Cultural Shifts in Restaurant Responses to Diabetes #22

The discourse presented elucidates a significant cultural transformation regarding the awareness and responsiveness of the culinary industry towards patrons afflicted with diabetes, particularly type 1 diabetes. Deborah reflects upon her extensive personal experience with the condition, noting a gradual decline in the proactive measures once commonplace in restaurants. It is recounted how, during earlier decades, establishments exhibited a commendable level of understanding and support for individuals experiencing hypoglycemic episodes. Instances are shared where employees would swiftly provide sugary beverages, such as orange juice, without hesitation, thereby prioritizing the health and safety of their customers. This historical perspective serves to underscore a stark contrast with contemporary practices, where the nuances of dietary restrictions and medical emergencies appear to be overlooked or inadequately addressed. 

“...Owners and managers [should] know about some of these things” 

Deborah, 03:25

Furthermore, the conversation delves into specific anecdotes highlighting the evolving interactions between diabetic patrons and restaurant staff. A poignant example illustrates a recent encounter at a fast-food establishment, where Deborah, in a state of low blood sugar, struggled to communicate her needs amidst the complexities of modern self-service beverage systems. The narrative accentuates a disheartening realization that the intuitive support from restaurant workers has waned, leaving individuals with diabetes to navigate their health crises with diminishing external assistance. Deborah's experiences serve as a clarion call for a renewed emphasis on training and awareness within the food service industry, advocating for a return to a culture of compassion and immediate support for those grappling with dietary and medical challenges...as well as life and/death emergencies (and potential establishment liabilities).

• In the past, dining establishments would readily provide assistance to those experiencing low blood sugar without hesitation or complication.
• Recent experiences reveal a concerning trend of inconsistent beverage offerings at fast food outlets, especially regarding diet versus sugar-laden sodas.
• It is imperative for individuals with diabetes to be prepared by carrying their own sugar sources, as reliance on restaurant staff as a backup measure may yield a negative response as in hospitalization or even death.

Chapters

• 02:01 Observing Changes in Restaurants and Diabetes
• 03:30 The Shift in Restaurant Awareness Regarding Dietary Needs
• 05:37 The Challenges of Managing Low Blood Sugar
• 08:28 The Evolution of Soda Machines: A Personal Reflection
• 10:34 The Decline of Trust in Fast Food Beverages
• 12:33 Navigating Dietary Challenges as a T1D

Episode Resources

• Denny's Restaurant

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Episode Transcript

(04:24):
Hi, all, and welcome toanother episode of DiabeticReal.
And I'm Deborah. This episodeis about something that I've observed
a change in over many decades.As many of you who listen to DiabeticReal
know, I've had type 1 diabetesfor many decades. And this is a shift

(04:45):
in. I'd have to say it's ashift in our culture that I've noticed
that has happened over timeand actually it's been very slowly
coming on. And it has to dowith restaurants and their awareness
of type 1 diabetes. Now, okay,I say that and it's not like I think
that, oh, wow, restaurantshave to stop what they're doing,

(05:06):
you know, stop the presses,and everything has to be about diabetes.
No, no, no, no. I'm notthinking that. But I was talking
to a friend the other day andhis wife has celiac disease. And
there's concerns, and I'm noteven aware of all the concerns with
what is going on with her. ButI mean, it's like if people don't
wash their hands in between,you know, food preparation and if

(05:29):
any kind of remnants of breadproducts are there, she can have
a reaction. In other words,how they treat it is. They don't
even go to restaurants becauseit is such a danger to her. And I'm
not thinking that everybodyhas to be experts on every single
ailment out there, but I thinkthat it helps if restaurants at least

(05:49):
have an awareness. I'm talkingabout, for instance, owners and managers
know about some of the thingslike, for instance, peanut allergies,
things like that. But more soin this episode, I'm just simply
disclosing what I have noticedin my lifetime as far as a shift
in the awareness, even at theentry level jobs. So I'll be more

(06:13):
specific so that it makes moresense. For example, there's two things.
Used to be that I could walkinto a restaurant, and if I was low
blood sugar, in which case Ineeded sugar, I could just simply
say, hey, I need some sugar.And they would grab orange juice
or a sugar soda, no questionsasked. It's like, look, they don't

(06:33):
want a diabetic having anincident and they don't want to have
to call the paramedics andhave an ambulance on site. Maybe
you'll get more people comingto the restaurant and more food,
but likely it's just going toget a lot of looky loos and not necessarily
more food. And it might havepeople not coming to the restaurant.
So that's not really what therestaurant wants. Is the wrong kind

(06:55):
of attention. And besidesthat, they don't really want a diabetic
having problems and ending upon the floor passing out from a low
blood sugar. So I found thatit wasn't a problem. And certainly
under no circumstances did Iever want my blood sugar to drop
just so I could go in and askfor orange juice. Besides, you know
what? Truth be told, I don'tlike orange juice. You know, I did

(07:16):
know that, for instance,especially Denny's, I could go into
a Denny's. I had low bloodsugar, no questions asked. They would
actually sit me down in abooth that was away from everything,
actually close to the kitchen.I remember that's something that
Denny's would do, put me closeto the kitchen. It's almost like
so that they could keep an eyeon me. And they'd give me not just
a glass of orange juice, butone of those big carafes full of

(07:38):
orange juice so that I'd beokay. They never billed me for it.
I mean, I always offered topay for it, but they weren't concerned.
They just wanted to make surethat As a type 1 diabetic, I didn't
have a medical emergency.Again, I always offered to pay for
it because I felt I wanted topay for it. But at the time that
I was having low blood sugar,I could barely vocalize that I was

