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Managing Type 1 Diabetes doesn’t have to be overwhelming.
Each 5-minute episode of Your Best T1D Year is packed with practical strategies, mindset shifts, and a little humor to help you feel more in control and less frustrated by diabetes.
Hosted by Neil Greathouse, this Monday, Wednesday, and Friday podcast delivers quick, relatable episodes that make learning about T1D effortless - so you can build small wins that lead to big changes.
📅 New episodes drop every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
🎧 Subscribe now and start making diabetes management feel easier - one small habit at a time.
Meeting created at: 7th Dec, 2025 - 9:59 AM1
Neil: You ever tried to chew through one of those glucose tablets when you're low?
Neil: It's like eating the concept of dehydration.
Neil: And if you wonder what flavor they are, glucose tablets are dry flavored.
Neil: It's like if somebody took all the joy out of a smarty and.
Neil: And then they vacuum sealed it with a.
Neil: With like a chalk brick.
Neil: It's like eating playground chalk.
Neil: Not that I've ever done it.
Neil: They somehow pull moisture from the air along with our will to live.
Neil: And yet for years, that was our best option.
Neil: Not so fast, my friends.
Neil: Not anymore.
Neil: This episode is one of my absolute favorites.
Neil: So we're going to talk to Naomi Garlic.
Neil: She is the founder and the CEO of Glo glucose gummies.
Neil: Finally, something that treats a low and doesn't taste like medical regret.
Neil: You know what I'm saying?
Neil: This is the story behind my favorite things this year.
VO Guy: Welcome to your best T1D year, the podcast that's a mix of habits, couple of laughs.
VO Guy: You need maybe throw in some real sciencey stuff every once in a while, and there you go.
VO Guy: Everything you need to live with type 1 diabetes and have some wins you can feel.
VO Guy: Let's roll the episode.
Neil: All right, Naomi, before we get into this origin story, because that's kind of what this is, right?
Neil: There's an origin story of glow.
Neil: Is it true that last year the ADA summer camps were stocking glow glucose gummies for the campers to keep them safe?
Neil: Is that true?
Naomi: Yes, that's very true.
Naomi: It was awesome.
Naomi: So cool.
Naomi: Yeah, yeah, it was.
Naomi: It was great on so many levels.
Naomi: Honestly, for me, it was like a very full circle moment because I went to an ADA diabetes camp when I was a kid, but it was also like, an opportunity to kind of give back to that sort of, like, effort.
Naomi: And I got so many emails, messages, like things on social media from the kids as well as the staff.
Naomi: The counselor also have, like, type 1 diabetes and often live with type 1, so they were also like, we got to try it too.
Naomi: It was a very heartwarming kind of moment for me.
Naomi: But, yeah, it was.
Naomi: I. I donated a lot of gummies to other camps as well.
Naomi: So I worked with deca, who I. I know you're familiar with, but they.
Naomi: They kind of help get supplies to other camps as well as the ada.
Naomi: So it was, it was a very exciting summer for glow.
Neil: I. I didn't realize.
Neil: Okay, so, like, I thought you.
Neil: The connection would be just because you were diagnosed at a really young age, like, seeing what you made help these kiddos But I didn't realize you actually went to the camps.
Naomi: Yeah.
Neil: That's crazy.
Naomi: Yeah, Yeah, I know.
Naomi: It's.
Naomi: It was very crazy.
Neil: Yeah.
Naomi: Yeah.
Naomi: Full circle.
Naomi: And I was diagnosed at 12 years old, which is like, the time when all you want to do is fit in.
Naomi: So camp was super special in terms of, like, just making me feel normal and, like, meeting other kids with Type one, I think, is so important for people, especially in those, like, earlier years.
Naomi: At least it was for me.
Naomi: So it.
Naomi: It was kind of one of the first organizations I reached out to when I started GLOW was the.
Naomi: The diabetes camps, which was.
Naomi: They're.
Naomi: They're so great.
Naomi: Such great people to work with as well.
Neil: It's so wild.
Neil: So, listener, if you haven't ever been to or volunteered or taken your kiddo to one of these camps, I'm just telling you, they're.
Neil: They're like, you walk into that place, you're not ready for it, and you're right in the middle of it, surrounded by all these kids with all their devices, and they're all beeping, and they all have that common bond.
Neil: It's like.
Neil: It's one of the coolest things.
Naomi: It's amazing.
Naomi: Yeah.
Naomi: And it's nice for the parents, too.
Neil: Okay, so you.
Neil: You and I both know, like, obviously how hard it is to live with T1D.
Neil: Like, it's not easy.
Neil: Okay.
Neil: But then you.
Neil: But then you decide to build something like GLOW glucose gummies at the same time.
Neil: So.
Neil: So for the people that are just meeting you, this is their first time.
Neil: Give us a snapshot of, like, where are you in life right now with.
Neil: With building this whole thing and living with type 1 diabetes?
Neil: Like, what pushed you to do both of these at the same time?
Neil: Because one of those is a lot just by itself.
Naomi: Yeah, totally.
Naomi: So I've had type one for 20 years, actually 21 in December.
Naomi: So, you know, coming up on it in the next few weeks.
Naomi: And I've kind of, like, from diagnosis, I was honestly very hands on with my type 1 diabetes.
Naomi: I was obviously diagnosed at a time where you had to be more hands on because we didn't have all the tech and the data and the insights that we have now.
Naomi: But from the very beginning, I really wanted to be independent, responsible for it, and I kind of kept that throughout my life.
Naomi: So I never let it, like, hold me back in anything I wanted to do, which has been such an important piece of glow, and not only, like, part of the reason of, you know, the message I want to leave with people through glow, but also when I had the idea, I was like, yeah, this is a lot.
Naomi: I'm.
Naomi: It's.
Naomi: I'm taking a big risk.
Naomi: It's going to be a lot of work, and I don't really know where it's going to go, but I kind of just said, you know, I've done harder things.
Naomi: I have type 1 diabetes.
Naomi: Like, there's.
Naomi: There's been a whole life of hard moments that I've, like, been resilient through and gotten through.
