Diabetes is all about sugar. And for the millions of people worldwide who live with one of the two forms of the disease, diabetes also is all about understanding causes, symptoms, treatments, and the importance of diet and exercise. Among medical conditions, few diseases have been shown to affect every part of the person. Diabetes claims that reputation, making knowledge the best medicine for thriving with -- not just surviving -- this common mind and body health challenge. A diagnosis of diabetes may send shivers through the patient, ripples that reach out to family, friends, associates, acquaintances, and folks who'll someday cross paths -- personally or professionally. Diabetes For Dummies speaks to anyone who wants to know what the disease will mean in their own or someone else's experience, from the first moment when the word darts out of the doctor's mouth through all the ups and down of a long and satisfying life. This down-to-earth, compassionate guide gives you the nitty-gritty on wa ys to * Prevent and manage diabetes * Choose the best treatment plan * Find the right practitioner * Build a support team * Stick to an effective diet program * Locate additional help online A healthy supply of knowledge and insight can help you face the facts of diabetes, a major medical condition surrounded by myth and personal opinion -- some well-founded and some, well, fabricated. Diabetes For Dummies explores the real deal on * Working through your initial reaction to a diagnosis of diabetes. * Knowing what whether you have type 1 or type 2. * Battling short- and long-term complications. * Monitoring your glucose. * Managing the disease with diet and exercise. * Helping your child or parent handle his or her own diabetes. * Cooking up diabetes-friendly meals with tasty recipes. By following the rules of good diabetic care, you actually can be healthier than people without diabetes who smoke, overeat, under-exercise, or combine these and other unhealthy habits. This friendly resource will move beyond the "bad" news sensed at diagnosis to a good start at staying fit and feeling great!

Table of Contents:
Introduction. PART I: Dealing With the Onset of Diabetes. Chapter 1: Dealing with Diabetes. Chapter 2: It's the Glucose. Chapter 3: What Type of Diabetes Do You Have? PART II: How Diabetes Affects Your Body. Chapter 4: Battling Short--Term Complications. Chapter 5: Preventing Long--Term Complications. Chapter 6: Diabetes, Sexual Function, and Pregnancy. PART III: Managing Diabetes: The "Thriving with Diabetes" Lifestyle Plan. Chapter 7: Glucose Monitoring and Other Tests. Chapter 8: Diabetes Diet Plan. Chapter 9: Keeping It Moving: Exercise Plan. Chapter 10: Medications: What You Should Know. Chapter 11: Diabetes Is Your Show. Chapter 12: Putting Your Knowledge to Work for You. PART IV: Special Considerations for Living with Diabetes. Chapter 13: Your Child Has Diabetes. Chapter 14: Diabetes and the Elderly. Chapter 15: Occupational and Insurance Problems. Chapter 16: What's New in Diabetes Care. Chapter 17: What Doesn't Work When You're Treating Diabetes. PART V: The Part of Tens. Chapter 18: Ten Ways to Prevent or Reverse the Effects of Diabetes. Chapter 19: Ten Myths about Diabetes That You Can Forget. Chapter 20: Ten Ways to Get Others to Help You. PART VI: Appendixes. Appendix A: Mini--Cookbook. Appendix B: Exchange Lists. Appendix C: Dr. W.W. Web. Appendix D: Glossary. Index. Book Registration Information.