Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution: The Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 544 pages
• Published by: Little, Brown and Company; Rev Upd edition March 22, 2007
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0316167169
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0316167161
• Book Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.1 x 1.7 inches
• Weighs: 1.6 pounds

Reader Reviews
This review is from: Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution: The Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars Revised & Updated (Hardcover) Amazon delivered my copy of "Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution (Revised & Updated) The Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars" and I've had a couple of days to digest the contents. This isn't a review, per se, but a few points on some interesting parts of the book. First off, the foundation of the book is that having "normal blood sugars" will eliminate 100% of the complications of diabetes. Extrapolating from the results of the NDDT, Bernstein asserts that diabetics must keep their blood glucose levels between 80-100mg/dl ALL OF THE TIME. Specifically, knowing that non-diabetics will very rarely have blood glucose excursions are outside eighty to 100mg/dl, Bernstein's targets are 85mg/dl for non-insulin dependent diabetics and ninety mg/dl for insulin dependent diabetics. To achieve this target, Bernstein recommends a low-carbohydrate diet combined with insulin-sensitizing and mimetics agents and/or insulin. The book starts off with the requisite "Bernstein has worked for me" profiles and has an interesting account of Bernstein's life, including his early attempts at blood glucose monitoring (he is believed by many to have invented the concept of using blood glucose testing for diabetic blood glucose control) and his decision to attend medical school so that he might be able to get his findings published. Bernstein believes that sensitizers & mimetics such as metformin, Avandia & Actos are the best choices for lowing blood glucose because they increase the body's ability to use insulin without making the pancreas produce extra insulin. Additionally, aside from the fact that sulfonylureas stimulate insulin production, Bernstein avoids them because they can cause hypoglycemia. Insulin use gets over seventy pages and has what appears to be some excellent information in calculating dosages for an intensive insulin regimen that keeps the blood glucose very close to 90mg/dl even after meals. Bernstein advocates using regular insulin instead of a rapid-acting insulin such as lispro or aspart before each meal. He reserves rapid-acting insulin for special situations such as dining-out. He is not an insulin pump fan and does not believe that pumping gives better control over a properly executed intensive insulin regime. Regarding the appropriate blood sugar and HbA1c levels, Bernstein asserts that values exceeding 75mg/dl on average increases risk of cardiac and all other causes of death, however, he does not reference the research that supports this claim. The book winds up with forty pages of low-carbohydrate recipes. I have tried some of the recipes and they were good. It's interesting to me exactly how very low carb they are. It would be difficult to put together a complete menu with more than 10g carbs per serving. Quite a contrast to this month's "Diabetes Forecast" meatloaf dinner with whipped potatoes clocking in at over 70g carbs per serving! An appendix does a good job defending a diet higher in protein & fat and does cite relevant research. On top of all of this information, Bernstein includes some good information on how to deal with hypoglycemia, how to receive the proper care in hospitals and what tools diabetics should have in their kit. SUMMARY I found the book to be very interesting and informative. I'm not sure that I agree with keeping my blood glucose at a flat 80mg/dl, but much of the information in the book is invaluable. This, along with Gretchen Becker's "The First Year: Type 2 Diabetes" are the two books I recommend to those who ask me about diabetes. Comment | | (Report this)