Diabetes Books

I reviewed this book for my gigh school class after hearing all the praise for it. I was fairly shocked by the unrealistic portrayal of diabetics, how the author irresponsibly portrays them as mentally ill. As for the story itself, it is not terrible, but very bland. The writing was another problem, the author felt that she should use a foriegn dialect without insight as to the meaning of what to me were nonsense words.
Overall I would steer clear of this book, especially if your thinking about a lesson with it, I'm not sure these other critics read the same book as I, if they did, I would have to wonder what substance they abused while reading it.

BEYOND THE MANGO TREE is a sparkling debut. Ms. Zemser is a unique and jazzy talent. I'm looking forward to more of her work.

Beyond the Mango Tree was an exciting four star book.It is about an American girl who moves to Liberia,in Africa because her dad is offered a job here.It was exciting because one night thieves came to her house and the guard was hit on the head and almost died and Sarina, the main character, was left alone.This book is also sad because even when Sarina doesn't do anything wrong her mother ties her to a tree and makes her stand in a dark muddy puddle. I have never read anything like this book before and recommend it to readers of all ages.

I thought this was a really fantastic book, the language, the plot and the characters were all very. . . alluring. Sarina's friend Boima supplies a series of dramatic stories throughout the book and Sarina's mother's diabetec probelems are extremely captivating, a must read for anyone who would love to have a change from the everyday world.

This is a wonderful story of friendship which crosses boundaries of class, race and gender. In spite of Sarina's momentary jealousy and suspicion, in the end she learns that love is important and transcends the boundaries her small world.

This is the ideal book for all those diabetics who are afraid to start insulin, hate their disease or feel that life has unfairly dealt them a bad hand.

They should find inspiration in the life of the young Elizabeth Evans Hughes, a child diabetic who survived the years before insulin by adhering to a brutal near-starvation diet for four years, the only effective treatment at the time, and then faithfully took the newly discovered insulin and lived to be 74. Elizabeth got diabetes at 11, before insulin's discovery, and would likely have died within one year were it not for her determination and iron will.

The story of the equally determined Dr. Banting, insulin's chief discoverer, is just as compelling as are the battles of personality and will that developed among those connected with the discovery and development of insulin.

Those who live with diabetes or diabetics should find the human stories in this book as inspiring as I did. Michael Bliss the author has managed to place history in the form of a novel.

This is a thorough account about the discovery of insulin. The beginning of the book is great story-telling, pure & simple. It starts off with the details of earlier research and the treatment of diabetes prior to insulin, and then goes on to tell the suspenseful tale of the research that lead to the discovery of insulin. Bliss provides clear information and notes when there are conflicting accounts of various events.

The latter half of the book details the squabbling over credit of the various researchers. While this information was important to include, I did not need such a detailed, blow-by-blow account of the quarrels. I found this section to be quite tiresome to read. I would rather have heard more details about the personal side of the discovery of insulin (ie, more info about the people saved).

The book can be viewed as having four sections: background, the "discovery", the fallout, and an epilogue. I found the sections on background and the "discovery" very exciting and compelling reading. The sad story of the subsequent bitter fallout over credit for the discovery of insulin is more plodding and painful but necessary reading. The short epilogue follows the significant persons through to their deaths.

The book brought me some useful closure. In the mid-fifties I actually saw and heard Dr. Best when he was visiting San Francisco and was invited to speak to my class in medical school. At the time I vaguely realized that I was in the presence of someone of importance in medical history. Bliss' book has made me appreciate the opportunity much more.

By the way, Bliss fails to mention Best's textbook of physiology, a work that was the standard textbook for literally generations of medical student. Best's textbook was coauthored by the N.B. Taylor who is mentioned very briefly on page 91 of Bliss' book.

This incredibly well documented book must be the definitive story of the discovery of insulin. More exciting than any novel, Michael Bliss makes you feel as though you are in the lab with Banting and Best during the frantic summer of 1921. You can almost hear the dogs breathing, feel the excitement of the researchers and the frustration of the patients for whom obtaining the initially rare and precious substance meant the difference between life and death. The book explains the complexities, the jealousies, and the bitterness associated with the discovery, and how difficult it was (and still is) to state with certainty how important was each person's contribution. Bliss is not only a great historian, he is a wonderful story-teller too. Anyone who has diabetes, has cared for a diabetic, knows someone with diabetes or has even heard of the word "diabetes"should read this book. I read it from cover to cover on a transatlantic flight. This is the first book by Michael Bliss I have read - it won't be the last.

