Help with a Diabetes Book for Me

1

I know this has been discussed on here before and yes I searched on here but still a bit confused.

Which of the diabetes books do members here feel is the best one that explains (even goes into great detail) about the inner workings of diabetes? Meaning, how it works in the body, possible explainations of how one develops it, hormones, etc. Esp. a book that might have a lot of discussion on the genetics of it.

So I guess a more "biologically-oriented" book you might say. Not just about blood sugars - but more about the organs too. Not a book that mostly covers diet change, recipes and weight loss - as I don't need to lose weight and I don't think my diet can get any more restrictive!. I am controling my BG's fine but I am really looking to understand more how this disease works and how it might be working in my body, etc. (Just an FYI for those of you who aren't familiar with my background: I am a Type2, on Metformin only, low carb diet, very thin, vegan, doctor thinks it is genetic).

I have heard people recommend "Think Like a Pancreas" and I was thinking that sounded great but when I looked on here http://www.bestdiabetesbooks.com/ at the description I think it more for people taking insulin and I am wondering if it will apply for me? ( I do not take insulin)

I thought I would like Dr. Neil Barnards book (being a vegan book) but when I flipped through it at Borders, I found that I was pretty much doing everything in the book (actually exceeding it! the carbs were higher in the book than I am eating!) and saw only two pages that i was interested in (well, the recipes in the back looked OK). That book is geared more towards people who already have a pretty crappy diet - I was already a vegan so wasn't telling me anything I already didn't know. blah.

Have any of you females read the "Type 2 Diabetes Sourcebook for Women". I am wondering if that might be any good?? Or is it mostly a weight loss/recipes book.

So, can any one recommend any other book for me? Maybe kind of a tall order??...I probably need to read medical journals or something eh?? :) I think it is time for another trip to Borders to skim the books there. :)

Btw, I can't afford to buy a bunch of new books so I am looking for one of two good ones that I can hopefully get used on Ebay or something. I am looking into that Psychology of Diabetes book that someone recommended on here. I have a B.S. in Psych so I think I will find that interesting.

(Oh, and no "Diabetes for Dummies" book, I refuse to read any book that calls me a dummy! LOL!)

I hope someone has some suggestions for me and I am not being a pain in the rumpus. :)

2

You might find these two books helpful: Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution, Blood Sugar 101: What They Don’t Tell You About Diabetes by Jenny Ruhl, a tudiabetes member. Jenny has a website also: http://diabetesupdate.blogspot.com Good luck!

4

I also recommend Dr. Bernstein’s diabetes Solution. Right now I’m reading “Good Calories, Bad Calories” by Gary Taubes - very interesting but not a light read and more about the politics of nutrtition. I have heard that “Think like a Pancreas” is good but more geared towards people who use insulin.

5

Thanks for the responses guys!

Libby, I was looking at the Blood Sugar 101 book and sounds like it might be helpful. I have already looked at the website. I know alot of people on here recommend the Dr. Bernsteins Book too but I was under the impression it was in the direction for meat eaters so I wasn’t sure about that but I will look at when I go to Borders before I decide to buy.

Judith, I read the description for the Cheating Destiny book on Amazon today and it does sound interesting. The women and AutoImmune Diseases sounds interesting too. Yes, I am very interested myself in the difference for women. We are so full of hormones and have so many flucuations that I think we have many factors that needs to be considered. I will flip through the Women Sourcebook since you said it was good.

Emmy, actually, my diet is pretty healthy. I always trying to continual improve it but I eat mostly raw veggies and vegan meat products. No junk at all. Yesterdy I went to a Health Expo and learned alot about GMO food and even though I always knew they were bad - they are doing research now and thinking that they can lead to some of the big diseases like diabetes and cancer and effect your genes. I usually avoid these foods so I am doing pretty good but I got a free dvd on it and I plan to do some more research on it. Like you said, it is new and things are always changing. So nutrition wise I feel pretty set and informed. I don’t need a book on that. I understand the low carb and I am doing good on it. I am not really looking to find out what causes it because I believe it could be a myraid of factors for me: genes, hormones, all my body fat is near my pancreas, stress, sedentary-ness (is that a word?) but I have a hard time believeing it was ever diet really.

I really just wanted a book that explains how it works in the body in more detail than just “you eat carbs, they turn into sugar, your pancrease can’t handle it, your blood sugar goes too high, you have diabetes”. Like with the organs, etc and how it all comes together. I may never find out what caused mine but knowing how it is working is nice to know but I often wonder what is going on it there! :slight_smile:

6

I sometimes order D books at my local library. If I think they are purchase worthy then I buy them online.

7

Hey guys,

So, I bought the “Type 2 Diabetes Sourcebook for Women” at a used bookstore the other day. It looked interesting and geared towards women so I figured I could get some use out it.

They also had several copies of “Cheating Destiny” - I flipped through it and thought it was a bit “all over the place” and seemed to be geared toward Type 1’s so didn’t really feel that one. There was a section in there about a vegetarian D who was getting advice from Dr. Bernstein and I wasn’t feeling that advice (Berenstein says no carrots - I eat carrots almost everyday and does nothin to my BG). They didn’t have a copy of the Bernstein book (and neither did Borders!) so I am having a feeling that that book won’t be of interested to me. I did find a website that lists alot of info in the book so I will peruse that website instead of getting the whole book.

Borders didn’t have a lot of the books I was thinking about checking out since they are old I guess. But what irked me is how I noticed that in the “Health” section how a vast majority of the Diabetes books really were not about Diabetes directly but Cookbooks! Even the titles a lot of them said “Cookbook” - shouldn’t those go in the “Special Diets Cooking” section of the store and NOT Health? Geez. I don’t think we need anymore Diabetic Cookbooks so don’t anyone write anymore - the market is totally flooded! :slight_smile:

But I think for right now, I am considering used copies of Blood Sugar 101, Psyching Out Diabetes and maybe the Mind-Body-Diabetes Revolution - the description looked interesting for that last online. Has anyone read it? Ebay has super cheapie used copies and than I can use Paypal!

I also saw an interesting book on Amazon called: Diabetes: Sugar-Coated Crisis: Who Gets it, Who Profits and How to Stop it. i think it more a book about the D epidemic but it looks like it covers some interesting issues about D today. Anyoen read it?

http://www.amazon.com/Diabetes-Sugar-Coated-Crisis-Gets-Profits/dp/086571567X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276361915&sr=1-1

BTW, I too am a huge computer person (I am/was a programmer) so I spend WAY too much time on the computer doing other thins (forums, etc) but when I what to read a lot about something in depth like this - I like to give my eyes a rest and have a book to look at once and while. Althought I am realizing that if I want really update info (esp where it relates to genetics etc) that online is the way to go - unless I want to read a medical textbook which I don’t think I can do. LOL!

Thanks for all the suggestion guys. I think I found a few books I will like for now. :slight_smile: