Kissimmee Chamber Holds First Virtual Breakfast for a Cause

For this month’s Breakfast for a Cause, presented by Osceola Regional Medical Center, we would have loved to host a captive audience at the Chamber, serve you a breakfast catered by one of our member restaurants, and take some time to network. Of course, as with everything these days, a change of plan was required. So, for the first time, we took our bi-monthly Breakfast for a Cause series to the virtual platform of Zoom. Dr. Peter Marzano, MD, whose practice is affiliated with Osceola Regional Medical Center, gave us a crash course on positive life skills for managing your blood sugar. We even found a way to have a breakfast partner! Susan’s Courtside Cafe offered a special deal just for our attendees: a free coffee with your meal if you mentioned attending the Friday event!

If you missed the event, read some highlights below, or checkout the video at the bottom of the page!

About Our Speaker
Peter M. Marzano, MD is a board certified internal medicine specialist caring for patients at his practice, Osceola Care Specialist located on West Oak Street in Kissimmee in affiliation with Osceola Regional Medical Center. Dr. Marzano received his medical degree from the American University Of The Caribbean School Of Medicine in 1997 and his internship and residency at Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, Georgia. Dr. Marzano has been practicing for over 20 years and his philosophy is to always put the patient first. 

Presentation Highlights
The focus of Dr. Marzano’s presentation was Type II Diabetes, which is most common in adults, as opposed to Type I, which is commonly found in children. Surprisingly, there are 3 million new diagnoses of Type II diabetes in the US every year and 9.4% of the population has it. For reference, in 1960 less than 1 percent of the population had Type II Diabetes, and it is projected that by 2030 18%-20% of the population will have it.

So what positive life choices can we make to keep from becoming a statistic? While genetics can play a role, dietary choices have a big impact on the development of diabetes. Low levels of activity, which we may be facing even more now during the COVID-19 pandemic, can also factor. Consuming only the amount of sugar needed to function (less than 9 grams per serving) and maintaining a healthy body weight can help.

Interesting Takeaways

• Beans and rice (with brown rice) is the perfect food for you diet
• Fruit = good; Fruit juice = bad
• Weight training is better than cardiovascular training for diabetics
• The average person burns 70 calories an hour just sitting around the house; super fit people can burn twice that many at rest
• Eating like an 1860s farmer is better than eating like a caveman!

Tips for Diabetics

• Incorporate weight training into your activities
• Park further away from the store or your place of business
• Take the stairs; don’t take the elevator
• Watch caloric intake from liquids; drink water, unsweet tea, and black coffee
• 40% of your diet should be carbs, 40% protein, and 20% fat
• Favor complex carbs (whole grains, brown rice, brown bread, sweat potatoes) over simple carbs (candy bars, but also white rice)
• Diet soda is 10 times worse for you than regular soda

Q&A Highlights
Q: Why is diabetes considered a top risk factor for mortality from coronavirus?
A: Elevated sugar levels can impair your immune system, making you more susceptible to infections like coronavirus.

Q: Is there a point of no return with diabetes?
A: There doesn’t have to be. Watch your caloric intake and burn what you take in. Once you’re on insulin, it becomes more difficult to reverse it.

Q: How do you curb sugar and carb cravings?
A: Look for complex carbohydrates rather than simple, eat whole grain bread, and bulk up on protein that will make you feel full.

We want to thank Dr. Marzano and Osceola Regional Medical Center for making Breakfast for a Cause a success, and Susan’s Courtside Cafe for helping us deliver on the “breakfast” portion of the title. Finally, we want to thank those who attended and spent part of their virtual day with us.