Type 2 diabetes is a social pandemic caused by toxic environments-high in stress and sugar, low in opportunities to exercise or feel good about yourself-and a lack of power. Millions are suffering and being blamed for it, communities are being devastated, health systems bankrupted. Diabetes: Sugar-Coated Crisis describes the social sources of the toxic environment, covering deeper causes too: the stress and inequality built into our modern culture, the traumas and loss of community that make people vulnerable to illness. It reveals the medical mistreatment of diabetes-from kicking diabetics off medical insurance to under funding diabetes education, from overemphasizing drugs to giving -corporate-influenced dietary advice. Social diseases require social solutions. Social approaches focus on empowering people to take better care of themselves, bringing people together for mutual support, and changing the environment that causes illness. The first book to bring to life effective social approaches to wellness, this book: * Reports success stories from communities around the world * Highlights creative and effective medical programs developed by groundbreaking healthcare providers * Describes ways that individual self-care plus family and community involvement, combined with healthcare system support, can control chronic illness, change environments, and transform people's lives * Includes valuable diabetes self-care tips and resources

Table of Contents

Foreword; Introduction; Prologue: Diabetes 101; Diabetes as a Social Disease; Toxic Environment: Stress and Inequality; Toxic Environment: Food and Inactivity; The Medical System: Friends and Enemies; From Shame to Strength; Self-Care as a Political Act; Strength in Numbers; Taking it to the Streets; The Movement Takes Shape; Diabetes as a Turning Point; Index.

Author Biography

David Spero has been a registered nurse for 30 years and has spent 15 years writing about health and environmental issues. A long time self-care coach, he is on the Faculty of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and authored The Art of Getting Well: Maximizing Health When You Have a Chronic Illness.