Rethinking Cultural Foods: From Shame to Empowerment with Wendy Lopez

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Soap for Ola Sopum and welcome to our Mercarito, the
place where we showcase the brands that believe in us
and help us make the show possible. Let's meet them.
Here's the thing. Latina families have been saving money forever

(00:24):
from reusing plastic containers for Gomela, folding up plastic bags
under the sink, and diluting dish soap with water. The
last thing we need is to pay fees to access
our money. Right was In case you didn't know, Vima
customers have access to forty thousand fee free ATMs across

(00:44):
the United States, plus there be most smart advantage checking
account has no monthly maintenance fee. Learn more about how
VIMO can help by visiting vimo dot com for slash checking,
bmo dot com for slash checking conditions apply account provided
in the United States by PIMO Bank and a member.

(01:05):
Let's talk about something we all deserve, financial empowerment. Whether
you're tackling debt, planning for retirement, or starting that during business,
navigating your finances can feel overwhelming, but it doesn't have
to be thanks to Savvy Ladies. Savvy Ladies is a
nonprofit organization dedicated to helping women like you take control

(01:27):
of your financial future. They offer free resources, webinars, and
my favorite, a free financial helpline where you can connect
one on one with trusted financial experts and yes, it's
completely free. Whether you're just starting your financial journey or
need guidance on a specific challenge, Savy Ladies is here

(01:50):
to provide quality and trusted advice you can count on.
So why wait. Visit Savvy Ladies dot org today and
connect with the financial helpline to get the personalized support
you to serve. Your journey to financial independence starts here.
That is s A V V Y L A d
I E S dot O r G Savvy Ladies dot org.

(02:14):
Your path to financial freedom can start today. All I
wilcome back to Akobam the bilingual podcasts since ALOI then
conversation with Wendy Lopiz. Wendy is the co founder of

(02:38):
Diabetes Digital, a woman of color founded telehealth company transforming
diabetes and pre diabetes care through accessible insurance covered virtual
nutritional counseling. Together with Jessica Jones. She previously co founded
food Haven, a multimedia platform where their top rated podcast
has reached five million downloads, exploring the inter sections of nutrition, wellness,

(03:02):
and social justice. As registered dietitians and diabetes educators with
over a decade of clinical and community nutrition experience, they
provide actionable, evidence based nutrition advice that supports health and
wellness in underserved communities. Listeners is like Wendy for super

(03:22):
because not only was it very educational, we learned a lot,
but then been it was like we VIBD really cool.
So I'm going to give you five things that you
can get from this episode in case you're wondering, is
this something that I want to get into? No matter who, No,
cultural food wisdom is medicine not a problem to fix.

(03:43):
Wendy challenges the diets industries rature of cultural foods, affirming
that traditional dishes like rice and beans are not obstacles
to health. They're actually nutrient dense foundations that sustained our
ancestors and can sustain us when we honor them without shame.

(04:03):
No materthos. Diabetes care is a justice issue, not just
a personal health issue. The disproportionate impact of diabetes on
communities of color stems from systemic inequities, food apatheid, lack
of access to culturally competent care and the stress of
navigating systems not designed for us. Real solutions address these

(04:25):
root causes, not just individual behavior, so it's it's a
collective issue. Nometer trees, your body already knows how to eat.
We just need to reconnect with wisdom because beyond restrictive
meal plans and calorie counting, intuitive eating and honoring hunger
cues allow you to build a sustainable relationship with food

(04:48):
that supports both your physical health and nervous system regulation.
Professional pivots require honoring what's already working. Wendy and Jessica's
transition from food Haven to Diabetes Digital wasn't about abandoning
their foundation. It was actually about deepening their impact through
telehealth innovation while staying rooted in the values of accessibility

(05:10):
and cultural competence numtosin Go sleep is a non negotiable
main character energy and a culture that glorifies hustle and grind.
Wendy's commitment to eight to nine hours of sleep is
not indulgent. It's actually an act of sovereignty that keeps
her anchored in herself and able to show up fully
for her work and community. Those are the five things

(05:33):
that for sure you're gonna hear in this episode, and
I think, listen, just get into it. Let's get into it.
Here's my conversation, reallying, Wendy, Welcome to Kapagumpam.

Speaker 2 (05:47):
Thank you for having me.

Speaker 1 (05:49):
It's a pleasure to have you here. And the question
we always start with is what is your heritage.

Speaker 2 (05:55):
I'm Dominican, that's it. So I was born in the States.
My parents are from the Dominican Republic. I was kind
of back and forth hopping around when I was a kid,
and yeah, I've been here all my life, but I

(06:15):
go back and forth still. I go a few times
a year. My parents lived there, oh they Oh yeah,
yeah they My dad went back when I was thirteen
and my mom went when I was a little older.
So yeah, they've been living there for a really long time.
So I've always just been like back and.

Speaker 1 (06:35):
Forth, fascinating And you decided to stay.

Speaker 2 (06:41):
Yeah, I mean I did because I was mostly raised here.
It's you know, it's like that phrase that Dominicans say,
which I'm sure other culture say, but it's like nosodiak,
Like I'm like, okay, you know, I I'm very much
a New Yorker. I have my community here and even

(07:02):
though I consider the dr to be home as well,
my chosen family is in New York mostly so that
the States just you know, it feels a little more
like home to me. But I still go and it's like,
you know, just a second home that I have with
my family that's over there for the most part. So yeah, yeah,

(07:24):
I did school here. I now live in Charlotte. Recently
I moved. I relocated from New York, which has been
a big adjustment. But yeah, that's that's.

Speaker 1 (07:39):
Not as a New Yorker. How was it for your
nervous system to move into Charlotte.

Speaker 2 (07:48):
Well, I feel like New Yorkers have like a differently
programmed nervous system than.

Speaker 1 (07:54):
Like blood pressure, just by like default.

Speaker 2 (07:57):
The default is that, and as I've gotten older, I'm
just realizing that it's not my prefriend. Also, like going
back to the Dominican Republic and my family is, yeah,
they're from the Gampo and just being in the mountains
and tapping into nature. I'm realizing like those are things

(08:21):
that I appreciate a lot more now. So, yeah, in
New York, I actually And have you been to New York?

Speaker 1 (08:29):
Yeah, Okay, I'm from Mexico. City. So New York is like, okay,
it's very very close. Not as fast, but I mean
Mexican City is not as fast, but yes, okay.

Speaker 2 (08:39):
So I don't know if you're familiar with upstate, like
the Hudson Valley. So I actually ended up moving up
there a few years ago. Yeah, before Charlotte. So I
went to school upstate. I went to school in the
Hudson Valley. That's where I did college, and I loved it,
like I always loved it, and I would visit every year.
And yeah, like into my thirties, I was like, I

(09:03):
really want to have a home in the mountains in
New York to just like disconnect from the city. So
ended up buying this like old ass home upstate and
renovated it.

Speaker 1 (09:16):
Have fun.

Speaker 2 (09:17):
Yeah it was like a do you.

Speaker 1 (09:19):
Know about construction? Was it?

Speaker 2 (09:20):
Like I did a little bit because I renovated my
place in DR two and I do enjoy like home design,
so yeah, so I did have access to that, and
I was living upstate for a couple of years. And
then it's just things have become so inaccessible in New York,
Like it's so expensive even upstate because everyone now from

(09:42):
the city is moving there. So my husband and I
were like, oh, you know, we're thinking about growing our family,
and we were like, we should start just exploring other
alternatives while we are childless, because it's going to be
a lot easier. So we moved here in March and
we are still figuring out what we're gonna do. We
might go to d R we my husband's from Columbia.

(10:04):
We might go to Columbia, we might go back up. Say.
I don't know, girl, I'm just hopping around at this point.

