Tag: type 1 diabetes

Cleansing with Diabetes – Whitney’s Story

Chef V

leaky gut

Whitney generously shares her experience with green drink as she manages her Type 1 diabetes. (@happypancreas) story amidst her journey with Type 1 Diabetes – an incurable disease that affects the body’s immune system response, leading to the inability of the cells in the pancreas to create the blood-sugar-controlling hormone, insulin.

While cleansing with diabetes can be limiting, Whitney has proved otherwise in her experience with Chef V. Her website is Happypancreas.com.

your microbiome - bacteria

Living with Type 1 Diabetes

When living with a non-insulin producing (i.e. broken) pancreas, caution is brought into almost every “no caution needed,” average situation.

Going for a light jog? Running into Trader Joe’s for your favorite snack? Ordering your favorite smoothie?–these seem like random, simple, mindless activities. . . but the reality is that simple jog or healthy smoothie could make waves in your entire day.

With Type 1 diabetes you must always be “on” and aware of your ever-changing (sometimes dangerous) blood sugar levels. It throws a wrench in almost every ordinary situation and can often leave you feeling hindered and limited in trying things “normal” people try especially cleanses due to their (typical) high sugar content.

Attempting to offset the sharp rise in blood sugars from a juice can be nearly impossible with Type 1 so staying clear of them is often encouraged diabetic educators and endocrinologists — and rightfully so.

leaky gut

So when one of my best friends introduced me to ChefV and mentioned the low sugar content, I was skeptic! She wanted me to do try the 3 Day Cleanse, but I was nervous. It seemed impossible for a juice to be low sugar.

But after thorough research, I found that Chev’s blended green juice had less than 6 grams per serving, so I was ready to give this a try and see what happened with my blood sugars.

I knew it would require mindfulness and hard work, since it was new and uncharted territory for me – but I was ready.

Flash forward five years later, and I have successfully cleansed 5 times with Chef V’s three day juice cleanse and it has changed not just how I feel physically, but also my entire perspective on cleansing.

A cleanse doesn’t have to be blood sugar bomb – full of mainly juiced fruits and veggies.

Chef V shows that vegetables should be the star ingredients in all your juice blends. Blending: Black Kale, Green Kale, Collard Greens, Green Leaf Lettuce, Curly Parsley, Green Chard, Dandelion Greens, and using a touch of apple to complement and enhance the flavor of the veggies.

This magical blend is how cleansing is 100% possible with diabetes. All the benefits… minus the sugar trap!

Diabetes: Whitney’s Chef V Experience

Jean Yates

leaky gut

Can the answer to managing diabetes be as simple as chugging a 16 oz. glass of juice every day? Not if it’s orange juice, or other fruit juice. But managing diabetes with blended veggie juice like Chef V’s Organic Green Drink is an easy, sustainable solution.

Happy Pancreas, Happy Life

Whitney Louis is one customer living with diabetes who credits Green Drink with helping manage her A1C levels. Take a look at Whitney’s Instagram profile. (Her tongue-in-cheek profile name: HappyPancreas).

“Diabetes makes it super hard to follow cleanses because many out there are juice based (i.e. 100% sugar). This requires a lot of [monitoring], and increases the variability in our blood sugar numbers,” says Whitney.

“The foundation of Chef V is BLENDED super greens so the fiber stays put and blood sugars keep stable … [and] if you are seeking the ultimate reset: minimizing cravings, removing built up toxins, calming inflammation, increasing your insulin sensitivity, AND shedding a few stubborn lbs…. this is a great starting point!” adds Whitney.

Now it might sound like Whitney is a paid shill for Chef V. She’s not. Whitney is just sharing with her followers what she believes is one easy [and tasty] solution for managing diabetes. She says on her blog:

“p.s. not sponsored, just showing the love when well deserved! they ship to your door and available across the u.s.“

Additional Resources on Diabetes

Chef V Clinically Proven To Lower A1C Blood Sugar Levels

Is It Safe For People With Type 1 Diabetes To Do A Cleanse?

Chef V’s Perfect “Prescription” For Eating Healthy While Taking Ozempic

Can You Get Diabetes From Eating Too Much Sugar?

Understanding the Risk Factors of Diabetes

leaky gut

Is It Safe For People With Type 1 Diabetes To Do A Cleanse?

Chef V

Diabetes and cleanse

Yes–If  You Have Support From “The Happy Pancreas” @happypancreas

For those with diabetes, having to constantly monitor blood sugar can be overwhelming. For people with no blood sugar issues, doing a cleanse is a great way to get rid of toxins that cause water weight retention. But are cleanses safe for those with diabetes? If you do one under the guidance of “The Happy Pancreas”, @happypancreas the answer is a resounding yes!

When I launched Chef V several years ago, my intention was to introduce an easy (and great-tasting) way for people to get their daily dose of nutrient-dense, disease-preventing veggies.

