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Diabetes Magazines

By David Mendosa

The Internet is such a vast and fast way to keep up with diabetes developments that we might be tempted to ignore traditional media. That would be our loss, because, in particular, magazines about diabetes offer a wide range of news and views.

While the Internet has a lot more Web sites and mailing lists about diabetes that there are magazines and journals in print, printed periodicals about diabetes contain a huge number of articles. In fact, there are probably many more such publications than most of us would imagine, especially when we include all the newsletters that are essentially the same as magazines.

The top 3 magazines.

In 1999, Michael Reynolds, the general manager of the now defunct DiabetesWebSite.com, asked me to compile the first comprehensive directory of these publications. Including those that have subsequently appeared, I have found a total of 65. Of these, 34 are journals written primarily for a professional audience. That leaves 31 magazines written for people with diabetes, of which five are published in other countries and 26 in the United States.

I doubt if anybody subscribes to all 26 of these magazines. I know that I have read no more than 22 of them myself.

In fact, few of these publications are worth the time even of people like me who want to know everything new in the field. If you diligently looked, you could find articles that I wrote in nine of these magazines. The three with the biggest circulations are:

  1. Diabetes Self-Management comes across as being much more serious—a prim and proper old lady compared with the other top two magazines. It also seems to completely ignore the online diabetes community and is the only one of the top magazines that hasn’t published any of my articles.

    Published bimonthly by R.A. Rapaport Publishing Inc., 150 West 22nd Street, New York, NY 10011, this magazine has a sister publication, Arthritis Self-Management. The circulation of Diabetes Self-Management, some 433,000 as of October 2002, exceeded even that that of Diabetes Forecast.

    U.S. subscriptions are $18 per year. The magazine’s Web site is http://www.DiabetesSelfManagement.com .

    This magazine specializes in survey articles. For example, a useful article in the July-August 2003 issue helps you in “Choosing a Blood Glucose Meter.” A table in the article compares “Features of Blood Glucose Meters.” You might think that it is complete, but it fails to include meters by several smaller companies, including Home Diagnostics, Hypoguard, Polymer Technology Systems, and QuestStar Medical. This is typical of its extensive yet usually incomplete surveys, and I find this disappointing and frustrating.

  2. Diabetes Forecast comes automatically with membership in the American Diabetes Association (ADA), 1701 N. Beauregard St., Alexandria, VA 22311, which publishes the largest diabetes magazine in the world. While its circulation lags a bit behind Diabetes Self-Management, unlike that magazine, Diabetes Forecast is monthly and each issue tends to have a few more pages. At last count (August 2002), its circulation was 426,000. The annual subscription price is $28. Its Web site, which includes a small number of articles printed in the magazine, is http://www.diabetes.org.

    The editors of this publication seem to try hard not to offend anyone. For example, they are the most ruthlessly politically correct and will never call you “a diabetic.” Invariably, Diabetes Forecast portrays people with diabetes as happy and successful.

    There is a lot to be said in favor of this bias. Depression and diabetes too often go together, and the ADA deserves credit for helping to lift some of this weight. The magazine’s approach, however, leaves many of us feeling bored.

    Diabetes Forecast also cleaves to the ADA’s relentlessly high-carb diet recommendations. This is something that can irritate anyone who is following a low-carb or a low-glycemic index diet.

    The best service this magazine provides, I think, its annual “Resource Guide.” This is the most complete directory anywhere of products for people with diabetes. Published in the January issue each year, the current directory is online at http://www.diabetes.org/main/community/forecast/ ResourceGuide2003/resource_guide_2003.jsp.

  3. Diabetes Health tries hardest to be interesting and leading edge. Sometimes, like the city where it was originally published, San Francisco, it is too far out. The magazine tries to avoid outright quack cures, but is much more receptive to alternative treatments than its competitors are.

    Few magazines have ever changed as much as Diabetes Health. It was named Diabetes Interview when itstarted in 1991 to literally present interviews with experts on diabetes, hence the strange name. Until 1999, it appeared more like a tabloid newspaper than a magazine. Except for the cover, it was still printed on newsprint. Not until the February 2002 issue did it begin to look like a regular magazine.

    Diabetes Health changed again in 2007. The main change is that it is now repositioned as an Internet company, with the printed magazine as an ancillary products.

    They also moved. The magazine published bi-monthly by King's Publishing Inc., 6 School Street, Suite 160, Fairfax, CA 94930, for $9.95 per year. Print circulation of Diabetes Health has increased to 150,000, and it now has a companion magazine, Diabetes Health Professional with which it shares content. This magazine has a circulation of 25,000.

    The magazine’s Web site is http://www.diabeteshealth.com/.