Speaker 1 (10:11):
I mean you're playing in and out.

Speaker 2 (10:13):
Yeah. Yeah, I've been pretty nomadic these past few years.
So we'll see.

Speaker 1 (10:18):
Yeah is he from So he's Columbia. But is he
from New York too?

Speaker 2 (10:23):
Yeah he was. He was born in Columbia, but he
was raised in New York.

Speaker 1 (10:26):
Yeah, okay, so he knows that fast place life that
me in.

Speaker 2 (10:29):
Yes, yes, definitely more than like more than me because
I I always had the contrast of like, oh I
go to DR I went to school up state, Like
he didn't really have that contrast. It was always just
New York or bus. So it's been a big adjustment.
But I love it here. I love Charlotte. Like things
are just so different when you have like removed yourself

(10:54):
from New York and you're in California.

Speaker 1 (10:56):
Right, I'm in San Diego, the chillist Yeah, the chillist
city in California, I would say.

Speaker 2 (11:04):
Yeah, so like a lot. I have a few friends
that are from California and they we met in New
York and yeah, now that they're older, they're like, we
would never go back. But they stressed, like yeah, they
were just like having a midlife crisis and they were like,
we're going back home. We Yeah, it's not for everyone.

Speaker 1 (11:22):
Yeah, yes, yeah, no, it's a contrast for sure.

Speaker 2 (11:26):
Huge.

Speaker 1 (11:26):
I often share the story of when I went to
New York City in college and from Mexico City. I
grew up in the city, Like my walk is acid,
is fast, because that's what you learn to do. Yeah,
you know, and like there's hundreds of thousands of people
in the subway, Like there's a subway in Mexico City.

(11:47):
So either like you walk fast or you get walked,
you know, in the masses of people exiting and entering.
So you just have to get it together. So the
moment I landed, I went to college in the Midwest,
and the moment we landed in New York. I was like, oh,
we're bad. Like it kicked in yeah, you know, it's
like let's go.

Speaker 2 (12:05):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (12:06):
And so all the students that I went to on
the trip with, they're all Midwestern kids, you know, from
like Nebraska and Oklahoma, and they were like like just
staring at the buildings, you know, like looking at the
city and they had got yelled at so many times
because they were not moving, like they were just like
randomly standing. And New Yorkers are like, listen, we got

(12:29):
places to be, people to see.

Speaker 2 (12:31):
They don't play it wrong, right, they don't play it wrong.
And that's why I love Mexico City because we spent
three We've been going there every year for a long time,
but this past year when we were doing the whole
nomadic thing, we went for three months and wow, yeah
we were there for a little minute and Gabe loved it.
He was like, I feel like I'm home, and I'm like, yeah,

(12:53):
I mean in Mexico City is like incredible. And also
it's like, you know, the pace is is kind of similar,
so like yeah, that was a part of it too.
It's like but it's a lot prettier than New York.

Speaker 1 (13:04):
And like more green, I would say.

Speaker 2 (13:06):
Yeah, more green, more charming, Like you know, smells are
not there like they are in New York.

Speaker 1 (13:13):
Yeah, so the pens, the Pens.

Speaker 2 (13:15):
Yeah, maybe where you are.

Speaker 1 (13:17):
Yeah yeah. I always love Mexico City. That's where I
grew up, and now that it's trending kind of pisses
me off.

Speaker 2 (13:24):
But I know yeah, because you know, I started going,
like I would say, like twelve years ago. When when
I was going, it was really different. I feel like
I don't know what happened, well, I know what happened
during the pandemic, but it was like all these people
moved there, you know because they were working remote and
that really shifted the culture in the city because when

(13:46):
I was going there, like being a black person in
Mexico City, it was like like we were literally getting
stopped left and right by you know, like Mexicans. And
now it's been it's so different, like you know, like
they will literally be like brown like all you know,
all the piropos and stuff like that and like whatever

(14:06):
brown Sugar Beyonce, and I'm like, oh god, And now
it's like you're just a regular Deglo person. Like there's
so many people from all over the world. Living in
Mexico City, it's crazy, so many and it's so expensive.

Speaker 1 (14:23):
Agreed, Yes, that that's the challenge that my friends who
are locals have been displaced. Yeah, because of the cost
of living has increased. But I also think like seeing
the migration patterns, because when I was young, we would
see migrants from Central America, for example, come through Mexico City.

(14:43):
Because the tren E Lamestia. Have you heard of that train?

Speaker 2 (14:49):
I haven't.

Speaker 1 (14:51):
It's like there's a whole documentary it's going to break away.
So it's this train that goes from the south of
Mexico all the way to the US. Wow, and migrants
from all over they hop on the It's it's so
it's not a passenger train because it's a it's a

(15:12):
people hop at the top of the train and they
have to tie themselves up on the trains. They don't
fall like. It's not like Cozy City. So it's the
only It's not the only, but it's a way that
migration patterns have existed for a long time. They hop
on the vest. Yeah, and there's actually speaking of food

(15:35):
because you your work is broad food. They feed the
people that are in Leavesti and they make bags and
they just throw them as the train is going.

Speaker 2 (15:45):
Yeah, yeah, prep.

Speaker 1 (15:47):
Yourself, especially if you're a feeler. I was crying the
whole time. Yes, I yeah, it's a reality.

Speaker 2 (15:54):
That exists, absolutely, And.

Speaker 1 (15:57):
So how did we get into levesty? And my ADHD
is just like glitching for a second. So we would
often see people that would fall off the train in
some way, and many times, I mean a lot of
it's it's terrible because people get mutilated, you know, like
when you follow the train, like your foot might get

(16:18):
caught in the Yeah, it's just like the reality of it.
And I remember when I was little, there were a
lot of Central Americans, for example, that they would like
my mom had a business and they would come and
ask sh had a retail like a store nat and
they would come and ask for work and they would
be like whatever you can give me because I just

(16:41):
I'm in between the next train type thing. And so
those were kind of like, I mean, not the only
types of migration. But now we see the people that
work from home and that you know, we would see
tourists all the time, but it's people that like go
there and like land and they lived there for a minute.

(17:03):
And so it's very different for sure.

Speaker 2 (17:04):
Oh yeah, absolutely, it's shifted the culture so much. Like before,
you know, when I would go like it was just
people spoke Spanish, and now a lot of the locals
are speaking English to cater Se isn't Americans? Yeah, it's crazy.
I'm like, what is going on? It's it's kind of

(17:25):
ruined it in that way because I was like, oh,
this is such a special place, Like it's kind of
like I wouldn't even tell people that I liked going
there because I was like, I want to keep it
on the cover. During the pandemic, I was like, what
the hell happened? Like it was such a shift.

Speaker 1 (17:40):
They heard about it.

Speaker 2 (17:41):
They heard about it.

Speaker 1 (17:43):
Somebody must have done a post like Mexico City School
and then everyone hopped on that train punintended.

Speaker 2 (17:50):
Yeah, here we are here.

Speaker 1 (17:52):
So Wendy, back to your story. That was like a
very long winded side note. I'm glad you love Mexico.
Do you identify a several Latina?

Speaker 2 (18:03):
Yes?

Speaker 1 (18:04):
I asked this because not everyone does, you know. Okay,
I've had that, especially from Dominigans. It's it's a conversation
we've had. Oh interesting, Okay, where I've had I've had
to ask. One time, I assumed she was older. Okay,
so she was much older. Yeah, and she was like, no, no, no,

(18:26):
I'm a Latina. I'm not. And I'm like, okay, I
respect everyone, you know.

