An Abundancy of Books For Diabetes Month
National Diabetes Month is always a good time to stop and take stock of how much you really know about managing your diabetes. With a large assortment of new books on the market, understanding your diabetes can be that much easier.
The following is a selection of books that can help people with diabetes stay up to date.
Showdown with Diabetes
Copyright 1999, Insulin-Free World Foundation
$23.95
Written by Deb Butterfield, executive director of the Insulin-Free World Foundation (IFW), all royalties from “Showdown with Diabetes” are donated to the IFW.
Alberto Hayek, MD, of the Diabetes Research Institute in Miami, says that he began reading “Showdown” shortly after dinner one night and finished it early the next morning.
“Butterfield’s book was impossible to put down,” says Hayek. “It was honest, informative and in some instances heartbreaking. The ultimate message, however, is an optimistic one. It shows that a cure is at hand, that procedures such as pancreas transplantation are truly effective and that it pays to be proactive with state and federal legislators in improving diabetes care.”
The Diabetic Woman: All Your Questions Answered
Copyright 1997, Putnam Books
$14
Written by Lois Jovanovic-Peterson, June Biermann and Barbara Toohey, this book includes the authors’ personal stories and wisdom learned from living with diabetes for years.
Karen Tank writes over the Internet that this book was the first and only book she ever found that speaks about living with diabetes from a woman’s perspective.
“I first read this book after living with diabetes for six months and trying to adjust my life,” says Tank. “Much of what is addressed in this book spoke directly to me. Topics include the emotional impacts of being a woman wearing many hats and how to fit diabetes into this busy life. It stresses that if you do not put yourself first in managing diabetes, you cannot be there for others in any meaningful, healthy way.”
The Diabetic Man
Copyright 1999, Lowell House
$17.95
Written by Peter Lodewick, MD, “The Diabetic Man” is a comprehensive, honest and uplifting guide for the diabetic man or anyone in his life. It discusses many different treatments and describes how diabetes affects a man’s emotions, sexual activity, career, physical activity and travel. In his third and most recent edition, Lodewick has added a section on nutritional supplements and antioxidants.
Coauthors June Biermann and Barbara Toohey tell readers, “Every wife, girlfriend, roommate, significant other, mother, sister, secretary, aunt or grandmother of a diabetic man needs to read this book.”
Numb Toes and Aching Soles
Copyright 1999, MedPress
$17.95
John A. Senneff has written a book that he feels will help the millions of people who have to endure the ravages of painful peripheral neuropathy. “Numb Toes and Aching Soles” contains insight from over 200 patients who reveal which treatments did and did not work for their peripheral neuropathy.
“No one should approach this problem with a closed mind,” says Joseph Prendergast, MD. “All the standard therapy is covered in this book; nothing is left out. Many of the treatments may seem extreme to people without neuropathy, but that is because they can sleep at night, not lying there with their eyes wide open from pain.”
Diabetes For Dummies
Copyright 1999, IDG Books Worldwide
$19.99
Written by Alan L. Rubin, MD, “Diabetes for Dummies” shows how diabetes can be managed simply by making smart choices about diet, exercise, medications and glucose testing.
Psyching Out Diabetes
Copyright 1999, Lowell House Publishing
$17
Diane Bayliss of Brockville, Ontario, says, “This is a great reference book for emotional issues bothering people with diabetes who are attempting to deal with the demands of diabetes. It gives great tips on how to either help yourself or get the professional help you need.”
Written by Rubin, Toohey and Biermann, “Psyching Out Diabetes ” addresses the trauma and feelings people with diabetes experience when they are diagnosed. Bayliss says that after reading several books on diabetes, this one consoled her.
“It allowed me to stop blaming myself for striving for perfection.”
Sweet Invisible Body
Copyright 1999, Henry Holt and Company
$23.95
A testimony by author Lisa Roney, who has been a type 1 since 1972. In “Sweet Invisible Body” Roney gives an account of living with a disease that directly affects the choices she makes every day, in every aspect of her life.
