Sunday 20 November 2011

Sunday November 20th, 2011 Library Books for Diabetes Awareness Month

When most people think about diabetes, they immediately think about type 2. It’s no wonder: over the last few decades there has been an epidemic of type 2 diabetes, leaving the media focused on that form of the disease. But as someone living with type 1, a lot of what the media reports doesn’t directly apply to people like me. Luckily the public library has resources that can help.

Unlike type 2, type 1 diabetes isn’t lifestyle related; the pancreas stops working and the body requires insulin injections to live a healthy life. Type 1 was formerly called juvenile diabetes because many cases are diagnosed during childhood, but the disease appears in teenagers and adults, too.

If you are a parent, hearing that your child has diabetes can be devastating. But don’t despair: both you and your child will survive! Laura Hieronymus and Patti Geil’s 101 Tips for Raising Healthy Kids with Diabetes has lots of really good advice for parents of kids with diabetes; this book is great for parents who are just learning about their child’s disease. A similar book is When a Child Has Diabetes by Denis Daneman, Marcia Frank and Kusiel Perlman. This one is written in an engaging way and is more accessible for Canadians but is about 10 years old and a little out of date. Both of these books look at diabetes in children; adults with type 1 will not find them very interesting.

For me, it’s often a struggle to find easy recipes that provide nutritional information. So a few months ago I went on a quest to find something that met these requirements. What I found was Canada's Best Cookbook for Kids with Diabetes by Colleen Baartley. Don't let the name fool you, this has recipes that anyone will enjoy. And unlike many of the cookbooks written for people with type 2 diabetes, this one has all the nutritional information (especially carbohydrates) you will need to accurately measure your insulin.

Most of the books the library currently has on type 1 diabetes are written for parents of children with diabetes. But once children get a little older, they will start dealing with the disease themselves (with family and friend support). For teenagers, the library also has Type 1 Teens: A Guide to Managing Your Life with Diabetes by Korey K. Hood. This book gives strategies to help teenagers stay in control of diabetes management during their high school years. Type 1 Teens assumes you already know how to manage your diabetes; it focuses on helping you navigate social circles and avoid diabetes burnout. While this book has some excellent tips that adults with type 1 will find helpful, it is written primarily for teens.

While researching this column, I discovered that the library didn’t have any books written for adults who have type 1 diabetes; to correct this omission, the library has recently ordered a few new books. So if you’re looking for this information, keep an eye out for Type 1 Diabetes in Children, Adolescents and Young Adults by Ragnar Hagnas, and Type 1 Diabetes in Adults by Barbara Simon. Both should be arriving soon.

While I have highlighted collection material that focuses on type 1 diabetes, the Library also has plenty of material for people with type 2; a keyword search in the library catalogue for “diabetes” yielded over 200 titles. The Canadian Diabetes Association has also generously donated many books. Visit our Virtual Collection to find articles on diabetes in databases such as Health & Wellness Resource Centre and Health Reference Centre Academic. So whether you have type 1 or type 2, the library is a great informational resource for those with diabetes.

Shauna Kosoris

1 comment:

Shauna said...

The Canadian Diabetes Association would like me to add that all of their cookbooks have the full nutritional breakdown for all of their recipes! So if you're looking for that information, definitely check out their other titles as well!