Houston bakery beats diabetes through healthy lifestyle and cookies
HOUSTON (KIAH) — November is American Diabetes Month. A time where, across the country, communities team up to bring awareness to this powerful disease.
According to the CDC, 37.3 million Americans — about one in 10 — have diabetes. About one in five people with diabetes don’t know they have it.
There are two types of diabetes that one can be diagnosed with. Each develop and have to be treated differently.
Type 1: In this case, the body does not produce insulin. The body breaks carbohydrates down into blood glucose “sugar” to use for energy. Your body needs insulin to get glucose from the blood to the cells of the body. With proper insulin treatments, one can manage this diagnosis and live a long and healthy life.
According to the American Diabetes Association, “Type 1 diabetes occurs at every age and in people of every race, shape, and size. There is no shame in having it, and you have a community of people ready to support you.”
Type 2: This is a more common form of diabetes today. In this case, your body does not use insulin properly. Some need medication to control glucose levels, while others can overcome it through healthy eating and proper exercise habits.
Now, who said men can’t bake?
Catching the signs of diabetes early and taking control of the trajectory of your life is incredibly important. That is exactly what local entrepreneur Jose Hernandez did after his diagnosis. He continues to help others do the same in an easy, guilt, and FOMO-free (fear of missing out) way that involves one of America’s favorite treats… COOKIES!
About ChipMonk Baking
Founded in early 2019 by David Downing and Jose Hernandez, ChipMonk Baking produces healthy, low-glycemic cookies and other dessert products sweetened with monk fruit and allulose (two naturally occurring sweeteners that don’t impact blood sugar). Jose created these recipes after being diagnosed with type-2 diabetes and subsequently controlling the disease through diet and exercise. Perfect for keto diets and people following gluten-free lifestyles, ChipMonk’s desserts are low-carb, delicious treats with all the taste and none of the sugar.
Prior to ChipMonk, Jose spent many years working in health and wellness as a personal trainer and specialized in holistic approaches to wellness through conscious food choices and lifestyle tweaks. Most notably, he was the Director of Fitness and Nutrition for a Houston-based health startup.
Jose holds two science undergraduate degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. He is incredibly passionate about health and spends his free time outside cycling, hiking, and climbing.
David’s prior experience was in management consulting and the commercial aviation industry where he worked across various disciplines including audit, financial planning, project management, and competitive research.
Most recently, David was head of financial analysis and performance improvement for Work America Capital, a venture capital firm dedicated to investing in Houstonians and Houston-based businesses with high potential.
David holds an undergraduate degree from Rice University and a Master’s in Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin. He loves building teams and processes to work towards big, meaningful goals, and he enjoys meeting and learning from other entrepreneurs.
If you are looking for that “small town feeling” in the fourth largest city in the country, simple become a reoccurring customer at the doors of ChipMonk Baking. Their headquarters are located at 3042 Antoine Dr, Houston, TX 77092.
Both Jose and David said that visitors will be greeted with a welcoming smile and smacked in the nose with the smell of delicious cookies in the distance. They will leave with a box of guilt-free goods, and if you are lucky, a handwritten note from the team along with a swanky new magnet for your cookie fridge. Good luck leaving the parking lot without dipping your hand into a bag of bites for a snack on the way home!
What’s up with the name CHIPMONK?