Thrive With Diabetes by Laurence Chalem |
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| Written by Tim Boyd |
| April 16 2009 |
A Thumbs Down Book Review
Thrive with Diabetes starts off with a lot of technical detail— the three main types of diabetes, symptoms, treatments, and what is happening down to the molecular level. While it was slightly intriguing to learn of a Type 2 diabetes treatment based on lizard drool (more specifically Gila monster saliva), the first 180 pages are pretty dry and tedious. Some of the technical details are a little beyond my expertise or ability to pass judgment on. On page 180, the book suddenly and uncharacteristically starts to get more interesting. Then I noticed that the author is quoting extensively from the introduction of Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, PhD. Chalem also has several quotes from Know Your Fats by Mary Enig. He recognizes the importance of fat in the diet, but beyond that he starts to diverge from Weston A. Price principles. There is a comment about saturated fat being associated with cardiovascular disease and in several places unsaturated fat is recommended over saturated fat. He also says that all vegetables should be eaten raw. I was hoping to see some discussion of the role of trans fats in insulin resistance per Mary Enig. He does point out that they should be avoided, but that is one area where he doesn’t go into a lot of detail. After this somewhat distorted view on what is supposed to be good nutrition, Chalem goes into lifestyle advice. The psychology section is based on the work of Erik Erikson, who was inspired by Sigmund Freud. I’ve never been a fan of Freud and this section contains occasionally obvious statements separated by long stretches of psychoanalytic mumbo-jumbo. One of the main points of the book is that a carefully balanced low-carbohydrate diet makes diabetes much easier to control and easier to maintain stable blood sugar levels. I have no argument with that, but this is a thumbs downer book that the average reader, diabetic or not, will probably not have the mental endurance to make it through.  This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly journal of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Winter 2008. About the Reviewer Tim Boyd was born and raised in Ohio, graduated from Case Western Reserve University with a degree in computer engineering, and worked in the defense industry in Northern Virginia for over 20 years. During that time, a slight case of arthritis led him to discover that nutrition makes a difference and nutrition became a serious hobby. After a pleasant and satisfying run in the electronics field, he decided he wanted to do something more important. He is now arthritis free and enjoying his dream job working for the Weston A. Price Foundation.
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written by Tim Boyd, Dec 17 2009
My humble apologies for the mistakes (the typos have been corrected on the website). I try hard to be careful with reviews but clearly I need to try harder. Submissions for future reviews can always be sent to info@westonaprice.org.
Author/subtitle corrected
written by Jill Nienhiser, Dec 16 2009
I have corrected the author's name and subtitle of the book per the Author's comment.
Author written by Laurence D. Chalem, Jul 15 2009
First, thank you for the feedback, Tim. I agree with you that to favor unsaturated fat over saturated fat such as coconut oil is a major oversight. I was wrong and hope you can forgive me. I believe you have an original copy of the book; it has since been updated with a section devoted to coconut oil. My position is that saturated fat should be the primary fat in the diet, then some mono-unsaturated fat, such as macadamia nut oil or olive oil, then very little mostly poly-unsaturated oil such as fish oil.
Although subtle to a fault, the primary message I was hoping to convey in the book is that in the world of diabetes, there is “the way things are,” and “the way things ought to be.” The first part is not really written by me, but sourced by conventional thinkers writing on diabetes which can be thought of as “the way things are.” Parts III, IV and IV are, as you stated “where things get interesting.” This is a blend of my original thoughts on insulin and carbohydrates plus the research of some innovative thinkers, those that sacrificed much to get the truth “out there” such as the Mary Enig and Sally Fallon, as you pointed out. The fact that you don’t understand some of the material, or find it dry, should not be a reason to discount the book, for it wasn’t intended to entertain, but to educate. Regarding trans fats, I felt I didn’t need to elucidate on the subject and, instead, referred readers to authoritative books in the footnotes, such as those cited by you. Time is very precious, and, although I thank you for taking the time to read my book, allow me to point out that you spelled my name wrong, and also used the word “Leading” instead of “Lead” when quoting the title of the book. These errors indicate to me that you may not have read the book with due care. Last, it is pessimistic to think that folks may not have the mental endurance to make it through the book. It is not for dummies or idiots, but for intelligent folks with diabetes seeking an optimal treatment. The fact is that learning something new is difficult and challenging. But difficult and challenging do not a thumbs down make. It is hard to unring a bell once rung; no problem. I have another book coming out in September that you may be interested in reading. If you could be so kind to send me your email address, I would be happy to send you a free review copy for your comments and/or review. Sincerely, Laurence D. Chalem Author Thrive with Diabetes; Lead an Optimistic, Fun, Challenging, Fit, Tenacious, Enlightened, Innovative & Heroic Life http://www.thrivewithdiabetes.com
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| Last Updated on Wednesday, December 16 2009 20:24 |
Thrive With Diabetes: Lead an Optimistic, Fun, Challenging, Fit, Tenacious, Enlightened, Innovative & Heroic Life. 
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