[.ca] How To Prevent And Treat Diabetes With Natural Medicines (ISBN 1594480389)

Based on solid principles:
In general, I avoid the "diet and supplement" solutions to all health problems. Not that I don't believe that diet and dietary supplements don't work - rather, that I don't have the tools to tell the crackpots from the serious researchers. This book caught my attention for several reasons: (1) its diet is not based on the USDA recommendations but rather on the food pyramid from Harvard, Asia and the Mediterranean diets. To this it adds the 5 color fruit and vegetable recommendations and the glycemic load data. (2)it uses scientific not ancedotal bases for its recommendations. For example, it notes that chromium has been shown to have a positive effect but only in those with a chromium deficiency. (3)it adjusts it recommendations to fit the diabetes of an individual - type of diabetes, degree of current control of blood sugar levels and status regarding a variety of complications of the disease. (4)it assumes that primary care is in the hands of a "conventional doctor" and may include medications, exercise and mental elements. In this context, it recommends more comprehensive monitoring of body chemicals than is the protocol for many doctors. The overall result is a book that is well worth pursuing for what may be helpful to you as an individual as you make the life style changes necessary to live with the disease.