November 22, 2023 • 10 mins
I'm going to guess that you know someone who has type two diabetes.
I have a close family member who's currently on dialysis and another dealing with pre-diabetes. It's an epidemic - but you know what? it's doesn't have to be that way. with the right kind of lifestyle changes a person with pre-diabetes and prevent the disease from becoming full blown. Diabetes is serious stuff- not only does it increase your risk of stroke and heart attack - but it could also lead to amputation and listen men - erectile disfunction. That’s why we're enthusiastic about a program called “Make a Choice for a Healthier Life” sponsored by Health Promotion Council. I speak with Amadi Essoka-Lasenberry, a program coordinator at Health Promotion Council about the free resources they offer and I also speak with Johnita Medina, a mom who turned her health around and lost the equivalent of a whole person.
Resources: www.makeachoice.org or follow us on social media @ MakeAChoicePA and text the word “TODAY” to 600400 to take the risk assessment.
I have a close family member who's currently on dialysis and another dealing with pre-diabetes. It's an epidemic - but you know what? it's doesn't have to be that way. with the right kind of lifestyle changes a person with pre-diabetes and prevent the disease from becoming full blown. Diabetes is serious stuff- not only does it increase your risk of stroke and heart attack - but it could also lead to amputation and listen men - erectile disfunction. That’s why we're enthusiastic about a program called “Make a Choice for a Healthier Life” sponsored by Health Promotion Council. I speak with Amadi Essoka-Lasenberry, a program coordinator at Health Promotion Council about the free resources they offer and I also speak with Johnita Medina, a mom who turned her health around and lost the equivalent of a whole person.
Resources: www.makeachoice.org or follow us on social media @ MakeAChoicePA and text the word “TODAY” to 600400 to take the risk assessment.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Good morning, Welcome to Insight,a show about empowering our community. I'm
Lorraine Ballatmorrow. Hope you're having awonderful Thanksgiving weekend. We've got two inspiring
stories to tell, one about anorganization making a difference for young people and
the other about a returning citizen whosejourney will move you. First, it's
estimated more than three point five millionadults in Pennsylvania are living with pre diabetes
(00:24):
and eighty percent don't even know it. And then also in Pennsylvania, nearly
ninety thousand Pennsylvanians are diagnosed with diabetesevery year. It is one of those
diagnoses that can be prevented at thepre diabetes stage if people learn to manage
their way and become more active.So are you ready to choose healthy living?
(00:45):
There's a program making a Choice forHealthier Life campaign sponsored by the Health
Promotions Council. To tell us moreabout it as Amadi Ahsoka Lasenberry, program
Coordinator at Health Promotion Council, whereshe primarily focuses on chronic disease management and
prevention, and also joining us asJanita Medina. She's a mom, she's
an entrepreneur and a healthy champion.She essentially lost the equivalent of an entire
(01:10):
person in weight, and now she'sencouraging others to achieve a healthy weight and
lifestyle. So before we get intothe specifics about the program of Maadi,
I'd like you to talk about diabetesand pre diabetes. So what is pre
diabetes. Pre Diabetes is a conditionwhere a person's blood sugar is high,
but it's not high enough to bediagnosed with diabetes. Pre diabetes can lead
(01:30):
directly to serious health complications like heartattack, stroke, and of course type
two diabetes. And approximately one inthree adults have pre diabetes, but more
than eighty percent don't know that theyhave it. So knowing if you have
pre diabetes is really important now becauseyou still have time to reversion. Small
changes to a person's diet and exercisecan greatly reduce the chances of developing type
(01:53):
two diabetes and other serious health complications. Now, let's talk about the consequences
of ignoring the fact that you havepre diabetes and you actually have diabetes.
