THE DIABETIC'S BOOK: All Your Questions Answered

by June & Barbara Toohey Biermann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 28, 1981

As a source of information, this adds very little to what Biermann and Toohey proffered last year in The Diabetic's Total Health Book--the only substantial new material is on pancreatic transplants. As a working guide, though, it's more interesting and more to-the-point (or perhaps vice versa). In three sections, studded with key questions, the authors address matters of interest to ""everyone""; to insulin-dependent diabetics; to concerned family members and friends. We learn of the scope of the problem (30 percent of people over age 65 have diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance), and as much as is known of the causes (diabetes is not always weight-related). On treatment, we benefit from the Biermann-and-Toohey vigilance: to last year's discussion of a high-carbohydrate, high-fiber diet (which helps lower and stabilize blood sugar) and of the then-new, more accurate methods of blood--rather than urine--sugar testing (introduced by Richard Bernstein in Diabetes: The GlucograF Method for Normalizing Blood Sugar, p. 398), they add the late-come findings on pancreas transplants and the artificial pancreas (the insulin-producing organ). Thanks to Biermann's experience as a diabetic, the advice on everyday problems is practical and down-to-earth: marijuana and alcohol use is discouraged, simply because impaired judgment can be fatal; not wanting to give oneself insulin injections is said to be common even among long-time diabetics (""we won't give you that nonsense that 'it becomes like brushing your teeth' ""); and whether or not periodic binges are a good idea, especially among children, is still hotly debated, we're told. Complete to lists of resources and further references, a real boon for anyone touched by diabetes.

Pub Date: Sept. 28, 1981

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Tarcher--dist. by Houghton Mifflin

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1981

Categories: NONFICTION