Heald.diabetes

02/01/2026

Sugar cravings aren’t about willpower.

They’re driven by biology, stress, and daily habits.
In this episode, Dr. Nicole Avena neuroscientist and author of Sugarless explains why cravings happen and why cutting out all sugar (including fruit) is unnecessary and often counterproductive.

Key points covered:

• Why the “all sugar is bad” idea is misleading

• Added sugar vs whole-food sugar

• How fruit can actually help reduce sugar dependence

• Juicing vs smoothies vs whole fruit what really matters

• Why fiber, chewing, and food structure affect glucose

• Why small, repeatable habits beat extreme restriction

If cravings feel out of control, the answer isn’t more discipline . it’s understanding what’s driving them and working with the brain.

🎥 Watch here: https://youtu.be/FZ0zvnw6xog

Sugar cravings aren’t about willpower they’re about biology, psychology, and environment.In this episode, Dr. Nicole Avena, neuroscientist and author of Sug...

01/28/2026

Cooking can be a form of care . when done with intention, it supports health, not just hunger.

This Valentine’s, we’re turning everyday cooking into something meaningful.

Heald Valentine’s Day Challenge | Feb 1–12
Cook any healthy recipe you enjoy smoothie, salad, soup, bowl, dessert, or beverage.

Keep it real. Keep it simple. Film a short video and share it.

No fancy setup.
No perfection.

Just nourishment, consistency, and care the things that actually make a difference.

🎁 One winner gets a FREE Vitamix
📅 Challenge dates: Feb 1–12

👉 See all challenge details:

https://lnkd.in/g768RQZh

👉 Ready to join? Register here and start cooking with love:

https://lnkd.in/gjEcwave

How to submit:

Post the video on Instagram and tag , or send the raw clips directly.

Because love that supports health lasts longer than a single day.

01/27/2026

Low blood sugar isn’t a “small dip.” It can be dangerous especially with age.

For decades, diabetes care leaned heavily on insulin, early and aggressively. The problem? Insulin doesn’t just lower blood sugar. Over time, it can increase insulin resistance, making the treatment less effective the longer it’s used.

That’s how people get stuck in a loop: More insulin → more resistance → higher risk of lows.

And here’s the part that rarely gets said out loud 👇
In older adults, hypoglycemia is often more harmful than high blood sugar. Falls, confusion, heart rhythm issues . the risks are real.

Better control isn’t about pushing numbers down at any cost.

It’s about choosing strategies that reduce resistance, protect the brain and heart, and stay effective long term.

Because “lower” isn’t always safer.

🎙 Featuring:

Sandeep Misra (Co-Founder & CGO, Heald)
and Dr. Erik Schabert, D.O.
Board Certified in Family Medicine & Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine

📺 Watch the full episode on YouTube

01/26/2026

Is Our Food Industry Manipulating Our Brains?

It’s not a willpower problem.
It’s a neurochemical response.

Highly processed foods are engineered to trigger dopamine surges before the first bite even happens.

Bright packaging, sugar, refined carbs, and familiar flavors light up the brain’s reward system, pushing repeat consumption.

That “loss of control” isn’t a moral failing.
It’s biology doing what it’s wired to do.

The uncomfortable truth:

The food industry has mastered confusion

— complex labels, health halos, and subtle blame-shifting

— while the brain takes the hit.

Understanding this reframes the conversation:

from guilt → science
from blame → awareness

🎙 Featuring

Sandeep Misra (Co-Founder & CGO, Heald)
and Dr. Nicole Avena [ ]Associate Professor of Neuroscience and author of Sugarless

01/23/2026

Simple. Satisfying. Blood-sugar friendly when done right. 🍳🍅

This shakshuka keeps it real olive oil, garlic, onions, tomatoes, eggs, and smart seasoning.

No ultra-processed shortcuts. Just protein, healthy fats, and flavor that actually keeps glucose steady.
Proof that comfort food doesn’t have to spike numbers . it just needs better ingredients and better choices.

01/20/2026

Is Sugar Addictive Like a Drug?

Turns out, that’s not just a clickbait question.

When researchers gave sugar to lab animals, it triggered a dopamine release in the brain, the same reward pathway activated by drugs like ni****ne or co***ne.

Here’s the key difference:
Most foods stop triggering dopamine once the brain gets familiar with them. That’s how eating stays balanced.
High-sugar foods don’t follow that rule. They keep lighting up the reward system, again and again.

