SM: Why is diabetes so close to your heart?
Lala: Three of my four grandparents died of complications from diabetes. My father now suffers from diabetes. Food is so closely related to the disease and that’s my business—that’s what I do! I think there are a lot of misconceptions about what you can and cannot do [when you have diabetes], so education is key. I think empowering the community is very important.

SM: How do you raise awareness?
Lala: I teach [people] how to cook. I do keynote speaking for Speaking of Women’s Health to teach [women] about staying in school and empowering them with education. [For the] Discovery Health Channel, I did the National Body Challenge. The people I went in and helped were a Latino family. The gentleman, who was in his thirties, was diabetic and his wife only had her way of cooking. She was taught to fry everything, and that happens a lot because that’s how you are brought up. So I taught them a couple of steps that you can take to make sure your choices are better without losing all the flavor. And they loved it! I also talked to them about the repercussions if they didn’t change.