313 of 314 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding and for everyone, not just people with diabetes, April 13, 2008
This review is from: Blood Sugar 101: What They Don't Tell You About Diabetes (Paperback)
This book is simply outstanding, highly recommended if you have diabetes, prediabetes, or just want to know more about how to keep this from happening to you.
The core message of the book is (1) that blood sugars over 140 are damaging, and that you should keep your blood sugar below this level all the time, and (2) that keeping your blood sugar below 140 is something that everyone can do.
The problem with blood sugars over 140 is that they cause diabetic complications: increased heart attack risk, nerve problems, eyesight loss, kidney problems, blood vessel and circulation problems that can lead to amputations, etc. High blood sugars also accelerate damage to your pancreas, so that you get ongoing higher and higher blood sugars, a vicious circle. Not fun stuff.
The best early warning sign that your blood sugars are spiraling out of control is your peak blood sugar after a meal. If your blood sugar spikes to over 140 after eating, you need to start working on it. The best way to check it is to buy a low-cost over-the-counter blood sugar meter at your local pharmacy, and check your readings at 1, 1.5, and 2 hours after a typical meal.
The problem with fasting blood sugar as an indicator is that this is the last to go. You can have normal fasting blood sugars and high after-meal peaks for a long time, then "overnight" have very high fasting blood sugars when your system loses the ability to recover. Only when you show high fasting blood sugars will your doctor start treating you.
The best solution for high peak blood sugars is to reduce carbohydrates, which lowers the amount of blood sugar that your metabolism has to cope with.
One interesting piece of information is that carpal tunnel syndrome is often an early warning for blood sugar problems. Since I had carpal tunnel and other RSI problems years before I realized my blood sugar was not well-managed, this certainly fits for me.
This book is a great summary of what I've learned for myself, with enough new info and good ways of looking at things to make it extremely worthwhile. Thanks, Jenny!
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94 of 94 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wisdom of the Web for Diabetes Management, April 1, 2008
This review is from: Blood Sugar 101: What They Don't Tell You About Diabetes (Paperback)
If you like the BloodSugar101 WebSite, this is an excellent pocket reference for you!
For those of you suffering from Type 1, 2 or MODL type Diabetes, this book has the best advice for really improving your Blood Sugar Control and health. I have been able to bring my A1C from 8.4% to 5.8% in 3 months by using the key advice found in this source. (I stumbled on some of the Medication and Diet Techniques on my own but found all of them concisely listed in this wonderful book).
Book Strengths:
1. Good, practical advice on making the necessary lifestyle changes stick!
2. Keeping the focus on understanding your individual diabetes situation and tuning for it.
3. Outstanding references to support all advice and continued emphasis on healthy skepticism.
4. An excellent, handy reference which to keep nearby.
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86 of 86 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Makes sense to me!, April 14, 2008
This review is from: Blood Sugar 101: What They Don't Tell You About Diabetes (Paperback)
Having a diagnosis of diabetes for less than two years now has made me more than a little skeptical about the adivce and directions I've been given by the doctors, nurses & dieticians. It seemed as if they set the bar too low so I began to look for information that would help me avoid the ravages of diabetes. I found this book to be exactly what I needed to give my efforts a boost in the right direction.
I like that it speaks to all the major factors (food, exercise & medication) in a way that is simple to understand and specific with numbers that will help us live with this disease and I mean live without damage.
Thanks Jenny - everyone with diabetes should read this book and best case would be all those newly diagnosed would be handed a copy and told - This book will keep you on the right track and allow you to do what it takes to stay healthy with this disease.
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