The 5 Must-Reads from The Healthy Diabetic


 2016-01-27

From the moment I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes I wanted to know as much as I could in order to help myself. Being 22, I plunged into this strange new world pretty much overnight and having very little knowledge on the condition, I thought the best way to try and make sense of everything was to take control of my health through education.

I’m a big advocate of education. I believe the best person who can help you is you, and that is especially true when it comes to diabetes management. My thought process was that if I get my overall health under control, then controlling my diabetes management would, hopefully, be a little more straightforward.

There are many books out there that are aimed directly for people with diabetes. Many you can pick up online or in your local book store that will give you a real insight into this crazy and, at times, unpredictable world. But after four years of being a person with type 1 diabetes, I’ve found a mixture of diabetes specific and overall health-management books that have helped me the most. Once read, I’ve then used these to tie into my own every-day and long-term health and applied, where necessary, to my diabetes management.

Today, I want to share the top five books that I’ve come across that have helped me the most in understanding and living with diabetes over the last four years—both from a mental and physical standpoint.

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5 – Diabetes: A practical guide to managing your health by Rosemary Walkers & Jill Rodgers

The week I got diagnosed my parents bought me this and it’s still on my desk right next to me as I write this. It’s my go-to guide on all things diabetes related. It covers a huge variety of topics from the basics, to the gender specifics, to nutrition, to exercise and onto potential complications. It’s a fantastic go-to book.

4 – The Chimp Paradox by Professor Steve Peters

Diabetes is just as much a mental battle sometimes as it is a physical one. During the start of 2015, I went through a period of depression and was recommended this book by a friend. This book, alongside therapy, was incredibly helpful to understand why my mind was acting a certain way, to understand my own emotions and thought processes and to help me work on the mental side of my health in order to move forward in a direction I was happier with.

3 – Thinking like a Pancreas by Gary Scheiner

Everything you could possibly want to know about diabetes is within this book. Gary, a person with type 1 diabetes himself, has produced a light-hearted yet professional book, all to do with living with this condition. It gives straightforward and easy-to-follow advice and helped me understand how to regulate my blood glucose levels better and reduce my HbA1c. My top diabetes specific book.

2 – Fitter Food: A Lifelong Recipe by Keris Marsden & Matt Whitmore

This book changed my nutrition and eating habits forever. Keris and Matt have produced a wonderfully straightforward nutrition book, teaching the basics of building a healthy plate of food, dispelling myths and giving easy recipes with delicious ingredients. For a person with diabetes, I believe it is crucial to have a good and balanced diet that’s packed with plenty of good, single-ingredient foods. Having this knowledge has helped me control my blood sugar levels immensely and this book is a brilliant starting point to do just that. Highly recommended.

1 – Eat, Move & Be Healthy by Paul Chek.

My “bible” on all things health. I believe that health management falls under four main categories—nutrition, exercise, sleep and stress management. All four of these play a big role in controlling my own diabetes and my overall health. Chek’s book allows you to easily read through and create your own eating and exercise plan whilst giving you the tools to make healthier and better decisions when it comes to your overall health management. Under the guidance of this book and applying it’s principles into my own diabetes management, it’s allowed me to control my blood glucose levels on a day-to-day basis, helped towards keeping my HbA1c in good range and improved my overall health tremendously. I cannot recommend this book enough for everyone.

Check out Dan’s YouTube channel—The Healthy Diabetic


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WRITTEN BY Daniel Piper, POSTED 01/27/16, UPDATED 07/25/23

Dan, who was diagnosed as a person with type 1 diabetes at the age of 22 in 2011, is a health and fitness enthusiast who is passionate about promoting a healthy lifestyle to help others with their condition. Dan uses his blog and YouTube channel to share his own experiences and help others with their education of managing their diabetes. Dan currently lives in London, England and blogs at www.thehealthydiabetic.co.uk and runs a YouTube channel: “The Healthy Diabetic”.