on our newsletter, you may have heard, you know, a little birdie talk about the idea a bit.

But we’re here to kind of spill the beans.

4:07
And I know a lot of people think that we’ve been just taking off this whole time, which would have been amazing.

But that’s not really the case.

We’ve still been working more than full time on this new business and realizing like, how much it takes to create a startup company.

4:22
So drum roll please.

Our new business is called Diabetes Digital and it is a startup virtual telehealth nutrition counseling platform where you can get nutrition counseling for your diabetes or pre diabetes from home.

4:42
We want everyone to think about Diabetes Digital as a trusted source for virtual nutrition, founded by us as registered dietitians and diabetes educators.

Yes, so excited.

We have been hard at work.

5:00
Y’all trying to get this business off of the ground.

It’s a virtual telehealth practice where we meet the needs of people that have pre diabetes and diabetes.

We’re accepting type ones and type twos and she’s here.

5:18
She’s amazing.

She’s everything we want her to be.

Yeah.

She just looks beautiful.

And by she, I mean the business, the website, which you can go on.

It’s live officially.

It’s diabetes digital.co and I’ve always loved educating on type 2 diabetes just and I became diabetes educators some years back and we’re like, there’s such a need there.

5:47
We were thinking when we were thinking about what are some things that we can, that we can transition into.

We’re like, yeah, they’re, they’re such a huge need.

And it’s it’s pretty crazy how diabetes is like one of the most prevalent chronic conditions.

6:05
And there is such a big lack of access to quality care, from nutrition to healthcare to like just all of the different components that are helpful in like managing diabetes.

6:22
There is not a lot out there, especially resources that are culturally competent.

That’s something that I have challenges with.

When I see people that have diabetes, I have challenges finding resources that they’re going to find relatable, that they’re actually going to apply and implement.

6:41
So that’s the new business.

As Wendy said in our Pivot series, we talked about wanting to get back to our roots as diabetes educators, as dietitians.

Also why we got into nutrition to have more of a one-on-one impact helping folks.

6:59
And I feel like we can bring all of our skills into this new business.

Like, for example, I have skills working with folks who have eating disorders and disordered eating.

And as we know, I feel like so many people with diabetes, maybe they’re coming in with diabetes and not knowing that they can work on their relationship with food as well, right?

7:22
And then Wendy has experience working at a diabetes startup that was based on medications and all these things.

So she has a lot of knowledge there.

And then we both have a lot of clinical experience working at different outpatient clinics, community clinics, things like that.

7:40
So we feel like we are perfectly poised to do this new business.

We’ve also authored different books and things within the diabetes space like I Always Forget.

And then I wrote the the textbook chapter on diabetes for the Nutrition care Process, which is the textbook that new dietitians use in school.

8:02
And then also a book called Enjoying the Foods of the World for People with Diabetes, which is all about like diabetes and cultural foods.

I Co wrote that with another dietitian years ago.

So it’s a nice way to bring all that experience together and we are going to be offering telehealth and we’re going to make it accessible by accepting insurance and starting off in 22 states, which is huge.

8:28
And we’re so excited about that.

And you can go to the website diabetesdigital.co to see what states we’re operating in.

And then in terms of the insurance, we’re going to work to expand to many states, but starting out specifically in New York and California and accepting all major insurance plans.

8:46
So it’s really, really, really exciting and we want to work with people long term and again bring all of our private practice skills and in our counseling skills and make this into a place where you’re not just learning about carbohydrates, you’re learning and partnering with your dietitian to learn how to best take care of yourself.

9:09
Whether you have one pre diabetes and want to prevent diabetes.

You have type one, you have type 2, you have gestational diabetes.

So it’s yeah, we’re so, so, so excited.

Yeah.

And I think everyone either know someone who has diabetes or has pre diabetes or diabetes themselves.

9:28
So for those of you who have that experience, which is probably a lot of you, I’m sure you’re familiar with the gaps in healthcare.

Typically as a clinician, in my experience when someone comes in who’s been diagnosed with pre diabetes or diabetes, they might get a handout, they might get 15 minutes of education.

9:49
And so we really want to shift that where we’re providing quality care.

