Diabetes was a wake-up call for me

JACQUI CARPEDE

Carpede used to drink at least five cans of carbonated drinks a day – until her mother landed in hospital because of complications from her diabetes.

The singer was never a fan of soft drinks until 2004, when the all-girl pop group Jamali – of which Carpede is a member – clinched the runner-up title in SABC1’s talent search contest, Coca-Cola Popstars.

As its name suggests, Coca-Cola was the show’s sponsor, and the winners and runners-up were inundated with beverages from this international brand. Whenever they attended a function, it was required of them to have a Coke in hand.

Even after the brand stopped sponsoring Jamali, Carpede continued with the habit she had developed while touring South Africa. Fortunately, she kicked it in 2012 when she witnessed her mother’s health deteriorating. “It was a wake-up call for me,” she says.

Carpede comes from a family with a history of diabetes. Her grandparents, aunts and uncles were all diagnosed with diabetes, and some died from the disease.

“I realised that if I didn’t stop, I would soon be diagnosed with diabetes as well,” says Carpede.

“I saw what the condition did to my family and I did not want to be another statistic.

“From the day my mother suffered complications, I stopped having fizzy drinks, despite having become accustomed to them through the Coca-Cola sponsorship,” she says.

 “I started living healthily by following a nutritious diet and exercising regularly.

“I still have a fizzy drink once in a while, but I won’t go to a shop to buy it. I will rather buy from a vendor while stuck in traffic.”

Carpede, who released her debut solo album Ready to Love in 2014, says she is instilling the habit of having water rather than fizzy drinks or fruit juices into her 13-year-old son.

“We have to teach our children, when they are young, to make it easy for them later in life,” she adds.