Customer Reviews

The Low Blood Sugar Handbook: You Don't Have to Suffer

5 star:		(26)
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It's been 1 1/2 years since I wrote my first review of this book (different email address) and I'm still following this way of eating. It's become a way of life, and I still feel it's the best thing that ever happened to me. I remain free of the symptoms I was experiencing (excessive tiredness, nightmares, non-restorative sleep, excessive yawning, fibromyalgia, knee joint pain, irritability, inability to concentrate, mood swings, cravings for starchy foods, strong hunger pangs, shakiness, etc.). I have not even had a cold in the past 1 1/2 years (I used to get about 3 to 4 a year, typically accompanied by bronchitis). I continue to have lots of energy, and just feel great. My body has returned to a well-functioning state the way I had always suspected it should be. I can't imagine anymore to drink sodas, eat foods that contain nothing but starch, sugar, etc., and suffer the consequences of hypoglycemia. And, what I eat now tastes so much better, anyway. Yes it took some getting used to, but that's the same with any change. Buy this book, try it out, stick with it - you won't regret it.

This book saved my life. I bought it two years ago, and have felt 1000% better ever since. I had an array of symptoms on par with the author, including quick temper, numbness in extremities, lightheadedness, chest pains, social anxiety disorder, rashes, impotence, and what seemed like convulsions on some nights as I tried to sleep. I began to feel better after a few days on the Krimmel program. Some of these symptoms I had for over 20 years. Now they are all gone. Granted, if all you're feeling is a little sluggish, the book might be a bit extreme. I strictly followed the diet for a couple months, and then developed my own variations through tinkering and common sense. After 2 years, I consider my diet to be a whole foods diet, very similar to what the book advocates. It's also really a low glycemic diet, the fancy term people use nowadays. It basically means don't eat simple sugars and refined food, such as fruit juice, soda, white bread, wheat bread (unless 100% whole), multi-grain bread (most are white bread with a few seeds), white flour, pasta (unless 100% whole), chips, cookies, starches, packaged products with corn starch & corn syrup, etc.

Since my life has been changed so much by this, I would like to share the most common components of my diet:

Breakfast
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whole grains with nuts & fruit (steel cut oats, quinoa, spelt, etc.)
eggs
dense whole grain bread with cheese or peanut butter

Lunch
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Salads (often w/avocado, tuna, chicken)

Boston market chicken with green beans, steamed veggies
Mongolian barbecue without the rice
Entrees from Whole Foods market

Dinner
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Grilled meats
Salad
Steamed Veggies
Stir Fry
Occasional brown rice or other whole grain
Occasional 100% whole-wheat pasta

I go out to dinner quite often, and it is not too difficult. I can almost always substitute a starch (mashed potatoes, white rice) for veggies.

Snacks
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Nuts
Cheese
Veggies

I suspected I may have LBS because I have many of the symptoms. After a fasting blood test, my doctor told me my blood sugar fell right in the middle, but that wasn't to say I didn't have LBS. I would feel so tired, even after getting a full night's sleep. Driving home was horrible - I couldn't concentrate! It felt as though the bottom would drop out! Then I read this book, and it put low blood sugar in laymen's terms. It also touched me, because some of the testimonials really hit home. At first, I thought there was something really wrong with me, or I was going nuts! But, I've been following the plan for two weeks and I really do feel great. I've lost five pounds, but more importantly, my stomach is not as bloated, I don't get shaky all the time, I can concentrate better, I'm not as irritable and I have more patience towards my family (not yelling at them all the time). It has been difficult giving up certain foods (like ice cream and candy),but the immediate and long term results of feeling good are certainly well worth it! A must read for anyone who feels run down but thinks they are doing all the right things!

After years of wondering, I finally confirmed I am a hypoglycemic with a three hour glucoce tolerance test, going down to 49 the third hour. Reading this book I found it to be quite helpful in many areas, but very strict in the diet portion. I decided to formulate my own "diet" and feel a 100 times better. The most important points are, giving up all obvious sugars(tiny amounts in regular products are okay for me) limiting or giving up caffeine, eating breakfast when you get up(even if not hungry), planning(extremely important) and eating snacks every one and a half to two hours(a must!)BEFORE you get hungry, and never eat large meals. If you wait to eat until you are hungry, it's TOO LATE! Also, eat a snack before bed. Try this and you will feel very energetic and wish you would have done this sooner. This book gives great pointers, but the regular diet is not realistic or satifying for many people including me.

If you know you are hypoglycemic, suspect it or fall into the category of people who are always tired, experience non-restorative sleep or other sleep problems, are irritable, have unexplained joint pains, have unexplained muscle pains, are always hungry and crave sweet or starchy foods (bread, pasta, grains, etc.), to name but a few of the symptoms of hypoglycemia, you must read this book. It provides you with all the information you need to feel great again. It includes the health history of the author, and you might find that it's like looking in a mirror and seeing yourself. Besides explaining the underlying reasons for hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) episodes, the book provides a symptom check list that you can use to see how much the disease profile fits your own health profile. If you decide that you match the disease profile, you are provided with a list of foods to eat and to avoid, sample menus with suggested meal timing as well as many other useful tips for life with hypoglycemia. For me, this book has made all the difference in the world. When I bought the book, I suspected I was hypoglycemic, but didn't really know what to do about it. 4 months later, following the Krimmel plan, I feel like a new person with lots of energy and none of the pain I used to have. By the way, this is not magic, but requires adherence to a food plan that eliminates certain types of food. Plenty of foods to choose from, but some definately have to be avoided for the symptoms to be eliminated. It isn't magic, but if you've been suffering for a long time it'll feel like it and is well worth the foods you give up. Read it, follow it, you won't regret it.

