Beating Diabetes (A Harvard Medical School Book) [Hardcover]

David M. Nathan (Author), Linda Delahanty (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 24, 2005

Dr. David Nathan was one of the lead researchers of the landmark Diabetes Control and Complications Trial sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. It scientifically proved that the right program of nutrition and exercise can prevent diabetes in people on the brink of the disease. The same lessons can have a major effect in those who already have diabetes.

Approximately 800,000 new cases of diabetes are diagnosed each year in the United States, and that number continues to rise sharply. The results of the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial received enormous media attention because this approach to lifestyle change offers real hope to the vast and growing number of people with prediabetes (40 million in the United States alone) and those with type 2 diabetes (16 million).

Now, in Beating Diabetes, Dr. Nathan teams up with fellow Harvard Medical School expert Linda Delahanty to arm people at high risk for developing diabetes and those with type 2 diabetes with the first complete, clinically proven program of its kind. Readers get:

• Step-by-step, proven techniques to help them make real and lasting lifestyle changes by eating better and exercising regularly without becoming a health nut or spending hours in the gym
• Tasty, easy-to-prepare recipes and daily meal plans from the chief dietitian at the Massachusetts General Hospital Diabetes Center
• Guidelines for developing diabetes-busting exercise routines appropriate to all ages and fitness levels
• Help in identifying unhealthy, diabetes-promoting behaviors along with expert guidance on making crucial lifestyle changes and sticking with them

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The clinically proven lifestyle strategies you'll find in Beating Diabetes can halt--and in some cases actually reverse--diabetes and its precursor, prediabetes. If you already have diabetes, these lifestyle strategies can help you normalize your blood sugar and maximize your health and quality of life.

In 2001, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced that researchers conducting a National Institutes of Health study, the Diabetes Prevention Program, had determined that with relatively modest lifestyle changes those at risk for developing diabetes could dramatically reduce their chances of developing the disease.

Picking up where that study left off, Harvard Medical School's David M. Nathan, M.D., one of the leaders of the Diabetes Prevention Program, and Linda Delahanty, M.S., R.D., a leading diabetes nutrition expert who helped design and implement the Diabetes Prevention Program, offer you the first science-based, clinically proven program for beating diabetes through lifestyle changes--without drugs. The premise of this evidence-based program is that inserting diets and exercise into your life doesn't work. Instead, modest changes in lifestyle that are sustainable, day-in and day-out, are the key to effective prevention and treatment of diabetes and its associated disorders.

With the help of inspiring real-life success stories of the authors' patients, Beating Diabetes arms you with the information you need to regain control over your health, including:

• Proven, step-by-step techniques that help you make real, lasting lifestyle changes without having to become a health nut or spend hours in the gym
• Tasty, easy-to-prepare recipes and daily meal plans that can be incorporated into your new lifestyle
• Guidelines for changing your activity levels and developing diabetes-busting exercise routines appropriate to all ages and fitness levels
• Self-assessments for identifying diabetes-promoting behaviors, along with expert guidance on how to rid your life of them for good

This important new book from the experts at Harvard Medical School empowers you with the knowledge you need to take charge of your health and beat diabetes.

You can beat diabetes! Learn how from the experts at Harvard Medical School

Finally, some good news for people diagnosed with diabetes or at risk for it. Medical research has shown that with relatively easy, simple-to-adopt lifestyle changes you can dramatically reduce your chances of developing diabetes if you have prediabetes, and, even more remarkably, you can stop type 2 diabetes in its tracks if you already have the disease.

Sound too good to be true? It isn't, and in Beating Diabetes, you'll discover the first complete, medically proven program for preventing or controlling diabetes with nothing more complicated than making healthier food choices and increasing your activity levels and exercise.

David Nathan, M.D., a lead researcher on the landmark National Institutes of Health study that proved that diabetes can be beaten without drugs, and his Harvard Medical School colleague Linda Delahanty, M.S., R.D., a leading international expert on nutrition and diabetes control, team up to bring you the knowledge and tools you need to:

• Identify unhealthy, diabetes-promoting behaviors
• Make crucial lasting lifestyle changes that will help you lose weight and normalize your blood sugar
• Increase daily activity and develop diabetes-busting exercise routines appropriate to your age and fitness level
• Keep your glucose levels in line with delicious recipes and daily meal plans

About the Author

David M. Nathan, M.D., is the director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Diabetes Center and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. An internationally recognized expert on diabetes and its complications, he pioneered the development of intensive therapies for diabetes and was one of the designers of the landmark Diabetes Prevention Program and the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial. Dr. Nathan has appeared on "ABC News," "CBS Evening News," and "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," as well as on the CBC and the BBC, and he has been featured in countless publications, including the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

Linda Delahanty, M.S., R.D., is the director of Nutrition and Behavioral Research and chief dietitian at the Massachusetts General Hospital Diabetes Center and an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School. For more than twenty years, she has conducted research in nutrition and the behavioral changes that lead to success with weight loss and improved control of diabetes. Delahanty is a nationally recognized, widely quoted expert in nutrition and diabetes who has counseled thousands of people with diabetes. She is the author of 101 Weight Loss Tips for Preventing and Controlling Diabetes.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (March 24, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071438319
• ISBN-13: 978-0071438315
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #466,757 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book review of Beating Diabetes by Dr. David Demko, May 22, 2005

By 

David J. Demko - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beating Diabetes (A Harvard Medical School Book) (Hardcover)

STOP. Do not read one more thing. Not a newspaper, magazine, or even the back of your cereal box ... until you first read this life-changing book. Hey, the title says, "Diabetes" and you're saying, "well that's not for me." Do yourself a favor and think again. Every household should own this book as a desk-reference for living a longer and (more importantly) healthier life.

