DIABETES: The GlucograF Method for Normalizing Blood Sugar

by Richard K. Bernstein ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 30, 1981

For well-informed diabetics and health-care professionals, an explanation of a new program which accepts the seriousness of the disease and appears to better control it. Bernstein, an engineer who has diabetes, created the program from the existing body of knowledge and put it into a form susceptible to adaptation and use by other patients. (It has been tried, for the last year-and-a-half, by some physicians and ""a reasonable cross-section"" of patients at the Einstein/Montefiore Diabetes Research and Training Center of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, in New York.) Traditionally, diabetes has been controlled by measuring urine glucose levels and injecting insulin once daily, accordingly; Bernstein argues that a better measurement is blood glucose level, with immediate treatment by insulin injection or ingestion of sweets, as many as six times a day. This keeps blood glucose at a more normal level continuously, and avoids the fluctuations which 1) often make diabetics feel ill; and 2) possibly increase the incidence of such serious complications as kidney disease, neurological disorders, cardiovascular problems, and others. (In a separate chapter, a physician reviews the evidence--still hotly debated--that seems to support Bernstein's claims.) The complex program is carefully explained, with attention to the psychological effects of having diabetes and the particular benefits (in terms of control) that the GlucograF program affords. Its presentation here is a radical departure from most lay publications which, as Bernstein notes, ""paint a picture of diabetes as a mild inconvenience with certain long-term problems that can, usually, be avoided by the moderately conscientious patient"" (in contrast to articles for health professionals which convey ""a far more grave and accurate picture""). The program is not, as he makes clear, for the newly-diagnosed diabetic, and it's certainly not basic; but it is accessible to knowledgeable patients interested in improving the control of their disease.

Pub Date: May 30, 1981

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Crown

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1981

Categories: NONFICTION