ANAGCEMEN New Reader-Friendly Book Paves 28-Day Path To Improving Blood Sugar Control for People with Diabetes (NAPSA)—More than 18 mil- lion Americans have diabetes, a disease that, if not properly managed, can make you feel poorly on a daily basis. Worse yet, if diabetes is not controlled, it can ultimately lead to longterm complications like heart disease, kidney disease, blindness, and amputation. Here’s where a new book can help. Lance Porter’s recently published “28 Days to Diabetes Control!” is a step-by-step guide that provides instruction, motivation, and empowermentto help patients get their diabetes headed in the right direction. At the end of the four weeks, patients who follow Porter’s plan will be well-versed in practical strategies that can help them move forward on the path to better diabetes control. Before even starting the 28-day program, Porter—also editor of “Diabetes Positive!” magazine— provides five essential steps for beginning to managediabetes: Step 1. Assemble a good medical team. It’s important to find a doctor you like, trust and are com- 28 DAYS 10 DIABETES FOREWORD BY MICHAEL HEILE, M.D. bONTROL! LOWER YOUR BLOOD SUGAR, IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH—AND REDUCE YOUR RISK OF DIABETES COMPLICATIONS LANCE PORTER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF “DIABETES POSITIVE!" MAGAZINE @) “28 Days to Diabetes Control!”is an easy-to-read guide that helps patients learn to better control their blood sugar levels and reducetheir risk of complications. your diabetes under control. Step 4, Maintain a positive fortable with, Porter notes. Fur- attitude. Porter suggests learning some positive thinking techniques, such as relaxation, meditation and positive self-talk. Step 5. Accept the situation, time to listen to your concerns. Porter reminds readers that peo- thermore, the doctor should have experience in treating diabetes patients and be willing to take the Step 2. Learn everything you can about diabetes. “People with diabetes manage their own health,” Porter writes, adding that while “your doctor and the rest of your health care team will help...day-to-day, you must administer your own treatment.” To do this effectively, you need to under- stand the disease. Step 3. Prepare. This is both a physical preparation (i.e. buying the supplies you'll need), as well as a mental one, because you must decide how yow’re going to handle the challenge of getting and get started on your new life. ple with diabetes love, work, laugh, play and plan for the future, just like everyoneelse. As an overall statement about the goals of the 28-day program, Porter writes that for people with diabetes, “the most important single fact you can know is this: the closer you keep your blood sugar to normal levels, the less chance you will have of ever experiencing any of the complications of diabetes.” For this reason, a key factor in Porter’s book is teaching his readers to understand how foods interact with medications and exercise to move blood sugarlevels up and down. Porter guides his readers through the processoffilling out a daily journal. In it, the patient records the results of daily blood sugar tests, calories of food consumed (including gramsof carbohydrate), time spent exercising, and the dosing times and amounts of medications taken. He then explains how to analyze the raw data to “take the mystery out of why your blood sugar is sometimes high and sometimes low.” Patients with diabetes who want try out Porter’s advice in “28 Days to Diabetes Control!” may find it easier if they have a good blood glucose meter, especially one that can record more than just blood sugarresults. “You'll need your blood sugar meter to have a good, easy-to-use memory. . .when you're trying to understand how your blood sugar is behaving over time,” writes Porter. The OneTouch UltraSmart Blood Glucose Monitoring System is one meter that’s helpful in illustrating blood sugar trends over time, and also oneof the systems that Porter has favorably reviewed in his monthly magazine. Not only does the system provide on-screen charts and graphs to help users see trends in their blood sugar levels, but its built-in electronic logbook also helps them easily capture information about their food, exercise and medication. This information can help them and their healthcare providers better understand how these factors are affecting their blood sugar so they can make changesto stay healthy. “28 Days to Diabetes Control!” is available at bookstores nationwide or at Web sites like Barnes andNoble.com and Amazon.com.
