When it comes to discussions about diabetes, lived experience is essential. Bridget McNulty unpacks why, and how to make it more of a priority in South Africa.
South Africans with Diabetes Posts
We’re so excited to announce that an updated version of the award-winning Low Carb Solution for Diabetes has just been published! The Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes Handbook.
We love sharing our community’s stories of life with diabetes. Here’s Holly’s story of life with diabetes and a disability – how she was born with Cerebral Palsy and later diagnosed with diabetes.
If you’re trying to change your diet and reduce carbs, it can be tempting to immediately switch out the foods you love for sugar-free/diabetes- friendly…
One of our community members, Armand Greyling, wrote to us to explain how to get an insulin pump covered by medical aid. He shared this step-by-step guide.
Diabetes stigma and discrimination refers to the negative social judgments, stereotypes, and prejudices that unfairly affect people with diabetes all over the world. Around 4 in 5 people with diabetes have experienced diabetes stigma. Up to 1 in 3 people with diabetes have been discriminated against due to their diabetes.
Is there any question that irritates a person with diabetes more than, “can you eat that?” Bridget McNulty unpacks it in this month’s column.
The University of Pretoria Diabetes Research Centre, in collaboration with the Department of Psychology and SA Diabetes Advocacy, is pleased to invite you to a…
There are three things that Sweet Life is fundraising for: TEEL, TIME and the Healthy Food Guide. Here’s what they are – and why they matter.
Managing diabetes means managing the health of the whole body. This is why, in an ideal world, your diabetes team will include specialists from different fields.
Meet Dirk Visser, living with Type 1 and running for better health. Dirk shares some of the highs and lows, and how running impacts his diabetes on YouTube as The Running Diabetic.
Diabetic pets have special needs, but can live long and healthy lives with the proper diagnosis, treatment and care. We had a chat with Dr Jono,…
Craving junk food can be a big hurdle when trying to eat healthy. While it may be hard, we’ve got 8 tips to help you stop craving junk food, so that you can develop healthier eating habits.
What are diabetes-friendly meals at South African restaurants? That was the question one of our community members asked. When we asked South Africans with Diabetes where they eat out, the answers were clear: Spur, Kauai, Ocean Basket and Nando’s. Bridget McNulty tested them all out for her column this month.
Our community asked us the other day: Can people with diabetes donate blood? The short answer is yes. The longer answer is below.
If there’s one question we get over and over on South Africans with Diabetes it’s this: What should people with diabetes eat? Here’s a simple answer.
Each month, Sweet Life co-founder Bridget McNulty talks about something personal when it comes to diabetes… This month she tackles diabetes and food.
There are so many different types of insulin, and it can be hard to understand what the difference is. Luckily, Dr Michelle Carrihill from the Red Cross Children’s Hospital Diabetes Clinic has a simple way of explaining them. Read on to find out more…
Benoni Lakes Lions Club in association with Ebotse Golf and Country estate in Benoni, Gauteng are holding a fun diabetes awareness walk on Sunday 4th June 2023. The fun walk is intended to raise diabetes awareness as there will be diabetes screening and wellness exhibits on the day. We chatted to Diane Townsend, the organiser of the event.
If there’s one question we get asked on South Africans with Diabetes often, it’s: Does insulin make you fat? Here, we give you the straight answer.
Megan Soanes, a board member of Diabetes SA Port Elizabeth, was no stranger to diabetes when her son was diagnosed. Her husband, Scott, has been living with it for 37 years. But when her son Gabriel was diagnosed, it led her to play a more active diabetes advocacy role.
Jethro Morrison has a very unusual life with diabetes. Both he and his son are living with Type 1, and he’s a purple belt kickboxer. We asked him for a few details about kickboxing with diabetes – and their double diagnosis…
Being a supportive caregiver, family member or friend to a person with diabetes can be both a gratifying and a challenging role. Diabetes affects the whole family, not just the one taking medicine. Here is Tani’s story: a supportive mother of a Type 1 child.
Every month, Sweet Life co-founder Bridget McNulty talks about something personal to do with diabetes. This month, it’s all about diabetes exhaustion…
Retinopathy is one of the most common diabetes complications, but do you know the facts? We asked Retina SA to explain what retinopathy is and how to spot the first symptoms.
We all know we should be testing our blood glucose regularly, but we don’t always know exactly how to do it… Let’s take a look at some of the questions we get from our South Africans with Diabetes community, and answer them.
