Just got a note from Lisa Hepner, that the film is being shown on Facebook live today (Thursday), 5 pm PT, 8 pm ET. Also featuring an exclusive post-screening panel discussion with the filmmakers and participants.

The presentation of this film is free and accessible to audiences in the US and Canada.

Panel participants include (next time you join this panel !)

Lisa Hepner | Director, Producer

Greg Romero | Film Participant, Patient 2: University of Minnesota

Esther Krofah | Executive Director, Faster Cures, The Milken Institute

Alecia Wesner | Host, Healthy By Design Podcast, Diabetes Advocate

Moderated by Moira McCarthy | Author, Speaker, D-Mom

The Human Trial is a documentary by filmmakers Lisa Hepner, who has type 1 diabetes, and her husband, Guy Mossman. I know Lisa and I know how invested her heart has been in this film for the more than a decade she and Guy have been creating it.

The film follows a handful of people with diabetes who volunteer for a stem cell trial run by Viacyte to cure type 1. Along the way you realize what goes into a trial, the impact it has on those participating and whether or not we really can hope for a cure.

This week, it will be shown in these theaters across the country:

NADI Founder and CEO, Nina Tickaradze, with her kids

The NADI line of “juices” and apple chips is a family operation hiding in plain sight.

Let me start by saying I don’t drink juice and this NADI Wild Rosehip Original juice is not only delicious, but also nutritious, due to what’s in it – rosehips, water and stevia – and what isn’t, anything else.

Juice to me is medicine, 1/2 a glass if I’m having a low. And I don’t drink soda. Regular and diet are both too sweet. My beverages are mostly water, coffee, tea, wine and occasional hot cocoa I make myself.

So I was amazed when I fell in love with this drink. I tripped over it when it was spotlighted on the food and supplements website, Vitacost, only to be frustrated, after I tasted it, that I couldn’t get more. So I contacted NADI’s founder, Nina Tickaradze.

Nina told me they were waiting on more production. Meanwhile I invited her to share the story of how this juice came to be, part of that story includes a social enterprise that offers economic opportunities to refugees from Nina’s home country of Georgia.

All three NADI juices are available by the dozen on their website and you can also see if they’re available in individual bottles at shops near you.

Guest post by Nina Tickaradze, Founder & CEO of NADI

“One of the things many people with Type 1 diabetes miss is having fruit juices in their diets. Most fruit juices have a lot of sugar and carbohydrates, which can lead to unhealthy blood sugar spikes, fatigue and other problems.

Even so-called “healthy” juices that don’t contain added sugar still have high amounts of naturally occurring sugar from the fruits they are made from. As people with hypoglycemia know, one of the best instant fixes for low blood sugar is to drink some apple or orange juice because the sugar goes into their bloodstream almost immediately.

People with diabetes often avoid fruit juices and miss out on the healthy natural vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other nutrients that are in fruit juices. But NADI Wild Rosehip Original organic fruit juice is low in sugar and carbs so it is a perfect treat for anyone, including anyone with diabetes. It has ZERO sugar, only 2.46 grams of carbohydrates, and just 8 calories per 10-ounce bottle.

Our Wild Rosehip juice is the first and only USDA certified organic rosehip juice in the United States, and it’s made with just three ingredients — filtered water, wild grown organic rosehips that are handpicked, and a tiny bit of organic stevia to round out the flavor. The flavor is pleasantly tart and has dark fruit notes that are plummy and complex.

Rosehips are one of the best naturally occurring sources of Vitamin C, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and can have 20 to 40 times more Vitamin C by weight than citrus fruits like oranges and lemons. They’re also high in antioxidants, polyphenols, bioflavonoids, Vitamin A, Vitamin K, lycopene and many other nutrients.

For centuries, ancient healers used rosehips to promote heart health, blood circulation, soothe upset stomachs and promote wound healing, and there have been numerous clinical trials and studies by the U.S. National Institutes of Health that demonstrate broad benefits of rosehips and potential treatment applications for people who have diabetes, inflammatory disorders, arthritis, obesity and cancer. Rosehip oil is often used for wound and scar healing, and in face creams and lotions.

During World War II, government officials in the United Kingdom encouraged people to forage for wild rosehips and make tonics and syrups to prevent Vitamin C deficiency and scurvy during blockades that prevented fresh citrus from being imported. 

At NADI, we’re advocates for sustainable growing and harvesting techniques, which is why we use rosehips that grow wild and are hand-harvested from rose bushes that grow in the forests of the Caucasus Mountains in the country of Georgia.

NADI is also a social enterprise. We’re proud to create jobs and economic opportunities for refugees who have been displaced by war and had to leave their homes and all their possessions behind when they fled from regional violence. Every purchase of NADI helps refugees learn new skills, raise their families, rebuild their lives and plant the seeds for future generations.

About Nina:

Nina Tickaradze is the Founder & CEO of NADI, LLC, which makes NADI rosehip juices and Happy Hearts dried apple chips. She is originally from the country of Georgia, and immigrated to the state of Georgia in the United States when she was a teenager. In addition to raising her three children, working a day job at a professional services firm and growing NADI, Nina is also the founder of the nonprofit Georgia to Georgia Foundation that promotes cultural and business ties between the two Georgias and she helped establish the Atlanta-Tbilisi Sister City Committee.

Note: I am not being compensated to share this information.

As a follow up to my last post, today Abbott announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared its next-generation FreeStyle Libre 3 system.

All we know as far as timing is it will be available later this year, but you can sign up at the previous link in this post to be notified when it will be at pharmacies.  

While I use Dexcom G6 and am awaiting G7, hopefully by the end of the year, Freestyle Libre by Abbott is a very strong competitor, and its third iteration has just received FDA approval.

That means those who prefer Freestyle will soon have the world’s smallest, thinnest (pictured above) and very accurate glucose monitor that goes for 14 days. Ain’t nothing wrong with that.

Like Dexcom you can see your readings on a smart phone. Unlike Dexcom, which gives 5 minute readings, Freestyle shows readings every minute. It also claims to have a sub-8% MARD. All I really know is that means it’s pretty darn accurate. It also has alarms and an easy applicator.

At one third the price of competitors, I’d advocate getting one whether you have diabetes or not. I have found that when someone without diabetes wears a glucose monitor, they’re shocked to see how food and exercise affect their blood sugar.

The husband, who doesn’t have diabetes, when wearing my Dexcom for a week, couldn’t get over how his blood sugar rocketed after eating potatoes. This idea that people without diabetes have steady blood sugars all the time is just wrong.

If you want to know more, here’s the press release. Also here’s a review of Dexcom and Freestyle Libre 3 by my friend and expert Scott Strumello over at Scott’s Web Log where he examines diabetes issues in depth. Thank you Scott.