We can really build on a lot of things, not just like with which the basic nutrition education is so, so, so important.

And we definitely want to cover that.

10:04
But we want to dig a little bit deeper and talk about things like culture, body image, all of the different aspects that can impact someone’s diabetes care, mental health, social factors, like all of those things.

And so our sessions, we’re envisioning them to be anywhere from 50 to 60 minutes just to make sure that we have enough time to really build relationships with clients.

10:31
And yeah, we just really see this platform as a way to transform diabetes care.

And I really do think that there’s nothing out there like it.

Yeah, I 100% agree.

And it’s really amazing too, because I think we get to bring in all of our skills, right, Because with Food Heaven, we have so many marketing skills and media skills.

10:53
And then we have these clinical skills that we’ve been developing over the last, like decade plus trying to learn management skills and systems and all those things.

And I think we’ve also realized like what our bandwidth is and what we can do and what we can’t do.

So I learned by having kind of a solopreneur private practice that I can’t do the business side of things and see the clients because I’ll get burned out, right.

11:19
I can do either or.

And so with this diabetes digital, it’s great because we can do the business side of things and like the vision and the strategy and building things and leave the counseling to our incredible team of dietitians that we’ve hired who don’t want to do the business side of things.

11:39
Like they just want to see the patients and have a place that they feel respected and where they feel like their culture matters and where they can have that time to build strong relationships with patients.

11:55
And something that is also run by dietitians.

Because there’s so many people in the dietitian space right now who are building these companies and startups and they’re venture capitalists and they don’t know anything about being a dietitian or they don’t know.

12:11
You know, typically it’s it’s like a white man.

And what do you know about building a business based on being culturally humble and all those things?

Not to say like white men can’t do that, but it’s just like there’s far too, to many of them kind of infiltrating these spaces.

And we’re like, no, we’re going to do something like by dietitians.

12:29
That is hopefully a great place for dietitians to want to work and an even better place for patients to want to come and improve their overall well-being in a way that’s inclusive weight, inclusive culture, inclusive, all those things.

12:47
Yeah.

And in terms of statistics, I had mentioned that you either have diabetes or pre diabetes or you know someone who does well more than half of the US adult population has diabetes or pre diabetes.

It’s so prevalent and the rates continue to increase.

13:05
Between 2013 and 2020, the prevalence of pre diabetes increase 3.5% for adults.

And as with all chronic conditions, there is a disproportionate impact on people of color, specifically black and brown people.

13:21
So whereas you as adults overall have a 40% chance of developing type 2 diabetes, if you’re Latin X your chance is over 50%.

Also, the risk of diabetes is 77% higher among African Americans than among non Hispanic white Americans.

13:40
That’s 77%.

Yet often times when I see these programs and things for diabetes, I’m not always seeing them being led by people of color or the dietitians being diverse.

So that’s another reason why we feel like it’s so important to start this company.

13:58
And as Wendy said earlier, we all have been touched by diet diabetes or pre diabetes.

I mean whether it’s family, I have family.

I even had pre diabetes during the pandemic and made some different changes, lifestyle changes and don’t have pre diabetes anymore.

14:15
So there’s so many of us who are affected and there are a lot of simple things that people can do without cutting out all of your favorite foods, without having to get rid of your cultural foods.

Yeah.

And there’s a lot of underlying factors that impact these disproportionate rates.

14:34
I mean, we could go on and on.

One of the things that I have experienced is the lack of accessible health care, especially in communities that are lower income, which tend to be communities with black and brown people, usually healthcare.

14:52
It’s not the best quality.

You have to wait six months for an appointment.

You can’t get through the front desk like just all these little things that create barriers for someone to want to go in and seek intervention for their diabetes.

And then of course, there’s like the lack of nutritious food in certain neighborhoods that are lower income, which makes it hard to make certain recommendations about maybe eating more plant foods, the cost of those foods being higher in these communities.

15:22
All of these different things impact someone’s ability to either initially even be diagnosed and they might already have diabetes or like seek an intervention that’s going to be effective.

Yep, 100% agree.

Also, there can be a lack of cultural competency with the medical system, right?

15:40
There can be systemic bias, racism, healthcare.