Speaker 2 (18:31):
So I identify as black. I'm a Black American. Not
all Dominicans are black. I would like to say that
most are, just because of our history and our ancestry.
I have white Dominicans in my family. I have Black
Dominicans in my family. There's a lot of mixing that

(18:55):
has happened. This whole conversation about, you know, after Latinita
is really interesting to me because I mean, I've identified
as a black person for a very long time before
letting me right. This is like, I think, a newer concept,
which I think is great, like you know, like really

(19:16):
being proud of that of that heritage. And it's an
ongoing conversation that I'm always just like very interested about
on how it evolves because I think that because it's
a lot more nuanced, I would say, in the Caribbean,
especially in like, uh the Caribbean, the Latin American Caribbean,

(19:40):
it's not a similar race conversation like it is in
the United States where it's like the one drop rule basically.
Right in the Caribbean, it's not really like that. And
also you know, for most Dominicans, I would say for
the most part, like the majority, I don't know like
the exact percentages, but we do have have African lineage.

(20:03):
Now how much African lineage do you have? Right? And
that's when the whole Afro Latina thing comes in, because
there are like with race being a social construct, right,
it's like how you present in the world. So I've
seen some people who are like, oh, I'm Afro Latina whatever,
but they I don't know if passing is the right

(20:24):
word or like they're they're not presenting as a black
person in the world, right, so they're gonna have a
different experience. So it's very interesting to me, Like who
says who gets to be Afro Latina? Who doesn't? Right?
Like for me, I don't. I've always had a nappy hair,
I've always had you know, darker skin, like.

Speaker 1 (20:43):
You can't hide it.

Speaker 2 (20:44):
Yeah, it's pretty visible. And my family, like on my
father's side, my family is ligery black, like there's it's undeniable,
whereas for some people it's a lot more mixed, it's
not as visible, I would say, so, you know, I

(21:05):
don't know, I think with the whole conversation, like it's
really important to center uh, people's voices who are moving
through the world as a black person right visibly, because
what I see a lot is these you know, the
Afro Latine, the af Latina and whatever, and like the
voices sometimes that are at the forefront are people who

(21:28):
are probably not having similar experiences to their darker peers
because of colorism amongst other things. So it's it's all
very interesting to me. But the short answer is I'm black,
I'm Dominican, and yeah, and that's on period.

Speaker 1 (21:49):
So you don't call the Afro latina label so much
as a as a black label.

Speaker 2 (21:56):
Yeah, I've always just like I've identified as like black,
you know, for like as early as I came into
like my awareness like racially right because like in DR
we don't it's not as much of a conversation as
it is in the US totally. So like I would say,
probably in my early twenties, like when I was in college,

(22:16):
you know, in my late teens, early twenties, I yeah,
I just started learning more and I was like, Okay, yes,
I'm a black Dominican. Back then, the whole Afro Latino
thing wasn't really a thing, you know what I mean, right,
so sure, like, yes, I'm Afro Latina.

Speaker 1 (22:29):
But it's like you percent as a black person, I'm black.

Speaker 2 (22:32):
Yeah, that's like I'm black. Because sometimes I also feel
like that word is I don't know, I feel like
sometimes it's used as like I'm a special kind of
black it is, and it's like I'm black. You know,
we're we're all very special, we are all incredible, divine,

(22:52):
we have very rich ancestry, and we're black and that's
what it is. And I'm Dominican. But it has become
a little bit of a trendy term, you know. I
think again there's a lot of value in that identity
and like in like bringing awareness around it. But yeah,
like it's I usually don't say like, oh I'm aff

(23:13):
I say, you know, I'm a black Dominican. I love that,
no shade to the AffA Latino thing, like I you know,
I don't have an issue with it.

Speaker 1 (23:20):
It's just my preference absolutely, And thank you for humoring
my not question and expanding on it.

Speaker 2 (23:28):
I appreciate it.

Speaker 1 (23:31):
Because I think I've learned as a non black Latinum,
I've learned to pose the question like tell me, tell
me what I can ask you, because I've gotten offense
from it. I can't also assume that you're black, Yeah,
because when I did, they were like, well, well, well, well,
you know, because it's also the shame and all the

(23:51):
history and like we are not going to get back
into like that would be a whole rabbit hole. That
would be like a whole hour of conversation that everyone
has their own internalized history of how their own families
have talked about it, how they've grown up, and you know,
everyone is going through their own journey of identity, which

(24:12):
I think to bring it back to Latinos in the US,
anyone from Latin America. Everyone is going through their own
identity exploration. Yes, absolutely in their own way. So I respect,
Like if you're telling me I'm a like Latina or
I'm a Black Dominican, let's go, I'll respect that, right.

Speaker 2 (24:30):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (24:30):
Sometimes it's there's been like that's still that's still a conversation.
That's a little tricky to have.

Speaker 2 (24:37):
I think, Yeah, yeah, because if you have someone who
is looking black as can be and they're like I'm
not black. Then it's like right, you know, I guess
you know what I mean, It's like moving along. So yes,
I can see how that could be really tricky.

Speaker 1 (24:58):
Yeah, it's been insane for indigenous Latinos. Like I've been
asked by friends if I identify as like indigenous Latina,
and I'm like, absolutely not, because my privilege I have noted. Ever,
whether I'm here or there or anywhere, I still have

(25:21):
a privilege like my skin color, I present as like
a weird mix of who knows what. Yeah, never once
have people identified me as an indigenous Latina. Like people
have asked me if I'm Filipino, people have asked me
if I'm Italian. People have asked me like anything else,
which like grants me a privilege that I could never

(25:41):
even though my ancestrym my DNA says that I'm forty
percent indigenous. I exist in the world not as such,
so I could not claim it.

Speaker 2 (25:50):
Yeah, that's so interesting. Yeah, because there's also the whole
concept of like who is brown, right, who is brown
and who is not amongst especially amongst Central South Americans Mexicans.
And it is very interesting to me. I have that
conversation with my husband too, because he's Colombian and it's
similar mixed, right, but like definitely has indigenous ancestry. So

(26:17):
it's like, who, I don't know, what are the prerequisites
to be a brown person? I'm not really sure. Yes, totally,
I would think. I'm like, oh yeah, it seemed brown
to me, but I don't really know.

Speaker 1 (26:31):
You know, it's sex though, and I've seen like Hella
white people and they're like, I'm an indigenous person from
Hunok and I'm.

Speaker 2 (26:38):
Like, oh yeah, hey another story.

Speaker 1 (26:41):
Yeah, you know. So it's very nuanced. So I always
like to threat lightly just out of respect because everyone
identifies in different ways. So I truely appreciate you being
open about this.

Speaker 2 (26:53):
Thanks.

Speaker 1 (26:55):
I think it's necessary for us to have these conversations actually,
So thank you.

Speaker 2 (26:58):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a lot to unpack there.

Speaker 1 (27:03):
So, Wendy, you went to school in Upset, New York.
How did you land in food?

Speaker 2 (27:11):
So? I was working at a farmer's market in the
Bronx That's where I'm from in New York, and I
had met through a mutual friend. I had met someone
who's now one of my best friends in business partners
and she was in school for nutrition at that time,

(27:32):
and I didn't know that that was a career choice,
and I was like, oh my god, this is fascinating,
like you can actually have a career around food, and
you know, especially food being so important to meet my
culture right like to a lot of culture, especially in
Latin America. I was like, oh, this is like so
cool that you get to educate people around nutrition and food.

(27:55):
And at that time, I was working with people in
my community because I was doing the farmers' markets in
the Bronx, and so once I found out that it
was a career option, I was like, oh my god.
You know, I just kind of went full force with
it and I ended up getting my master's in nutrition
because prior to that, I was doing a lot of
social work and I was really burned out by it.