    One knowledgeable correspondent said she had no idea there were so many other magazines about diabetes and suggested that I list them. Here are the other 22 published in this country:

    1. The Challenge is published quarterly for athletes with diabetes by the Diabetes Exercise and Sports Association, 8001 Montcastle Drive, Nashville, TN 37221.
    2. Countdown is published quarterly by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, 120 Wall Street, 19th Floor, New York, NY 10005.
    3. Daily Care: The Magazine for Diabetes is published semi-annually by Live Well Publications Inc.,1855 Stephenson Highway, Troy, MI 48083.
    4. Diabetes Advocate is published 10 times a year as the advocacy newsletter of the American Diabetes Association, 1701 N. Beauregard St., Alexandria, VA 22311.
    5. Diabetes Dateline is a newsletter published irregularly by the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, 1 Information Way, Bethesda, MD 20892-3560.
    6. Diabetes Digest is provided free at many pharmacies quarterly by H. Crimson Inc., 35 West Street, Spring VAlley NY 10977.
    7. Diabetes Focus is published quarterly by MediZine Inc., 298 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10001
    8. Diabetic Living magazine "provides lifestyle information and recipes that diabetic readers of all ages can use everyday to lead normal, active lives. Content includes delicious recipes designed for diabetics, nutrition tips, exercise hints, health information, and the latest recommendations for diabetes care. The editorial mix is 65 percent recipes, 20 percent exercise, and 15 percent general health." The quote comes from the website of Better Homes and Gardens at http://www.bhg.com/bhg/store/product.jhtml?catid=cat3860016&prodid=prd553180.
    9. Diabetes Is Not a Piece of Cake is published 11 times a year by Lincoln Publishing Inc., Post Office Box 1499, Lake Oswego, OR 97035-0499.
    10. Diabetes Positive! is published monthly by Positive Health Publications Inc., 6400 Manatee Avenue W., L-116, Bradenton, FL 34209.
    11. The Diabetes SIG newsletter is a publication of a Special Interest Group of American Mensa Ltd. Coordinator: Jessie Thompson, 2004 East 30th Street North, Sioux Falls, SD 57104. E-mail: jvthomp@hotmail.com. Published quarterly in February, May, August, and November. Subscriptions: $6 per year payable to Jessie Thompson. Overseas subscriptions: $8 per year. Samples: $1 per issue for printed copies, e-samples free. Mensa members and non-members are welcome.
    12. Diabetes Wellness News is published monthly by the Diabetes Research and Wellness Foundation, 1206 Potomac Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20007. The website is http://www.diabeteswellness.net/.
    13. Diabetic Cooking is distributed in supermarkets six times a year by Publications International Ltd., 7373 N. Cicero Avenue, Lincolnwood, IL 60712-1613.

      Publisher Patrick Bachler tells me that Diabetic Cooking has 200,000 subscribers and 75,000 single copy sales via supermarkets and mass merchandisers. In addition it has 20,000 diabetes educators enrolled in its professional program. “We are the only regularly published magazine that deals exclusively with the food management side of diabetes control,” he says.

      The magazine has a website with many diabetes-friendly recipes at DiabeticCooking.com

    14. Diabetic Investor, for investors in the diabetes marketplace, is published monthly by Diabetic Investor Inc., 603 Hackberry Ct. East, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089.
    15. Going Foward is published quarterly by Jewish Friends With Diabetes, 31 Herrick Avenue, Spring Valley, NY 10977.
    16. Horizons is published quarterly by the American Diabetes Association’s Research Foundation, 1701 N. Beauregard St., Alexandria, VA 22311.
    17. Insulin-FreeTIMES is published quarterly by the Insulin-Free World Foundation, 788 Office Parkway, St. Louis, MO 63141-7115.
    18. The JDA Connection is published quarterly by the Jewish Diabetes Association, 1465 East 7th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11230.
    19. Joslin Magazine is a publication of the Communications Office, Joslin Diabetes Center, One Joslin Place, Boston, Massachusetts 02215. Call (617) 732-2415 for more information.
    20. Lilly Diabetes Today is published quarterly by Eli Lilly and Company, DC 5012, Lilly Corporate Center, Indianapolis, IN 46285.
    21. Mission: Control is sponsored by Pfizer Inc. and published approximately monthly by the Diabetes Control Network, P.O Box 2901, Annapolis, MD 21404-9889.
    22. Precision TakeCharge News is published irregularly by Abbott Laboratories. The editorial office is Precision TakeCharge, P.O. Box 29290, Shawnee Mission, KS 66201.
    23. Pump Perspectives is published approximately quarterly by Medtronic Diabetes Inc., 18000 Devonshire Street, Northridge, CA 91325-1219.
    24. Target Diabetes is published semi-annually by the Diabetes Trust Fund, 1222 14th Avenue S, Suite 204, Birmingham, AL 35205.
    25. Voice of the Diabetic is published quarterly by the Diabetes Action Network of the National Federation of the Blind, 1412 I-70 Drive SW, Suite C, Columbia, MO 65203.

    Should you subscribe to any of these magazines? That is a personal call for which I am hesitant to advise. In my case, since I already read so much about diabetes on the Internet as well as in books, I found few articles that have impressed me. Moreover, when that happens, I have invariably obtained permission to make the article available on my Web site if it is not on the magazine’s site.

    Fortunately, we are all a bit different from each other. Therefore, if you are not familiar with these magazines, the best thing that you probably can do for yourself is to get a trial issue or subscription and check out what they have to offer you.David Mendosa

    This article originally appeared on Mendosa.com, November 11, 2004.

    Update
    Diabetes Explorer is a new bimonthly magazine. The URL is
    http://www.diabetes-explorer.com/

    Diabetes Vital is a small, basic magazine that Slack Inc. publishes quarterly. The URL is
    http://www.DiabetesVitalOnline.com


    Last modified: March 6, 2008

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