This fine book is perhaps the best single narrative account of a major medical breakthrough. Bliss's background is not in medicine or biology but rather in Canadian history, politics, and Canadian cultural history. Prior to writing this book, he wrote what is probably the definitive biography of Frederick Banting and more recently he produced a highly praised biography of William Osler. One of the best things about this book is the broad perspective that Bliss brings to the subject. The exciting story of the isolation of insulin is grounded in a well laid out explanation of the social and cultural circumstances of these events. The situation of Canadian society, the nature of academic life, and the consequences of a great discovery being made in a Canadian city are laid out very well. Bliss is excellent on the science as well. He is a fine writer explains the background and events of the isolation very well. He really shows the team nature of this event and of scientific activity in general. He is very careful to delineate the contributions of all participants and shows how a group effort was really necessary to isolate insulin. A signficant point of revision is his emphasis of the role of JRR MacLeod, the Professor of Physiology at Toronto. In traditional accounts, he is a scientific bad guy who hijacks credit from Banting and Best. In Bliss's account, he is an important contributor who was probably victimized by Canadian nationalism. Bliss is very good as well on diabetes as a clinical problem, the impact of the isolation of insulin, and difficulties of moving from laboratory work to mass production. A fun and informative book that can be enjoyed by specialists and the general reading public.

This book is easy to read and also has easy steps to follow to reduce your dependency on sugar. If you need to cut your sugar or eliminate it completely, this book is a good place to start. You can use 1 tip at a time or jump in completely and use all the tips.

If the thought of eating so much sugar gives you a wake up call, then Ms. Gittleman's book is for you. This book is divided into 9 chapters about getting the sugar out of your: 1) kitchen; 2) breakfast; 3) soups and salads; 4) entrees and side dishes;
5) sandwiches and snacks; 6) drinks and party foods; 7) baking, desserts, and treats; 8) when you eat out; and 9) out of your mind and life. There is also a chapter about the facts of sugar and its kissing cousins and an appendix with a week of sample menus.

Ms. Gittleman is spot on with this book. I'm hypoglycemic and her advice helped me. She's right about the dangers that sugar can lead too. I'm eating healthier, exercising more and I don't have the sugar cravings I once had. If you ever want informative nutritional advice that's easy to read, she's the one to follow! I've also become a more educated shopper by following her helpful advice on reading food labels. I'll be reading her other health books too.

Ann Louise Gittleman is a pioneer, and had the right idea on a lot of things way before they became popular. This is one of my favorite Ann Louise books, and i've used these concepts in my own writing and teaching for years. This is a terrific little guide to how to begin to get rid of the most damaging substance in your diet- sugar. No kidding.

Should be "required" reading for anyone concerned with their health

Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS author "The 150 Healthiest foods on Earth"

I have tried to lose weight for YEARS! I have done it all, low carb, more protein, blah blah blah and on and on. I jogged, I did aerobics, I swam, and on and on and would lose 1 pound and that was it.UNTIL I READ THIS BOOK! I first read this book about 1 month ago and have lost over 5 pounds. I have have not changed my exercise routine or anything, the only thing I have changed is getting the sugar out. There are so many hidden sugars in food that KEEP US FAT! When you become a label detective, like she tells you to do, you will see just how much extra sugar you consume each day. I eliminated this hidden sugar in food and the pounds are falling off! I feel like I have turned the clock back 20 years using this book. I am so tired of being fat and feeling miserable, there is NO WAY I would ever go back to eating hidden sugars again. If you want to lose weight, this is the way to do it.

This is a well-intended but ultimately limited book that aims to embrace the large issue of shaping parental understanding of and response to their children's diabetes. This ambition is not well served by the book's brevity; given the author's own premise that diabetes is different for every child and every family, greater depth and breadth of discussion of the many issues at hand peppered with presentation and analysis of specific anecdotes would be useful here. As the mother of a newly diagnosed 12 year-old son, I think that this book probably best serves as a primer for affected families with younger children. I should think that the book's topic might be specifically addressed to families of adolescents (vs. younger children)in a separate work.

This book was very informative and very encouraging for me as a parent with a newly diagnosed 18 month old child with diabetes. Not only did the author address the concerns of children with diabetes, she also zeroed in on some of my own fears, concerns and misunderstandings involving diabetes and how it affects the day-to-day activites in my family. I would recommend this book to anyone feeling overwhelmed and frightened with a newly diagnosed child with diabetes.

I was Disappointed with this book. My 2 year old son was recently diagonosed with Type 1 and from the title of the book I would have thought the book was about a child who has had this diasease for longer than the age of 11 years old. I was expecting the girl to have had diabetes at a very young age. The title should be "Growing up with diabetes in my teen years"

It is so refreshing to read a book that speaks for the children instead of another doctor or professor's medical perspective. It makes a reader understand how pervasive this disease is and how every action, response, or comment can affect the child.