(28:17):
So it was a refreshing pivot for me. And my
favorite part was talking to people about their cultural foods
and like how they can incorporate them in ways that
were a little bit more balanced, and also just talking
about like seasonal eating and different produce options, because there's

(28:37):
like produce from all over the world, right from different cultures,
so like we would have Mexican farmers. We would have
black farmers and they would bring like, you know, all
the different things that they were growing that would resemble
home to them. So it was really fun, just like
talking to people about food and yeah, I decided to

(28:58):
become a dietitian, and here like fifteen years later, but
I'm really happy. Yeah, I'm really happy that that I
chose to go this path, because yeah, it was it
was tough doing like foster care and case management. I
was like, this is not sustainable. I was burned out

(29:18):
in my early twenties. I was like, how am I
going to How am I going to keep.

Speaker 1 (29:21):
Doing barely twenty and already burned out?

Speaker 2 (29:23):
That's already. Yeah. I was like, no, I got to switch.

Speaker 1 (29:26):
It out totally.

Speaker 2 (29:28):
Now.

Speaker 1 (29:29):
Something you've said is that dietetics isn't Is that how
you say it?

Speaker 2 (29:33):
Yeah? The field, the field diethetics.

Speaker 1 (29:36):
Yeah, yep, it's an undervalued field because it's dominated by women.
Now as Latina, there's also could we say that it's dominated.

Speaker 2 (29:48):
By white women a thousand percent?

Speaker 1 (29:50):
Also the lack of cultural food awareness that you just
mentioned in the Farmer's Market of literally being told that
being thirty yes, platane is like bad carbs or whatever. Yes,

(30:11):
how was it for you to face that?

Speaker 2 (30:14):
Well, I will say that going to school, like doing
the program was not a good experience for me because.

Speaker 1 (30:22):
It was pretty first one that says this, oh.

Speaker 2 (30:25):
Really, have you had other dieticians. I'm like, oh, really, okay.

Speaker 1 (30:29):
And every single one is like I was crying all
the time, like you know, I'm just yesting, but they're like,
it's so hard.

Speaker 2 (30:36):
It's honestly like low key traumatic because I am coming
from like schools that are very diverse in the Bronx.
I went upstate, it was pretty much all the city
kids that went upstate, and we had like our own
community up there. And then I'm doing my graduate program
in Harlem and Spanish Harlem at that which is Puerto

(30:56):
Rican and Mexican, and I am surrounded by white people.
I was like, this makes absolutely no sense. I was
one of the only people of color, one of the
only black people in my program. It was I was
one of the first like cohorts in that program. But
you know, still it's still an issue that's happening now.
It's gotten a little bit better, but it's still happening now.

(31:18):
And not only that, but there's a lot of barriers
to entry into the profession. Oh say more, you have
to in order to obtain your credential. Now they made
it so you have to have a master's to become
a dietician. Before it was a bachelor's. And then you
do your your internship, which is a year long. Now
you have you have to have your your masters right,

(31:38):
which for black and brown.

Speaker 1 (31:40):
People four years is six years in school.

Speaker 2 (31:42):
Yes, right, for someone who really needs to work and
get going, which is the case for a lot of
black and brown people, that is a huge barrier. And
then there's the internship, which you're basically doing a year
of unpaid.

Speaker 1 (31:54):
Labor seven years.

Speaker 2 (31:57):
Yeah, and you're paying you're paying for it, which is crazy.
You have to pay tuition for the internship. Wow. Yeah,
it's a huge barrier. And what we are now seeing
is that before you used to be such a competitive
program to get into, like the dietetic Internship, there weren't

(32:18):
enough seats for people. Now it's hard to even get
a cohort together because no one wants to become a
dietician anymore. Yes, And part of that is like you're
going through all that shit to enter the profession and
then you're getting paid pennies, like it's not like you're
even getting compensated. Well, you know, like it's worked out

(32:41):
for me because I've gotten very creative with just like
my skill set and going the entrepreneur route. But let
me tell you, if you're doing like clinical work and
all of that, it's like you're not getting paid very
well and you have to go through so much and
it's like, well, why would I you know, why would
I put myself through this?

Speaker 1 (33:00):
Why do they make it so hard?

Speaker 2 (33:02):
I have no idea, Like, there's so many different ways
that I think that it could be done, and there
are you know, people in the field, like some of
my colleagues have you know, created just different alternatives so
that the entry is a little easier, especially for me,
like people from diverse backgrounds. But yeah, it's a huge challenge,

(33:27):
and I think all of this plays into why the
field is dominated by white.

Speaker 1 (33:32):
Women because they have the resources.

Speaker 2 (33:36):
Yeah, because it's like who can afford to take a
year off without pay, especially if you're doing a master's right,
because that means you're a little older, So how are
you going to pay your bills? It's not like you're
like you know, eighteen or twenty, like you're usually a
little older when you're doing your masters. So you know,
it's Yeah, it's a lot, and I truly hope it

(33:59):
gets better because the numbers are are definitely decreasing, and
I'm like, what's going to happen to the profession? I
don't really know.

Speaker 1 (34:06):
That's why I don't know what's increasing. Oh, I think
that more people may want to get But is it
like being from a very much removed outsider. Is it
because it's in a way, I mean food heels. I
believe that. And when you have culturally aware or just

(34:29):
people that can tell you how to eat better, therefore
get less sick doesn't know Lekombian it at like pharma,
which is what dominates. Yeah, the medical system. Is that
like a conspiracy theory I just came up with.

Speaker 2 (34:48):
I think it's very complex. I think it's very complex.
There are so many different factors at play. And interestingly enough,
I feel like we've almost swung the complete other way
with wellness culture and now it's like this. It's just
like wellness is in so and it's been commodified. It's

(35:13):
all about profiting from wellness and so you know, that's
also an issue as well, because there's these I mean,
the wellness industry is, it's a multi billion dollar industry,
and so now you have all of these wellness supplements
that are coming out in products, and you know, like
most of them is they're not something that I would

(35:35):
necessarily recommend, but there's a lot of money to be
made there as well. So yeah, I mean it's so complex,
right because like all these different food industries, like different
industry sectors have a lot of money and influence on policy,
and that plays a role too. It's very complex.

Speaker 1 (35:57):
That's a whole other podcast.

Speaker 2 (35:58):
I don't even know.

Speaker 1 (36:00):
Yeah, for sure, let's talk about diabetes. It looks let
me give you some stats. So adults of Hispanic and
Latino origin have a higher prevalence of diabetes compared to
non Hispanic whites. For example, in a large US survey,
the age and sex adjusted total diabetes prevalence was plus
minus twenty two percent for Hispanic Latinos versus twelve percent

(36:23):
for not Hispanic Latinos.

Speaker 2 (36:26):
Very true. Yeah, as it stands right now, more than
half of the US adult population has either prediabetes or diabetes,
so super prevalent, and those numbers continue to go up.
It definitely impacts black and brown communities more. How so
why for many reasons. One of them is access. We

(36:51):
don't have the same access to health and to health
education living in the hood. It's something that I saw
all the time, like you have to wait six months
to get an appointment, your doctor's always changing because you're
working with residents. The quality sucks, so you don't even
want to go in. For people that speak Spanish, immigrants,

(37:15):
that's a whole nother layer because a lot a lot
of providers are not Spanish speaking, so you got to
get a translator right, and they might not be capturing
exactly what is going on. It could be very intimidating
to go into the doctor's office, even for me as
someone who's a health professional. So imagine someone who is

(37:36):
just trying to survive and this is like an added
layer of something that they need to manage and do,
especially if they have diabetes, because then it's like you
might be managing medication, you might be managing glucose monitoring.
It's a lot and you know some people, a lot
of people understandably, so they're just like, I don't want
to deal with it. And they might go years and