Also, sometimes providers give A1 size fits all prescription to people.

I mean, we talked about this on the podcast all the time where someone might be told from the doctor, oh, all you have to do is cut out all the tortillas you’re eating or cut out in Jetta or whatever the case may be.

16:00
And you don’t have to do that.

And that’s just a lack of information.

And I also think nutrition can also sometimes feel whitewashed with the handouts and educations given in the hospitals and the clinics.

At best, it’s often translated to Spanish, but that doesn’t make the actual content any more culturally appropriate.

16:20
And the other thing is it’s always 10 times out of 10 going to be weight centric, meaning that the goal is to focus on losing weight versus behavioral change.

And we are here to change that.

And we want to make things inclusive and we’re not going to focus on people needing to lose weight in order to improve their diabetes or pre diabetes.

16:43
We’re going to focus on how can we make a difference in your behaviors and what you want to do and support you and your journey and you’re kind of steering the ship and we’re helping to provide that support and guidance.

So we think it’s really important to provide care that is Hazel lined Health at Every Size and feel like there’s nothing like it out there.

17:04
So you might be wondering how this all works and just mentioned before, we’re going to have a membership pathway and an insurance pathway.

So for the membership, we are accepting clients in 20 plus states.

17:21
So this is if you’re outside of New York and California or if you’re uninsured, you can become a member.

And with that you get two one-on-one nutrition counseling sessions each month where you get personalized guidance from our expert registered dietitians.

17:38
We’re also going to have monthly support groups so you’re able to connect with other people that have diabetes and get guidance from one of our dietitians who’ll be leading the group.

You’ll also get supportive handouts and meal planning guides each month that are diabetes friendly.

17:55
You can also message with your dietitian if you have any questions or if you’re not sure about anything, you’ll have easy access to your provider.

And then we’re also going to have an exclusive newsletter for members where we’ll be sending insider tips, insights about diabetes.

18:13
And so yeah, it’s just it’s so many resources and resources that you can actually implement that are action oriented because like I mentioned before with the handouts, like a lot of times people get handouts, they don’t even look at them.

But we have personally designed these ourselves so that they’re very action forward and and they’re also something to look forward to.

18:36
It’s not like another task that you have to do.

And for people who have insurance, I want to go into a little bit about how that works.

So Wendy talked about the membership where we’re going to have affordable self pay membership.

Also one thing I want to note with that is even if you do the membership, you can still get super bills or pay with your FSA Flex spending account or HSA health savings account for the membership model because you are getting healthcare right.

19:06
But let’s just say you have an insurance that is in network with us and you really want to use your insurance which we totally understand people wanting to use their benefits.

So how that works is we’re going to verify your insurance especially for people in California and New York where we’re going to start out.

19:22
We will be expanding with time and if you’re eligible, you can go ahead and book one and book a visit with one of our registered dietitians.

And while you’re waiting for your appointment, usually we have people book like a a week out, we’re going to verify all the benefits.

19:40
So it’s kind of a preliminary check and you can book.

If we know that we’re most likely a network, then we’ll do an official verification.

We’ll contact your insurance company.

So everybody’s coverage may be different and it depends on your plan.

But ideally, we really want to see clients long term for at least six months, sometimes even a year.

19:59
And as someone who has done a private practice where my minimum to see clients was six months, and often times I’d see clients for a year or more, I know that it it takes longer than we think to make some of these behavior changes and feel like you have a chance to have challenges.

20:17
You know you have a chance to get through the holidays because I know that can be a triggering time for people.

And really, we want this to be a model similar to therapy, where you have your dietitian who you’re meeting with every other week, who’s there to support you, where you can talk about life updates and how those impact your eating habits or exercise goals that you want to set or mindful eating.

20:41
I mean there’s so many different things you can talk about with your dietitian and get to a place where you feel great and like you can be confident in managing your diabetes or your pre diabetes on your own.

20:57
So that’s the goal.

Also some people might wonder if you have insurance and let’s say your benefits run out but you still want to meet with your dietitian, you absolutely can.

So A, we would try to get your benefits extended and B if we weren’t able to, you can always transition into the membership model and again get those super bills to try and get the sessions reimbursed on your end.

