Every 21 seconds, another person is is diagnosed as diabetic, a point the American Diabetes Association points out dramatically in its new campaign, which I wrote about previously. With 20.8 million children and adults afflicted in the U.S., these people need to learn to take good care of themselves.
Even more tragic is that devastating effects of this disease such as heart attack, stroke, blindness and limb amputations are largely preventable. Which is why the new book, Know Your Numbers, Outlive Your Diabetes, from journalist and type 1 diabetic Amy Tenderich and Richard A. Jackson, M.D., director of outreach at the Joslin Diabetes Center, is just what the doctor ordered, so to speak.
No longer can people with diabetes plead: “Oh, I don’t know what to do.” Neither will they be able to bemoan: “I’m confused about how to manage my diabetes.”
Indeed, the new book — which the authors claim is the first-ever, hands-on DIY [that’s do-it-yourself] guide to avoiding the long-term damage that diabetes can cause” — teaches readers “to understand, track, and prioritize their five most critical health factors — A1c, blood pressure, lipids (HDL, LDL, triglycerides), microalbumin, and yearly eye exam.”
What’s more, patients who find that any of those five values are out of range, will find in the book “detailed strategies and doable action plans for improving them.”
What’s alarming, the authors observe, is that “these five simple medical tests are currently the best and only measures indicating each person’s own individual diabetes health risks. Yet despite being widely accessible and easy to administer (and covered by nearly every health plan), fewer than 42% of adults with diabetes have either had these tests, or understand what the results mean, according to an April 2006 report by USA Today.”
Yikes. That’s scary. So those of you with diabetes, take note, here’s a book that can help you avoid getting those tragic complications and give you some tips to live a long, healthy life.
By the way, if you’re on the fence about whether or not to purchase Know Your Numbers, Outlive Your Diabetes, you’ll want to check out the exciting reviews to date.
By the way, recently, Amy was nice enough to recently write about my book SUGAR SHOCK! on her Diabetes Mine blog.
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