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| Visiting mi tierra de Los Angeles |
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| At Avenue 50 Studio Art Gallery in Pasadena, Califas |
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| Meditation and Yoga class on December 21, 2012. Thank you Terry Wolverton! Pictured left to right: Bobi Behrens, Yvonne M. Estrada, Terry Wolverton, Amelia M.L. Montes |
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| Amelia M.L. Montes and Michael Sedano finally meet! |
On the 27thof December, I traveled from Los Angeles to New York where I am presentlyvisiting and writing (grateful for the space and time to write/share writing!) with artists/activists/writer friends before the Modern LanguageAssociation (MLA) Conference begins on January 3rd in Boston. A note on the MLA Conference in Boston: If you are going—don’t miss thefollowing panels, especially the first one which features “La Bloga!” Yes—“La Bloga” will bediscussed/analyzed at the MLA in Boston. More on this next Sunday--
1. JenniferLozano (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) will be speaking about “LaBloga!” Her paper, “ConvergenceCultura? Reevaluating New MediaScholarship through a Latina/o Literary Blog, La Bloga” is set for Friday,January 4th at 5:15p.m. in the Sheraton Boston (room: Fairfax A). Check it out!
These are justthree of a number of Chicana/Chicano and Latina/Latino panels offered at theMLA this year. Check out the 2013program: CLICK HERE.
Thankful!
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| New York City! |
2013 will be mythird year since being diagnosed with Diabetes. Not too long ago, a friend Ihadn’t seen in a while told me how sorry she was that I had Diabetes. Without skipping a beat, I immediatelysaid, “I’m not! I’m thankful!” I couldn’t have said that even a yearago. A significant change had to take place and education is the key. During my first year of diagnosis, it was tough trying to figure out what to eat, how to manage all the various facets of this disease. Just figuring out a work schedule with added time for exercise was quite challenging.
Diabetes hasgiven me the opportunity to delve into the workings of the body, to understandthe metabolic function of the pancreas, to think about living my life in ways Inever thought about before—mindfully, creatively. I have a heightened awareness of how our U.S. food industry has kept us from the truth: that sugar,not fat, makes us sick. This month's issue of Mother Jones features the article, “Big Sugar’s Sweet Little Lies: How the Industry Kept Scientists from Asking: Does Sugar Kill?” , a carefully researched (included is a timeline from 1934-2012revealing the sugar industry take-over of our U.S. diet) and clearlyarticulated explanation on how we’ve been duped into thinking non-fat processedfoods are better than fat. The truth: “non-fat” and even some “low fat” products are more often than notinjected with sugar and depleted of fat. Fat does not cause obesity. Sugar causes obesity. Another fact: cancer cells needsugar (carbohydrates) to grow and multiply. The more sugar, the happier a cancer cell will be.
As a nation, andwithin our Chicana/Chicano and Latina/Latino communities, it’s going to take along time to make significant dietary changes because the sugar industry is assolidly stationed within our grocery stores, as the tobacco industry had been(and still continues to be although not as strongly). I don’t know yet, what will break the hold on our mindsetand diets, especially because sugar is so very addictive. Sugar is a drug. Just ask people to stop eating it, andyou will receive very strong reactions. It’s very very difficult. And then, of course, there is the challenge to exercise. How to take the time to keep the bodymoving so the pancreas will be stimulated to function? Diet and exercise are vital to thelowering of glucose numbers.
For the past twoyears, I have led a Diabetes Support Book Group and the members in the grouphave been able to manage their glucose levels successfully by sharing storiesand recipes. We share ournot-so-good days (and there are many) and we also share our successful moments (and there are also many of these). We bring to the group delicious lowcarbohydrate dishes to try and we also discuss our doctor visits. We talk about our exercise. Research has shown that support groupsare extremely helpful. Maybe youwould like to begin your own support group in 2013.
Thankful that after three years ofreading, researching, writing about Diabetes, I can tell you that I have madefriends with my imperfect pancreas. I can tell you that I’m not afraid of this disease anymore like I waswhen I was younger and watched my aunts and uncles go blind, lose limbs, go onkidney dialysis, etc. I am thankful that there is much more informationavailable to me and the information continues to pour in as more medical researchers (who are not affiliated with pharmaceutical companies or the sugar industry) are conducting important experiments/analyses to seek out answers. We know much more about this disease, about how ourpancreas works, about how we can manage it on our own than we did even 10, 20 years ago. Testing your blood is so much a part of the management, yet glucose strips remain quite expensive, especially for those without health benefits. This must change. The only way an individual with Diabetes will know if glucose levels in the bloodstream are too high or too low is too test. It's impossible to judge glucose levels by how one feels on a daily basis. Testing also helps when you're trying new foods or your usual routine is interrupted. As mentioned, I have been traveling cross-country and some of these days have been more challenging than others (not being able to say "no" to homemade buttered croissants at a holiday gathering, sitting more than usual due to travel days). At times, I've had to compensate by walking up and down stairs or running/walking in place.
I am thankful to friends and familia who have helped me (or been patient) through mood changes due to Diabetes. When first diagnosed, I had no idea how powerfully glucose fluctuations directly affect one's mood. And those of you with Diabetes know what I'm talking about. The terms "sugar high" and "sugar crash" are in our vocabulary because most everyone has experienced glucose fluctuations. The problem with having an impaired pancreas is that it can take much longer to recover from that "high" or "crash." Sometimes the "high" or "crash" is not due to eating sweets/too many carbohydrates. It could be a stressful day, lack of sleep, or illness that will affect glucose levels. Meditation can be quite helpful here along with diet and exercise. The best gift you can give to your loved ones/your friends is to become aware of your body, monitor where you are chemically, and let people know if you're having a bad day. Diabetes does not give us permission to behave badly and then simply blame it on the disease.
I am thankfulfor David Mendosa, a freelance medical writer, advocate, and consultantspecializing in Diabetes. He hasthe largest and most comprehensive website on Diabetes and if you e-mail him,he will reply. (CLICK HERE for his website) David's articles on managing diabetes while traveling have certainly helped.
I am thankful for my sister, Emma Franco, whose experience and expert knowledge of the disease assisted me from the moment of diagnosis. Gracias dear sister for your help and support, for morning walks, for answering all my questions, for continued discussions.
I am thankful to mis padres who accompany me on short walks for their own health as well as mine. This 2013th year, mi papa will be 96 and mi mama will be 90. Orale.
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| Emma, Amelia, Joseph Montes (mi mama y papa!) |
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| Amelia & daughter Nancy Wolff |
In 1958, therewere 1.5 million people with Diabetes in the U.S. In 2010, the number jumped to 18.8 million prompting theCenter for Disease Control (CDC) to call it an epidemic. Today (just 2 years later), the CDCreports that 26 million have Diabetes with an estimated 79 million havingprediabetes.
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| New York friends/familia: Amelia M.L. Montes, Danielle Abrams, Barbara Schulman |
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| Los Angeles familia: Querida Pat Alderete and Amelia M.L. Montes |
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