(08:00):
having a low blood sugar, letalone figure out how to operate payment.
Now, more recently, I had alow blood sugar, and I was trying
to vocalize that at a Jack inthe Box. And I simply asked for a
glass of sugar soda. I said,hey, I'm a diabetic. I just need.
And they didn't get the sugarsoda. They pointed to the soda machine,

(08:22):
and it was one of thesenewfangled ones I'd never used before.
And, guys, I'm telling you, ifyou're type 1 diabetic, you know
exactly what I'm talkingabout. If you're not, bear with me.
It's like I have absolutely nobrain cells because I'm low blood
sugar. I couldn't figure outhow to operate it because I was so
out of my mind. Low bloodsugar. I mean, I'm trying to get

(08:42):
a sugar soda now. That neverwould have happened. I'm just telling
you, that never would havehappened. Even at a fast food restaurant,
like 40 years ago, you justwalk in, you say you're low blood
sugar. And they would havewalked over to the machine. Actually,
they would have gotten a sodafrom behind the counter, but they
would have walked over andthey would have made sure you had

(09:03):
a sugar soda in your handbecause they didn't want you to pass
out. Now, thankfully, at theJack in the Box, I was able to self
serve, but I'm just saying, 40years ago, if that never would have
happened, the restaurantpeople would have made sure you were
taken care of. Now, I did walkback and pay for the soda at the

(09:23):
Jack in the Box after I wasable to get the blood sugar up and
they didn't have any problemtaking the money. And you know, this
isn't about payment. This isabout helping those in need when
they're in dire circumstances.Now the other thing that really surprises
me, because this neverhappened, maybe I shouldn't say never.

(09:44):
I should say 97, 98% of thetime, it never happened years ago.
And that is the consistency inthe soda machine. Like when you asked
for a diet soda years ago, yougot a diet soda. Now why is that
a problem? Because if I askedfor a diet soda and I have a large
sugar soda, my blood sugar isgonna go sky high. If I haven't given

(10:07):
insulin for a sugar soda, I'mgoing to have a real problem with
my blood sugar. Fortunately, Ican tell the difference between the
two. And I have a husband whocan't stand the taste of a diet soda.
So I can hand the soda to himand say, honey, is this a sugar soda?
And if it's a diet, he'llwrinkle his face and oh, nope, that's
diet. So, you know, we testback and forth. But the bigger problem

(10:29):
is we're starting to get sodaswhere I don't know if they're testing
their soda machine or what,but they're kind of half and half.
They're like half sugar sodaand half diet soda more and more.
It's really strange to me. Andit doesn't matter what fast food
restaurant we go to, we'regetting more and more of that where
it's like half and half andreally kind of disgusting tasting

(10:52):
sodas, to be honest. So I justthought of that this evening because
I ended up, well, it didhappen to be a Jack in the Box again,
but I did dump the sodabecause it didn't taste good. And
I didn't know if I could trustit that it was actually a diet soda
because it wasn't tastingpurely diet soda to me. And I do

(11:15):
really well at keeping myblood sugars right tight within.
And the last thing I wanted isto drink that soda and then hours
later wonder why my bloodsugar is really high. Like, is that
due to stress or is it due tosomething else? It would likely have
been because of the soda. So Ijust dumped it so that I didn't have

(11:36):
that variable of wonderingwhat caused the high blood sugar.
I mentioned it to my husband.I said, I'm sorry, honey, I really
appreciate that you got thissoda for me. But I dumped it because
I couldn't take the chance.And he said, that's okay. He goes,
lately I've been getting smallsoda because I don't want to take
the chance of getting you asugar soda. So we're actually not
ordering sodas at fast foodrestaurants anymore because we can't

(12:00):
trust it. And it really issad. I used to really look forward
to adding a soda on whatever Iordered at a fast food restaurant
because I could trust it. Youknow, the 3% of the time that that
soda wasn't right was becausethey didn't hear us right, or they
weren't thinking, or somebodywas helping them put the order together
and they gave a bonafide sugarsoda that tasted. It tasted right

(12:21):
from the aspect that it was asugar soda, but it was just somebody
filled the order wrong with asugar soda. Now we're getting these
things that are hybrids thataren't even. It's like somebody does
not really have a lot of pridein what they're doing. And I don't
mean to. And by the way, I'mnot criticizing Jack in the Box only.
It just happens to be that welike to go to Jack in the Box, and

(12:42):
I happen to have had those twoincidences there. But this is across
the board. You go pick a nameout of a hat. It's across the board
that I've had these hybridsodas at every fast food restaurant
that I've gone to. I haven'tfound a particular fast food restaurant
that I've been attending thatI can trust the soda, that it's always

(13:04):
100% diet soda when I get it.So I pretty much go to a gas station
that's right next door and Iget a soda that's bottled, that's
Diet Coke. Then I know it's aDiet Coke, and then I'm safe as a
type 1 diabetic from speakingto diabetics listening to this. That's
my recommendation, is if indoubt, leave it out. In other words,

(13:28):
just skip that soda. And forthe other scenario, the first scenario
that I mentioned, you knowwhat? Keep a sugar soda with you,
the kind that's bottled, thathas a lid, so that if you need some
sugar. Keep that sugar soda sothat you can pop it open and treat
it yourself. And you're notdependent on having to go into a

(13:49):
restaurant and have somebodywho's not going to help you be your
source of help. Because youknow what? These days our culture
has shifted enough that I'mnot entirely sure you're going to
get the help. Sad to say, butit's fact. Or at least what I've
experienced. If you run intome on the street, I'm there to help

(14:12):
you. But I can't beeverywhere. So I'm just sharing with
you what I've observed. ButI'm there for you. And this is Deborah,
of DiabeticReal.