Diabetes

[cinnabun]

I didn't know where to put this so I put it here. I found out over the weekend someone I know has diabetes and I only know a little bit about it. Could someone suggest what books I can buy to educate me on this and what cookbooks they use as far as meals are concerned? Is it really hard to adjust and cope with it, I mean after you find out and everything. It must be hard going from living your life to having to watch everything you put into your mouth.

[wallycat]

First, try http://www.joslin.org/
It has info for professionals, patients and consumers.

THis should cover a lot of info initially.
Then if you want further info, you can decide how detailed a book you'll need :)

Oh, there's also the American Diabetes Association website you can go to!

[HRJ]

I have Type 2 diabetes. As Wallycat said, the Joslin site is a good place to start. That site used to have an *excellent* article called "Disproving 'Diabetic Diets' " that dealt with a lot of the misinformation about diabetes that's out there. Unfortunately, since they did some re-design on the website, that article is no longer available. That's really too bad; it used to be the first thing I'd recommend to people looking for basic diabetes info.

The American Diabetes Association site is www.diabetes.org

Here's a page with lots of excellent links about basic diabetes information and meal planning: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/print/diabeticdiet.html

A writer named David Mendosa has been compiling reputable online diabetes resources for some time now. His site is www.mendosa.com

You don't mention whether the person you know has Type 1 (formerly known as juvenile diabetes) or Type 2 (formerly known as adult-onset) diabetes. If it's Type 1, the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, www.jdf.org might be a good place to visit.

A word about online diabetes resourcs: please take the time to evaluate who is providing information you read on a diabetes website (or any other medical website, for that matter.) Many sites are driven by commercial interests, or people who have particular treatments/theories they are promoting that may or may not have significant scientific/medical support.

The two best books I can recommend are:

The Diabetes Food and Nutrition Bible : A Complete Guide to Planning, Shopping, Cooking, and Eating by Hope S. Warshaw, Nancy S. Hughes

16 Myths of a Diabetic Diet by Karen Hanson Chalmers, Amy E. Peterson.

There are a lot of ''diabetic" cookbooks out there, and I've never found one that I really love. Any good "healthy" cookbook -- such as any of the CL cookbooks -- that provides nutritional info with the recipes is a good choice.

Personally, I won't purchase a cookbook that routinely includes artificial sweeteners among the ingredients used.

Good luck,

Helene

[mbrogier]

I think it is great that you are trying to understand your friend's disease. I have known different diabetics handle the disease differently dietarily. Some things work for one person that doesn't for another. I have a disease that required some changes in diet, and it was hard at first to give up your favorite foods. I would give the person encouragement, time to deal, and then help them adapt. I am positive that they will really appreciate someone that is willing to help them with their new lifestyle and not consider it a burden.

[cooknmom38]

Read Cooking Light Magazine and you will find some recipes that can be eaten by a person with Diabetes.. Also email ChefBilly from Cooking Light. He can help you with some suggestions.