A wonderful combination of accurate info, humor, and sharp insight into what it's like to be a child with diabetes. Parents will see themselves somewhere in this book (if not everywhere!). Parents get so caught up in the medical end of things - numbers, dosages, shots, carbs - this book really helps you see things from your child's point of view. There are helpful suggestions, often delivered with a description of a real-life situation the author has experienced, to get you thru rough spots. A great book!

I discovered Joanna Lund's cookbooks about two months ago quite by accident. Now, they are all we eat in this house. I've lost 14 lbs. in the last month! They are all great and very few recipes ever get a frown. Most, my family cleans their plates and begs for more! You cannot go wrong with her books, or her newsletter!

For anybody needing traditional food recipies created in a newer-day, low-fat, low cholesterol way, have a look at this book. It is divided into several regions of the USA: New England, Southwestern, The Heartland, etc. Each section has recipies for entreés, side dishes, soups, salads, and desserts, and each recipie is charted at the bottom with the number of servings, calories, and dietary "exchanges". "Cooking Healthy Across America" has been of huge benefit for keeping my family's weight down and health up!

This book was a total disappointment. Several of Joanna Lund's books were recommended to me, so I thought this would be a sure winner. The recipes looked easy, straight forward and relatively appealing and healthy (aside from frequent use of artifical sweetners, including saccharin!). For Easter, I made several of the recipes and they were a complete and total disaster! The Key Lime Pie was so bitter, it was inedible (thankfully, my family has a good sense of humor). I would not recommend this book at all-- it is, by far-- one of the worst cookbooks I have ever purchased.

My husband bought me this for Valentine's Day. I love it! I recently started Weight Watchers and there isn't a single recipe in this book that is more than 7 points per serving. (That is better than the cookbook that I bought at Weight Watchers!) I have made four of the recipes so far and they have been fantastic. Some people may need to "tweek" some of the recipes to suit their tastes, (Crab cakes need a little garlic salt,etc.). But hey, I do that with all of my cookbooks anyway. Its really nice to have some choices when it comes to eating healthier! I intend to take a look at some of this author's other cookbooks

The recipes in this book aren't terrible, but there are so many other "healthy" cookbooks out there that are far better and more original -- try any of Don Mauer's cookbooks, for example, or if you care about exchanges, I have a recent Weight Watchers cookbook that is far more interesting than this one. Moreover, I was disappointed that a cookbook with the word "healthy" in the title would include recipes that call for ingredients such as nutrasweet and diet Mountain Dew. And the fact that many of the recipes call for brand name ingredients without any explanation makes me suspcious, too. On the whole, this just isn't a cookbook I'm interested in coming back to, and it will not be getting a permanent spot on the shelf in my kitchen.

copyright, 1996: Fat sucks. Eat your carbohydrates. Eat your carbohydrates.
Eat your carbohydrates. Eat your carbohydrates. Eat your carbohydrates. Eat your carbohydrates. Eat your carbohydrates. Eat your carbohydrates.
This is another Atkins hater. Low carb couldn't help your blood sugar prob, could it? Of course not! Better stir fry another ten pounds of Chinese vegatables. Oh, yeah, we all do that! Fat will kill you. Eat your carbohydrates. Bok Choy, letuce juice, dark veggies everything, 13 pounds a day, veggies, veggies, veggies till you puke or go broke, then buy some more veggies! This idiot is OUT OF TOUCH! He is just puking the same stuff Richard Simmons did in 1992.

As a hypoglycemic, I am trying to find out what I can do to keep my blood sugar level. Dr. Murray provides the reader with more suggestions than just eating right and exercising. The addition of supplements is very helpful. He also educates on the connection between hypoglycemia and diabetes. This is important for hypolycemics to know since it is very possible for this condition to turn into diabetes.

I highly recommend Hypoglycemia: The Classic Healthcare Handbook, by Jeraldine Saunders and Harvey M. Ross in addition to this book.

Murry's book gives so much information on the subjects of diabetes and hypoglycemia. It was also nice to see the two together since they do have a relation. His guidelines are very detailed and easy to understand. This book has helped me and has given me more of the information that I have been searching for. I would definitely recommend this book.

1996 is almost light years away from all the new nutrient info available today. I have both encyclopedias that Dr. Murray has authored, & they are more recently published than this book.