Naomi: And so I kind of just like, took a chance on myself and.
Naomi: And my experience living with Type one.
Naomi: I obviously did, like, some surveys and research and talked to a lot of people with type 1 in the community to make sure, like, it wasn't just me, something I would like, it would resonate with others as well.
Naomi: I was diagnosed in middle school, but in high school, like, I played soccer, I played tennis, I won state championships in both sports.
Naomi: I really wanted to be like, nothing's going to hold me back from, like, living the life I want.
Naomi: And before glow, I worked in finance in New York, which, like, you know, you hear the.
Naomi: The horror stories of, like, the long hours and all that kind of stuff.
Neil: Stress, right?
Naomi: Yeah.
Naomi: The end.
Naomi: The stress and all of that.
Naomi: So I think all of those kind of things prepared me for this as well.
Naomi: Okay.
Naomi: While all, you know, alongside type 1 diabetes and being able to manage it through, like, intense sports or intense careers or intense, like, moments in life or whatever it is.
Naomi: So, honestly, working on GLOW has been, like, a amazing time for me because it's so.
Naomi: It's so personal and it's so real, and you really see the reactions and it, like, it took me a while to actually appreciate, and I sometimes, I don't know if I fully have.
Naomi: And unless I see on social media, like, real customers, like, posting with their GLOW gummies or, like, going out and.
Naomi: And doing all these videos and stuff, and I'm like, oh, yeah, like, people are really using this and, like, people are really enjoy it.
Naomi: So it's definitely been a journey, but so far it's been just, like, overwhelmingly rewarding, and I don't regret it for a second.
Naomi: It was a big a life, a big life change to kind of my job and do this full time.
Naomi: Yeah.
Naomi: Yeah.
Neil: Okay.
Neil: So you just kind of.
Neil: I'm learning.
Neil: This is like, maybe the second or third time we've talked.
Neil: I'm learning a little bit about you.
Neil: Each time I talk, you act like this is not that big of a deal.
Neil: You're like, nah, you know, So I just decided to do it.
Neil: You're so chill.
Neil: You said you're like, yeah, I've been in finance for years, and then I decided to do this.
Neil: Just, just for a second, can we just appreciate that you're not in product development, you're not in food science.
Neil: Right.
Neil: You're not in a kitchen lab, you're not a chemist.
Neil: You're none of those things.
Naomi: Yeah.
Neil: What gave you the audacity to think, yeah, I can make.
Neil: I can make something that's going to save somebody's life.
Neil: Yeah, I could do that?
Naomi: Yeah.
Naomi: I know.
Naomi: It, it.
Naomi: Well, when you phrase it like that, it sounds insane.
Naomi: But luckily, in the moment, I was trying to take it more one step at a time.
Naomi: But it really started.
Naomi: It honestly started when I was working crazy hours in, like, a finance job before this.
Naomi: And there's a piece of it where.
Naomi: It, like, type 1 diabetes for me has always been a little bit of, like, when I was first diagnosed, I was like, I just don't want to stand out.
Naomi: I don't want to be different.
Naomi: And that, like, at that age was a big priority for me.
Naomi: But then in.
Naomi: I found myself kind of feeling that way again.
Naomi: More so in my finance career, where I'm like, sometimes the only.
Naomi: Usually the only woman in the room, sometimes even in the entire company.
Naomi: So I would be sitting there, I would go low, and I'd have Skittles or something that would just kind of make me feel different or feel other.
Naomi: And I didn't like that feeling.
Naomi: It was like, bringing me back to that, like, oh, I'm 12 years old.
Naomi: I just got diagnosed.
Naomi: I want to hide, though.
Naomi: I had the idea literally, like, in my job of I wish there was something that I could eat quickly, that was more discreet, that I didn't feel like I had to kind of, like, eat chalky tablets in the middle of everyone.
Naomi: And, like, you open up the glucose tablet thing and the poof of, oh.
Neil: The powder goes everywhere.
Naomi: Yeah.
Neil: Like LeBron James at the beginning of his games, and he throws that chalk up in the air.
Naomi: Yeah.
Naomi: Yeah.
Neil: What happens when you open up a glucose tablet?
Naomi: Yeah.
Naomi: Yeah.
Naomi: So that's how I kind of started thinking of the idea.
Naomi: And then I, I really just, I talked to a ton of people.
Naomi: I, I, I immediately had the idea for gummies, because I'm kind of a sucker for, like, multivitamin gummies and stuff like that.
Naomi: And I was kind of thinking, like, I, I kind of wish this was just in a gummy form.
Naomi: And then I started doing a lot of research.
Naomi: I actually, a lot of people helped me very early on that, you know, were very much experienced and wise in diabetes as well.
Naomi: Like my own endocrinologist, I talked to her a lot about my idea.
Naomi: Gary Shriner.
Naomi: I talked a lot to him about, like, the actual formation, what else it would need.
Naomi: And that's really where I educated myself a lot, which is crazy because I had diabetes for so long, but on the importance of, like, what goes into a low blood sugar solution, it being dextrose, not having, you know, protein and fat for, like, a fast rise, all those types of things.
Naomi: And then I reached out to over 85 different food scientists, slash manufacturers, and I talked to all of them.
Naomi: I sort of pitched my idea, and I picked the one.
Naomi: I picked a partner who I thought could help me, like, really bring it to life.
Naomi: Yeah, so I, you know, I. I took a gummy tasting class, but aside from that, I wasn't in the lab cooking up any gummies.
Naomi: I just sort of was the idea behind it.
Naomi: And then I found people who I, you know, really respected and trusted, and they helped me sort of bring the full idea to life.
Naomi: So, yeah, it's crazy because it.
Naomi: It was.
Naomi: It felt like it happened so quickly where I sort of had the idea in August, and then I sort of started working on the idea and then quit my job in January and then launched it in March of 2025.
Naomi: So it's just been a bit of a whirlwind to pull everything, Naomi.
Neil: I didn't realize it was that fast.
Naomi: Yeah, yeah, really fast.
Naomi: Okay.
Neil: All right.
