School has been keeping me busy this past year so I haven’t had a chance to read as many books as I had hoped. Usually I borrow a book from the library first before buying it. I’ve read more than 5 but these are the ones that I thought were the most helpful or enjoyed reading and ultimately purchased them. I think you’ll like them too.

1).Blood Sugar 101: What They Don’t Tell You About Diabetes by Jenny Ruhl

This book is one that every new diabetic should purchase after being diagnosed. Tons of easy to understand information on topics such as what is a normal blood sugar level, how does diabetes develop, types of diabetic medications, what causes diabetic complications and, the extremely important, how to prevent complications. She discusses how normal blood sugar levels can be maintained by eating a low carb or controlled carb diet. She also has a great chapter on dealing with hypoglycemic reactions so your blood sugar levels don’t keep spiking up and down. Often, when having a hypoglycemic reaction, people taken in too much sugar in an attempt to raise their blood sugar levels. Rather than bringing their blood sugar levels up to normal they end up going up into the hyperglycemic range which only causes the body to over produce insulin in response to the high level. Using Jenny’s technique you can prevent those down – up – down spikes that can cause small vessle damage.

2).  Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution: The Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars by Richard K. Bernstein, M.D.
Dr. Bernstein is a Type 1 diabetic who is now in his late 70′s and does not have diabetic complications. Virtually unheard of these days! He avoided these problems by following an extremely low carb diet (30 to 35 grams daily) for most of his life. He explains step by step how to achieve normal blood sugar levels through diet and, when needed, medication. For Type 1 diabetics he also explains how he teaches his patients to use a low carb diet to reduce the amount of insulin they must take. The book includes some recipes to get you started on eating a low carb diet. Another great book for any type of diabetic.

3). Sugar Nation: The Hidden Truth Behind America’s Deadliest Habit and the Simple Way to Beat It by Jeff O’Connell

This book tells the story of how Jeff learned his father was diabetic and had lost a leg to diabetic complications. He never would have guessed that he was going down the diabetic path himself until being diagnosed as prediabetic. Who would have thought that someone who was thin and fit could become diabetic. After all most people think it only affects those who are overweight. But, as Jeff learns, a diet high in refined carbs and sugars can causse even those who do not have weight problems into diabetics. He spends years interviewing a wide variety of experts on the subject of diabetes and how to prevent it. While the ADA continues to recommend that diabetics eat a high carb diet and use medication to control their blood sugars Jeff finds that many in the medical field suggest a low carb diet and exercise instead. Read this book to find out why many of our current food policies that are suppose to guide us to better health are actually increasing the number of people who have diabetes in one form or another.

4). Sugar Shock!: How Sweets and Simple Carbs Can Derail Your Life– and How YouCan Get Back on Track by Connie Bennett and Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D.

Successful control of blood sugar levels are dependant on the individual to follow a diet that works for them. But, it’s even more helpful when other family members follow a similar path. While this book was not written specifically for diabetics I think it would be a great benefit for family members of the diabetic to read it. Family members may feel that they aren’t diabetic so why should they cut back on refined carbs and sweets? Read Sugar Shock to find out why. I think many people don’t realize that they way they feel throughout the day is often due to their body reacting to a constant flow of sugar. Get up in the morning and you feel sluggish until eating breakfast. Arrive at work and your yawning until morning break where you grab some coffee or a soda and a sugar filled snack. Lunch time arrives and your stomach is growling for food yet you just ate a snack (or two) just a short time ago. Head home from work after making a quick trip to the vending machine for another sugary fix. You don’t have to be diabetic to have a serious sugar addiction that leads to side effects such as fatigue, brain fog, mood swings, PMS, headaches, digestive problems, aches, pains and much more. Just about every person could benefit from reducing and removing sugar and simple carbs from their lives. This book provides compelling reasons why and how they can do it.

5). Real Food: What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck

Another great all purpose nutrition book for every member of the family. Everyday we see ads for food. We shop at grocery stores and make quick stops for various items at local convience stores. Yet how much of what we buy is really “real” food? Learn what our great grandmothers knew about food – real food isn’t filled with newly created industrial ingredients such as soy protein, corn syrup and low fat margarine. Though real food can be found at grocery stores you’ll discover that some of the best quality items come from your local farmers and farmer’s markets. Discover why you shouldn’t fear fat, beef, cheese, butter, eggs and much more.