this book gave me the opportunity to realize how many symptoms I had related to it. Altough I had been diagnosed as hypoglycemic more than 10 years before, I wasn't aware of how many things I could (and needed to) do in order to improve my condition, besides avoiding sugar. Ranging from the proper food to the right sleep timing, passing through life structuring tips, this book really makes a difference. Written to the general public, it also includes a little glossary. Hypoglycemia has a somewhat hard diagnosis, so read it if you feel symptoms like tiredness, headaches, concentration problems, anxiety, irritability, depression, exhaustion, muscle pains, craving for sweets, mood swings, sleeping problems, among others. Many hypoglycemics take years to discover they have it, being misdiagnosed. Read it even if you don't have these symptoms. Probably you'll find a close person that fits the hypoglycemic profile.NJSS.

Im 21 years old- I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia 1 week before reading this book- I would have had no idea that was the reason for so many years of serious discomfort if I had not picked this book up. I accepted that my mood swings, lousy attitude, extreme exaustion, horrible temper, excessive sleeping, and depression were something that I would live with for the rest of my life- I WAS WRONG! This is written by Hypoglycemics, for Hypoglycemics. If you decide that you have all the answers and that youll get better YOUR way- I wish the best with your constant misery- If you want to take charge of your life and have a happy, healthy productive spirit, than READ, READ, READ! Dont listen to the negative babies who review this and say that it is to strict because obviously they want to stay miseable and not do something that works! And YES- I AM TALKING TO YOU! I took the time to write this because it means so very much to me that every one who has to suffer like I did helps themselves! GOD BLESS YOU ALL! and trust in the fast that your life will take amazing strides- Lots of LOVE- Billy Banks, Virginia

I've spent thousands upon thousands of dollars seeking medical help for my aliments. I was diagnosed with everything from depression and nerves to IBS and chronic fatigue, but no matter how much I spent, no matter what I was prescribed, things only got worse (usually the treatments for these things made everything feel worse too.) I was demoralized by doctors, who brushed me off as a silly little girl, and eventually decided that I would have to deal with feeling like an old woman for the rest of my life. I had already been feeling horrible for at least 20 years after all, and I was only 26.

Turns out, I was just hypoglycemic. To be honest, a nutritionist told me I was first, but I was skeptical because I didn't see how not eating certain things could make me feel better. Plus, when I asked other MD's about the idea of hypoglycemia being the cause of some of my symptoms, they would either laugh at the notion of hypoglycemia, act if it wasn't really a viable reason for my problems, or just tell me to eat something sugary or drink some juice if I felt low (Detrimental advice! Thanks to this book, I know I'm not the only one who's heard all this) But after I started to loose my eyesight, and pass out if I didn't eat every 2 hours, I decided I should educate myself. After all, I tried to get help from doctors, but since that didn't work, it was time to help myself. I picked up this book on a whim, and after reading it, my life really changed. I know that sounds cliche, but I honesty cried the first time I read it. For the first time I was listening to people who had the EXACT same health problems as me, and went through the exact same medical circus as me. I can't tell you how wonderful it felt to not be fighting for myself all alone anymore. I could see how this book could sound kind of jaded to someone who didn't have to go through the same run around, or for someone who can afford be on a more relaxed diet than me... (I wish I could be, heh, but for my body I need to really be strict) but people who know me agree, what they were talking about in the book fit me like a glove- and, the other great part is that they also ended up benefiting from the heaps of nutritional and health information in this book. After following the hypo diet as closely as my life style would allow, and adjusting it to suit my individual needs (the books talks about doing this, there are reasons it seems strict) 50 of the common symptoms I had were reduced to maybe just 6 very mild and manageable ones, and I'm starting to feel like I can really live again! Nothing else had ever worked for my symptoms without giving me even more, but this book did it! What's almost even better than having my life feel normal for once is I knowing I wont have to end up at the ER again because my body has shut down, I wont have to waste even more money on useless doctor visits and tests, and that doctors who use to only want to diagnose me with depression never bring it up any more. Imagine that, for everything I went through, this is all it took. I can't thank the Krimmel's enough for writing about their personal experiences and finds, and doing it in such an easy to understand way. Their book really did save me from mental and physical misery.

I bought this book several years before I was officially diagnoised. (Reactive-hypoglycemia) I was suprised that my doctor did not recomend this book to me. I honestly would not have been able to be where I am today without it. The best information is provided by those who understand the best...the sufferers. Thank you and God bless.

I have read a multitude of books on dealing with Low Blood Sugar and keep going back to the book. It is the most informative and easiest to understand. The information in the small book is unbelievable. I keep it handy all of the time and refer to it againa and again. I do find the diet a bit restrictive but livable. I plan to buy the cookbook that goes with it. I highly recommend this book for the layman and those with hypoglycemia.
Bonnie H.