by Ruth Mencl, MN, RN, CDE.
Diabetes Program Manager, Saint Luke's Hospital, Kansas City, MO
Includes photo of Ruth Mencl, MN, RN, CDE.
A Field Guide to Type 2 Diabetes: The Essential Resource from the Diabetes Experts. (American Diabetes Association, 2004)
This book delivers as advertised. Its format is similar to a travel guide, which makes it easy to find the destination (or topic) of choice and go directly to it. Tables and charts allow for a quick reference to facts about laboratory tests or medications. The addition of a personal touch, such as comments from actual patients on topics taken from the ADA web site, give it a unique focus as compared to other diabetes fact books.
The Field Guide pays special attention to everyday issues that people with diabetes face, such as finding medical services or dealing with a doctor who is not very interested in diabetes. These are issues it might take several years for a patient to address, especially if they don't attend diabetes classes or support groups. This is a comprehensive resource, written by well-known diabetes experts, which serves as a good beginner's guide to the nuts and bolts of diabetes.
The Inflammation Syndrome: The Complete Nutritional Program to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, Arthritis, Diabetes, Allergies, Asthma. by Jack Challem (2003, Wiley)
"Inflammation Syndrome," is the term used by the author, but was not found when our medical librarian searched the professional medical literature. It does not appear to be a standard medical diagnosis. However, as it relates to diabetes and heart disease, the process of inflammation has been linked to the development of insulin resistance and diabetes and plays a key role in heart disease.
Some of the author's dietary recommendations are also being recommended by diabetes and cardiovascular experts, such as fish oil supplementation, flax seed, and general avoidance of processed food in reducing heart disease in this population of patients. Some are more controversial and require more critical thinking by the reader. Mr. Challem's expertise is as a health journalist, not as a medical doctor.
Challem does include extensive references on inflammation from reputable medical journals. This book is for the more experienced reader who already has general diabetes knowledge and is still looking for specific help for individual problem areas. It includes recipes and goes extensively into nutritional supplements. It provides some good "food for thought" but should be taken with a grain of salt".
Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution Revised and Updated: The Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars. by Richard K. Bernstein, M.D. (2003, Little, Brown, and Company)
Dr. Bernstein writes from his own long-term struggles with type 1 diabetes, as well as his experience in caring for patients with diabetes over the years. His background was first as an engineer, which led him to blood glucose monitoring before it became an accepted practice in diabetes treatment. He has utilized his scientific methods to fine tune his own diabetes. He includes the story of these struggles as he goes through the book.
He describes basic information about diabetes and its effects on the body in a clear fashion. His theories about severe restriction of most carbohydrates, extremely frequent blood glucose monitoring and small, frequent insulin injections are controversial and would be quite challenging for most people to achieve. A number of the products he recommends are not readily available, adding expense and inconvenience to the challenging regimen.
Dr. Bernstein recommends patients take his book to their doctor, but since it has no medical references included, most doctors would require more evidence before implementing his treatments. He does include some beneficial suggestions about healthy eating and exercise; but I fear the reader may become discouraged with the complexity of his recommendations. This book appears to be most appropriate for a niche group of people with diabetes, type 1 or type 2, who have not achieved control with conventional methods of diabetes treatment and are searching for alternatives.