BOOK REVIEWS
by Marilyn Helton
����������� Porch
swings, overhead fans and meals prepared on the outdoor grill...� Now, all you need to round out your lazy
days of summer is a stack of good books.�
Here are my notes to help you select some topics in your area of
interest.
����������� If
you've had diabetes for more than 10 years, there's a good chance you're part
of the 60% of diabetics who have developed diabetic neuropathy, a nerve
disorder caused by diabetes.�
Significant clinical neuropathy can develop within the first 10 years
after your diagnosis, and the risk increases the longer you have diabetes.
����������� There
are three major types of diabetic neuropathy, and they can affect virtually
every part of the body.� Focal
neuropathy affects the eyes, facial muscles, hearing, pelvis, lower back, thigh
and abdomen. �Diffuse (autonomic)
neuropathy affects the heart, digestive system, sexual organs, urinary tract
and sweat glands.� Diffuse (peripheral)
neuropathy affects the legs, feet, arms and hands.
����������� After
his diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy, John Senneff, a retired attorney, found
there was little information available as he sought to learn more about
it.� It is often called the "silent
disease" because so few people talk about it, or have even heard its name,
but Senneff has managed to explain it detail in his new book:� �Numb Toes and Aching Soles: Coping With
Peripheral Neuropathy.�� According to
Senneff, "Many who suffer peripheral neuropathy have no idea what makes
their feet ache, hands throb or muscles weaken...� (They) don't know what to do when they finally discover they have
the malady..."
����������� In
�Numb Toes and Aching Soles,� Senneff lays out how peripheral neuropathy(PN)
affects your body, its causes, symptoms, tests and treatments (both
conventional and alternative), and how over 200 patients revealed which
treatments worked for them and which ones didn't.� Special sections dealing with psychotherapy, traditional,
alternative, and experimental drugs, and both diabetic and HIV-related
neuropathies (up to half of people in these groups get PN), are included.
����������� If
your diabetes is or has been out of control for a number of years, you can
almost count on being among the 60% of patients who will develop one of the
three major types of neuropathy.� John
Senneff's research (which at times may almost be a bit too technical for the
average reader), is an excellent resource tool.
����������� Published
by MedPress, San Antonio TX, you can order a copy toll-free at 1-888-MED-9898
(1-888-633-9898) for $19.95 (softcover).�
All major credit cards are accepted.�
You can also check out MedPress at www.medpress.com for more
information.
����������� I
can't tell you how many times I've recently accessed the new �Diabetes For
Dummies,� by Alan L. Rubin, MD.� Don't
let the title put you off, it's one of the best guides to diabetes management
I've read.� From causes, symptoms, and
side effects to treatments, diet and exercise--this book delivers!� Parents may be interested to know that
there's even a chapter on managing a baby or preschooler with diabetes.� Dr. Rubin is way ahead of the headlines, as
he's even included dealing with obesity and type 2 diabetes in children in this
book.
����������� Being
a "checklist" type of person, I like the way this book is laid out,
highlighting and summarizing important points in each area, along with chapter
references for expanded information on the topic at hand.� For example, one short checklist identifies
six things you should be able to do if your child is controlling his diabetes
with insulin:
1.�������� Identify the signs and symptoms of
hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia and diabetic ketoacidosis (with chapter reference)
2.�������� Administer insulin (with chapter
reference)
3.�������� Measure the blood glucose and urine
ketones (with chapter reference)
4.�������� Treat hypoglycemia with food or
glucagon (with chapter reference)
5.�������� Feed your diabetic child (with chapter
reference)
6.�������� Know what to do when your child is sick
with another childhood illness (with chapter reference).
����������� �Diabetes
For Dummies� is a book you can pick up and read from chapter to chapter, or use
as a reference source to answer your questions.� The index is very complete and the Appendixes include a
mini-cookbook (my type of book!), diabetic exchange lists, website references
(even including one for animals with diabetes) and a good glossary of terms.
����������� I
would give �Diabetes For Dummies� a five-star rating.� Check it out at your local library and give it a good
reading.� I bet you'll decide to buy
your own copy.� �Diabetes For Dummies,�
by Alan L. Rubin, MD, published by IDG Books Worldwide, Inc., softcover, $19.99
US, $27.99 CN.
����������� People
with diabetes are given all sorts of well-meaning advice on what foods they
can't have.� Now there's a book
available which gives readers positive advice about what foods they should be
getting almost every day.
����������� �Tell
Me What to Eat if I Have Diabetes,� by Elaine Magee, MPH, RD, provides an
overview of diabetes, specifically type 2 diabetes, and how the right nutrition
can make a difference.� Readers will
learn how much sugar many can tolerate and how other foods can balance its effects;
what foods to switch to and why, and weight loss strategies that really help,
even when taking insulin.� The "10
Food Steps To Freedom" chapter is the high point of the book and,
according to Magee, monitoring blood sugars is the pivotal tool in understanding
how certain meals and snacks can affect your personal blood sugars.
����������� �Tell
Me What to Eat if I Have Diabetes,� by Elaine Magee, published by Career Press,
1999, $10.99 paperback.� You can order
your copy toll-free at:� 1-800-CAREER-1
(1-800-226-3371).
����������� If
you haven't read �Stealth Health:� How
To Sneak Nutrition Painlessly Into Your Diet� by Evelyn Tribole, you've missed
out on a really terrific, very unique book.�
Loaded with delicious recipes, �Stealth Health� is more than a
cookbook:� It's a guide to strategies
for eating well by adding invisible, effortless and delicious ways to sneak
healthy foods into your diet on a regular basis.
����������� Who
would guess that the "sneak" ingredient in "Dark Fudge
Brownies" would be a can of black beans, pureed and incorporated into such
a delicious dessert?� Add to that some
espresso or instant coffee powder to intensify the chocolate flavor and you
have a fabulous treat!� Note to diabetics:� "Of all the starchy foods, beans
generally have the least effect on blood sugar."� (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 66(6):1452-1460, 1997.)
����������� In
chapter after chapter, �Stealth Health� guides the reader with healthy advice,
from ways to trim the fat to adding calcium, fiber, iron, soy products, beans,
vegetables and fruit, to your diet.�
Author Tribole produces some of the best tasting, creative, and
good-for-you recipes I've tasted.� Each
"sneak" food is highlighted for its unique and healthful
properties.� (I frequently include her
recipes in issues of �Cinnamon Hearts� and on our website.� This month we've featured the Dark Fudge
Brownies in our "You Deserve Dessert" feature on our website).
����������� �Stealth
Health:� How To Sneak Nutrition
Painlessly Into Your Diet,� by Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD, published by Viking,
1999, 240 pages, $24.95, ISBN:�
0-670-87499-X.�� Another
well-deserved five-star Rating.
����������� Marilyn
Helton is the editor of �Cinnamon Hearts--The Art of Living A Winning Diabetic
Lifestyle,� a positive-power newsletter for diabetics and their families.� Subscriptions to the �Cinnamon Hearts�
newsletter are available for $19.80/year (USA):� $21.80 (Canada).� Write to
Cinnamon Hearts:� Dept. V, PO Box
578340, Modesto, CA 95357-8340.� More
free recipes can be found on our website at http://members.xoom.com/cinnhearts
and www.fabulousfoods.com