21:22
You won’t always be able to, but at least you can try.

And many of my patients, at least from private practice, were able to get a lot of those sessions reimbursed.

So that is the business.

It’s diabetes digital.

If you have pre diabetes to diabetes or know someone who does, please spread the word.

21:40
We are startup, we really need your support in getting this off of the ground.

So make sure that you spread the word and our team is just beyond like we have the most phenomenal group of dietitians working with us.

They have extensive diabetes experience, extensive help that every size experience.

22:00
They have a background in intuitive eating.

So it’s very much aligned with our values and approach to nutrition and the care that we’ll be providing is going to be evidence based is going to be cutting edge.

We want to make sure that our clients are getting the most up to date and accurate information.

22:19
So you have to go to the website and just also appreciate how beautiful it is because our designer and developer completely blew it out of the park.

Like it just looks so, so so good.

Better than we could have ever thought.

Or before.

22:34
Oh my God, shout out to Angela and Jennifer.

They’re amazing, yes.

And so next step is going to the site clicking on the get started link after you kind of learn more about the offerings.

And through that link you take a 32nd quiz and it’ll give you a preliminary qualification on whether or not you qualify for insurance.

22:56
And we should check your benefits or whether or not you’re a better fit for the self pay membership program.

And you can try to use FSAHSA and or get super bills to get reimbursed.

So do that if you don’t have diabetes or pre diabetes again as when he said forward it, post it on your social media network, tell your friends, send people this episode.

23:18
We are really counting on you to make this company work.

We have invested so much of our own time money we didn’t get investors.

We are using our savings to get this off the ground.

So we really need all of your support to help, and we know everyone knows someone with diabetes, so please do us a solid and send this to those folks.

23:42
Yeah.

And we’re also on social, so you can follow us on Instagram.

We’re at Diabetes Digital Co again, the website isdiabetesdigital.co, not.com.co and yeah, so make sure that you check us out, you spread the word if you think we would be a good fit for any press.

24:02
I know a lot of people in media listen to this podcast, so if you think we would be a good fit to do any diabetes related interviews or media appearances, definitely reach out.

And yeah, we’re so excited to go on this journey with you in terms of what you can expect over the next few weeks.

24:20
So we are launching a diabetes digital podcast.

So this first episode is going to be on the Food Heaven podcast and also on our new podcast platform, it’s going to be called Diabetes Digital.

We’ll be releasing weekly episodes.

24:35
The first four are going to be on both platforms just because for the Food Heaven family, I’m sure you’re probably trying to catch up and figure out what’s going on with all these transitions.

So the first four we’ll put on both, but then after the 4th one, we are going to be exclusively on diabetes digital, which you can find on all podcast platforms.

24:55
So yeah, make sure that you go over there and you hang out with us and make sure that you leave a review if you’re enjoying these episodes and you want to support the podcast.

Leave us five stars on iTunes, some words if you have another minute and we would really appreciate it.

25:11
Thank you so much for tuning in and yeah, so excited for what’s to come.

We’ll see Y’all next week.

Thanks for joining us for today’s episode.

If you’re interested in nutrition counseling with one of our expert dietitians to help improve your pre diabetes or diabetes, visit us at diabetesdigital.co.

25:31
Also, if you found our conversation helpful, do us a favor and rate and review at this podcast on iTunes.

Plus, share with someone who might find this helpful.

You can also connect with us on Instagram at Diabetes Digital dot.

Co and TuneIn every Wednesday for practical, inclusive and culturally humble diabetes insights.

25:50
We’ll catch you later.

Bye.

Thanks so much for listening to another episode of the Food Heaven Podcast.

If you haven’t already, make sure to connect with us online.

We’re most active on the gram at Food Heaven, but we’re also on Facebook and Twitter at Food Heaven Show.

If you like this podcast, make sure to rate, review, subscribe and share with a friend.

26:10
Yup.

Our podcast is released every Wednesday, and each week we take a deep dive into topics like health at every size, food and culture, intuitive eating, mental health, and body acceptance.

If you’re looking for a sustainable and inclusive path to Wellness, come hang out with us to learn how to take care of yourself from the inside out.

26:27
We’ll catch you next time.

Bye.