Last Updated on December 11, 2024
The internet is fast becoming the dominant source of information, but often it’s hard to trust what you read online (this blog, of course, is an exception). For those who are living with diabetes, learning about your condition is an important way of taking control of your life and well-being, so garnering information about diabetes is essential. There are many wonderful books out there that shine a light on diabetes and can support you living with and managing your condition. Whether you’ve recently received a diagnosis or you’re a diabetic veteran, these are the essential books you need to read.
1) Think Like a Pancreas by Gary Scheiner
This book is so valuable because it demystifies diabetes through clear and concise writing. Often, our disease is shrouded in obscurity, making it hard to find the right choices about our diet and lifestyle. Scheiner explores the many variables
that will help you manage your diabetes, from insulin to stress and armed with this knowledge you’ll feel so much more secure.
2) Balancing Diabetes by Kerri Sparling
If you’re tired of reading stale medical accounts that forget that real people live with this condition, you’ll love Sparling’s beautifully written account of living with diabetes. Although this book is packed with wisdom about how to manage diabetes, it’s most valuable for it’s wit and humanity which shine through on every page.
3) Diabetes Burnout: What to Do When You Can’t Take It Anymore by Bill Polonsky
Whilst Bill Polonsky hasn’t personally experienced diabetes, he’s been studying it for his whole career and has taken a truly personal approach towards understanding the effect of this condition. As the founder of the Behavioral Diabetes Institute, Polonsky has been helping people manage the psychological impact of diabetes, an often understated issue. This book is there for you when it all gets to be too much.
4) 50 Secrets of the Longest Living People With Diabetes by Sheri Colberg and Steven Edelman
Colberg and Edelman have gathered an authoritative account of living with diabetes. This isn’t another boring medical text – rather, it’s real-life stories, anecdotes and other personal accounts coming from people who have gotten on top of their condition. This book reveals there’s no one way to live with diabetes, rather you need to find a balance that works for you, and yet everything about the stories in this book are relatable. It emphasizes that you’re not alone in what you’re going through, something we all need to hear occasionally.
5) Diabetes 365: Tips for Living Well by by Susan Weiner and Paula Ford Martin
By breaking it down into bite size chunks, Weiner and Martin will help you manage your portion-sizes of advice! With a tip for every day of the year covering everything from diet, exercise and mental health, this book makes living with diabetes a little more digestible.
6) The ABCs of Loving Yourself With Diabetes by Riva Greenberg
Riva Greenberg received her diabetes diagnosis over 40 years ago and she’s become a powerful advocate of living life to the full, despite her condition. This energetic and inspirational account of not to let diabetes take over your life will be brilliant for anyone struggling with motivation when it comes to managing your condition.
7) The Book of Better: Life With Diabetes Can’t Be Perfect — Make It Better by Chuck Eichten
Chuck Eichten has drawn on his long career as a design director for Nike to create this visually stunning and conceptually unique book about diabetes. Using his design background to turn each page into a work of art, this book is packed with unique advice in a beautiful format that will help to inform your own practice for living with diabetes.
8) The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite by David Kessler
David Kessler has been at the forefront of transforming America’s culture of consumption and poor-health for decades, starting out with a crusade against the tobacco industry. Inspired by his success in this regard, he’s turned his attention to junk food. In this book he explores the cultural imperative built by American advertising on overeating, and anyone who’s living with diabetes will find it hugely informative. Kessler’s account will arm you with the facts that you need to take control over your diet.
9) The Ultimate Guide to Carb-Counting: Featuring the Tools and Techniques Used By Experts by Gary Scheiner
We started this list with Scheiner’s Think Like A Pancreas and we’ll finish it with this informative and practical guide to counting carbs. Scheiner has spent his life understanding diabetes and this book will help you understand exactly how your diet affects your disease. This is an easy-to-follow account that will enable you to get to grips with the basics of managing your diet, and ultimately your disease.
Wrapping Up
From cutting edge medical research to personal narratives, these books tell you everything you need to know about diabetes. There are many people who came before you, learning how to live with this condition. Remember you’re not alone.