Neil: Okay.
Neil: So we.
Neil: I. I know you said you talked, like, 85 different, like scientists, you know, food, whatever, manufacturer, whatever in that side, but you also surveyed people living with type one, right?
Neil: Like, 80 plus people, is that right?
Naomi: Yeah, that's right.
Neil: What is the thing you learned out of that?
Neil: That.
Neil: That shocked you?
Neil: Like, what did you not see coming?
Naomi: Yeah, so I had felt this way myself, but I didn't realize, like, to the extent that other people did as well, that a lot of the time, and I think it's just literally purely due to our size.
Naomi: Like, there's, you know, roughly call it what you want, one and a half to 2 million people in the US with type 1 diabetes that to, like, a big company is not a lot of people.
Naomi: And, like, a lot of the time we kind of get overlooked in what we really need, and they kind of put other products in front of us that are like, oh, this will do this will serve, like, some of those needs.
Naomi: And I think as a community, we've kind of been like, conditioned to accept that.
Naomi: And so in a lot of the responses, it would be like, you know, I use this.
Naomi: It's not great, but, like, it does the trick.
Naomi: Or, like, oh, yeah, there's a lot of, like, language like that.
Naomi: As in, like, you know, it does what it needs to do.
Naomi: But, boy, would it be nice if X, Y and Z also was in the picture.
Naomi: So it kind of just made me think, like, there are a lot of holes in just our more daily care where.
Naomi: Where, like, the bigger companies don't see where the money is, so don't bother to, like, do the deeper.
Naomi: Dive into it so that it.
Naomi: It kind of.
Naomi: I mean, it kind of annoyed me because I was like, we should have more of a voice and we should, you know, really pound the table for what would make our lives so much better.
Naomi: Yeah, I would say that was a.
Naomi: It was sort of like a revelation to me that, like, hopefully I can do more with GLOW or, you know, who knows where it could go?
Naomi: But that.
Naomi: And then the other thing that was surprising was the amount of variability and, like, what flavors people like, because I'd be like, what flavor do you want to see first?
Naomi: And it would be, like, across the board, all different.
Naomi: Yeah, yeah.
Naomi: There was very little consistency at the beginning.
Neil: So did you.
Neil: Did you have a.
Neil: Like a version, you know, version one of GLOW that, like, flopped or didn't work or, like, it just was like a crash and burn moment?
Naomi: Yeah.
Naomi: So when I first launched it, actually, the.
Naomi: The bags themselves, I like the little to go bags.
Naomi: I tried to have the zipper be this other zipper that turned out to be a disaster because it.
Naomi: I wanted it to be really easy to open because when you're low, like, sometimes you're shaky, you're a little disoriented.
Naomi: Like, it's hard to get things.
Naomi: Use your fingers and get things open.
Naomi: So my focus was more on, like, getting the opening easily, and it ended up making the actual, like, bag itself have a.
Naomi: Just, like a tiny opening.
Naomi: And the gummies were hard to get out.
Naomi: So although, like, the zipper was easy, the gummies were hard to pitch out.
Naomi: Yeah, yeah.
Naomi: So.
Naomi: So I quickly went back to the drawing board on that and was like, we gotta fix the bags, like, asap, because they're just not working.
Naomi: So, yeah, that was kind of a flop at the very beginning, but it was a quick.
Naomi: A quick change.
Neil: Yeah, A little pivot there.
Neil: It's so wild.
Neil: Too.
Neil: Because if you know about any kind of product development people that are listening, your first version of anything isn't usually like, I typically don't want to buy version one of any tech or gear or car or whatever.
Neil: But just seeing that you stuck with it over time, I think is.
Neil: Is really cool.
Neil: You.
Naomi: Yeah.
Neil: You said that you were really private about T1D in your life for a long time.
Neil: When did that change?
Neil: Like, what actually changed to make you shift with that?
Naomi: Yeah, it's a really good question.
Naomi: And I've tried to think about this at different points, but I think what really made it change, honestly, was just kind of getting, like, getting older and having more problems in life where it just wasn't like it.
Naomi: I. I had enough experiences where I told people and they didn't care at all, where I was like, okay, this is not.
Naomi: This is not something I need to, like.
Neil: Yeah.
Naomi: Be private about if, like, I don't need to feel, you know, different or anything like that.
Naomi: So I think just over time, the more I was telling people and the more people I met, that is a massive thing.
Neil: Yeah.
Neil: You're saying more people with T1D that you met?
Naomi: Yeah, yeah.
Neil: Oh, really?
Naomi: Yeah, a hundred percent.
Naomi: And.
Naomi: And even since, like, launching glow, going to all these events, like Friends for Life is such an amazing event that I didn't know about when I was a kid and would have.
Naomi: I would have loved to be able to go to something like that, but it's so beautiful.
Naomi: It's so empowering, and it's.
Naomi: It makes you feel, like, proud to have type 1 diabetes versus no kidding, you know, anything else.
Naomi: So even this past year with GLOW has made me, like, see it even differently, where now I'm.
Naomi: I don't even think twice about it.
Naomi: And, you know, every single person I meet now knows I have type 1 diabetes, and I'm just, like, perfect.
Neil: Yep.
Neil: Yeah, yeah, mission accomplished.
Neil: They all know.
Naomi: I think another thing that made me more private before was just not always knowing, like, how to bring it up or when to bring it up or, like, the right sort of language to use when you do it, because it does kind of feel like when you tell someone, you also need to explain what it is.
Naomi: And, you know, because a lot of the time there's some misinformation or they think it's one thing when really it's, you know, it's not type two, it's type one.
Naomi: There's all of that.
Neil: Right.
Naomi: So a lot of the time I was just like, I don't really know how to get into this right now, so I'm just not.
Naomi: And it was just something I would rather ignore or not ignore, but just not bring up.
Neil: Yeah.
Neil: Yeah.
Naomi: And so that's gotten easier over time as well, just to kind of, like, have a quick thing that I say or, you know, now it's.
Naomi: It's on social media more for me, so it's easy.
Neil: So being on social media, the.
Neil: The.