Modern medicine is in the throws of a death-grip struggle with the most formidable health crisis in recent history, diabetes. The Center for Disease Control pegs the health costs of America's careless lifestyle habits (poor diet, obesity, lack of exercise) at $176 billion annually. As as result, diabetes is fast becoming your greatest health risk.

Ironically, the more science understands about diabetes, the less and less Americans are applying that knowledge to improving their lifestyle. Nearly 70 percent of adults suffering from adult onset diabetes now risk early death from stroke, heart attack, and kidney failure, say the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and the American College of Endocrinologists.

The good news is that modern medicine has assembled a formidable resource for combating America's formidable health crisis. That resource is a new book from McGraw-Hill. My review found the book to be the definitive source on diabetes prevention and treatment. Why? The authors employ scientific knowledge in the best way possible. Empowering consumers to take personal responsibility for their wellness by applying the advances of medical science to their everyday lifestyles.

Readers will be delighted to find complex concepts and processes explained in easily understood language enhancing the likelihood for application to daily lifestyle routines. Are you confused about all those diet programs? Excellent reviews of the most popular programs are offered for the reader's consideration. For example, Dr. Phil's "Ultimate Weight Loss Solution Diet" earned high praise, which makes perfect sense because the weight gain on your bottom originates from your top (how you think about food). Additionally, the book's explanation of the difference between "activity" and "exercise" is positively brilliant. A real eye-opener for those who may have been unsuccessful in previous attempts at weight loss and maintenance.

My opinion, the book's greatest value is its central theme. Again and again, the authors empower readers with scientific knowledge, enabling them to make immediate, health-enhancing changes in their lifestyles. Toward that end, here's a list of what I found very useful in the book.
1.How our lifestyle can endanger our health
2.Weight gain myths and realities
3.Reviews of the most popular diet programs, weight-loss plans, and exercise programs
4.Illustrations of therapeutic nutrients composition, and Body Mass Index chart
5.How to get ready to change your lifestyle for the better
6.Appendices of meal plans, recipes, and healthy snacks
By far the best source for healthy lifestyle that I've read in years. Read it, and reap.

22 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Nearly worthless, June 3, 2006

By 

Lubow Jowa (, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Beating Diabetes (A Harvard Medical School Book) (Hardcover)

I dissagree with the previous reviewer in one aspect: the book is of no use to you if you already have type II diabetes.

The title is deceptive. If you have Diabetes already, this book will not help you "beat it." The main point of the book is how to "prevent it." The basis for the recommendations provide here are supposedly based on success of the "ground-breaking" Diabetes Prevention Program. Unfortunately, if you want to assess on your own the results of that study, or even a small portion thereof, you are out of luck reading this book; just go to the primary literature.

In short, although the author (Ms Delahanty)does not highly recommend any diet, and reviews a few diets for the reader, the high carb, low fat diet approach appears to be by default the diet of choice. Unfortunately, for us (metabolic syndrome (X-ers)), thrifty gene-types, the low fat/high carb approach has lead us down the path to diabetes. And it is not the "It's the calories, stupid," either, Ms Delahanty. We handle all energy sources uniquely. As many low carb dieters can document, they can easily exceed the caloric intake of your low fat dieters and still loose weight, and most importantly of all, keep their blood sugars low.

For you with diabetes, save your money and check out a number of low -carb diet books on the market, particularly Drs. Bernstein and Atkins, and you will have a much better chance of "Beating Diabetes."

12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Only pure Type 2 Need Read This Book, March 15, 2006

By 

Barry Shiffert "Theological Engineer" (Jacksonville, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beating Diabetes (A Harvard Medical School Book) (Hardcover)

I was very disappointed when I opened the book and read various areas seeking current information on insulin production, injection, pumping and diabetic classifications since the changes of 2003. I am now 53 years old. I was diagnosed with diabetes at 38. Due to medical ignorance, rather than adaguate testing, the Adult Onset of high Blood Glucose was treated with oral medication for 5 months. I had no pointers currently recognised for Type 2. Finally it was suggested I might want to consult a specialist familiar with using insulin. He looked at my Log Book and with and overall dailey use of 24 units had me under 150mg/dL as an average reading the same week. This book is very simple, written at a grade school level (at least it used to be grade school) and only treatment of Type 2 with Diet, Exercise, and Oral Medication is set forth with any detail. The general title is deceptive. Barry J. Shiffert