These are just 5 of my favorite books that I’ve read over the past year. I’m sure there are many more that I haven’t had a chance to read just yet. Got a favorite book? Why not leave a comment and let others know which books you liked or even didn’t like reading.

Disclaimer: Should you decide that you’d like to purchase any of the above books help a poor college student out and buy them through my amazon links (clicking on the book title will take you there to buy). The small amount of money I would earn is only sent right back to amazon when I purchase books for my upcoming classes. Thanks!

Over the weekend I received a package in the mail. I had won a prize during the canning week block party that had been held at Mess Hall To Bistro  and A Latte With Ott, A. Here is the prize:

It’s the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving. This book has all the basics on canning as well as other preservation methods including freezing and dehydrating. So far I’ve only canned jam, salsa and tomato sauce. I hope to get a pressure canner soon so this book will come in handy.

The smaller book is the Ball Idea Book. It’s got a bunch of ideas on how to use canning jars for something other than canning. There are instructions on using a canning jar to make a soap dispenser, jar lamps and luminaries. The coolest idea is on using the jars to make your own gazing balls. Or actually gazing jars. That’s a pretty neat idea. There’s also a few recipes for making jar mixes to give as gifts.

Also included were a couple of coupons for jars and a canning kit. The jar coupon will come in handy because I need more. The kit coupon will be passed along to a friend.

Thanks so much to both Jen  and Ott, A  for having the canning week party. Stop by their sites and check out the links containing recipes and ideas from the party.

If, in the future, I should become some kind of renegade dietitian who sits in class chanting “fat is good” quitely to myself then Gary Taubes and his book Good Calories, Bad Calories is the one to blame. Though my teachers would be very unhappy I would happily thank him for causing such trouble.

For too many years fat and meat have been looked down on. They’ve been blamed for all of our health woes. Numerous scientific studys have been done that supposedly point the finger at these evil foods. We don’t really hear or see what they actually show so we can have a better understanding of what they have discovered. Instead we only get bits and pieces which are then blown out of proportion by the media and even the scientists themselves. This is the first book that I’ve read that goes over the evidence that’s often touted to condem meat and fat.  I’ve read about many of these dietary studies in nutrition classes. What they often fail to do is fully explain things because, if they did, you would see that meat and fat are not the evil doers that they are made out to be.

If you want a better explaination of what they did discover then I would highly recommend you read this book. It gives incredible, easy to understand explainations. Often times many of the researchers are quoted and their own words will show you that what we have been told are the reasons for the current dietary guidelines are actually not in our best interests. It’s a long book, 601 pages in length, but it’s worth slowly making your way through it especially if you have any type of diabetes, are prediabetic, have PCOS or have often wondered why you can never lose weight no matter how little you eat. You won’t be sorry.

The ones who one day will be sorry are the manufacturers of high carb, low fat, overly processed foods. Oh, and the drug companies and the government most likely won’t be too happy when more and more people take back their own health by dropping the processed carbs and eating more fat and meat.

A few of the things I’ve learned from the book:

* Dietary fat is not evil and is not the cause of obesity, heart disease and diabetes……white carbs are to blame!

* The more processed the carbs the greater the impact on the body and insulin secretion.

* Sugar, even if it’s naturally produced (raw cane sugar, turbinado sugar, honey, etc) just might be the source of all evil…well, dietary wise anyways. If sugar isn’t evil then High Fructose Corn Syrup most certainly is because of the way it’s broken down by the body.

* I FINALLY understand why I’ve never been able to lose weight and keep it off following all those low fat, high carb diets….I was physically making myself more hungry and always felt horrible (I was told it was my body detoxing from everything the evil dietary fat had done to me)

* Insulin is the main hormone that regulates fat storage. Meals filled with mainly carbs, especially the highly processed ones, are quickly turned into fat. This happens even if you consume fewer calories by dieting.

There’s so much more information in the book then I could cover in one blog post. My suggestion to you is to buy this book or get it from your local library and slowly read through it. You won’t be sorry!