Neil: The filters that we run through with a lot of that social media comes down to, like, are they being honest or are they just showing their highlight reels?
Neil: And I think you do a really good job of just showing this is what it's like.
Naomi: Yeah.
Neil: When.
Neil: When you found the.
Neil: The people that were being honest about type one on social, what did you learn from them that helped you with how you have your elevator pitch or you're.
Neil: I'm in, you know, in a meeting and it comes up or whatever.
Neil: Did it change for you, seeing how other people were doing it on social?
Naomi: Yeah, I think, like, a big part of it was just, like.
Naomi: Not.
Naomi: Not make.
Naomi: Trying to make other people feel okay.
Naomi: Like, okay in the conversation, if that makes sense.
Naomi: Like, oh, like, there was one per.
Naomi: I. I'm gonna.
Naomi: I should remember who it was.
Naomi: But someone who was like, anytime someone makes a joke about diabetes or something or like, something at my expense, like, I will stop it and correct it and, like, call it out.
Neil: Yeah.
Naomi: And that has been, like, something I would never, ever do before.
Naomi: And now I'm like, you know what?
Naomi: That is the right thing to do, not only for me, but for, like, every.
Naomi: Any other person they encounter.
Naomi: And not in, like, an obnoxious way where, like, you.
Naomi: You're the buzzkill, but more just, like.
Naomi: More just, like, kind of making it funny.
Naomi: Like, oh, I have.
Naomi: You know, I have diabetes.
Naomi: And, like.
Neil: Right.
Neil: Right.
Naomi: That's not what it's like at all, you know, like, turning the table a little bit.
Naomi: So, yeah, that's one thing that I feel like.
Naomi: Like just correcting people or educating people, but not in, like, a really annoying way.
Naomi: And just sort of making it, like, authentic and kind of like, you know, representing the community in the right way, I think is important.
Neil: I had a meeting.
Neil: This was, let's call it maybe two months ago, and my pump just stopped.
Neil: And I'm like, I know it's ran out of insulin.
Neil: I am silencing the alarms, and I'm just waiting.
Neil: And I know I'm starting to climb.
Neil: And I'm like, am I gonna say, yeah, do anything in this meeting, I was like, all right.
Neil: And we had just hired a new girl on our team.
Neil: She sing.
Neil: She might have been the second meeting she was ever in with me.
Neil: Like, hey, guys, listen.
Neil: We're gonna keep going to the meeting, but I have to take care of some stuff right now.
Neil: Is this gonna freak anybody out?
Neil: And they're like, what are you about to do?
Neil: And I'm like, no.
Neil: Like, it's not that bad.
Neil: But you.
Neil: I.
Neil: It's ridiculous that I'm gonna sit here and continue to feel like garbage just because I don't want to bring this up or I can walk out of the room.
Neil: And they honestly are like, no, that's okay.
Neil: So we have this meeting going on.
Neil: There's a giant tv, a bunch of people on there on Zoom, and people around this table on Zoom.
Neil: And we're talking about one thing, and they're just eyeballing me the whole time.
Neil: Like, he's gonna put that.
Neil: He's gonna.
Neil: Oh, gosh.
Neil: That's when it clicked.
Neil: They're like, oh, gosh.
Neil: And it was like.
Neil: It was actually kind of like, hey, man, welcome to my world.
Neil: Like, this is what it is.
Neil: But you're.
Neil: It's actually helpful to learn what is going on here.
Neil: But how ridiculous is it, Naomi, that we would have just sat there and just.
Neil: I'm gonna suck this up for another hour and a half.
Naomi: Oh, my.
Neil: And sweat beads on my forehead because I'm.
Neil: I'm going high.
Naomi: Oh, 100.
Naomi: And it's all you're thinking about.
Neil: Like, yeah, I'm not thinking about the Zoom.
Naomi: Yeah, yeah.
Naomi: I'm like, oh, my God.
Naomi: Like, what's my broad blood sugar now?
Naomi: Like, how long does it take to get down?
Naomi: Like.
Naomi: And you feel horrible.
Naomi: It's like.
Naomi: And then I always.
Naomi: I do have the same thing where I'm like.
Naomi: After.
Naomi: I'm, like, feeling a little guilty, or I'm like, why did I do that to myself?
Naomi: Like, come on, Naomi.
Neil: Like, come on.
Neil: So those things, like, cross over, right?
Neil: You've talked a little bit about how, like, you're.
Neil: You're.
Neil: And maybe my life.
Neil: Our lives kind of all start revolving around diabetes, which is somewhat, you know, it's, like, personal.
Neil: It's business for you.
Neil: It's content that you're doing, and you had to reclaim some of that space.
Neil: What has helped you do that?
Neil: Because there are some people, like, Naomi, I have a Neil Greathouse account I haven't used in, like, three years, but I only use this one, and it's, like, all diabetes.
Neil: But like, that's not who I am.
Neil: Like, what do you do?
Neil: How do you balance that?
Naomi: Right?
Naomi: I know.
Naomi: And it is kind of.
Naomi: I did have a moment where I stopped and I was like, wow.
Naomi: I'm, like, overwhelmed by the amount of diabetes I'm getting at all times.
Naomi: Because, like, especially on social media, like, same thing for me.
Naomi: I have, like, my personal account, and then I have my Glo account where I, you know, it's very type 1 diabetes everything.
Naomi: My personal account.
Naomi: I don't follow a single person unless, like, they're.
Naomi: They're actually, like, a good friend, but I don't follow anything where.
Naomi: So sometimes it's nice for me to just switch back and kind of, like, try and, like, switch out of, like, just getting bombarded all the time with.
Naomi: With all the.
Naomi: All the, you know, the diabetes.
Naomi: Related content.
Naomi: But it is hard because it is.
Naomi: It is very, like, all consuming.
Naomi: What do you do?
Neil: It can be.
Neil: Yeah.
Neil: So actually, my wife is probably my best filter because there are times where I am talking to her about it and she hears me over in another room making a video or a podcast, and she'll.
Neil: Very gently, she's like, we're.
Neil: We're done.