I just ran into an old friendof mine who no longer has three toes
on his foot because he had diabetesthat was uncontrolled and those had to be
amputated. So there's lots of healthconsequences for having diabetes. What are some
(02:15):
of them? Type two diabetes,for one, is that your sugar is
at a certain level that qualifies yourtype two diabetes. And it's a disease
that affects how your body uses glucose, which is a sugar that the body's
main sources of fuel. So whenyour body can't make this, over time,
you'll become insolent resistant. And atfirst your ancreas is able to make
extra inflin to make up for it, but over time not able to keep
(02:37):
up with your blood post being ata normal level, which results in having
to take insulin daily if you havetype two diabetes right, and it can
lead, as you mentioned, toheart attacks, so your kidneys can go
you can. Impotence can also bea side effect of diabetes. There's lots
of reasons why people need to controltheir blood sugar. And someone who has
(02:59):
done exactly that is the person I'mgoing to talk to you next, and
that's Janita. Janita Medina, youmade a choice for a healthier lifestyle.
What motivated you? Absolutely, Laurene, and thank you so much about mentioning
with your friend myself. My mainmotivation was seeing my dad struggle with diabetes
my whole life and eventually succumbing tothe disease. As you had mentioned,
(03:23):
amputations, it is so much morethan just blood sugar on paper, so
it has real life consequences and seeingthose firsthand and having small children, I
knew that I had to do somethingdifferent because I was on that same trajectory.
Okay, we're going to get backto that journey in just a second
(03:45):
because it's really inspiring. But backto you, Madi, what is to
make a choice for a Healthier Lifecampaign and also the National Diabetes Prevention Program
tell us about both absolutely, Soto make a choice, it's for a
Healthier Life campaign. It's a statewide campaign that's promoting healthy living, physical
activity, and weight management to individualswho are in Philadelphia and across the rest
(04:09):
of the state as well. Soit's estimated, as you mentioned, that
more than three point five million adultsin Pennsylvania are living with pre diabetes and
this campaign is designed to motivate andencourage folks to make a choice to live
a healthier lifestyle. Starting today,at the heart of our initiative, we're
asking people to text the word todayor oil in Spanish, to sit zero
zero for zero zero, to answera few questions over text and learn that
(04:31):
they are at risks for pre diabetes. So those who are a list for
pre diabetes will be referring them toone of our free national diabetes prevention programs
in our area and that will allowthem to begin their journeys towards the healthier
life. Today, Janita, youdecided to make the choice for a healthier
lifestyle. So how do you getstarted? So many people struggle, especially
(04:51):
with weight and getting into the exercisethat one needs to do well. How
did you manage to break through andmake those choices healthy choices? Yes,
when you look at it as awhole thing, it can be very daunting.
So the choice is making that veryfirst step, small steps, and
(05:12):
I mean minuscule. I started drinkingwater, I avoided fast food. Then
I started feeling better and having theenergy to take a walk, and then
to take a run, and theneventually like a half marathon, and little
small choices every single day add upand every moment is a choice. So
(05:32):
looking at it like that gave methe opportunity to not be so scared of
changing my life because I was takingit one step by a time. Back
to you, Janita, I knowthat you have certainly gone on this journey
and that's been your individual choice,but you also have created a support system,
(05:54):
and I imagine that that's probably veryvery important to keep you on the
right path right absolutely when it comesto specifically like weight loss and lifestyles change,
studies show that you if you havean accountability partner or group that has
success in what they're doing, you'rethirty three percent more likely to be successful
(06:15):
yourself having somebody who has been theretoo. I had to figure it out
myself and that was okay for me. But sharing that just and being open
and being accountable on my main Facebook, I was just the mom being proud
that I went for a run withmy kid, you know, in the
(06:36):
stroller, and other people see that, and it's good to be around this
like minded energy because when you talkabout like families and things being passed down
in generational it can be hard tomake changes in those structures. So having
support is extremely important. Yeah,that is important, and Amadi, there
(06:59):
is always so wonderful that there areall sorts of free support programs like the
campaign make a choice for healthier life. The National Diabetes Prevention Program tell us
more specifically again how people can getinvolved and start to make those healthy choices.
So the first thing that you cando is text Today or OI in
(07:20):
Spanish to fit zero zero for zerozero in order to answer a couple of
questions to take a pre diabetes risktest, and by doing that you'll be
directed to our referral hub and ultimatelyguide it into one of our programs.
