I finally have had a chance to read Dennis Pollock's book, Overcoming Runaway Blood Sugar. Practical Help for: People fighting fatigue and mood swings -Hypoglycemics and diabetics -Those trying to control their weight
It is 217 pages and a very easy read. I enjoyed the author's conversational style and he made the idea of overcoming blood sugar problems very unmysterious and easy to comprehend.
The book starts with a story relating his own slide into pre-diabetes and how he became aware of the keys to keeping a stabilized blood sugar.
The book is divided into 2 sections: Where We're At and What To Do.
The first section has 4 chapters that deal with the lifestyle habits that have gotten so many of us in trouble and a very understandable section on how our bodies process blood sugar. A particularly enjoyable chapter for me in section 1 was chapter 4 on motivation. In this chapter he goes over 4 keys that help motivate a person to follow a change of lifestyle.
1. Understanding and Knowledge
2. Accountability - Instead of seeing the testing of your blood sugar as a gloomy proposition, he encourages people to use their glucometer (a blood sugar measuring device) as an accountability tool.
3. Joy
4. Success
The 2nd section gives practical instruction on how to combat blood sugar issues. Mr. Pollock likens the challenge to military battle and says there are 4 'fronts' we must conquer in order to be victorious.
Front 1: Diet
Front 2: Exercise
Front 3: Weight
In diet, he lists items that should now be on the 'no-no' list:
-Potatoes
-Rice
-Beans
-Fruits
-Sweets
-Pasta
-Bread
-Milk
Some of these, like beans and milk, may be a surprise. But as he recommends, use your glucometer to test it yourself. After eating servings of beans or cereal, many people will see a higher than usual rise in their blood sugar. The same with fruit. Although the fiber helps slow it down some, people who eat large quantities of fruit along with other high carb fare, may want to pare down to very limited amounts. He gives particular mention to bananas which are one of the worst offenders.
Many of these items are staples in your average home and are consumed in large quantities. There are, he encourages, many other low carb varieties of these items or alternate items you can consume. These are listed in chapter 8; The First Front: Diet Additions. They are:
-Meat
-Salad
-Nuts
-Low-Carb Substitutes
In the 'low-carb substitutes' he recommends low-carb muffin mixes (no particular brand) and low-carb pasta from a company called Dreamfields.
In this chapter, he even gives an example of how to make a meal at McDonald's much lower in carbs with a few strategic switches.
All in all this was quite an enjoyable read and I feel better equipped at keeping my blood sugar in balance. While not a diabetic, I can see that my current lifestyle could definetly predispose me to acquiring it in the future.
His main ideas of diet, exercise and weight are nothing we haven't heard before in the media or from the medical establishment BUT keeping your carbs at a lower level may be news to some who have been told that less meat, more carbs is the way to better health.
His question and answer section at the end of the book addresses concerns about excess meat, the safety of low carb, lack of energy on low-carb, getting family and friends onboard etc.
For the Christian believer, he has a great motivational chapter on seeing The Father as the author of healing and trusting Christ to help change our current habits into a healthier lifestyle.
If diabetes runs in your family; if you suffer with weight issues, particularly belly fat; if you get shaky and moody during certain times of the day and feel like you need to eat, I recommend you read this book and begin to implement the changes Mr. Pollock recommends.
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