Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution: The Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars

Dr. Bernstein is a truly remarkable man - he is both brilliant and really cares about diabetics (unlike some other authors I have read who seem more interested in promoting their own agenda). I know there are things he'd rather be doing at this point, but he continues to try to get information and help out to the rest of us, despite being treated quite poorly by much of the medical community, even as they gradually work their way to saying what he's been saying all along.Dr. B may be the oldest living (74 yrs old) Type I diabetic; he essentially cured himself of a number of severe diabetic complications (severe kidney disease among others) by experimenting on himself and learning how to keep his blood sugars constantly in the normal range. He believes that diabetics are entitled to the same blood sugars non-diabetics have. This is uncommon in the medical community, most of whom advocate target blood sugars for diabetics that are well above normal - and I guess they think we should just accept these high levels and the complications that flow from them.Since I discovered Dr. Bernstein, I've read his book and have also been listening to the Teleseminars he gives, for free, once a month, to answer questions people have ([...] - but please, read the book first - people who ask questions answered in the book will not be appreciated). I have learned a phenomenal amount.Anyway, about the book. It starts w/Dr. Bernstein's personal story, which is amazing but also a good way of introducing the basic approach he has come to and the rationale behind it.Exercise:Dr. Bernstein is a huge advocate of exercise for diabetics (especially Type II w/insulin resistance), and he discusses what he considers to be the best type of exercise for improving insulin sensitivity and reversing cardiovascular complications. He himself has a body-fat percentage of seven and (I've seen him in video) has amazing muscle tone for a man of any age, much less a diabetic man in his 70s.Diet:Dr. Bernstein also advocates a very low carbohydrate diet*, and the rationale is sound.a. For Type IIs, carbs are of course the source of glucose, and eating them forces whatever pancreatic beta cells you have left to wear themselves out producing insulin to cover what you ate. And, more than likely, if you're a Type II, you are insulin resistant which means you need to produce much more insulin than a normal person would to cover your carb intake. So, keeping carbs to a minimun gives your pancreas a break and may let you recover some (but probably not all) of the beta cells you've lost to overwork and glucose-related damage.b. For Type Is or insulin-dependent Type IIs, trying to accurately estimate how much insulin you need if you are eating a high carbohydrate meal is virtually impossible. Apparently, food manufacturers are allowed to be up to 20% off in their estimates of nutrient content. So, if you think you are eating a 100 g carb meal, you could be eating only 80g, in which case you've taken too much insulin and could have a hypoglycemic reaction, or you could be eating 120g, in which case your blood sugar will be too high.Medication:Because he is committed to the idea that diabetics are entitled to fully normal blood sugars (which he estimates to be 83 plus or minus 2), he readily advocates medications, up to and including insulin, if diet and exercise have not be enough to get blood sugars to normal levels. And again, the rationale is there. Most importantly, by the time you get fasting blood sugars in the pre-diabetic or diabetic range, you've lost a large percentage of your pancreatic beta cell function. [Why docs don't routinely do post-prandial blood sugars and/or Hemoglobin A1C screening is a mystery to me - if they did, many of us would have been in a position to prevent this damage much earlier.] In any case, you can give your pancreas a rest and allow your not-yet-dead beta cells to recover by a) reducing insulin resistance (with Insulin Sensitizing agents) and/or b) providing an external source of insulin (injecting) so that your pancreas doesn't have to do the work.Dr. B. discusses the various medications available, how they work and why he does or does not use them. He also covers information that is only relevant to people on insulin, but it is very interesting, and the practical details he covers really gives you a sense that this is someone who deals with diabetes and diabetics every day.I would especially encourage medical professionals to read this book. We desperately need more medical professionals who understand these things. If you are a diabetic or pre-diabetic, read the book (I'd recommend reading it a couple times) and pass it on to your doctor.Hope this was helpful to someone.*I have been a huge carb eater all my life, but cutting them out has not been nearly as difficult as I would have imagined. Even if you read this and think "I just couldn't do that," read the book anyway. Then decide.