(37:57):
years without the proper preventative treatment, and you know what
happens is that when they eventually do get the care
that they need, things have already spiraled, right, and now
you're at a higher risk, not just for diabetes for example,
if you were in the pre diabetes range, but for
a lot of other health conditions. So that is a
big issue also, just like health education, Like we don't

(38:19):
have as many resources in black and brown communities for
you know, even the things like the farmers markets and
the things that I used to do. That was that
was a new initiative when I started working there by
the Department of Health, but that was something that did
not exist before, and it had so much success and
I'm so happy that like they rolled it out and
like now it's just part of New York City, like

(38:41):
everybody knows. You go to the farmers market and there's
a class happening, there's this, you know, but before that
wasn't a thing. And that's New York City. Imagine, you
know cities and states that are I don't know, they're
a lot more remote. You know, there's not as many
resources of available to people. There's also racism and the

(39:04):
stress of it all, the stress of being an immigrant,
the stress of having to engage with racism on a
daily basis, the stress of living in poverty that can
negatively impact your health and put you at a higher
risk for many conditions. There's environmental factors too, like when
you live in the hood, you know, there's usually more pollution,

(39:26):
there's a lot you know, there's not as much access
to fruit and vegetables, you know as if you were
in a neighborhood that has more money. So there's so
many different factors that might be influencing risks. And then
of course there's genetics, which is huge, and you know,

(39:47):
like if you have a strong history of diabetes in
your family, then you're going to be at a higher risk.

Speaker 1 (39:54):
So many questions, but I want to talk about you earlier.
You meant how you got creative because you brought entrepreneurship
with your career in the field. How did you decide
we're going to create diabetes Digital and how was that
process to say, this is an issue which we've already

(40:16):
talked about with the numbers being hired for people like us,
and we need to do something about it. We're going
to do it this way.

Speaker 2 (40:23):
Yeah. So something that I saw a lot working in
clinical settings, especially with diabetes care, is that it was
very prescriptive, and it was very prescriptive and restrictive. So
it would be like, here's a list of what you
need to do, and you're on your way. This is
everything you need to cut out, and you're on your way.

(40:43):
And I was working primarily with immigrants. I was primarily
working with Mexicans, Central Americans, and child don't even get
me started on the tortillas, because it was like these doctors,
like the you know, the people that I was working with,
they just felt like so much was being stripped from
them withal their foods, and because the doctors were telling them,

(41:08):
you know, you can't eat tortilla anymore, you can't have
rice anymore, the staples, the staples, yes, And they would
just come feeling so defeated. And by the time that
they would come to me, it's like they thought that
I was pretty much going to tell them the same
thing and they wouldn't want to meet with a dietitian.
And I had so many people tell me like, this
is so refreshing. I didn't know that there was a

(41:28):
way to incorporate these foods in a different way, in
a way that was more balanced, and also just having
them see the results, like their A and C would
go down, which is like a marker of their blood sugar,
they would see their cholesterol improved, and they're like, oh wow,
I didn't have to, you know, do all of this
restriction to meet my goals. And that's something that I
saw all the time, like throughout my years working in

(41:49):
clinical settings. And so by the time that we launched
Diabetes Digital at that point, my business partner and she's
also a dietitian who lives in California, we had many
years of experience and we just continuously saw the same thing,
especially in black and brown communities. It was like very prescriptive. Oh,

(42:10):
you know the cottage cheese. Now it's made a comeback,
but it's like, who was rocking with cottage cheese back then?
I still think it's pretty gross whatever. I'm like, sure,
I guess it's in now, But it was like very
much like the cottage cheese and fruit dyet, like you know,
the little fat milk, like all the stuff that just

(42:31):
sounded very bland and very not culturally who we are, right,
So we had become diabetes educators. It's a certification within
the dietetics field, and we were like, Okay, we really
want to do something with this, and there's a huge
need and also that I think another unique factor is

(42:52):
that we take on a weight inclusive approach and so
and this is like we never saw all of these
things together when it came to an offering for nutrition, right,
it's usually like, okay, you know cultural foods, but it's
like you have to lose weight, and it's like that's
a whole other conversation, right, But it's like, Okay, we're

(43:14):
not trying to push weight loss and like a beauty
ideal for people. We want to meet them where they are.
It's not about changing your body. It's about getting you
to eat more nutritious foods that are culturally relevant to you.
And it's just it's something that we just didn't see
and we were like, we really think this is going
to fill a need. Is something we're both very passionate about.
We both have family members with diabetes, and so we

(43:36):
decided to go for it, and it's grown so quickly
since we've launched last year. I think because you know,
it's very unique there's not a lot of resources like
this out there, and yeah, I'm just I'm so excited
because I was feeling a little disheartened with the field
and the way it was headed, like all of the

(43:57):
wellness stuff and like the influencer culture, and I was
kind of over it. And then I'm like, you know what,
let's let me tap back into the reason that I
entered the field, which is like to provide to be
a resource, to provide that education to people that needed
the most. And so in that way, it's just been
like very refreshing and just very exciting for me.

Speaker 1 (44:19):
Yeah, I love that, And it made me think of
my mom put him blow she I mean, she's talked
about digestivisius. She says that her like the older she gets,
this lower her digestive system becomes. And I'm like, I
don't know if that's the thing, Like it could be,
but like you could address it now, Like what if

(44:39):
you go talk to someone about it? And the first
thing she says every time is I want to keep
eating my coffee and fun. And I'm like, well, I
don't know if they're going to say that.

Speaker 2 (44:55):
It's a fund that you talk to, right, right, But Yeah,
that's that's a real fear. You know that a lot
of people face. It's like whether it's the bug or
the adults or the yuka, you know whatever, like whatever
food you really enjoy, because that's real. That's something that
doctors will tell you over and over again. And honestly,
some dietitians too, they are you know, they're not necessarily

(45:20):
practicing from a patient centered approach, from a culturally inclusive approach.
So you know, that's something that is very real for people.
And I completely you know, get that. But that's why
we're trying to change the narrative of what a dietician
does because it's like, oh, you know, I'm meeting with
the diet police. Is like the I think the idea

(45:41):
that has that has developed when it comes to dieticians,
and that's not the case at all. We're completely trying
to like just move away from that. And it's like,
we just want to support you in feeling better and
achieving whatever goals you want to achieve.

Speaker 1 (45:57):
I love that. To tell me about diabetes digit what
is it? Who is it for? And what can people
find in there?

Speaker 2 (46:04):
Yes?

Speaker 1 (46:05):
Really cool.

Speaker 2 (46:06):
Yes, it's a nutrition telehealth platform. So as I'm sure
you know now a lot of healthcare can be done
virtually because going well, that's especially like post pandemic, right,
But that is also another barrier that might prohibit someone
from going into the office, Like for people that live

(46:27):
in certain areas, right, it's like, oh, the commute even
in New York to commute anywhere, it's like an hour,
and it's like who wants to spend two hours commuting
to go to the doctor?

Speaker 1 (46:36):
Right for twenty minutes, yeah.

Speaker 2 (46:37):
Exactly, so that you're like literally in and out and
you can barely get a word in. So telehealth is
very much in right now, and I hope it's here
to say because I do think that it helps with
the accessibility of healthcare, whether it's like seeing your therapist
through telehealth, your doctor, your dietitian. So we do it's

(47:00):
completely telehealth, and we are in over twenty nine states
at this point, and so we provide personalized care for
people that want to do like preventative work around nutrition,
but our focus is insulin resistance, so pre diabetes diabetes PCOS,
gestational diabetes. We are covered by insurance because we want

(47:24):
to make sure that it is accessible. So we did
all of the work when we were launching to make
sure that we're network with all major insurances. We're current.
We take Medicare too. Nice. Yeah, so you know, a
lot of people don't know that their insurance benefits usually
cover for most people unlimited sessions with the dietitian and
you don't have to pay anything. So a lot of people, Yeah,

(47:49):
a lot of people don't know this, So we like
verify benefits for free. We will tell you, like, these
are your benefits for most people. Again, it's like unlimited coverage.
For some people, it might be like, oh, you have
six busines, it's a year, you have twelve visits a year,
you have a small co pay, so we'll like verify
for you. But it's really nice because you have that
support offered by your insurance, and a lot of people

(48:11):
don't take advantage of it totally.

