Simple Diet Primer for Type II Diabetes

August 14, 2014 3:08 PM

I'm looking for recommendations for simple introductory books about managing Type II Diabetes through diet and exercise. The book I have in mind would be written for someone who knows very little about the disease, and which explains what you can and can't eat, the reasoning behind it, and some guidelines about modifying your diet.

I've started to suspect that I either have Type II Diabetes or pre-diabetes. Don't worry, I've already made an appointment with my doctor, but she can't see me for a couple weeks. Until then, I thought I'd start learning about how I'll need to modify my diet to help treat the condition.

I'm aware that there's a lot more to being diabetic than just changing how you eat, but this is what I can do before I have an actual diagnosis. And god knows I can always eat better.

With all due respect, I'm just looking for book recommendations, not individual tips & tricks. Thanks.

posted by Ian A.T. to Health & Fitness (5 answers total)

Response by poster: I just realized I wrote "through diet and exercise" in my initial question, and I don't want that to derail anyone: my primary interest is in the diet aspect. Exercise is important! But for this Ask I'm mostly interested in books about changing my diet.
posted by Ian A.T. at 3:18 PM on August 14, 2014

Assuming you're looking at a ketogenic diet, an old copy of Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution (try to find one from before he died and his family started hawking Frankenfoods) can be found for dirt cheap at any thrift shop or yard sale.
posted by bink at 3:19 PM on August 14, 2014

Take a look at The Instinct Diet - it's actually largely based on research on diabetes, and there's an emphasis on keeping blood sugar levels steady.
posted by research monkey at 3:50 PM on August 14, 2014

The Diabetes Miracle by Diane Kress. My blood sugar dropped 100 points within a few days when I followed this diet.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 5:07 PM on August 14, 2014

The Instinct Diet book looks interesting.

_Blood Sugar 101: What They Don't Tell You about Diabetes_
Jenny Ruhl.

Most of this is at the BloodSugar101 website also if you want a preview.

Good luck controlling your blood sugar!
posted by egk at 8:17 AM on August 15, 2014