[.ca] The Low Blood Sugar Handbook: You Don't Have to Suffer... (ISBN 0916503046)

feeling great for 2 years now!:
This book saved my life. I bought it two years ago, and have felt 1000% better ever since. I had an array of symptoms on par with the author, including quick temper, numbness in extremities, lightheadedness, chest pains, social anxiety disorder, rashes, impotence, and what seemed like convulsions on some nights as I tried to sleep. I began to feel better after a few days on the Krimmel program. Some of these symptoms I had for over 20 years. Now they are all gone. Granted, if all you're feeling is a little sluggish, the book might be a bit extreme. I strictly followed the diet for a couple months, and then developed my own variations through tinkering and common sense. After 2 years, I consider my diet to be a whole foods diet, very similar to what the book advocates. It's also really a low glycemic diet, the fancy term people use nowadays. It basically means don't eat simple sugars and refined food, such as fruit juice, soda, white bread, wheat bread (unless 100% whole), multi-grain bread (most are white bread with a few seeds), white flour, pasta (unless 100% whole), chips, cookies, starches, packaged products with corn starch & corn syrup, etc. Since my life has been changed so much by this, I would like to share the most common components of my diet: Breakfast ----------- whole grains with nuts & fruit (steel cut oats, quinoa, spelt, etc.) eggs dense whole grain bread with cheese or peanut butter Lunch ------- Salads (often w/avocado, tuna, chicken) Boston market chicken with green beans, steamed veggies Mongolian barbecue without the rice Entrees from Whole Foods market Dinner -------- Grilled meats Salad Steamed Veggies Stir Fry Occasional brown rice or other whole grain Occasional 100% whole-wheat pasta I go out to dinner quite often, and it is not too difficult. I can almost always substitute a starch (mashed potatoes, white rice) for veggies. Snacks ------ Nuts Cheese Veggies

A dissenting opinion:
I guess my case of LBS is not really bad enough to motivate me to use the program described in this book. I found the program to be to extreme for me. In addition, I found the author's tone to be preachy and condescending. I guess it works for some, based on the reviews here, but I would say that if your symptoms are milder, you probably don't need this book. My main problem is that sugar makes me sleepy and draggy, and I have found that eliminating the sugar and adding a little more protein-- and a dash of common sense-- really helps.

Useful but preachy and strict:
I found the information about low blood sugar and diet recommendations to be useful, although a little strict. It seems that Ed Krimmel is a worst case hypoglycemic, which doesn't seem to be my case. His views seem to be colored by this experience, so he can appear fanatical and somewhat preachy. He also rambles on at length in places where it doesn't seem necessary. I do respect that he seems to have achieved balance in his chemistry and life, which were both a total wreck!

Very information, but strict:
I found some of the information to be useful, but I have hypoglycemia as a condition of an insulinoma, which isn't covered at all in this book. I have still been directed to cut sugar from my diet, but my doctor has actually suggested pasta as a good meal, which is listed as a no-no in the book. I think that this book would be best used as a guide, and in moderation, especially if your condition isn't life-threatening (I've blacked out while driving opposed to being sluggish at certain times of the day.)....

Most Informative:
I have read a multitude of books on dealing with Low Blood Sugar and keep going back to the book. It is the most informative and easiest to understand. The information in the small book is unbelievable. I keep it handy all of the time and refer to it againa and again. I do find the diet a bit restrictive but livable. I plan to buy the cookbook that goes with it. I highly recommend this book for the layman and those with hypoglycemia. Bonnie H.