The Good News Eating Plan for Type II Diabetes

Rating:
Summary: Clear, to the point, encouraging, and informative
Review: During the time of denial, anger, depression and total rejection of my diagnosis as Diabetic, I purchased several books to research and find out what to do. The Good News Eating Plan For Type II Diabetes by Elaine Magee gave me the immediate help and information I needed as if I were speaking with the author. Clear, to the point, encouraging, and full of information for the newly diagnosed. I have returned to it repeatedly for assistance. Thank you, Elaine.

Rating:
Summary: The most helpful diet guide I've found yet!
Review: I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes two and a half years ago. My first response was to research diet, nutrition and exercise as means of controlling my blood sugar. I've gone through dozens of books since then, and this is the first one I've found that actually pulls the information together in a practical way that works for me.

There are hundreds of diabetic cookbooks and meal planners on the market. The problem is that different people will have different responses to certain combinations of carbs, fat, and protein in their diets. This book takes the time to explain why some diabetics may need to have as little as 30% of their daily calories coming from carbohydrates, while others may need to have as much as 60% of their daily calories from carbs. The author also talks about the effect fiber has on glucose levels, and her system for balancing a diabetic diet relies on counting carbohydrates, calories, and fiber rather than exchanges.

Many other books provide menus and specific meal plans. The big problem with that approach, from my point of view, is that it can be very difficult to apply those meal plans to a family situation. This book focuses on strategies rather than specific menus, which allows me to control my diet more effectively even when I am in unexpected situations.

Rating:
Summary: Good information and advice
Review: This book provides an excellent resource for Type II diabetics. The first section clearly explains essential information needed to manage diabetes and especially nutritional and dietary approaches.The author makes good arguments for balancing carbohydrates with fat and fiber, the advantages of mono-unsaturated fats, and especially that sugar alone is not the enemy. The role of the glycemic index is stressed and how foods that have lower indices are also likely to make you feel less hungry longer. The nutritional goals and strategies are easy to read and absorb. The book however falls short of its potential in the sections which describe how to implement all this advice. Quantitative information on nutritional content and glycemic index are presented inside the text in 3 long tables of every food known to man which are repetitive and disturb the flow of reading the text. These should have been combined into a single table highlighting foods high in fiber and low in index; as it stands one must flip back and forth to figure out which foods provide what. There is a lot of good information here - especially useful is a list of best tasting foods that are "light" - one can look for substitute brands for foods in one's own present diet, which are thus likely to be used. There is some information presented on how to balance some meals e.g. adding cram cheese to a bagel actualy helps! However, one is left to figure out meal plans and menus, where the book could have really helped with suggestions for a week of menus for several of the stategies suggested. All in all, this was a very helpful book, but it could have been MUCH better with a little more organization and detail.