I have low blood sugar and throughout the past few years I have read many books on the subject of sugar. In fact tonight I was reading; The Sugar Addict's Total Recovery Program. As I was reading this book I was getting frustrated at how wordy the book was and how wordy the other books had been that I had read before. The book by Michael T. Murray is clear and to the point. It's an easy read but invaluable for the information it conveys. It is definitely my favorite book and I have been recommending and purchasing it for friends and family for years.

It wasn't what I was looking for. Having diabetes since 2004, I was looking for new information. Not in this book. I was very disappointed.

This was an interesting review of dietary factors that have a demonstrated effect on controlling your blood sugar.

I have had Type II Diabetes for over 20 years and it is largely controlled by diet, exercise and Resveratrol. The best and most effective I have found is at http://resveratrol10.com. It has not only lowered my blood sugar to 110 -120, but my cholesterol is down to just 128 from over 150.

I live near the beach just south of San Francisco and walk my Giant Irish Wolfhounds 10+ miles a week for exercise. Resveratrol has also pumped up my energy level so I can walk farther in less time.

Overall, I would recommend this book as a good introduction of things you can do to take back control of your health,

Gregory Collins
www.GregoryCollins.name

Most of the suggestions from the book seem reasonable to me as a means to improve blood sugar. The main problem with the book is that is dated and in need of an update. For example the book says that Splenda would be very hard to find which is hardly the case anymore and does not mention newer products such a PGX for blood sugar control. Otherwise most of the suggestions are probably valid. I would have given 5 stars but for the out of date issue.

I was surprised by the simple straight forward approach to the problems that must be addressed to live well with diabetes. This book contains clear sound approaches to nutrition, life style and overall health issues related to the diabetic condition.

After hunting through many diabetic books for a gift for a friend of mine, I finally chose this one. My friend called me immediately and said it was the best gift she had ever received -she had read it backwards and forwards and had even highlighted it. She said it was extremely helpful (she is dealing with her diabetes naturally after experiencing prescription side effects) and is putting it's advice and recipes to use daily.

This book has changed my life. I am now acutely aware of what and how I am eating and how I am conducting my life to stay healthy and avoid escalating my pre-diabetic condition to type II diabetes. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who wants to make a change to a healthy lifestyle regardless of whether diabetes is a problem or not.

It is very strange that I have been asked to review a book that has not arrived. Can someone please find out where my book went?

I bought this book for my dad and he is satisfied with the content of the book.He told me the text is easy to understand and Scientific at the same time.

Excellent source of information and very through information. I highly recommended this book.

Diabetes impacts the heart, stroke, blood pressure, classic
diabetic nerve damage and autoimmune disease. Risk factors are
aggravated by the high consumption of white sugar by Americans.
Risks can be mitigated with cod liver oil and Omega 3 fish oils.
Type I diabetes may be prevented with proper nutrition, decreased nitrates and avoidance of food allergies. Early breast-feeding is known to protect the child by promoting a healthy gut. Diabetes
may be controlled naturally with multivitamins, flavonoids and probiotics (introduction of good bacteria into the system).
Food allergies are aggravated by diarrhea, constipation, gas,
muscle and joint pain. Foods with a low glycemic index are
apples, asparagus, broccoli, celery, cucumber, grapefruit, tomato, lettuce, spinach , strawberries nuts and seeds.
Oatmeal, peas, pita bread, beans and yams have intermediate levels on the glycemic index.

This book is excellent for anyone desiring more detailed information on the various types of diabetes and sugar control.
It is a worthy purchase for any personal library.

So much of the research into the most destructive health ailments we now face is focusing on the role of the diet. This is something Dr. Fred Ottoboni and his wife Dr. Alice Ottoboni know a thing or two about. Before retirement, they had spent many years of their career investigating, studying, and researching disease occurrence among various people groups around the world and they discovered something quite revealing in light of our current crisis with obesity, diabetes and worse: much of it is preventable by simply ignoring the high-carb, low-fat, low-cholesterol advice that has sadly become accepted as the "healthy" diet.

In Modern Nutritional Diseases, Drs. Ottoboni explain in meticulous detail why those diets are useless against most modern diseases and shares the research showing the elimination of sugars and starches will put us back on the road to health faster than removing saturated fat and cholesterol from our diet. There's even an invaluable chapter on how to distinguish good science from bad science among the many voices telling us what the facts are.

The references and charts contained in this book make it well worth having in your low-carb library. I'll warn you now that it does get a bit technical in some areas, but this stuff isn't simple either. There are many things to evaluate and analyze in the process of coming to the conclusions about nutrition and metabolism that Drs. Ottoboni do. This is every bit as good a book to read as Gary Taubes' Good Calories, Bad Calories was because it complements much of the same concepts and ideas.

