Introduction

Neither one of us began our career knowing that we'd become so involved in supporting people with diabetes. Our shared passion has always been to help people lead their best lives. We both wanted to support people through illness and lead them to better health. As medical and culinary professionals with decades of experience, we soon realized how healthful lifestyle components that could powerfully and positively influence well-being and prevent illness were often missing from people's lives. On a daily basis, we recommend the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle for people in our care and influence to live better and longer. Fortunately, even though we're based in the United States and England, countless principles of this ancient way of living can still be enjoyed today anywhere on the planet.

According to the American Diabetes Association, 1.4 million Americans are diagnosed with diabetes each year. In 2019, 37.3 million Americans, or 11.3 percent of the population, had diabetes. Many nations around the world aren't far behind. There's a need to offer positive, easy-to-implement practices that can prevent people from developing diabetes in the first place, as well as help them reverse, or at a very minimum, live their best life while dealing with it.

You're reading the 6th edition of Diabetes For Dummies, and you may be wondering why another edition is necessary. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently suggested that as many as one in three adults in the United States will have diabetes by the year 2050. The International Diabetes Federation reports that 387 million people had diabetes in 2014 and that 552 million will have the disease by 2030 - that's one in every ten people. There has never been a better time to reverse those grim statistics. At the time of writing this book, the amount of free references and information on diabetes, availability of healthful food choices, and information on powerful lifestyle medicine are better than ever. Our intention is to present them in a palatable manner that will enable you or your patients or loved ones to put them to good use.

From Dr. Simon Poole: My journey to combine medical practice with writing and speaking on the subject of diet and lifestyle began several years ago when emerging evidence began to show how powerfully the way we live affects our chances of becoming ill or flourishing in good health. As physicians, we're generally trained to approach our medical careers with the emphasis on using medicines to reverse established illness. However, I soon realized that the most rewarding approach to medicine was to combine the application of modern medical therapies with a broader paradigm to encourage and inspire people to take control of their health as much as possible through the ways they live their lives.

Many of my patients in Cambridge, England, at first perceived that the journey to an improved lifestyle would be one of pain and misery, but they soon found the opposite to be true. Equipped with a greater understanding of the ways in which exercise and diet (in the form of positive nutrition) can dramatically improve well-being was key to their success. Soon patients who were following a Mediterranean lifestyle were showing powerfully improving results, mirroring as individuals the evidence that was being documented in scientific research. During my career, I've seen rates of obesity, diabetes, and the illnesses associated with these conditions soar. It's become clear that a compelling need exists to look after growing numbers of people with diabetes in our communities with the best possible medical care but also to be empowered to choose the route to optimum health and well-being through wise and enjoyable lifestyle decisions.

Though science and medicine can be complex and sometimes difficult to fully grasp, it's also true that when communicated in a clear and concise way, the stories they tell and the secrets they can reveal may be understood by all. This is the journey on which we have the privilege to be your guides.

From Amy Riolo: My entire career was unintentionally based on diabetes. Had it not been for my mother's diagnosis with type 2 diabetes when I was 15, I'd probably have never thought about it. But I had the responsibility of cooking for my mom and our family, and I chose to use it as an opportunity to help heal her while creating delicious meals that the rest of us would enjoy as well. In those days, my actions were a simple labor of love that I never dreamed would lead to a career. I painfully witnessed my mother and others suffer complications from diabetes that I would love to eradicate forever.

For that reason, I decided to dedicate my life to help others nourish not only their bodies but their minds and spirits as well. I am now a Mediterranean Lifestyle Ambassador because I witnessed my family members living in Calabria, Italy, with relatively few major health complications and enjoying their lives much longer than most people do in the United States. It's not only their diet but also their mentality and lifestyle that makes the difference. Nowadays, each of my cookbooks attempts to capture those often unspoken "secrets" of the Mediterranean diet that make it so successful, while "translating" them in a manner that could be interpreted and followed anywhere.

My greatest goal is to have my readers enjoy as much "sweetness from life" as possible. I believe that time spent with a loved one, a good laugh, holding someone's hand, hugs, watching sunsets, and whatever your daily pleasures happen to be are the glue that anchors a healthful diet and lifestyle together. These events give us the inspiration to continue and to make positive choices. I created the recipes in the appendix with a desire to provide as many nutrients, vitamins, and minerals as possible while ensuring flavor and variety as well. I hope they're as fun for you to make as they are delicious to eat.

May you enjoy each of my recipes with pleasure and health!

About This Book

This new and revised edition of Diabetes For Dummies builds on the widely respected and successful previous editions with a new approach.

We describe the latest medical treatments in their relevant chapters. There continues to be considerable progress made toward understanding the underlying causes of diabetes, and in particular, there's a greater understanding of the links between diabetes, the chronic diseases that complicate diabetes, and the role of chronic inflammation. Diet, exercise, and perhaps other aspects of the way we live can certainly affect the degree to which chronic inflammation impacts our bodies, and so we certainly have some control over our lives, whether diagnosed with any of these conditions or are apparently healthy.

This book takes a much more holistic look at diabetes, not just as an illness that may have medical treatments but also as it relates to our lives and communities. We also embrace ideas of health being integral to our mind and spirit as well as our bodies and discuss therapies and ways of living that are often omitted from books about medical conditions.

The new edition can be used as a general resource for anyone desiring to understand the latest on diabetes or as a faithful companion to someone who is living with the disease or newly diagnosed. We recommend flipping through the chapters to read what is most beneficial to you. If you're newly diagnosed, have been misinformed, or are just learning about diabetes, it would be beneficial to read it from cover to cover at your leisure.

Most importantly, remember that as you make a decision to take care of your health, once you get started, it will be easier than you may think. The emotional and psychological benefits of fresh air, exercise, eating well, and so on soon become addictive, and you'll find yourself craving more. There's no need to do everything all at once. We recommend starting slowly and implementing new, positive actions as often as is comfortable for you. You may choose to swap out some unhealthy food choices for better ones from this book. Let that be your only change for a week. The following week, you may choose to add exercise, and the week after that, you may commit to learning to cook so that you can make more nutritious meals for yourself.

The good news is, the more you do, the more empowered you'll feel. Every good change, no matter how small, will add up over time. We can't stress enough the importance of learning how to cook at home, or in committing to cook more if you don't already do so. Cooking skills are the foundation of a healthful diet because they give you the tools to create nutritious food for yourself when you need it. Most importantly, try to use this, and your diagnosis, as an excuse as well as a guide to living your best life. Many modern societies aren't created to keep people in top shape, and it's easy to become consumed in work, commitments, and schedules. Sometimes an illness can help you prioritize yourself and your needs. Let this book inspire you to give yourself the gift of good health. You and everyone around you will benefit from this courageous commitment.

Foolish Assumptions

This book assumes that you know nothing about diabetes, so you won't have to face a term that you've never heard of before and that isn't explained. For those who already know a lot about diabetes, you can find more in-depth explanations in this book as well. You can pick and choose how much...