Speaker 1 (48:14):
Well, a lot of people probably don't. I don't know that, yeah,
just because I mean I grew up in a place
where you literally like go to doctor see me, and
you pay like fifty vessels and then you get like, yeah,
you're told what you have, whereas here it's been like
a nightmare to even get with the primary that then
has to refer you to somebody else that will take

(48:36):
three months to then see you and whatever, and so
like thinking that like jumps and hoops and all the things.
The thought that I had was that a dietician is
a specialty that I would have to get referred to.
But you're saying it's not.

Speaker 2 (48:51):
No, no, no, no, and not at all, like and honestly,
the nice thing with telehealth is that for a lot
of these specialties, like endochronologists for example, that you're like, oh,
I have to get a referral for a lot of
these you can just do a telehealth console and a
lot of these practices will even order the lab work
for you and you could just go to your local
like we order lab work for patients. We're like, okay,

(49:14):
because sometimes there's resistance from doctors like oh you don't
need that. Yes, oh it hasn't been a year, and
we'll order it. We can order it, you know, for patients,
and it doesn't really cost that much. So that's why
telehealth is so valuable because whether it's your therapist or
any kind of specialist, really a lot of the specialists

(49:34):
will see you pre menopause. Menopause like whereas like otherwise,
you would have to jump through hoops to get that referral.
Wait until it's processed, wait till they book you for
an appointment, and it's been three months, and you still
haven't seen someone, you know, right, like you died at
that point, you're six feet undre, yes, and you haven't

(49:55):
seen anyone.

Speaker 1 (49:59):
I love that, Okay, So I mean I loved your platform,
not the fact that we're six feet under that we
have to wait. That's amazing. How was it for you
to from we have this idea with your co founder
to fully launched? How long did it take?

Speaker 2 (50:15):
Yeah, it took about a year. And I would say
that is not that long considering that, you know, we
have a pretty big company now we have a very
robust team like we have at this point. I think
it's close to twenty people on our team and it
has grown very quickly. But I will say that the

(50:36):
reason why we were able to get it off the
ground the way that we did was because we had
a previous business together for over ten years, so we
were already working together. That's the hardest part, right, like
finding a good partner if you're doing it with someone else,
if you're doing it alone, it's a little different. So
we already worked together. We had a very successful business
before you know, this, this business, and we had a

(50:59):
lot of exposure to just marketing business networking just like telehealth, Like,
we had a lot of a lot of information under
our belt, and and also we're just very ambitious. So
we just hit the ground running. We you know, started networking,

(51:20):
talking to people consulting, and we just like you know,
we did it pretty quickly considering how hard it is
to get a network with these insurance companies and to
get licensed in different states. It's a process many states,
it's it's a process. Yeah. So you know, I would
say year is not bad.

Speaker 1 (51:39):
Yeah, for sure, No, it's not bad. Like it's quite speedy.

Speaker 2 (51:44):
Actually yeah, yeah. Yeah. If it were just you know,
like me coming in as a solo provider and seeing patients,
it would have been a lot easier. But because we
were building a bigger team, it's it's a lot more
complicated totally.

Speaker 1 (52:00):
Where can people find you and tell us about your
snack download?

Speaker 2 (52:05):
Oh my god? Yes, So our website is Diabetesdigital dot co.
And you can go there and as soon as you
visit the website, you'll see there's a prompt for you
to get snacks that are blood sugar friendly. So it's
a free download that you can get when you subscribe
to the newsletter. And we offer insurance based nutrition counseling.

(52:26):
So whether you're interested in just like optimizing your nutrition
or if you have like a certain condition, we see
a range of different health conditions. We have Spanish speakers,
our dieticians speak other languages as well, So you can
go on our website and just see who you connect
with the most. And yeah, we'll verify your benefits for
free and you can get started literally within twenty four hours.

Speaker 1 (52:50):
Oh my gosh, we're gonna have all the links in
the show notes. I think it's such a valuable resource,
especially because there's so many misconceptions and so much shame
around our foods.

Speaker 2 (52:59):
Yes, agreed, you know.

Speaker 1 (53:02):
And I love that you have a snack. I'm such
a snacker, And I think our culture is like very
like sampless coming, you know.

Speaker 2 (53:09):
I love that. Yeah, as we should, as.

Speaker 1 (53:13):
We should, agreed, Yes, okay, I love that. Where else
can we find you? Tell us all the places? So
you gave us a website? Do you want people to
connect with you? Somewhere else.

Speaker 2 (53:24):
Yeah, So we are on socials so you can find
us Diabetes Digital Co. And we also have a podcast.
We have a podcast called Diabetes Digital and we talk
about all things insulin resistance. There's a range of different
topics that we cover. We try to stay on top
of like the latest research when it comes to insulin resistance,

(53:45):
and we interview different experts and also interview our own dieticians.
So you can also check us out on iTunes and Spotify.

Speaker 1 (53:52):
I love that how much has insulince knowledge changed recently
since like what we knew like our parents for example,
new about that it needs.

Speaker 2 (54:03):
To know so much, especially as I'm sure like you've
seen just the different devices that are available now and
you know, yeah, the cgms, the continuous Googles monitors, which
is like a hot topic too, right because it's like
there's a lot of people who do it and don't

(54:23):
have insular resistance. It's like a wellness thing now, right
because you're just like you're tracking your numbers, you're tracking
your It's similar with the gop ones too, Like that's
another hot topic.

Speaker 1 (54:32):
Results Glad like we didn't even get into that because
that's a cool controversy in and of itself.

Speaker 2 (54:38):
Right, So it's like there's a lot more technology out there,
are a lot more information out there and resources and
their social media which our parents did not have, so
you know, and it's like it's a good thing and
it's a bad thing because there's so much information, but
you don't necessarily know, Okay, is this legit? Like is
this actually like reputable information? You know? And that's where

(55:00):
a dietician steps in because we're very well versed in
like sifting through the science and making sure that like
you're getting things from a reliable source. So we'll have
patients all the time be like, oh what do you
think about this? Or you know, just like getting a
sound opinion on things that they might come across, because
a lot of stuff online that you see is it's
not necessarily something that you should be doing right, right,
it might be harmful, So it's really good to make

(55:22):
sure you're getting information from a reliable source.

Speaker 1 (55:25):
Mm hm. It made me think of the wave of
people taking monoxidil for hair growth when it's like a
high pressure high blood pressure.

Speaker 2 (55:34):
Oh yeah, I mean listen. I feel like, especially with TikTok,
it's like you're seeing it all and who knows every
saying I'm like, maybe it works, maybe it does, I
don't know, but we need to actually look at the
research and see, like what are there studies to support this?
What are the risks too, Like what are the risks involved?
Is it worth you, you know, taking whatever it is for

(55:55):
this outcome? Like there's just so much to look at,
right and talking to a help for hopefully we'll give
you some clarity around like, Okay, is this something I
should actually be doing and.

Speaker 1 (56:05):
A culturally a ware one, you know, so yes, they're
not like never eat your pun again or your ritin
or you're.