Once a month, Sweet Life co-founder Bridget McNulty unpacks something personal about life with diabetes. This month, she opens up about diabetes advocacy…
I know I should be clever about this and wait till we’ve uploaded all the images – but I’m too excited not to share! Check out just a few of the 295 images from SA’s first diabetes stock photo shoot.
Siyabonga Kwanele Zuma is a writer and creator of the Living With Diabetes series on YouTube. He shares his story of life with Type 1 diabetes with us today.
As National Kidney Month comes to a close, let’s take a look at diabetes and kidney disease. Kidney disease is a common long-term complication of uncontrolled diabetes, so knowing how to keep your kidneys healthy is important.
Jehaan was diagnosed 22 years ago with Type 1 diabetes. She shares her story, struggles and best advice with us.
Panorama launches The T1D Community Fund, and announces first cohort of global grantees – Sweet Life Diabetes Community is one of them! Find out more about the work we’re going to do here.
We were so inspired to hear about teenager Neve Quail, champion archer and living with Type 1 diabetes. We asked her to share her story here…
We all know how hard it is to lose weight… And how hard it is to get motivated to lose weight! Here are some ideas from our community – and some fun rewards to help you.
Anyone who meets Salih Hendricks loves him. It’s impossible not to – he’s a kind and generous soul, quick to smile and share his wisdom. He’s also a diabetic amputee, and has been sharing his journey and challenges for the past few years.. We asked Salih to tell his story, here.
It has taken over a year, but the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) has finally responded to our appeal to make sensor technology a Prescribed Minimum Benefit (PMB) for Type 1s in South Africa.
Every month, Sweet Life co-founder Bridget McNulty discusses something personal about life with diabetes. This month, she unpacks donating insulin…
You might have heard that eating low GI food is a good idea. But what foods are actually low GI and what does it mean when food has a low GI? We asked registered dietician Chantelle van der Merwe to tell us all about low GI.
The theme for this year’s World Obesity Day is ‘Changing Perspectives: Let’s Talk About Obesity‘. Obesity in South Africa is a big issue, and one we should all be discussing more.
We know that getting the right diabetes care in South Africa isn’t always easy. So we asked our community of South Africans with Diabetes to share with us: What barriers do you face in getting the right diabetes care?
Here’s what they said:
The Diabetes Alliance in South Africa will be organising the second edition of the South African Diabetes Summit in November 2023. The Inaugural Diabetes Summit…
Meet Lurina, or as the diabetes community knows her, The Glucose Glitch. She has been in the diabetes game for 22 years – here’s her story and her best advice for a happy life with diabetes.
We often talk about the challenges of diabetes with our South Africans with Diabetes community – and that’s okay! Diabetes has many challenges. But it’s also helpful to think about what a good day with diabetes looks like, and how to try to get more of those…
Life is busy. Add in diabetes, and life is really busy – as anyone living with the condition knows. Sometimes it feels almost impossible to fit three healthy meals into a day… Which is when meal replacements might be a good idea.
It’s time for #DiabetesLooksLikeMe 2023!
Once a year, on the 1st March, South Africans unite to show what diabetes looks like. Join the #DiabetesLooksLikeMe movement and post your photo with the hashtag on Wednesday 1st March 2023. Let’s show SA what diabetes really looks like.
How to make better food choices is one of the hardest things when you’re living with diabetes. We chatted to Thapelo Serumula from Dietitians24 based in Polokwane, Limpopo about her perspective on diabetes and the challenges people with diabetes face when it comes to healthier food choices. This is what she shared with us.
In this monthly column, Sweet Life co-founder Bridget McNulty discusses something that’s on her mind in the diabetes space. This month, she talks about telling all the stories of diabetes.
When our co-founder Bridget wrote this column about 15 things diabetes taught her, she was overwhelmed by all the excellent feedback from our South Africans with Diabetes community. So we gathered it up. We asked our community: What has diabetes taught you?
Exciting news for all Dexcom fans in South Africa – the brand-new Dexcom G7 launched this week! We’re one of the first countries to get access to this exciting new tech, so we thought we’d find out a bit more about it…
One of the things we don’t talk about enough is diabetes and male complications. We want to be telling all the diabetes stories in South Africa – representing all the various lived experiences of people with diabetes. Gavin van Wyk shares his, below….