Blood Sugar 101

Hi! I'm Jenny Ruhl, the author of this web site.

I'm 64 years old. I was first diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in 1998. Several years ago I discovered that I may actually have a form of MODY which is a genetic form of diabetes different from both Type 1 and Type 2.

I currently control my own diabetes by keeping carbohydrates under 110 grams a day and taking metformin and a low dose of Coenzyme Q10. For several years I used a few units of fast acting insulin at mealtime if I ate over 15 g of carbs at one time, however right now I am able to achieve my blood sugar targets without insulin. My A1c in April of 2012, was 5.7%. By October of 2012 it had come down to 5.5%

You can read about why doctors often miss a diagnosis of diabetes completely and what MODY diabetes is on the Diagnosing Diabetes Page

I currently weigh 145 lbs. After losing 30 pounds with a low carb diet, I have maintained that weight for many years. My current BMI is within the normal range for my height. At one point I exercised daily for a year and got my body fat down to 24%, which put me into the "Fitness" category for a woman my age. Despite what my doctors had told me, weight loss and intense fitness didn't do a thing for my blood sugars, which got worse.

This raised my curiosity. I started tracking through the research articles available for free on the web. (many of them, now, alas, are no longer free, but I was lucky that I started my research back in 2004 when they were.)

The information I found, much of it differing dramatically from what doctors were telling patients about what caused diabetes and how it should be treated, became the kernel of this web site. My goal was to answer these questions: What do scientists actually know about Type 2 diabetes? Why do doctors miss diabetes diagnoses until long after people already have diabetic complications? And what blood sugar levels are truly low enough to prevent further damage to the organs and beta cells?

I learned where the current practice recommendations most doctors follow came from and why they are inadequate to protect people with diabetes from complications. Fortunately, I also found some very solid information about what blood sugar levels seem to be low enough to prevent complications.

Since posting this information, I have heard from literally thousands of people who have found it useful. I have also written a book, Blood Sugar 101: What They Don't Tell You About Diabetes which presents the information you'll find scattered around this site in a clear, well-organized manner.

I enjoy hearing from readers of this site but please keep in mind that I am not your doctor and I cannot give you personal medical advice. Please use the Google search you'll find at the top of most pages on this site to search the site for your topic before you email me with a question that you could answer simply by searching the site.

The contact information tab above will give you the email address you can use to reach me.

Besides this site, I also maintain the following diabetes/diet sites on the web:

• What They Don't Tell You About Low Carb Diets
  


• The Diabetes Update Blog

Several years ago, as a change of pace, I started to write novels. So far three of them, all historical romances, have been published by HarperCollins/Avon. I publish them under my maiden name, Jenny Brown, so you can learn more about them at http://jennybrown.net.

Note that the Jenny Brown who has published some diabetes cookbooks in e-book form is NOT me. I publish all my diabetes-related writings under the name Jenny Ruhl.