The Diabetic Four Ingredient Cookbook
Copyright 1999, Coffee and Cale Publishing
$9.95
A fast and simple cookbook just for people with diabetes, “The Diabetic Four Ingredient Cookbook” contains recipes that the rest of the family will enjoy as well.
Written by Linda Coffee and Emily Cale, it contains over 200 delicious dishes requiring four ingredients or less. Each recipe comes with complete nutritional data to help people with diabetes keep track of what they are eating.
Pumping Insulin
Copyright 1999, Torrey Pines Press
$19.95
Written by John Walsh, PA, CDE, and Ruth Roberts, MA, “Pumping Insulin” contains information for everyone with diabetes, and is widely used by pumpers, physicians and nurse educators around the world. Features include: carb counting, how to correctly estimate starting basals and boluses, balancing the three needs for insulin with a pump and a fact sheet on Humalog use in an insulin pump.
The third edition of “Pumping Insulin” will come out in December with new information on pumping insulin and Humalog. For more information, call (800) 988-4772 or check out The Diabetes Mall at www.diabetesnet.com.
Diabetes Care for Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers
Copyright 1999, John Wiley and Sons
$14.95
Written by Jean Betschart, CRNP, CDE, this book is a unique guide that discusses how diabetes impacts a child’s growth and development, giving plenty of ideas for dealing with routine diabetes care. Betschart includes experiences and advice from parents and children with diabetes, and also several amusing cartoons.
When a Child Has Diabetes
Copyright 1999, Firefly Books
$14.95
A comprehensive guide covering children from infancy through the teen years, this book is written by Denis Daneman, MBH, Marcia Frank, RN, CDE, and Kusiel Perlman, MD, of the University of Toronto. Their book contains all the basics of diabetes care, plus topics like the financial strains of diabetes and looking into how diabetes will affect a child’s future.
The Diabetes Cure
Copyright 1999, HarperCollins Publishers
$25
Written by Vern Cherewatenko, MD, “The Diabetes Cure” deals with his program on how to cure type 2 diabetes using an herbal compound known as hydroxicitric acid (HCA). Cherewatenko outlines a regimen using HCA, chromium, exercise and diet, which he claims enhances the effectiveness of the body’s own insulin and cures type 2 diabetes.
Unbelievable!
Copyright 1999, Robert Rosenthal
$19.95
Robert Rosenthal, inventor of the Dream Beam noninvasive glucose meter, has taken part in some of the earliest work on noninvasive meters.
Rosenthal’s early trials achieved a lot of publicity in 1992. The Dream Beam is still in the development stage with clinical trials pending. In this autobiographical expose, Rosenthal accuses the U.S. government of deliberately attempting to destroy “The most significant medical advance since the discovery of insulin.”
Rosenthal’s company has gone through a lot. “Unbelievable” is the first “tell all” in the noninvasive technology arena.
The Other Diabetes
Copyright 1999, William Morrow and Company
$23
Author Elizabeth Hiser, MS, RD, begins with an overview of type 2 diabetes, then advocates the “Mediterranean-style eating pattern” as part of a type 2 treatment plan. The Mediterranean diet uses good fats like olive oil and flaxseed oil, which provide protection against heart disease and insulin resistance. Besides a healthy amount of good fats, the Mediterranean diet includes lots of beans, vegetables and grains.
Diabetes Mellitus
Copyright 1999, Bull Publishing Company
$14.95
Written by Sue K. Milchovich, RN, BSN, CDE, and Barbara Dunn-Long, RD, this book is an easy-to-use guide to help people with all types of diabetes.
Milchovich and Dunn-Long, who have nearly 50 years of experience in working with diabetes patients between them, wrote “Diabetes Mellitus” in straightforward language. They discuss how to select and shop for appropriate foods, treat low blood sugars, monitor blood sugars, exercise and deal with medications.
The Diabetes Eye Care Sourcebook
Copyright 1998, RGA Publishing Group
$30
This book discusses how diabetes affects every part of the eye and then describes how to treat these problems.
Written by Donald S. Fong, MD, MPH, and Robin Demi Ross, MD, “The Diabete Eye Care Sourcebook” covers how a person with diabetes can minimize chances of vision loss through proper screening and education.
