41. Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes

by Dr. Neal Barnard

started 9/6/07 finished 9/7/07

I will start numbering the book posts so you can see how many books I actually read in a year. (Brag much, Toni?)

I heard about this book while listening to Dr. Mehmet Oz's show on XM radio. During the interview, Dr. Barnard mentioned that the best diet for diabetics is a vegan one. As some of you know, my mother died officially from complications of diabetics (unofficially I think that she was just ready to go), and I have been flirting with veganism for a few years, so I checked this book out from work.

Dr. Barnard's father was a doctor who specialized in diabetes and recognized that some of the conventional medical wisdom had to be thrown out of the window. Picking up where his father left off, Dr. Barnard has been exploring further the role that diet plays in the disease. He believes that the elimination of animal fats (in the form of meat & dairy) are more detrimental even than the carbs that everyone is trying to stay away from. He even says it is okay to eat pasta! The effect that carbs has on blood sugar or your body's glycemic index is far less than animal products.

Dr. Barnard's book includes case studies, meal plans and recipes. I read this book in a day because I read a lot of information on healthy eating, vegetarianism, and veganism and I knew much of this stuff already. I have already replaced most of the dairy, eggs, & sugar in my diet with healthy alternatives. Eating prepared food out is my biggest downfall.

Now, you know that I can sometimes be the food police. And you also know that I have my fair share of turkey sandwiches and frappacino-type drinks. But lately I have been feeling those things affecting my blood sugar quicker than they have in the past and I for one can't continue to eat this way. It's not as hard as you think it is to cut out meat from your diet. I have done it before and only went back out of pure laziness. But as a 42 year old woman who has yet to have children I have to be more vigilant about what I put in my body. Looks like I will be moving closer to veganism than ever before.