Naomi: Yeah, it's.
Neil: And I'm like, oh, you're right.
Neil: You're right.
Neil: I.
Neil: Because I. I love that I just.
Neil: I got into this because I love.
Neil: I genuinely care about people who live with type one.
Neil: Like, I love doing this, but also, this isn't who I am.
Naomi: Right.
Neil: Like, I like movies and sports and out there, like, there's so many.
Neil: This is actually the least interesting part of my life, but it's something I can't get away with, so.
Neil: Or away from.
Neil: And, yeah, you know, that's.
Neil: That's okay.
Neil: So she.
Neil: To be honest with you, she's my best filter.
Naomi: She's like, yeah, it's.
Naomi: She's like.
Naomi: And, yeah, we've hit our quota for the day.
VO Guy: I did it.
Neil: We were on a road trip recently, and I was just.
Neil: I was just randomly talking about it.
Neil: She's like, we can.
Neil: We can change the subject now.
Neil: This is.
Naomi: Okay.
Neil: She's lived through 33 years of it, so she knows.
Neil: So Naomi.
Neil: But we.
Neil: We're gonna have to go to a break.
Neil: But this is.
Neil: This is crazy because I've never done this before.
Neil: So we.
Neil: I typically do a.
Neil: There's an ad right in the middle of it, and a lot of people might be listening to this, thinking, oh, my gosh, this whole episode is an ad.
Neil: And it's not because you and I Have talked multiple times.
Neil: I.
Neil: This is the very first time I've done this.
Neil: Of December being all about our favorite things.
Neil: This is at the top of my list for 2025 of the thing that changed the way I treat Lowe's, which is the other half of.
Neil: Yeah, insulin and pumps and CGMs and all of that, but the way we treat the lows.
Neil: This dramatically changed my life, because back in February, I really helped as many people as possible to just treat the lows with something that is going to treat it the best, the fastest, or whatever, because we treat Lowe's with.
Neil: I mean, it could be a key lime pie, and we convince ourselves that we deserve that.
Neil: Like, back off, man.
Neil: I'm eating my pie.
Neil: You know, I mean, we do whatever, and we.
Neil: We're convinced that's something that we need.
Neil: We actually.
Neil: We just need the rescue medicine or the.
Neil: The.
Neil: The glucose, the dextrose, and all of that.
Neil: This transformed the way I treat Lowe's.
Neil: Like, it is the.
Neil: It is number one for me on my list of my favorite things in 2025.
Neil: And I know you didn't come on here just to listen to me brag about you, but this isn't an ad.
Neil: I just genuinely.
Neil: Here's how much I believe in it.
Neil: So I was recording.
Neil: Nate, check.
Neil: It's podcast.
Neil: Last.
Neil: By the time we listen, this would be last month.
Neil: And in the middle of the interview, were talking about a low.
Neil: I get my glow glucose gummy thing out.
Neil: I'm like, you got to get these.
Neil: He goes, that's awesome.
Neil: Where do I get it?
Neil: And I turned it around.
Neil: In the middle of recording, he scanned the QR code and ordered five cases and showed me a picture.
Neil: Three days later, he's like, they came in.
Neil: This just changed my life.
Neil: Yes.
Neil: So much.
Neil: All the energy you put into this all the time, all the wizardry and the sciency and the math stuff or whatever.
Neil: Just.
Neil: Thank you.
Neil: I just.
Neil: I'm getting that out of the way.
Neil: Okay.
Naomi: I appreciate it so much.
Naomi: I'm gonna cry.
Neil: Yeah, it's.
Neil: It's super helpful.
Neil: Okay, now is a real ad.
Neil: We're gonna take a break.
Neil: We'll be right back.
VO Guy: Keep your fingers off the bolus.
VO Guy: This is just a short break.
Neil: Okay, so before we get to the next part, I want to thank our friends over at Blue Circle Health.
Neil: They actually just expanded again, if you can believe that.
Neil: They just keep opening up into new states, and now they're live in Maryland and Washington, D.C. that is incredible.
Neil: That is 17 states plus Washington D.C. which means now they are serving people with type 1 diabetes more than ever.
Neil: And if you haven't heard of them, Blue Circle Health, what they do is they help people with type 1 diabetes get real clinical care.
Neil: Like meet with a real doctor, meet with real clinicians, meet with real care team people.
Neil: They're going to walk you through insurance, navigation or how do you use your cgm?
Neil: Or answer some difficult questions for you and it's all for free.
Neil: This is the kind of help that actually makes life easier instead of harder.
Neil: And you can find out if Your state is one of the 17 states +dc over@bluecirclehealth.org and you can sign up for free today.
VO Guy: True or false?
VO Guy: Fast answers, clear thinking.
VO Guy: Let's test those myths.
Neil: I've, I've got a few here.
Neil: I've got at least five, but I'll pick a few and we'll just go from there.
Neil: You okay with this?
Neil: Okay, this is immediately make you think of like college.
Neil: You're like, I know.
Neil: True or false?
Neil: What?
Neil: Some of these are not trick questions.
Neil: True or false?
Neil: You have eaten a glow gummy just because it tasted good, not because you were low.
Naomi: Of course true.
Naomi: 1,000% true.
Naomi: And I mean I also do a lot of taste testing for the next flavors and stuff, so I do a lot of correcting.
Neil: Oh, that's right.
Neil: No kidding.
Neil: True or false.
Neil: Being a diabetes founder means that you need to show people that you have great blood sugar control.
Naomi: Oh, false.
Naomi: I mean definitely false.
Naomi: And like I could, I, I actually I posted one time my night which was like hi.
Naomi: Hi.
Naomi: Hi.
Neil: Hi.
Naomi: Hi.
Naomi: Like hi low.
Naomi: Hi low.
Naomi: Hi low.
Naomi: And I had so many people like respond being like thank you for posting this.
Naomi: And I was like more people need to do this.
Naomi: Like right.
Naomi: Come on.
Neil: And we don't learn from when you fake that you've done.
Neil: You've got everything.
Neil: Great.
Neil: You don't no one.