But I’ll admit, even as a certified nutritional therapist, I didn’t give much thought about the impact Chef V products would have on the 1.25 million people in this country that are living with type 1 diabetes.

After all, it’s easy to overlook Type 1 diabetes. In comparison to the 30-plus million people with type 2 diabetes, type 1 accounts for only 5% or so of this blood sugar disease.

If you are one of those with type 1 diabetes, I can only imagine how challenging it is managing this potentially-deadly condition. Having to constantly monitor your blood sugar levels is enough of a burden.

However, what if your belly is bloated, your skin isn’t radiant and healthy-looking and your energy is low—and you have type 1 diabetes? These problems affect most people. But the physical and emotional effects are magnified if you have to prick yourself with insulin everyday.

Those without diabetes can easily do a cleanse to reboot metabolism. But what about those living with type 1 diabetes? Is there a way to safely and effectively do a cleanse?

diabetes syringe and salad

Thanks to Whitney Lewis, a Chef V customer living with type 1 (make that, thriving!), it’s never been easier. To date, Whitney has successfully finished five Chef V cleanses. Inspired to make life easier for those with type 1, and to share her challenges living with the disease, Whitney created the blog, Happy Pancreas.

About 2 ½ years ago, Whitney was invited by a friend to do a cleanse. Along with her friend’s support, she was able to complete it. Whitney realize how important accountability and community were for people with type 1 diabetes.

I’ll tell you more about Whitney’s program in just a bit. But first, a little 411 is in order…

diabetes patch

What is Type 1 Diabetes?

Approximately 5 years ago, Whitney was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. If you’re not familiar with the disease or the difference between it, I’ll briefly fill you in.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease. That means the body attacks itself. In the case of type 1 diabetes, the body’s immune system response leads to the inability of the cells in the pancreas to create the blood-sugar-controlling hormone, insulin.

Without insulin, sugar in the blood cannot reach the cells. Cells need glucose (sugar) to function properly. Without enough glucose, cells die. And when blood sugar levels fall too low, the function of the  brain, which depends almost entirely on glucose as a source of energy, can go haywire, causing, dizziness, confusion, and even coma and death in severe cases.

By comparison, type 2 diabetes, is mostly a lifestyle disease, resulting from eating too many foods rich in added sugars or refined carbohydrates (although genetics can also be a contributing factor in developing the disease.) Unlike type 1 diabetes, type 2 is not an autoimmune disease.

Some people think the cause of type 1 diabetes is sugar. However, the true cause is mostly genetic.

Additional Resources on Diabetes

Chef V Clinically Proven To Lower A1C Blood Sugar Levels

Is It Safe For People With Type 1 Diabetes To Do A Cleanse?

Chef V’s Perfect “Prescription” For Eating Healthy While Taking Ozempic

Can You Get Diabetes From Eating Too Much Sugar?

Understanding the Risk Factors of Diabetes

What’s It Like Living with Type 1 Diabetes? 

As Whitney says, this disease is a lot.

You have to constantly manage your blood sugar and be aware of everything you put in your body.

Every day, you have to manually inject insulin to keep blood sugar levels in a normal range—and to stay alive.

Type 1 diabetes is an incurable disease. But Whitney manages it with a tongue-in-cheek response, or more accurately, a hand-in-pocket solution: she carries a pancreas-shaped purse that contains her syringes and insulin.

lounging with Green Drink

Those with type 1 diabetes must monitor their blood sugar levels before meals and workouts, and other situations whenever the body would normally create insulin.

“Lots and lots of pokes every day … it’s not easy,” says Whitney, adding, “It can be extremely daunting…. With type 1 diabetes you must always be on and aware of your ever-changing (and sometimes dangerous) blood sugar levels. It throws a wrench in almost every ordinary situation and can often leave you feeling hindered and limited in trying things ‘normal’ people try.”

But Whitney’s type 1 diagnosis about 5 ½ years ago has led to a silver lining. Living with type 1 diabetes has led to a “passion and love for helping people with this autoimmune condition.”

Why Chef V Organic Green Drink Is Best For Type 1 Diabetes

Chef V Organic Green Drink, the foundation of the Cleanse/Detox programs I created, offer many nutritional benefits. As Whitney points out on her blog on type 1 diabetes, the biggest benefit is from the fiber in the Organic Green Drink. Whereas blended juices contain virtually no fiber, thus causing the juice to be absorbed into your bloodstream very quickly, leading to mood swings, energy loss, and extra stress when managing your diabetes, Chef V’s Organic Green Drink contains hardly any sugar. And super important, it contains the pulp (fiber) that’s necessary to keep blood sugar levels steady.

I’m both humbled and grateful that Whitney has chosen the Chef V Cleanse to help those living with type 1 diabetes reach their health goals.


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