Speaker 2 (56:12):
Right right exactly, or they are also like pushing beauty
ideals or wait, ideals that are foreign to your culture
or like are just not aligned with who you are
genetically right, like oh, okay, let your BMI, let's get
it to a twenty five when you've never been that
BMI at all, you know, and especially in like a

(56:34):
Caribbean culture, being curvy, being thicker is actually something that's celebrated.
So it's such a cultural disconnect there when it's like, oh,
pushing thinness is a very big thing in the medical
field too, so getting a provider who understands that nuance
like okay, no, like you actually come from a culture

(56:56):
that celebrates that and also genetically that might not be
you and that's okay, it might not be putting you
at the health risk that you know this provider is saying,
because you're wired differently. A lot of these studies are
done there. First of all, they're very old, and a
lot of these studies are done primarily on white people,
white men. You know, yes, yes, it's you know, it's

(57:19):
you really want someone who has a little background on
that so that, yeah, they're giving you value.

Speaker 1 (57:25):
And even that context absolutely, because I remember my life
changed when a doctor, male doctor was surprisingly so I
was like, somebody told another doctor told me that I
could have PCOS because I'm hairy and he and he
was like and he he's a white man. And he

(57:46):
looked at me. He was like, he took a breath,
and he was like, well, what happens is that the
studies are very old, and they were done on Slovakian women,
meaning when you get an Indian woman, a middle like
a brown woman of any kind who naturally has more

(58:06):
hair obviously contradicts the study because whoever was studies does
not have it. So he was like, you don't have
PCOS PAM, you're just hairy, wow, like your Spanish side.
That's it.

Speaker 2 (58:25):
Yeah, it's like, okay, let's do a little more digging.
There's other things to look at, right, because especially with PCOS,
it's like there's there's different criteria. So it's like you
being a merry person is not the only wild right,
It's not the only thing you want to be looking at. So, yeah,
that's really funny.

Speaker 1 (58:43):
That changed my life a lot. And so I'm grateful
for providers that actually take the time to be like,
what the what not, let's say that to you, which
happens I think often. Yes, So that's why we need
people like you in the fields. Yeah, one dy so
tell us about Diabetes Awareness Month.

Speaker 2 (59:05):
Yeah, so, like I mentioned, you know, the diabetes and
pre diabetes rates are rising very quickly, and so November
is Diabetes Awareness Month. And so I would recommend sharing
this episode with someone who has diabetes or has pre
diabetes who has questions about insulin resistance because we have

(59:26):
so many resources and again, we have a team of
dietitians who are very culturally inclusive and can support you
in achieving stable blood sugars if that's something that you
struggle with in a way that doesn't feel stressful, because
for a lot of people, especially in our cultures, they

(59:46):
feel like diabetes is a death sentence. They're like, oh
my god, you know, like it's like the worst thing
ever to be diagnosed with diabetes. And the reality is
that you could live a very long and healthy life
with diabetes if you have the right resources, if you
have the education to make informed decisions around food and
also look at other areas in your life that you

(01:00:09):
that you can adjust, you know, like sleep and movement
and stress and all of these other things. You know,
if you're able to it doesn't have to just be food, Like,
there's so many different things that you can do. And
so definitely check out our website Diabetesdigital dot com. We
have so many resources on there, We have recipes on there,
and yeah, you can literally takes a minute to putting

(01:00:31):
your inshurants in fo we can verify you and we
can match you with one of our dieticians.

Speaker 1 (01:00:36):
How fun. Thank you so much for all your work.
This is awesome. Do you have a remedio that you
want to share with us.

Speaker 2 (01:00:44):
Yes, I saw that and I was like, oh, I
got the perfect one. You said you had a Dominican
guest before, so I'm not sure if they.

Speaker 1 (01:00:51):
Have many Dominican guests before. Yes, more than one, okay.

Speaker 2 (01:00:56):
So they might have mentioned the Dominicano.

Speaker 1 (01:00:59):
No, oh, really tell me more.

Speaker 2 (01:01:02):
Okay. Well, is like a cough syrup, right, So in
d R we do it with onion, which sounds gross,
but it's actually delicious, and you basically it sounds it's

(01:01:25):
and you know, you kind of let us say, you
know whatever, you don't feel good, and my mom swears
by it. Dominicans swear by your period and it tastes.
I know it sounds gross because they're like onion and
you know, honey, but it actually tastes really really good. Yeah,
so Sanato, I love that.

Speaker 1 (01:01:48):
Okay. Maybe people have shared it but never called it head.
I don't think, okay, but I also have almost five
hundred episodes, so I just remember.

Speaker 2 (01:02:00):
Thereslariyah I understand.

Speaker 1 (01:02:04):
But I love that, okay. And what question did your
inner child wonder that you can answer to her? Now?

Speaker 2 (01:02:10):
I was thinking about this one, and I was like,
one thing that I always wondered about was why does
my mom do certain things that I find myself doing
now a lot.

Speaker 1 (01:02:26):
You know.

Speaker 2 (01:02:27):
One of the things I'm like, but why is she
always working? My mom would work seven days a week,
like there was no rest. She was she was a
mobile food vendor in the Bronx. Yeah, she was so
elados in the street and you know, she was just
like she was such an important part of our community
because like everybody knew my mom. Yeah, l we would

(01:02:51):
call them coquitos in New York cityo coquitos, So it's like, oh, listen,
coquito and you know, like I'm like, Mommy, Like it
was like literally seven days a week. And I always
wondered about that, along with many other things that she
did that I'm like, this makes absolutely no sense. And

(01:03:11):
I'm like, oh my god, I'm literally turning into my mom.
Not funny, it's yeah, it's a little full circle. Yeah,
but yeah, I would say that.

Speaker 1 (01:03:24):
I love that. And what's on your desk? What's the
randommest thing that you have on your desk that keeps
you grounded?

Speaker 2 (01:03:33):
I'm not it's not that random, but I would say
my tumblr. I have some tea in it right now,
and just hydration is really important. I think it's something
that we all forget. Yeah, we all forget, and we're like,
you know, but it really does affect so many things,
including your blood sugar guys, like you know, it affects

(01:03:55):
so many different things. And yeah, I just think hydration
is it goes. I think it's undervalued in the conversation
of wellness because it's such an easy thing. It's such
an accessible thing, but it's something that so many of
us forget. And it's like, just drink your damn water
and yes, you.

Speaker 1 (01:04:11):
Know, an actual water. Yeah, Because for a minute I
was I'm an avid I know this is kepticom bum,
but I'm an avid tea drinker loose leaf tea for that.
And so for a minute, I was just drinking tea
all day until I started feeling my kidneys like wait
a minute.

Speaker 2 (01:04:32):
Just yes, we need some water too.

Speaker 1 (01:04:35):
Yeah, like real, like real pure clear water.

Speaker 2 (01:04:38):
Yeah, we need a mix, Yeah, for sure. I've been
also doing like the ariscas lately, where I'm like, Okay,
I'll blend, you know, some watermelon and I'll mix like
I'll mix it with saltter water so I can feel
a little more elevated, like I'm like, okay, a little fizz,
you know, a little little lemon in there, like I

(01:05:00):
try to keep it interesting, you know, and like water
switch it out, Yeah that is what they're calling it now,
but yeah, the spa, water, the tea. I'm like some seltzer.
I try to diversify my options because you know, water
could get a little boring, but it is important to
also just like drink regular water well whatever, hell drain it.

Speaker 1 (01:05:20):
Yeah, ahydrited people. I love it. And what connects you
to your main character energy M sleep.

Speaker 2 (01:05:29):
And I like that because let me tell you something,
when I am sleep deprived, you're not gonna want to
be around me. Okay. I am very out of tune
with who I am and all, and just like being
connected to the things that make me feel like the
main character, make me feel like my best self. So

(01:05:50):
for me, sleep is very important. It's something that I prioritize.
I consistently get eight to nine hours of sleep every.