Neil: Yeah that way.
Naomi: And no one has perfect blood sugar, including people without type 1 diabetes.
Neil: Right, right.
Naomi: You know, like great.
Neil: It's a competition.
Neil: You impressed all of us.
Neil: Yeah.
Neil: Yeah.
Neil: Okay.
Neil: True or false?
Neil: You have thrown an old school glucose tablet across the room out of frustration.
Naomi: The whole bottle.
Naomi: True.
Neil: For sure.
Neil: Yeah, for sure.
Neil: Okay.
Neil: This is a tricky one.
Neil: You gotta be to be honest about this.
Neil: You have once used your CGM graph to cancel plans or get out of something by showing where you're at.
Naomi: Wait, I actually haven't done that, but I am going to.
Neil: That's a false.
Neil: Okay.
Neil: All right.
Naomi: Yeah, that one's a False.
Naomi: But I. I'm actually.
Naomi: Check back next month, and it'll probably.
Neil: Okay, we'll give you.
Neil: You.
Neil: You got a goal.
Neil: I give you a task after this one.
Neil: What's funny is I do know people that will screenshot an out of control CGM and they'll put it in their liked folder in their phone and just pull it out.
Neil: So, yeah, that's cheating.
Neil: Yeah.
Neil: Okay, so true or false?
Neil: You've ignored a low alert longer than you should have.
Naomi: True.
Naomi: Yeah.
Naomi: I hate to say it, but.
Naomi: I hate to say it as a Glow Gummies founder, but.
Neil: Yeah.
Naomi: I mean, in me, like, in meetings at work or something, I just.
Naomi: I go.
Naomi: As long as.
Naomi: Like, it depended too, on, like, how bad my symptoms were.
Naomi: Like, if I really felt bad, I can't.
Naomi: You can't ignore that.
Naomi: But, like, sometimes it would read lower than I felt, and I'd be like, okay, I can get, like, five more minutes out of this.
Neil: Yeah.
Neil: Yeah, I could ride this one out.
Naomi: Yeah.
Neil: It depends on what the arrow is doing for me.
Neil: If I'm, like, 65 this way, I'm like, I could hang on for a couple more minutes.
Naomi: Like, maybe it'll go up.
Neil: Yeah.
Naomi: Yeah.
Neil: You never know.
Neil: Maybe my body will do what it's supposed to.
Naomi: Yeah.
Naomi: Maybe I'm cured.
Neil: Yes.
Neil: Okay, this is a tricky one.
Neil: If you don't want to answer this, you can pass.
Neil: True or false.
Neil: You have judged someone else's low snack choices.
Naomi: Oh, I mean.
Naomi: I mean.
Naomi: Plead the Fifth.
Neil: She's not saying anything.
Neil: It's okay.
Neil: All right, you don't have to.
Neil: You can plead the Fifth on that one.
Naomi: Yeah, you got to use extras, people.
Naomi: There's a difference.
Naomi: It's important.
Neil: Yeah, it's.
Neil: It absolutely is.
Neil: Somebody asked me that.
Neil: So I'm on a plane recently, and the lady next to me had a pump, and she goes, so why are you, like, why are you doing those?
Neil: She goes.
Neil: I said, well, what is your go to?
Neil: And it was Skittles.
Neil: And I said, look, nothing wrong with that.
Neil: It's just not fast.
Neil: She's like, no, I mean, it kind of is.
Neil: I go, let's do them side by side, and I will show you, I promise you.
Neil: And so we exchanged information, and she messaged me.
Neil: She goes, oh, you're right.
Neil: She's.
Neil: When I got some glucose tablets, and she's like, oh, my gosh, I had no idea.
Neil: I said, okay, that's level one.
Neil: You need to level up because you're using the wrong thing, because those taste like pain.
VO Guy: Welcome to the diabetes confession booth.
VO Guy: 60 seconds to drop some facts.
VO Guy: No judgment.
VO Guy: Only family in here.
Neil: I'm gonna set this up for you, okay?
Neil: You're walking into the booth, and no one is ever gonna hear this, okay?
Neil: This is just you in the confession booth saying something that maybe you've never told anyone before about not just living with type one, but also brand and business creator side of you.
Neil: Okay?
Neil: Every founder has a behind the scenes fail that nobody saw, but it changed everything.
Neil: What is one from the glow gummy story that still makes you laugh or cringe that most of us don't know about?
Naomi: Oh, wow, that's a hard question.
Naomi: Let me think.
Naomi: Like, to all the customers out there who are listening of glow gummies, if you ordered something, I think it was June 17th to, like, June 24th.
Naomi: All the packages went missing.
Naomi: Like us.
Naomi: I think it was usps.
Naomi: At the time I was using.
Naomi: No way came up.
Naomi: Took.
Naomi: Took them.
Naomi: Who knows where, never.
Naomi: And then I didn't know at the time because the tracking was populated and everything, and it looked totally fine.
Naomi: And then a week later, I'm getting all these emails being like, where's my package?
Neil: No way.
Naomi: I was like, where is it?
Naomi: I don't know.
Naomi: So I had to just, like, it was, like, such a disaster.
Naomi: And I like, apparently it was.
Naomi: Someone drove the truck.
Naomi: I don't even know.
Naomi: They didn't.
Naomi: Never gave me a real explanation for it.
Naomi: But it was like we packaged all them up, put them in the back of the truck.
Naomi: Like, we do it every day.
Naomi: At the end of the day, it comes.
Naomi: It went off, but, yeah, it was.
Naomi: It was.
Neil: That's scary.
Naomi: It was so scary.
Naomi: I was like, what's going on?
Naomi: Like, everyone's so nervous.
Neil: Where did they go?
Neil: Somewhere out there right now, there is a black market.
Neil: There is a.
Neil: There's a.
Neil: There's people driving that truck around selling these out.
Neil: The backup.
Naomi: I know.
Naomi: I just.
Naomi: I just.
Naomi: I was like, you know what?
Naomi: Refund.
Naomi: I'll send you a new one.
Naomi: Don't worry about it.
Naomi: This one's great.
