Take Charge...It's Easy! Diabetes has reached near-epidemic proportions in America. If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with it, you need to keep blood sugar in normal ranges and avoid serious complications. But how can you help control diabetes and not let it control you? This handy guide offers step-by-step pointers to not only handle diabetes and keep it from getting worse-but also to reverse the harmful effects of the disease. It covers: * What you need to know about the disease * Six simple diet principles that can control blood sugar! * Nutrients with remarkable healing power * Herbs that bring blood sugar down * A smart program for daily testing *The right exercises to do * Essential tips for taking medication * The sugar-stress connection Developed with the help of a team of experts, Control Diabetes in Six Easy Steps , can stop your frustration and fears...and let you take charge of your health. Learn The Truth About Diabetes... * Are there forbidden foods in diabetes therapy? See what few foods are off-limits-and be surprised! * What sugar substitute is not only non-caloric, all-natural, and 250 times sweeter than sugar? If you haven't heard of "stevia," it's time to get the facts! * How hard is it to change your diet? Find six "nothing-to-it" nutrition principles that make meals a cinch. * Can anything repair nerve damage (neuropathy)? Check out alpha lipoic acid...and the top ten nutrients for keeping you complication-free. * Exercise can bring you spectacular health benefits if you prepare. Find out how to protect your feet and keep your glucose from going crazy. * What is the effect of stress on diabetes? Negative emotions can send blood sugar skyrocketing...unless you know what to do. ...And More! Knowledge Is Your Best Weapon To Stop Diabetes Maggie Greenwood-Robinson, Ph.D., is a leading health and medical writer. She has authored or coauthored more than 30 books, including Good Carbs versus Bad Carbs and The Bikini Diet. She has a doctorate in nutritional counseling. Control Diabetes In Six Easy Steps By Maggie Greenwood-Robinson St. Martin's Press Copyright © 2002 Lynn Sonberg All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-312-28626-2 Contents Acknowledgments, Authors Note, Introduction: Embracing a New Way of Life, Part One: Diabetes: What You Need to Know, • Stopping a Silent Killer, • Unmasking Trouble: How Your Doctor Diagnoses Diabetes, • Preventing Life-Threatening Complications, • Choosing Quality Caregivers, • Medical Tests and Medications That Can Save Your Life, • Eat to Beat Diabetes: Understanding the Role of Nutrition, • The Exercise Connection, Part Two: Control Diabetes in Six Easy Steps, • Step 1: Follow a Healing, Healthy Diet, • Step 2: Drive Diabetes into Retreat with Natural Remedies, • Step 3: Test Your Blood Sugar Regularly, • Step 4: Get Fit to Fight Diabetes, • Step 5: Take Medicine if Your Doctor Prescribes It, • Step 6: Defeat Stress with Positive Living, Glossary, Resources, References, Index, CHAPTER 1 Stopping a Silent Killer If you have diabetes, take comfort in knowing that you're not alone in your challenges. In the United States, there are 16 million people with diabetes, and some 2,200 more are being diagnosed each day. There are many more people who have diabetes but aren't even aware of it — 5.4 million Americans to be exact, according to the American Diabetes Association. In fact, diabetes has been dubbed a "silent killer" because in the early stages of diabetes there are very few symptoms, or the symptoms are so mild that they don't seem to warrant serious attention. In fact, most people are unaware that they have it until diagnosed with one of its life-threatening complications, such as blindness, kidney disease, nerve disease, or cardiovascular disease. The early warning signs of diabetes are listed in the box on page 4 . Diabetes is on the rise too. Consider: While deaths from heart disease and cancer are falling, deaths from diabetes have been escalating for the past ten years. Though treatable, diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. It contributes to nearly two hundred thousand deaths a year. Even so, there is tremendous hope. Of all life-threatening diseases, diabetes is one of easiest to get under control, because it can be managed mostly with something we all need to do: healthy living. WHAT IS DIABETES? For background, diabetes is a disorder of metabolism — your body's food-to-fuel process. More specifically, diabetes is a sugar metabolism disorder in which there's too much sugar (glucose) in the blood. Glucose, your body's chief fuel, is always traveling through the bloodstream. Under normal conditions, it goes from the blood into cells, where it nourishes and energizes those cells. Glucose enters the cells with the help of a hormone called insulin, which is produced by beta cells in the pancreas, a flask-shaped organ situated behind and just belo