Dr. Richard Bernstein probably knows more about managing diabetes than anyone who has ever lived. He has had Type 1 diabetes since age 12. He is now in his late 60's, still works full-time plus, exercises hours every day, and has more energy than most people of any age, with or without diabetes.At age 35, his body was falling apart due to the ravages of blood sugar. He had signs of kidney disease and eye disease and nerve pain in his legs.Then he discovered how to normalize his blood sugars through the program in this book. Most of his complications eventually disappeared, and he has had no new complications since. His theory (shared by most diabetes experts) is that the complications are due to high blood sugars. But his solution (keeping your blood sugars in the normal range 24 hours a day) is rejected by most doctors, who believe it is too difficult for most people.The three keys to his program are: A very-low carbohydrate diet - This is the most important part and will probably be helpful even without the other parts. Bernstein prescribes NO sugars, grains, fruits, milk, or starchy vegetables (fast-acting carbs.) He does recommend relatively small amounts of green vegetables and other slow-acting carbs, because of their vitamins and other nutrients. This is not an Atkins-style, no-carb diet.Frequent blood sugar monitoring to develop your "blood glucose profile." You need to learn exactly how different foods affect your sugars, and how sugars change overnight and with exercise. By checking his blood sugars after each food he ate, Bernstein discovered how carbs raised his blood sugar faster than his injected insulin could catch up. He has you check your blood sugar many times a day.Frequent dosing with fast-acting insulin or (for Type 2s) an insulin-sensitizing pill, to cover your meals, along with a low dose of long-acting insulin to get you through the night and early morning hours. He recommends insulin even for Type 2's who make some of their own, because he believes the injected insulin will take the pressure off the pancreas and allow it to heal.If this sounds like a difficult program, you haven't heard half of it yet. He also recommends extremely vigorous, anaerobic exercise. He prefers prolonged weight or resistance training to the point of pain, because building muscle mass helps soak up blood sugar and lessens insulin resistance.His program also requires you to counts carbs and proteins and calculate your proper insulin dose before meals. He recommends you have as many as four different kinds of insulin for different occasions. He wants you to floss after every meal to prevent dental infections. And there's a lot more.But is it worth it? In researching my upcoming book, "The Politics of Diabetes," I have interviewed four people who read his book. Two thought it was too hard to try. One stayed with the program for a while and says it helped, but he has slacked off. One woman stuck with it and says it saved her life.Diabetes experts I have queried are skeptical of how much the ultra-low-carb diet helps. They cite conflicting research and the success many patients have even on a balanced diet that includes fair amounts of carbs.There is also no agreement on the need to get blood sugars down to "normal" (less than 95, say.) Many docs think getting sugars down to 120 or even 140 will be sufficient to prevent complications in most people. True, but SOME people will get complications that would not have gotten them if they kept their sugars lower.You have to have some education and a lot of self-confidence to take this on, especially as it may mean educating your doctor as well. There is a steep learning curve, and this program will probably totally take over your life for the first weeks or even months. As you get used to it, it becomes less intrusive, but still much more so than the usual programs your doctor may put you on. It comes down to how important your health is to you, how much time and money you have to devote to your diabetes care, and especially how much support you have.Bernstein is aware of these difficulties. He consistently advises lower-cost alternatives to various medications and equipment, which makes him one of the few docs or self-help writers to recognize that money is a problem for many of us. But the book is a demanding read - densely packed with valuable information on everything from insulin injection and blood glucose checking techniques to the different kinds of oral diabetes medicines, from what to do when you're vomiting (call your doctor immediately!) to pages of low-carb recipes. The language and style probably work best for people with some college education, although a determined high school graduate could handle it. It also has a number of inspiring testimonials and a good sense of humor.I think that people who are having trouble managing their diabetes might want to try this program, or at least the low-carb diet part of it. If you want to do the whole thing, this book by itself won't be enough. You will need to get the help of a doctor and probably a diabetes educator as well, and having some supportive family wouldn't hurt.If you do try it, I support that decision. I'd like to hear how you do with it.

I brought this for my mum (type 2 diabetes) when her doctor told her that her blood sugars were still too high and he was recommending she start insulin injections. Three years on and she still hasn't started them and for that fact alone I can't rate this book highly enough.

Hard hitting no nonsense and anecdotal. Not for the faint hearted diabetic. Choose your own level of commitment to these solutions and you may improve your survival chances!

I bought this for my mum - she's been on insulin for over a decade and has reduced her dosage by over 90% and is planning on discussing with her GP and Diabetes team coming off it altogether...

Just basic information you can get anywhere

I have been following Dr Bernstein's advice for ten years and have found his is the only way that works for me. I am looking forward to his new book published I believe next December