I wish every diabetic, pre-diabetic and anyone who has any blood sugar issues would read this book. I originally stumbled onto Jenny Ruhl in a "Resources" column in the magazine "Diabetes Self-Management". There is a terrific article on "Reversing Type 2 Diabetes - Can it Be Done?". Just a few years ago all the experts would have said no but they are now reconsidering. They are not talking about giving up oral meds or insulin or really curing diabetes, but rather using diet to get the glucose numbers down into a more normal range. And it works. The most recognized voice for this line of thought is Dr. Richard Bernstein and his classic book “Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution”. It is regularly updated and has had great influence. He is in his 80s and has had Type 1 diabetes since childhood. Over the years by a process of trial and error he figured out how to control his wildly fluctuating glucose numbers (even with insulin) and gradually developed a following. He advocates keeping the A1c numbers in the 4% range and never letting glucose readings go above the high 90s! That is almost unbelievable. But his regime – diet wise – is incredibly tough. It is much too hard for me to live with for any length of time. Basically, NO bread, pasta, rice, fruit, grain, etc - EVER. Very high protein. Somewhat similar to Atkins but specifically focused on diabetes, whether type 1 or 2. (Keep in mind that none of these plans advocate giving up insulin or oral meds when they are needed but following these plans can sometimes reduce the needed dosages.)
In contrast to Dr. Bernstein, Jenny Ruhl has a much more modest plan but that also works wonders. On her web site ([...]) she explains her 5% club – those who aim to keep their A1cs in the 5% range. To do this she sets goals of always keeping glucose readings well under 140 1 hour after a meal and under 120 2 hours after. How to do that without increasing meds? That is where the low carb diet comes in. The point she makes (as does also Dr. Bernstein) is that every person reacts differently to carbohydrates and that the only way to figure this out is to use your glucose meter like this: For several days to a week eat as you normally do, recording what you eat and what your glucose readings are 1 hour and 2 hours after each time you eat – and also your morning fasting glucose. If your numbers are fine, then you don’t need to change your diet. But if your numbers are high (she explains “high” in great detail), then you need to reduce your carbs until you get good numbers every time. Then that is the diet you need to follow. Once you start this constant monitoring of your blood sugar readings, you will get a lot of surprises about what foods affect you. Those of us not taking insulin probably only check our blood sugar occasionally – not the 8 to 10 times a day she is recommending. (I am giving a very brief summary of my understanding of her method.)
The dreadful thing about all of this is that most doctors think keeping the A1c under 7% is just fine. But it isn’t – that is setting the person up for long-term diabetes complications. See her website for insight into all of this.
And, BTW, by itself a low carb diet is not a weight loss diet - if you want to lose weight you have to reduce calories. She covers that quite well. There are no real "free" foods in this world! There are free carb foods but often high in calories and there are low fat and low calorie foods but often they are high in carbs. Too bad!
I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who has or might have glucose issues.
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