That’s why sugar cravings don’t behave like hunger.
They behave like reinforcement.

This doesn’t mean sugar is a drug.
But it does explain why “just eat less” often fails.

🎙 Insight from Dr. Nicole Avena, Associate Professor of Neuroscience and author of Sugarless
From our latest podcast, now on YouTube .diabetes

01/19/2026

High-Protein Blueberry Cup 🫐✨
Dessert doesn’t need sugar spikes to taste good.

This creamy blueberry cup is made with real berries, cottage cheese, and yogurt. No baking. No flour. No added sugar. Just clean protein and natural sweetness.

Why this works:

• ~20 g protein per serving
• Diabetic-friendly and low glucose impact
• Supports weight loss and satiety
• GLP-1 friendly thanks to high protein
• Gut-friendly with yogurt + berries
• Light enough for pre-workout or evening dessert

If sweet cravings hit but blood sugar control matters, this is the kind of dessert that fits the plan instead of breaking it.

Save this. Make it once. It’ll stay in rotation.

01/18/2026

WHY ADVICE IN ABSOLUTES CAN BE RISKY

“If you just do this, everything will be under control.”

That’s how misleading health advice usually sounds.

Real medicine doesn’t make promises. It works with probabilities, individual context, and evidence. When advice ignores who you are and speaks in guarantees, that’s a red flag.

Good doctors don’t sell certainty. They explain likelihoods, trade-offs, and what fits this body, this history, this situation.

And no, adding Himalayan salt to a drink isn’t solving diabetes.

🎙 From our podcast with Dr. Erik Schabert, D.O.

🎙 Featuring:

Sandeep Misra (Co-Founder & CGO, Heald)
and Dr. Erik Schabert, D.O.
Board Certified in Family Medicine & Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine

01/15/2026

Diabetes does NOT mean pain is permanent.

Numbness, tingling, burning in the feet?
Too often it’s brushed off as “just diabetic neuropathy” and the investigation stops there.

That’s a problem.

Because many people with diabetes also have: • nerve compressions

• spine issues

• joint or muscle problems

• circulation concerns

And if no one looks deeper… they never get treated.
As Dr. Grant Cooper explains, if you stop testing after finding neuropathy, you miss everything else.

And that’s how real, fixable problems get ignored for years.

👉 Don’t let diabetes become the excuse that blocks better diagnosis.

👉 Don’t accept pain as “inevitable.”

👉 And don’t stop at the first answer.

🎙 Insights from our latest podcast with Dr. Grant Cooper

📺 Full episode on YouTube link in bio

01/12/2026

Broccoli Steak with Hummus 🥦 | Plant Power on a Plate

Who said veggies can’t be the main character?

This grilled broccoli steak is crispy on the outside, tender inside, and paired with creamy hummus for the perfect balance of fiber, protein, and healthy fats.

Why this works (especially for blood sugar control):

• High fiber → slows glucose spikes

• Healthy fats → improve insulin sensitivity

• Low glycemic load → steady energy, no crash

Simple ingredients. Real food. Zero nonsense.
This is how smart eating looks.

Save this for your next meal prep ✔️

01/11/2026

Type 2 Diabetes: Drugs Are Tools, Not the Cure

Type 2 diabetes is not just a medication problem.

It is fundamentally a metabolic health problem.

In this powerful conversation, Dr. Erik Schabert, D.O. explains why lifestyle-based remission of Type 2 diabetes is absolutely possible, where medications help (and where they don’t), and why true reversal requires addressing root causes not just controlling numbers.

This episode goes deep into:

• Why early intervention can reduce or even eliminate medications

• The real truth about GLP-1 drugs, insulin, and metformin

• How lifestyle directly impacts insulin resistance

• Why most systems manage disease instead of restoring health

• The real cost of diabetes: amputations, dialysis, heart attacks

• Osteopathic philosophy: treating the person, not the disease

If you’ve been told diabetes is lifelong and progressive, this conversation will challenge that narrative.

Because the goal isn’t to manage disease.
The goal is to restore health.

🎙 Featuring:

Dr. Erik Schabert, D.O. – Board-Certified in Family Medicine & Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine

Sandeep Misra – Co-Founder & Chief Growth Officer, Heald

▶️ Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/Z-fmnfq93fI

Type 2 diabetes is not just a medication problem. It is a metabolic health problem.And drugs, no matter how advanced, are tools not the cure.In this powerfu...