David Spero

David Spero has been a nurse for 32 years and has lived with multiple sclerosis for 25 years. He is author of two books: The Art of Getting Well: Maximizing Health When You Have a Chronic Illness (Hunter House 2002), and Diabetes: Sugar-coated Crisis – Who Gets It, Who Profits, and How to Stop It (New Society 2006). He writes for Diabetes Self-Management and Arthritis Self-Management magazines. He is a project director with New Health Partnerships: Improving care by Engaging Patients, a project of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.

Aug 06, 2008

Fighting for Food

David Spero

It’s hard enough taking care of ourselves and our families when things are going well. What do you do when the price of food and everything else is rising fast? Our dietitian Amy Campbell recently wrote about affording healthy food (see "Nutrition On A Shoestring [Part 1]" and "Part 2"). But this economic crunch is going to last a long time, so we may want to give it even more serious thought.

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Jul 30, 2008

Different Foods for Different Folks

David Spero

Almost all generic nutrition advice is wrong. Why? Because different people are genetically prepared to eat different foods. At least, that’s what increasing numbers of scientists are saying, that before you can really know what’s best for you to eat, you need to know what your ancestors ate.

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Jul 23, 2008

Are Your Meds Making You Fat?

David Spero

One of the frustrations of diabetes is the way everyone tells you to lose weight. Then they give you medicine that makes you gain weight. Some of the worst offenders are insulin and the thiazolidinedione drugs, pioglitazone (brand name Actos) and rosiglitazone (Avandia). Why do these drugs cause weight gain, and what can you do about it?

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Jul 16, 2008

Partners Speak Out About Sex

David Spero

They say sex sells. Apparently, sex problems are also a hot topic. I received three comments on last week's post ("ADA Advice on Sex") from women whose male partners with diabetes have withdrawn from sex. There is a lot of this going around.

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Jul 09, 2008

ADA Advice on Sex

David Spero

As my article “When Diabetes Affects Your Sex Life” in the May/June 2008 issue of Diabetes Self-Management would suggest, sex and intimacy are two of my favorite topics, so I made sure to attend the panel on sexuality at June’s ADA Scientific sessions. It wasn’t great, but I learned some things.

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Jul 02, 2008

New Answers on Exercise

Jun 25, 2008

What to Eat? ADA Speakers Disagree

Jun 18, 2008

In the Palace of Diabetes

Jun 11, 2008

How Much (Monitoring) is Too Much? (Part 2)

Jun 04, 2008

How Much (Monitoring) is Too Much?

May 28, 2008

The New York Times Discovers Exercise

May 21, 2008

"Angry with God"

May 14, 2008

Power Naps, Health Naps

May 07, 2008

Insurance Tips from the ADA

Apr 30, 2008

Stay Out of the Swamp

Apr 23, 2008

Getting Health Insurance

Apr 16, 2008

Diabetes and the Brain

Apr 09, 2008

Love Your Feet

Apr 02, 2008

The Misuse of Science

Mar 27, 2008

Weight, Prejudice, and Type 2 Diabetes

Mar 19, 2008

Write It Down

Mar 12, 2008

Some Things Are Worse Than Sugar

Mar 05, 2008

ACCORD Travesty

Feb 27, 2008

To Band or Not to Band

Feb 20, 2008

Out of Shape in Two Months

Feb 13, 2008

The Green Triangle

Feb 06, 2008

Have You Tried Group Medicine?

Jan 30, 2008

What's Your Motivation?

Jan 23, 2008

Stop Waking Up! (Part 2)

Jan 16, 2008

Stop Waking Up!

Jan 09, 2008

Do You CAM?

Jan 02, 2008

New Year’s Resolutions

Dec 19, 2007

Going Home for the Holidays

Dec 12, 2007

Coping With Stress Through Relaxation

Dec 05, 2007

Reducing Stress

Nov 28, 2007

Accepting

Nov 21, 2007

Native Americans, Love, and Diabetes

Nov 14, 2007

Are You Ready for the Holidays?

Nov 07, 2007

Grab Some Z’s

Oct 31, 2007

Depression—The Power Cure

Oct 24, 2007

Self-Managing Depression

Oct 17, 2007

Depression and Type 2 Diabetes—Symptoms or Disease? (Part 2)

Oct 10, 2007

Depression and Type 2 Diabetes—Symptoms or Disease?

Oct 03, 2007

Changing a Bad Habit

Sep 26, 2007

Learning About Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load

Sep 19, 2007

Carbs vs. Fats—Who's to Blame?

Sep 12, 2007

Say the Magic Word

Sep 05, 2007

I Need Some Rest

Aug 29, 2007

Answering Reader Questions

Aug 22, 2007

How the Medical System Hurts People With Diabetes

Aug 15, 2007

Sicker Than Sicko

Aug 09, 2007

Laugh With Me

Aug 01, 2007

In The Mood

Jul 25, 2007

Sex, Intimacy, and Diabetes

Jul 18, 2007

Is it Type 2 or is it LADA?

Jul 11, 2007

Put Your Mask on First

Jul 05, 2007

Let's Get Moving

Jun 27, 2007

Type 2 Diabetes—An Environmental Illness

Jun 20, 2007

Wellness is a Team Sport, Part 2: Working With Family

Jun 12, 2007

Wellness is a Team Sport, Part 1: "I Hate to Ask"

Jun 06, 2007

Introducing Myself

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