Neil: So crazy.
Naomi: Yeah.
VO Guy: The fastest five minutes of your life starts now.
VO Guy: Quick questions, sharper answers, bragging rights pending.
VO Guy: Just you versus every other guest.
VO Guy: No pressure.
Neil: Naomi, we're doing the fastest five minutes of your life.
Neil: Okay?
Neil: This is how much I believe in you.
Neil: I have 40 questions prepared.
Neil: No one's ever made it that far.
Neil: Okay, I will.
Neil: The.
Neil: The.
Neil: Oh, my gosh.
Neil: All right.
Neil: I knew you were competitive.
Neil: You didn't start your own company not to be competitive.
Neil: So we're going to get as Many of these as possible.
Neil: I think the record right now is 27.
Naomi: Oh, boy.
Neil: Okay, we're gonna go at a clip.
Naomi: You'll know all I got extra time because I have type 1 diabetes.
Neil: Wow.
Neil: Everyone that has been on here, with the exception of one person.
Neil: Yes.
Neil: And that was my wife.
Neil: So she doesn't have type one.
Neil: I didn't give her any extra time, so I can't give you any.
Neil: Wow.
Neil: She's gonna listen to this too.
Neil: Okay, here we go.
Neil: I'm gonna set my timer.
Neil: And number one, what is the most underrated use for a glow gummy?
Naomi: Underrated?
Naomi: Just to taste it.
Neil: Oh, yeah, because they taste good.
Neil: Okay, number two, what is the weirdest low snack you have ever eaten?
Naomi: Lemon popsicle.
Naomi: I don't like lemon.
Neil: Okay, number three, best part of the globe brand that you're most proud of.
Naomi: I love the name.
Naomi: I.
Naomi: It means like go low, but it's also just happy.
Naomi: Oh, I'm wasting time.
Neil: Wow.
Neil: Okay, number four.
Neil: The least glamorous part of running your own business.
Naomi: Oh, my God.
Naomi: Oh, least, least glamorous part.
Naomi: Honestly, working alone.
Naomi: And just like when I launched Mango yesterday, I was just kind of here alone.
Naomi: I was like, oh, my gosh.
Neil: Just you.
Neil: Okay, all right, I got you.
Neil: What is your favorite email that you've ever gotten in response to glow gummies?
Naomi: Oh, my gosh.
Naomi: I mean, people who've like, had diabetes for so long and finally feel like they found something that helps with lows that they enjoy.
Naomi: Like those melt.
Naomi: Melt my heart.
Neil: Okay.
Neil: Okay, number six, what is your go to or your favorite workout or something you do away from work?
Naomi: Tennis.
Naomi: Love tennis.
Neil: Oh, my.
Neil: Okay, number seven.
Neil: Best low snack pairing that you've ever.
Naomi: Heard of outside of glow gummies.
Neil: Yeah, yeah.
Naomi: I mean like a. I used to love.
Naomi: I mean, it depends how low, but I used to love just like peanut butter and jelly because you get a.
Neil: Little protein and they're so good.
Neil: So good.
Neil: All right, what is your favorite non work thing that you enjoy doing?
Naomi: Tennis.
Naomi: And I'll also throw in karaoke.
Neil: Whoa.
Neil: All right.
Neil: I need to know.
Naomi: Yeah.
Neil: Okay, number nine, what is the.
Neil: Your favorite flavor that didn't make the cut?
Naomi: Blue raspberry.
Neil: We'll get back to that one.
Neil: Number 10, what is a phrase you repeat to yourself on hard diabetes days?
Naomi: You got this.
Neil: Yeah, you do.
Neil: Number 11.
Neil: Morning person or night owl?
Naomi: Night owl.
Neil: Okay, favorite comment you've ever seen on social media about glow.
Naomi: Did you just come from every DI person with diabetes dreams?
Naomi: True, true.
Neil: All right, 13.
Neil: What is one thing that is always in your go bag.
Naomi: Glow gummies.
Neil: I thought you were going to say insulin, but okay, you got that one.
Neil: All right.
Neil: Okay.
Neil: Okay.
Neil: What is the last show you binge watched?
Naomi: Love is blind.
Neil: Okay, number 15.
Neil: If Glow had a theme song, what genre would it be?
Naomi: It would be pop.
Neil: Okay, what is the weirdest product packaging.
Neil: Packaging feedback you have ever got?
Naomi: Can you make a bag with just one gummy in it?
Neil: Oh, gosh.
Neil: Okay, number 17.
Neil: What is your favorite holiday tradition coming up on the holidays?
Naomi: I love.
Naomi: I love all things.
Naomi: All things Christmas, but I love watching Christmas movies.
Neil: They are like Hallmark ones or.
Naomi: Yeah.
Naomi: As bad as they go.
Naomi: I'll watch.
Neil: All right, number 18.
Neil: What is your favorite place to go when you need to reset?
Naomi: I love going on a hike.
Naomi: Like, I live in New York City, so.
Naomi: Outside of the city.
Naomi: Yeah, in whatever mountain is closest and just, you know, being outside.
Neil: Okay, number 19.
Neil: What is your most overused emoji in your texts?
Naomi: I do that face that goes like this a lot.
Naomi: It's like red cheeks and it goes.
Naomi: And I just.
Neil: Hands out in front of the face.
Naomi: Okay.
Neil: All right, that covers.
Neil: That covers a lot.
Neil: Okay, number 20.
Neil: What is the best T1D tip that no one talks about?
Naomi: I learned this probably too late, but the foot on floor phenomenon where, like, your blood, your starts rising as soon as you wake up and get up and start moving around.
Naomi: So I've been taking, like, some insulin as soon as I get up, and it's actually been very.
Neil: It's different for everybody, though, so.
Neil: Yeah.
Neil: Yeah.
Neil: Okay, 21. Who is your favorite diet buddy or somebody you text about your T1D?
Naomi: Amanda Ciprich.
Naomi: She's T1D nutritionist, I think, on Instagram.
Naomi: She's awesome.
Naomi: We met.
Naomi: Yeah.