And as Janita mentioned, having thatgroup is such an important aspect of it.
And with the diabetes prevention programs you'rewith a larger group and along with
(07:43):
the coach you have that kind ofencouragement consistently over the course of a year
to be able to make those changes. All right, I'm going to give
Janita the last word, but beforeI do, AMAI, is there anything
else you'd like to add? Youcan go to our website make a Choice
dot org, as well as oursocial media make on Instagram and Facebook,
and in doing so you can keepup with all our information and this campaign
(08:05):
as well. That's great. I'mgoing to sign up my husband because he's
at risk. He is definitely atrisk. He's not pre diabetes yet,
but he can. He's aed inthat direction. And I think that if
you love someone in your family,you want to share this information. You
want to make sure that they arealso going to be making those healthy choices.
And just like Janita, you madea healthy choice. I saw you
(08:28):
before and after pictures, and ohmy gosh, I'm so inspired and so
impressed with your particular journey. AndI know that some people out there might
say, oh my gosh, howdo I start? This is just too
overwhelming. I have too much weightto lose. I can't really motivate myself
to get out and start walking orrunning or doing whatever. So what is
(08:50):
your word of advice or inspiration thatyou would send out to all those listening
out there who say I don't thinkI can do that? What would you
say to them? I would say, come from love. Instead of thinking
of all the things that you can'tdo and how hard everything is, think
of it as I love myself enoughto choose to live today. I love
(09:13):
myself to be enough to be hydrated. I love the way the sun feels
when I'm walking down the road.I love playing with my children. It
is so much easier to make positivechange. In your life when you're coming
from a positive, energetic space.I'm so grateful to be able to partner
with this campaign and having the abilityto just text today or OI to six
(09:39):
hundred four hundred. It makes itso much more accessible to everybody in the
community. So I encourage everybody totake advantage of this opportunity and choose to
love yourself and make a choice today. I love that make that choice to
love yourself, and in doing so, you'll be able to continue to be
that love for everyon one else,because if you don't take care of yourself
(10:01):
first, how can you take careof everyone else? And that's what sometimes
we forget to do. Thank youso much. Janita Medina. She is
an amazing mother, entrepreneur and healthychoice champion. She lost the equivalent of
a person in weight and now she'sencouraging others to achieve a healthy weight and
(10:22):
lifestyle. Amadi Ahsoka Lasenberry is aprogram coordinator at Health Promotion Counsel, where
she focuses on chronic disease management andis speaking on behalf of this program,
Make a Choice for Healthier Life.It's a campaign sponsored by the Health Promotion
Council and there's free supports, freeadvice, and an opportunity for all of
(10:43):
us to get on a healthy path. Thank you both for joining us today.
Thank you Lori, Thank you somuch Laren. We'll have more insight
after these messages.
Good morning, Welcome to Insight,a show about empowering our community. I'm
Lorraine Ballatmorrow. Hope you're having awonderful Thanksgiving weekend. We've got two inspiring
stories to tell, one about anorganization making a difference for young people and
the other about a returning citizen whosejourney will move you. First, it's
estimated more than three point five millionadults in Pennsylvania are living with pre diabetes
(00:24):
and eighty percent don't even know it. And then also in Pennsylvania, nearly
ninety thousand Pennsylvanians are diagnosed with diabetesevery year. It is one of those
diagnoses that can be prevented at thepre diabetes stage if people learn to manage
their way and become more active.So are you ready to choose healthy living?
