cover image 50 Essential Things to Do When the Doctor Says It's Diabetes

50 Essential Things to Do When the Doctor Says It's Diabetes

Diana Tonnessen. Plume Books, $11.95 (240pp) ISBN 978-0-452-27620-8

Diana Tonnessen. Plume, $10.95 (220p) ISBN 0-452-27620-9 Tonnessen, coauthor of Living with Diabetes, is a medical writer with a mission: getting newly diagnosed diabetics to take a proactive approach. As articulated in this no-nonsense, well-organized introduction to diabetes, that means first understanding one's condition and then setting up a management plan. Concentrating on the latter, Tonnessen offers a very brief explanation of Types I and II diabetes, before moving on to advice on how to assemble a health-care team and set up a diabetes care plan. Her primary concerns are nutrition, exercise, medication and monitoring one's blood sugar levels, but she doesn't overlook such aspects as emergency situations, long-term complications, illness, pregnancy and stress. Some of the 50 mini-chapters contain multiple admonitions and instructions, giving this basic do's and don'ts book more depth than the title suggests. The focus here is on practical advice. An appendix lists additional sources of information, cookbooks and nutrition guides. (Aug.)