Naomi: Getting a.
Naomi: Getting a shout out.
Neil: All right, 22.
Neil: Sweet or salty?
Naomi: Salty.
Neil: Okay.
Neil: All right, 24.
Neil: What is your lock screen on your phone right now?
Naomi: I think it's a picture.
Naomi: Oh, you know what?
Naomi: It's so boring.
Naomi: It's just.
Naomi: I was changing it to a glow thing and then I got.
Neil: Okay, that's fine.
Neil: That's fine.
Neil: 20.
Neil: I think it's 24.
Neil: What is your least favorite diabetes task?
Neil: 10 seconds.
Naomi: Changing my pod.
Neil: Okay, what's the most exciting thing you learned about yourself this year?
Naomi: I can start a company.
Neil: Oh, yeah, it is.
Neil: Okay, what's one thing that makes you laugh?
Neil: Three seconds.
Naomi: Amy Poehler.
Neil: Oh, my gosh.
Neil: All right, if you weren't doing this, what would you be doing?
Neil: Last one.
Naomi: Playing tennis professionally.
Neil: Oh, my gosh.
Naomi: I'm just kidding.
Naomi: I'm really not that good at tennis.
Neil: Naomi, you got to 28.
Naomi: Yes.
Neil: You're in the lead right now.
Neil: One second.
Naomi: Thank you.
Naomi: Okay.
Neil: I hope that was Always makes you laugh.
Naomi: She does.
Neil: Yeah.
Naomi: Really cracks me up.
Neil: She's pretty funny.
Neil: All right, well, I learned a lot in that one.
Neil: That's pretty good.
Naomi: That's good fun.
Neil: Give you some time to change your lock screen.
Neil: It was.
Naomi: It was pretty.
Naomi: Yeah, that's.
Naomi: That's embarrassed.
Naomi: Well, I was gonna change it to a glow Whatever.
Naomi: You.
Naomi: It doesn't matter.
Neil: I know.
Neil: Yeah, I get you.
Neil: Yeah.
Neil: You're working on that 24 7.
Naomi: Yeah.
Neil: Okay, let me ask.
Neil: I'm asking you this question here towards the end, okay.
Neil: What is something this year that you're going to celebrate not just professionally, but at the end of the year, personally?
Neil: What are you celebrating?
Neil: What are you looking back and you're like, you know what?
Neil: That's.
Neil: That's worth it.
Naomi: Yeah.
Naomi: Can I say two things?
Naomi: Maybe they're somewhat related, but, I mean, I am really proud of myself for doing glow, you know, for starting it and really taking that leap and just kind of trusting my instincts along the way and always kind of keeping, like, what's going to best for this community in mind.
Naomi: And then the other thing are the camps, honestly, which is kind of full circle, because that's how we started the conversation.
Naomi: But, like, it was such a beautiful, you know, summer around, seeing the kids and the campers and everyone just, like, really making a difference in their.
Naomi: In their lives, hopefully, which is the goal.
Naomi: So I'm really.
Naomi: I'm really proud of that.
Naomi: I'm really happy with how it went, and it'll always kind of.
Naomi: It's just an amazing memory I'm able to have, which is nice.
Neil: That's really good.
Neil: When.
Neil: When somebody pulls one of these.
Neil: These bags of gummies out of their bag and they're having a low, what do you hope they feel?
Naomi: I hope they feel empowered and, like, type 1 diabetes does not have to hold them back.
Naomi: And, you know, I hope they feel strong, and I hope they feel like a little bit like a superhero.
Naomi: Like, I really.
Naomi: I know that kind of gets thrown around, but I do feel like we put up with so much quiet a lot of the time.
Neil: Right.
Naomi: And, you know, sometimes you just want to be like, if only you knew what I.
Naomi: What I'm dealing with right now, or what I dealt with last night or what I've been dealing with for years.
Neil: Right.
Naomi: Like, you respect me so much, and I Feel like, you know, just knowing that, like, you're, you know, you're a boss and like, you do this every day when, you know, no one else has to or, you know, whatever.
Naomi: People always deal with their own stuff, but just feeling strong and.
Naomi: And resilient, I think, is what I want people to feel.
Neil: Yeah, I think you're giving them the right thing in their hand to.
Neil: To give them a leg up on that.
Neil: Feel like they.
Neil: They've got answer to something that doesn't feel great, you know, alone kind of feels like boo.
Neil: Not.
Neil: It's zero fun.
Neil: And, yeah, I think you're giving them a fantastic choice.
Neil: So if I handed you the mic here at the end, what do you want to leave people with?
Neil: What do you want them to remember?
Naomi: I want them to remember that they can do anything they want to do, be anything they want to be.
Naomi: And type 1 diabetes can only help them achieve their goals.
Naomi: Like, that's what it's been like for me.
Naomi: It's taught me so much about myself, and I've been able to advocate for myself, for my body, for all these things.
Naomi: And, you know, you have so much resilience just innately in you because of this.
Naomi: So use it and go out and conquer the world.
Neil: Yeah, Resilience is the right word.
Neil: It absolutely is.
Neil: It builds something in you.
Neil: Yeah.
Neil: 100%.
Naomi: Where.
Neil: Where can people find Glow and where can they connect with you?
Naomi: Yes.
Naomi: So glow is on glowgummies.com we have all of our flavors, all of our products, all of our packaging out on there.
Naomi: And Instagram, where Glow underscore Gummies.
Naomi: Because Glow Gummies was taken.
Neil: No way.
Naomi: By.
Naomi: By no one.
Naomi: There's like, no.
Naomi: What followers?
Neil: No squatters are sitting on that site.
Neil: That name.
Neil: Okay.
Naomi: But anyway, yes, and you can always email@hello, gummies.com.
Naomi: i'm on the other end of that, and I respond right away.
Neil: Okay, thank you.
VO Guy: That's the Show.
VO Guy: Follow the BD's on Instagram and the BD's on TikTok.
VO Guy: Join the Newsletter for giveaways and helpful tips, and visit your best T1D year.com you're out there doing it, stacking those wins.
Naomi: Sam.