(00:45):
There's a program making a Choice forHealthier Life campaign sponsored by the Health
Promotions Council. To tell us moreabout it as Amadi Ahsoka Lasenberry, program
Coordinator at Health Promotion Council, whereshe primarily focuses on chronic disease management and
prevention, and also joining us asJanita Medina. She's a mom, she's
an entrepreneur and a healthy champion.She essentially lost the equivalent of an entire
(01:10):
person in weight, and now she'sencouraging others to achieve a healthy weight and
lifestyle. So before we get intothe specifics about the program of Maadi,
I'd like you to talk about diabetesand pre diabetes. So what is pre
diabetes. Pre Diabetes is a conditionwhere a person's blood sugar is high,
but it's not high enough to bediagnosed with diabetes. Pre diabetes can lead
(01:30):
directly to serious health complications like heartattack, stroke, and of course type
two diabetes. And approximately one inthree adults have pre diabetes, but more
than eighty percent don't know that theyhave it. So knowing if you have
pre diabetes is really important now becauseyou still have time to reversion. Small
changes to a person's diet and exercisecan greatly reduce the chances of developing type
(01:53):
two diabetes and other serious health complications. Now, let's talk about the consequences
of ignoring the fact that you havepre diabetes and you actually have diabetes.
I just ran into an old friendof mine who no longer has three toes
on his foot because he had diabetesthat was uncontrolled and those had to be
amputated. So there's lots of healthconsequences for having diabetes. What are some
(02:15):
of them? Type two diabetes,for one, is that your sugar is
at a certain level that qualifies yourtype two diabetes. And it's a disease
that affects how your body uses glucose, which is a sugar that the body's
main sources of fuel. So whenyour body can't make this, over time,
you'll become insolent resistant. And atfirst your ancreas is able to make
extra inflin to make up for it, but over time not able to keep
(02:37):
up with your blood post being ata normal level, which results in having
to take insulin daily if you havetype two diabetes right, and it can
lead, as you mentioned, toheart attacks, so your kidneys can go
you can. Impotence can also bea side effect of diabetes. There's lots
of reasons why people need to controltheir blood sugar. And someone who has
(02:59):
done exactly that is the person I'mgoing to talk to you next, and
that's Janita. Janita Medina, youmade a choice for a healthier lifestyle.
What motivated you? Absolutely, Laurene, and thank you so much about mentioning
with your friend myself. My mainmotivation was seeing my dad struggle with diabetes
my whole life and eventually succumbing tothe disease. As you had mentioned,
(03:23):
amputations, it is so much morethan just blood sugar on paper, so
it has real life consequences and seeingthose firsthand and having small children, I
knew that I had to do somethingdifferent because I was on that same trajectory.
Okay, we're going to get backto that journey in just a second
(03:45):
because it's really inspiring. But backto you, Madi, what is to
make a choice for a Healthier Lifecampaign and also the National Diabetes Prevention Program
tell us about both absolutely, Soto make a choice, it's for a
Healthier Life campaign. It's a statewide campaign that's promoting healthy living, physical
activity, and weight management to individualswho are in Philadelphia and across the rest
(04:09):
of the state as well. Soit's estimated, as you mentioned, that
more than three point five million adultsin Pennsylvania are living with pre diabetes and
this campaign is designed to motivate andencourage folks to make a choice to live
a healthier lifestyle. Starting today,at the heart of our initiative, we're
asking people to text the word todayor oil in Spanish, to sit zero
zero for zero zero, to answera few questions over text and learn that
(04:31):
they are at risks for pre diabetes. So those who are a list for
pre diabetes will be referring them toone of our free national diabetes prevention programs
in our area and that will allowthem to begin their journeys towards the healthier
life. Today, Janita, youdecided to make the choice for a healthier
lifestyle. So how do you getstarted? So many people struggle, especially
(04:51):
with weight and getting into the exercisethat one needs to do well. How
did you manage to break through andmake those choices healthy choices? Yes,
when you look at it as awhole thing, it can be very daunting.
