Blood Sugar 101

After much anticipation, my copy of Blood Sugar 101 by Jenny Ruhl arrived this week. It did not disappoint. The book is full of the best tips, techniques and information from Jenny's site, BloodSugar101.com. I've loved Jenny's site since I first encountered it, so buying her book was an absolute must.

Despite the somewhat alarmist subtitle - "What they don't tell you about Diabetes!", the book is very straightforward and to the point. I think this should be a standard 'Textbook' for diabetics. It's got so much useful information on diabetes itself - all backed up by actual medical studies - combined with information on insulin, oral meds, supplements, plus useful techniques for lowering your sugar levels and A1C. I would have never realized chest pain is a Metformin side effect without her detailed analysis.

She asks and answers a lot of very critical questions: Does Diabetes have to progress? (No), At what blood sugar level does organ damage start? (140-160 [7.8-8.9] post meal levels), What should you eat to reduce your blood sugars? (Fewer Carbs).

She explains how to use your meter to find out what foods you react to - no one size fits all diet plans here - as well as coping techniques to stay on your diet. One of these I really like is the idea of 'off plan' eating instead of cheating. How you think of things, the words you use, have a huge effect on how you feel about them. "Cheating" brings a lot of guilt and shame, but "Off Plan" eating brings the focus back on the fact that it's your choice.

It can be a very scary book at times - Jenny is very straightforward about how the disease progresses and the risks of various complication. But it's enormously hopeful too, because it gives practical techniques for avoiding them by keeping your blood sugars low. There's a very simple progression of techniques - Adjust your diet, adjust/add meds, adjust/add insulin - to help you find the right balance of techniques to meet your own goals. She really promotes the least expensive and invasive techniques (diet) before medication and insulin, without pretending that a diet solution is going to work for everyone.

If you have questions about the different types of diabetes, how insulin and glucose are managed by the body, what causes diabetes, how effective different drugs are and what side affects they have, what supplements actually work, and what your doctor should be doing to help you manage your disease, you'll find answers both in the book and at Jenny's website.

I'd recommend this book for anyone with diabetes, and anyone who knows a diabetic. It's available from Amazon or through Jenny's site. But don't just stop at the book. Be sure to visit BloodSugar101.com for even more incredibly useful information, plus Jenny's blog critiquing the latest published studies.