Speaker 1 (01:05:57):
Night, eight to nine goals.

Speaker 2 (01:06:00):
Yeah, I've always been a good sleeper, like I would
just like I'm out anywhere, like in the club, in
the car, like since I was a little girl. So
it's definitely something that I really hope to continue on
as I get older because I love my sleep, and yeah,

(01:06:20):
I need I need good sleep.

Speaker 1 (01:06:22):
I love that. So you don't have kids yet.

Speaker 2 (01:06:25):
I don't have kids yet, and that's a big concern
of mine because I'm like, what is going to happen
to my sleep?

Speaker 1 (01:06:32):
I know my mom always tells pregnant people when they say,
you know, what's your advice for the like when we go,
like she meets a pregnant person every time, She's like, sleep,
sleep all you want. Well, you're still cooking that baby.

Speaker 2 (01:06:48):
Right, Yeah, yes, I'm not gonna lie. That's something I
really think about, especially now that we're like really you know,
planning to have a kid. I'm like, what are we
going to do? Because my husband is the same way,
and I'm like, yeah, milone, and I'm like, what are
we going to do with this child? Good Ner? Where

(01:07:10):
your parents in right, exactly exactly, Because I'm just like,
I love my sleep. I don't know what's going to happen.
We'll have to figure it out, honey.

Speaker 1 (01:07:19):
I don't know, but I I really support that sleep
is your main character energy. I'm with this.

Speaker 2 (01:07:27):
Yeah, I'm curious, Like what have other people said? Because
I saw them. I was like, oh, I don't know.
I honestly just it was what came to mind right now,
because I wasn't really sure what it was. So I'm curious, like,
what are some responses that have stood out to you?

Speaker 1 (01:07:42):
Well, usually people bring it like the lipstick or the hoops,
like things that we've been kind of socialized to do.
Sleep has not come up. Also, I haven't done these
questions often like I used to. I'm kind of like
rebranding my last questions, so these are new, so I
haven't asked him that.

Speaker 2 (01:08:02):
That makes a lot of sense. Yeah, like what gets
like what completes the energy? Yeah, yes, I mean because
I also work from home, so I'm not putting on
a lot of I'm in sweats all day, so there's
not a lot happening here, Like you know, this is

(01:08:22):
the most you're gonna get. When I go.

Speaker 1 (01:08:26):
To chiropractor, he's always like, depends on the day, but
sometimes he's been like, did you work from home today?
And I'm like, and I'm you know, I'm like proped
down and he's like on my back and I'm like, yeah,
why And he's like, because you're dressed from the waist up.

Speaker 2 (01:08:47):
That's exactly right. Yes, I will literally roll out with
my pajamas go outside, like, yeah, I'm not. It's I
rarely do the whole you know, the lipstick and the whatever.
So yeah, that was in my default, but that makes
so much sense, Like I totally get that.

Speaker 1 (01:09:04):
No, but keep your at sleep, I will.

Speaker 2 (01:09:08):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:09:08):
I think it's sary. Yeah for sure, because yes, I'm
the same way. I don't function without sleep. Yeah, and
perimenopause is a bitch.

Speaker 2 (01:09:19):
Oh yes, yeah, just my my business partnerships going through
perimenopause and yeah, I mean that completely deregulates your sleep.
Your hormones are out of whag. You should check out
Midi Health m id I they're another like telehealth based
platform and their focus is perimenopause and menopause. And you know,

(01:09:43):
they have a team of doctors and they order you know,
they order the lab work so you don't have to
go in. They do everything virtually and it's incredible, like
just goes there. We always recommend it to patients, but
for perimenopause is a really good resource.

Speaker 1 (01:10:00):
I like that we can include it, why not.

Speaker 2 (01:10:02):
Yeah, it's a resource. Yeah, it's fon.

Speaker 1 (01:10:07):
Yours andline let's go.

Speaker 2 (01:10:08):
Yes, yes, absolutely, Yeah they're great.

Speaker 1 (01:10:11):
You're already promoting them.

Speaker 2 (01:10:14):
Yeah, yeah, they're really great. So you know, if for
anyone who's experiencing perimenopause menopause and you've had a hard
time finding a good provider, it's all virtual. So MIDI HEALTHS.

Speaker 1 (01:10:28):
Thank you well, Wendy, thank you so much for coming
to BAM and for your work.

Speaker 2 (01:10:31):
Thank you. This was so much fun. Thanks for having me.

Speaker 1 (01:10:34):
Yeah, it was fun. We could stay talking.

Speaker 2 (01:10:36):
But you know, I know, I'm like, oh my gosh,
it's already been an hour fifteen. That's crazy. Where does time.

Speaker 1 (01:10:44):
Go when you're having fun?

Speaker 2 (01:10:46):
I don't know, I know, thank you so much, Oh
my god, thank you so much. Thanks for having me.
It was such a pleasure.

Speaker 1 (01:11:00):
All right, listeners, I gave you five things, but I
know we talked about a lot more. Especially. I think
something that I truly enjoyed was the conversation of Afri Ladinidad,
which was unrelated to diabetes better I think relevant and
important for us to talk about. And so I really
enjoyed Wendy's humoring me and and just like openness to

(01:11:29):
talk about it in a way that was very candid,
and it felt non confrontational and it felt real, and
so I appreciate not just that part of the conversation
but everything. I hope you learned a lot. I learned
a lot about this, and I'm definitely more aware of
a lot of things. I am just honoring gu and

(01:11:53):
you know, I grab a snack and I've not been
someone who has been in dire culture. I've never had
I love food, actually, and I've never been kind of
like on a calorie counting type of like five, never
done that. Betto what I have is digestive issues. And

(01:12:16):
so when I'm careful with the foods that I eat
is not because they are quote bad foods, but my
body just doesn't love them. And so I'm working more
with my body to see, hey, what's happening. How could
we support you in a way that you like it
so I don't feel like I'm going to explode after
I eat a sandwich, which I think it's also something

(01:12:41):
that we must consider. But I really hope you enjoyed
this conversation. I had a lot of fun, and stay
tuned for more. Follow us tag me on the socials,
let us know what you enjoyed, what you didn't that
being you know, if you have the time and the
will and you feel call to do this. Would love

(01:13:01):
it if you if you drop a review because that
helps a ton with the algorithms. Also, would love it
if you go visit our sponsors, because sinaw, we can't
keep providing you this this podcast for free or paying
the team even thank you so much for being here.

(01:13:21):
You want to seems created by our small but mighty team.
Content production by Nancy Heimis, podcast management by Marulinard, Social
media and marketing by Brenda Figero. And meet your host Vamo.
To keep the cavasito brewing and the healing flowing, join

(01:13:44):
the Supporters Club for only five dollars a month and
access early episodes, behind the scenes vibes, and exclusive minnesotes
you won't hear anywhere else. Screenshot this episode and tag
me and share what resonated. I love seeing your takeaways.
Follow on your favorite podcast platform and subscribe to our
YouTube channel. Let's keep the conversation going with us on

(01:14:06):
social media at Kapa compumpodcast because your voice always matters there.
We love being on Instagram and Facebook. Grasias for listening
to Kafa combum has spread ideas, move people, production for
Bird episodes, guest info or resources, visit kavakombum dot com.
And if you're healing from gadiata culture and don't know

(01:14:26):
where to start, you can take the quiz gafa coombum
dot com Ford slash Quiz for Tia Wisdom and Karino
just for you

All Episodes

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

Crime Junkie

Stuff You Should Know

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Rethinking Cultural Foods: From Shame to Empowerment with Wendy Lopez

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

Crime Junkie

Stuff You Should Know

All Episodes

Rethinking Cultural Foods: From Shame to Empowerment with Wendy Lopez

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang