Diabetes, Triabetes and the Diabetic Athlete
Once upon a time, upon learning about the onset of Diabetes, one might actually have thought they were handed a death sentence. Nothing of course could be further from the truth.
One of my first exposures to Diabetes and athletics came back in 1983, when as a 15-year-old I watched with amazement as Bill Carlson become the first insulin-dependent athlete to complete the Ironman Triathlon. Back then, ABC’s Al Michaels — the golden-throated one — provided the play-by-play commentary, which you can see for yourself here:
Bill, it turns out, belongs to a group I support and have a great deal of admiration for: Triabetes. Founded just a few years ago, Triabetes is revolutionizing the way people approach diabetes by:
- Providing inspiration and hope to help diabetics (and Triabetics) achieve their goals.
- Educating diabetics and the medical community about diabetes and exercise.
- Exploring the physiological and social foundations of successful diabetes management.
In my view, the good folks over at Triabetes are continuing to prove that people with diabetes can compete in athletics despite what we used to think (i.e., that there was no way diabetics could be competitive endurance athletes). Today, just as Bill Carlson did back in 1983, people living with diabetes compete at all levels of athletic competition (and might I add that most are kicking some major booty by easily outrunning, outbiking, outswimming, and outcompeting many of us who live and compete diabetes-free).
As many of you reading this may already know, PureFit Nutrition Bars do not spike insulin levels, which means we offer a low-glycemic solution that works extremely well for the diabetic athlete. Next time you’re looking for inspiration, visit Triabetes.org (an organization we happily support).
Welcome to the PureFit Blog! I'm Robb Dorf, founder and CEO of PureFit, Inc., an Irvine, California-based company I started in the summer of 2000 dedicated to making the highest quality, all-natural, gluten-free, 40/30/30 nutrition bars on the planet. 
I am happy to see your posting. Yes, really informative.
I met Robb (founder of PureFit) last year at the Carlsbad Marathon. I was looking for an energy bar sponsor for our new team, Triabetes. Robb and I thought PureFit and Triabetes would be a perfect match due to the low GI and overall nutritional benefit of his bars.
What a great decision for Team Triabetes!
PureFit bars offer flexibility for our diabetic athletes. Due to the higher protein and natural fat content, our metabolism rates slow–consequently, we are less threatened by BG spikes.
Practically speaking, we can eat the bars without having to wait for our BG to drop, a bit longer before a morning workout (allowing time for digestion), or as a recovery source.
Everyone with diabetes should know about this product as a potential nutritional tool–diabetic or otherwise!
Thank you Robb for your sponsorship of the 2008 Triabetes team. Your generous contribution of PureFit bars benefited me tremendously as I prepared for the 2008 triathlon season. This past winter, Madison, Wisconsin recieved 112 inches of snow which brought my outdoor training to a hault. Force to train the entire winter indoors, your PureFit bars provided me the perfect nutrition which enabled me to stay focused and to keep most of the winter pounds off. I shared your product with serveral triathletes in my area whom are allergic to various other nutrition bars. They were very pleased to finally have a supplement that’s sensitive to there health needs. I will continue to promote your bars in the Midwest.
Aaron G. Perry
1st African-American Diabetic Ironman
& Triabetes Team member 2008 and 2009
PureFit is a great product. Recently joining the Triabetes Team, I was introduced to this product and was excited with the objective results…..no blood sugar spikes. This enables me to use this successfully for short and long workouts without the worry of additional insulin injections. PureFit…..keep up the great work!
As a new member of the Triabetes Team I am looking forward to using your product and sharing them with my triathlete friends!
Hey Robb,
Thanks for your support of Triabetes! The PureFit bars have been an integral part of my training this year, helping me to train for and complete two Ironman races. Instead of eating another type of bar loaded with high-GI carbs, which causes a fast blood sugar spike, my recovery snack/meal of choice is a banana + a PureFit bar. I appreciate that you use high-quality ingredients, and the bars are an easy way for me to get some extra protein in my diet (something I struggle with a bit), especially in the recovery phase of a workout. I figure that anything that stresses out a diabetic’s blood sugars is putting added metabolic stress on someone without diabetes–they just don’t know about it. So this is a great product for anyone.
I’ve also brought these bars with me when I was traveling to use as replacement meals when there weren’t other healthy choices around.
Thanks again Robb,
Anne
Robb, the benefit of using PureFit products with a low GI over others available is clear for us diabetics, but I know a lot of people who either don’t want glutens in their foods or have an intolerance to them who willl find these bars a tasty alternative to the status quo.
Robb,
I met you that day you talked with Peter after the Carlsbad Marathon. I had just run Carlsbad the week after running the Rock ‘N’ Roll Arizona Marathon, and the bars you generously donated that very same day help with my recovery. I remember your enthusiasm for helping people by providing a quality nutritional product. When I got a chance to try your bars, I was happy to find I enjoyed eating them. I found, as others have, that the low glycemic index of these bars keep them from spiking my blood sugar.
Your sponsorship of Triabetes is much appreciated. You’re doing a great service to the rest of the world by providing great products.
Thanks!
As a member of the 2008 Triabetes team, I benefitted from using Purefit bars as part of my training diet. Robb’s Purefit bars are the real deal for the diabetic athlete looking for a low glycemic, higher-protein bar with quality ingredients. You don’t have to guess what’s in the bar, unlike most of the other bars on the market.
Some of my non-diabetic friends have begun using them as recovery bars because they are palatable and easy to digest.
Give Purefit a try: quality product and a quality organization!
Robb! Thank you so much for your support of Triabetes! – last year I went from being a non-running, non-swimming, and poor-controlling diabetic to Ironman. My management of diabetes did not just go up a level, it skipped levels. And a rather large portion of that management routine was proper nutrition. Pure-fit was with me every step of the way. I never hit the road without one whether training or competing. Also, I have 2 small children and we are pretty concerned with what they eat – so we read every label – you just can’t get a nicer set of ingredients than you find with Pure-fit bars. My whole family loves them. And then you had to come out with Almond Berry Crunch! Delicious! Thanks for all the support – you have a great company.
As the insulin-producing member of the 2008 Triabetes Team and Executive Producer of the Triabetes Project Documentary, I, too, enjoyed the purefit bars while training this year – we appreciate the support you gave our team and I look forward to chatting with you in the future!
Best,
Michelle Alswager
I was introduced to PureFit in late summer 2008 and have found PureFit to be an integral part of my training routine since then. Thank you for your support of Triabetes and look forward to introducing many more to PureFit in the years to come!
As a member of the 2008 Triabetes Team and avid user of competitor energy bar products, I can’t commend PureFit enough on the exceptional product. Upon reciept of my first shipment of PureFit bars, I was very happy with the initial results. With a good balance of carbs and protien, I was able to push through tough workouts with sustained energy and power output which resulted in my improving upon my 2007 Ironman time by 46 minutes! Great Product I look forward to continuing to use in 2009 and beyond.
Robb,
Thank you so much. Your bars are amazing. Note to the world, if you know an athlete that eats pure fit bars keep your hands off. It will most likely cause some serious mental strain if he/she can’t find them. As I trianed for the Ironman this year I couldn’t keep enough around because my family kept eating them. I know, I know, they are also a very healthy snack that happens to taste great- especially the raspberry ones- dude you really have to hide those. Wow starting to ramble again. Anyway I’ve had the best year of my life and these were an integral part, Thanks.
Dave Shack
Team Triabetes
http://triabeticdave.blogspot.com/
[...] on the 21st of November, I introduced you to Team Triabetes and told you about PureFit’s support of this inspiring [...]
hey rob!
i have more of a question. i am a former short course triathelete who is now simply a cyclist. i am doing fairly well at most distances under 60 miles but once over 60 miles i begin to run into trouble. i typically turn my pump off during a race because of the significant drop in blood sugars. i am wondering if i don’t still need some levels of either sugar or fat to get into the cells to give energy. my most recent thoughts are that without insulin the sugars are not getting to the cells which is why i really start to struggle as the distances get longer. i typically eat a low gi diet. can i do the same during a race and still keep my blood sugars up. does your bar help to this. are there other resources that might be of help to me.
can’t wait to hear your reply.
sincerely,
neal j rich