My favorite part is at the end in a chapter called "What do you do now?" the authors give you practical instructions about making the changes you need in order to ward off the modern nutritional diseases in your own life. Specifics about diet, supplements, exercise, and suggested resources for further education are provided. This is an invaluable tool for anyone following a controlled-carbohydrate nutritional approach or who wants to learn more about why this way of eating works so well.

Yes, this was written by excellent researchers. But I prefer to read books on improving health that at some point give me the how tos. This was technical and too much to plow through. The same information can be found in more up to date writing ...books on improving health by eating more protein and less carbohydrate, for instance. Save your money and time.

Modern medicine can performs wondrous feats of surgery and has conquered virtually all of the infectious diseases that were the major causes of death a century ago. But we are now plagued with a host of non-infectious diseases -- including cancer, various forms of heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and osteoporosis -- for which modern medicine can only treat symptoms but has no cure. Why? Because most of our modern diseases are caused by improper eating habits and lack of nutrition. Unfortunately, the conventional medical establishment is only beginning to recognize this fact and many doctors -- despite their excellent training in the use of pharmaceutical drugs (which kill more than 100,00 people each year with their side effects) -- are comepletely ignorant of the true causes of modern chronic diseases. Fortunately, the authors of this book have thoroughly researched the true causes of modern diseases and found that they lie in nutrient deficiency and in the current and erroneous fad of a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet -- plus excessive consumption of junk food. Our eating habits are deteriorating our health and even killing us prematurely. But, fortunately, we have the power to change our eating habbits and reclaim our health if we are willing to do so. This book provides much of the information needed in order to do so.

Modern Nutritional Diseases is an excellent book that nails down the current understanding of prevention of HEART DISEASE, TYPE 2 (ADULT) DIABETES, OVERWEIGHT and more. Many of these conditions are clearly caused by nutrient deficiencies. Therefore, you can prevent such decline by replacing some of the VITAMINS, MINERALS, FIBER and OMEGA-3 oils that have become scarce during the last century in our supermarkets and food stores.

This book gives an excellent summary of the science. Its chapter 2 has some rare and clear diagrams with some of the important links between disease and nutrition, and how drugs may interfere with health. This book is a valuable contribution to PREVENTION through NUTRITION as it has some of the latest scientific insights.

Slightly technical for some readers, but anyone will be able to increase his or her understanding of health, and how simple steps with small nutritional changes promise to have great payback for most of us. The book is particularly strong in explaining the role of refined flour and starches in causing OVERWEIGHT and the related new epidemic of LATER-IN-LIFE DIABETES, with an ever faster declining path to poor health and heart disease. This path is generally avoidable with some of the simple steps explained in this book.

Recommended, Eddie Vos (health-heart.org)

This book used a lot of documentation, but outside of the author's own analyses mainly referred to three other sources, which I had not read and could not validate. The book's summation followed a chemical "causative/effect" sequence which was to be expected from the authors who were educated in that field. Their suggestion to Americans was to "eat more eggs, drink a quart of whole milk a day, and follow a diet of 30% protein and 30% fat to be healthy. (I thought of those "milk-mustache" advertisements) Their conclusions were that Americans eat too many carbohydrates and not enough Omega 3 oils, which may be true. There were no references to the "contaminated" food supply, nor to the "re-engineering" of our food. They did state that they could not distinguish between organic and "non-organic or man-made food." Their references to natural ("alternative" in their definition) health providers seemed prejudicial, if not suspicious of their competence or motives. They seemed to support the ADA (American Dietetic Association) position: "..to protect a gullible nation against nutritional charlatans." The book was too narrowly focused to be convincing, and seemed to support the Meat Industry, Dairy Council and Egg Board and criticized the current emphasis on high carbohydrate and low fat/protein diets.

This book is very basic, for someone who knows nothing about diabetes. Very easy to understand. However, I didn't learn anything that wasn't on the web page for the American Diabetes Association. I still had to seek out more resources to answer my questions.

This book is easy to understand for someone who is newly diagnosed and needs and introduction to adopting a lifestyle change in terms of eating. The suggestions are practical. The style of writing is casual and never intimidating.

Although the book was "written down" a bit, it gave basic information that was extremely helpful and understandable. With the anxiety that comes with a "maybe you are diabetic" conversation, it provided guidelines and attitude that took some of the panic away. Would certainly recommend.

Easy to understand, but very repetative and specific to the authors mother. Leaves many questions unanswered for the new diabetic but might make a good adjunct to some solid teaching materials.

I have just been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and this book was very helpful of helping me understand the form diadetes I have.