So the choice is making that veryfirst step, small steps, and
(05:12):
I mean minuscule. I started drinkingwater, I avoided fast food. Then
I started feeling better and having theenergy to take a walk, and then
to take a run, and theneventually like a half marathon, and little
small choices every single day add upand every moment is a choice. So
(05:32):
looking at it like that gave methe opportunity to not be so scared of
changing my life because I was takingit one step by a time. Back
to you, Janita, I knowthat you have certainly gone on this journey
and that's been your individual choice,but you also have created a support system,
(05:54):
and I imagine that that's probably veryvery important to keep you on the
right path right absolutely when it comesto specifically like weight loss and lifestyles change,
studies show that you if you havean accountability partner or group that has
success in what they're doing, you'rethirty three percent more likely to be successful
(06:15):
yourself having somebody who has been theretoo. I had to figure it out
myself and that was okay for me. But sharing that just and being open
and being accountable on my main Facebook, I was just the mom being proud
that I went for a run withmy kid, you know, in the
(06:36):
stroller, and other people see that, and it's good to be around this
like minded energy because when you talkabout like families and things being passed down
in generational it can be hard tomake changes in those structures. So having
support is extremely important. Yeah,that is important, and Amadi, there
(06:59):
is always so wonderful that there areall sorts of free support programs like the
campaign make a choice for healthier life. The National Diabetes Prevention Program tell us
more specifically again how people can getinvolved and start to make those healthy choices.
So the first thing that you cando is text Today or OI in
(07:20):
Spanish to fit zero zero for zerozero in order to answer a couple of
questions to take a pre diabetes risktest, and by doing that you'll be
directed to our referral hub and ultimatelyguide it into one of our programs.
And as Janita mentioned, having thatgroup is such an important aspect of it.
And with the diabetes prevention programs you'rewith a larger group and along with
(07:43):
the coach you have that kind ofencouragement consistently over the course of a year
to be able to make those changes. All right, I'm going to give
Janita the last word, but beforeI do, AMAI, is there anything
else you'd like to add? Youcan go to our website make a Choice
dot org, as well as oursocial media make on Instagram and Facebook,
and in doing so you can keepup with all our information and this campaign
(08:05):
as well. That's great. I'mgoing to sign up my husband because he's
at risk. He is definitely atrisk. He's not pre diabetes yet,
but he can. He's aed inthat direction. And I think that if
you love someone in your family,you want to share this information. You
want to make sure that they arealso going to be making those healthy choices.
And just like Janita, you madea healthy choice. I saw you
(08:28):
before and after pictures, and ohmy gosh, I'm so inspired and so
impressed with your particular journey. AndI know that some people out there might
say, oh my gosh, howdo I start? This is just too
overwhelming. I have too much weightto lose. I can't really motivate myself
to get out and start walking orrunning or doing whatever. So what is
(08:50):
your word of advice or inspiration thatyou would send out to all those listening
out there who say I don't thinkI can do that? What would you
say to them? I would say, come from love. Instead of thinking
of all the things that you can'tdo and how hard everything is, think
of it as I love myself enoughto choose to live today. I love
(09:13):
myself to be enough to be hydrated. I love the way the sun feels
when I'm walking down the road.I love playing with my children. It
is so much easier to make positivechange. In your life when you're coming
from a positive, energetic space.I'm so grateful to be able to partner
with this campaign and having the abilityto just text today or OI to six
(09:39):
hundred four hundred. It makes itso much more accessible to everybody in the
community. So I encourage everybody totake advantage of this opportunity and choose to
love yourself and make a choice today. I love that make that choice to
love yourself, and in doing so, you'll be able to continue to be
that love for everyon one else,because if you don't take care of yourself
(10:01):
first, how can you take careof everyone else? And that's what sometimes
we forget to do. Thank youso much. Janita Medina. She is
an amazing mother, entrepreneur and healthychoice champion. She lost the equivalent of
a person in weight and now she'sencouraging others to achieve a healthy weight and
(10:22):
lifestyle. Amadi Ahsoka Lasenberry is aprogram coordinator at Health Promotion Counsel, where
she focuses on chronic disease management andis speaking on behalf of this program,
Make a Choice for Healthier Life.It's a campaign sponsored by the Health Promotion
Council and there's free supports, freeadvice, and an opportunity for all of
(10:43):
us to get on a healthy path. Thank you both for joining us today.
Thank you Lori, Thank you somuch Laren. We'll have more insight
after these messages.
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