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Sugar Nation: The Hidden Truth Behind America's Deadliest Habit and the Simple Way to Beat It
THIS BOOK COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE Every five seconds, one more person develops diabetes. Worldwide, 285 million people are affected by type 2 diabetes. Many of them have no idea. Here is the personal story of one man who has unearthed the mysteries of this global epidemic and offers hard-won practical advice for how readers can take control of their lives and combat this deadly disease. "Sugar Nation is a must-read! As a fitness expert myself, who has dealt with family diabetes and coaching families on how to limit their sugar intake, this book is a fundamental tool in educating the world on just how dangerous dietary sugar can be. Jeff O'Connell's direct yet user-friendly approach to this important and overlooked subject is more than refreshing. All will benefit from picking this book up." -- Jennifer Nicole Lee, author of The Jennifer Nicole Lee Fitness Model Diet
368 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 19, 2011
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1258 people want to read
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October 24, 2011
I really hate to give bad reviews, and I know this author spent a great amount of time and research on his book. For me the biggest problem is that the book is mistitled -- it's really a book about Diabetes in America -- how to spot it, prevent it, and how pervasive it is becoming. Every chapter focused on another aspect of the disease. While I understand that this is a major outcome of America's sugar addiction, I found myself wanting more content that was directly applicable to my life -- or even just more about the over-production and consumption of sugar in general. This book does have some important messages, but I don't think you need to read the whole thing to absorb them -- best to check out the author's Men's Health piece that was the inspiration for the book instead: Thin Man's Diabetes - http://www.menshealth.com/spotlight/d....
June 15, 2012
Jeff O'Connell was pretty angry when he wrote this book - he'd seen the end result of diabetes in his father, and had been diagnosed as prediabetic himself, despite having the stereotypical perfect physique, tall and slim. In Sugar Nation, he sets out to figure out the cause of America's diabetes epidemic and why conventional treatment (drugs and low fat diets) are so inadequate. What he finds is that diabetics, instead of being helped to manage their disease by cutting out the very things that were causing the problem - carbs and sugars (essentially the same thing, I know, but they're not really treated that way in our society) and exercising to increase their insulin sensitivity, are instead just being loaded up with drugs which often don't work particularly well, and are quite toxic in the long run. So we have all these wonder drugs for diabetes and yet the disease continues its devastating march across America (and the rest of the world) - O'Connell is continually pointing out this absurdity in the book - many doctors and nutritionists know how to treat diabetes through diet, but are reluctant to dispense this advice because it goes against the guidelines of the ADA and other organizations that propagate the low fat diet as a cure for diseases like diabetes, and may expose them to malpractice suits.
For non-science people like me, Sugar Nation provides simple explanations for the effects of high carb lifestyles on the body and the way that insulin, which is constantly being released to combat high blood sugar, tells the body to store more fat. I was particularly interested to find out that people who are insulin resistant often become overweight - their excess weight is caused by the same thing that causes diabetes (and which is responsible for the whole host of diseases collectively referred to metabolic syndrome - diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and heart disease) - high blood sugar.
Some of this I already knew from Wheat Belly and the Sugar: The Bitter Truth video, but it was helpful to hear it from some one who directly experienced the effects of consuming too many sugars and carbs and not exercising enough. It also led me to an awesome little Canadian documentary called My Big Fat Diet (which I watched on Youtube - make sure you search for the Canadian version) about the inhabitants of Alert Bay in British Columbia and their attempts to regain their health by returning to a more traditional high fat diet.I did find O'Connell's embrace of processed low carb foods such as protein shakes kind of crazy, and kind of wanted to slap him for his refusal to learn to cook (it's a life skill, mate, not a hobby), but there's some really eye opening stuff in this, such as a couple of doctors who describe Alzheimers disease as "Type 3 diabetes." If that's not reason enough to give up sugar and processed carbs, I don't know what is.
Sugar Nation is pretty gripping overall, although it could have been a bit shorter. Some of the later chapters were a bit repetitive. The book ends with the death of Jeff O'Connell's father from diabetes complications. It's a sad ending for what is a pretty sad book in some ways - Jeff's father left his family when Jeff and his brothers were young children and started a new family. Jeff carried a lot of anger towards his father and then, just as they were starting to reconnect, was denied the chance at a real relationship by the fact that his father's untreated diabetes ate away at his body very quickly. Seeing his father die this way left Jeff with a fear of going the same way and a sense of being cheated, partly by his father's refusal to acknowledge his disease and treat it accordingly.
After reading this book, I'm pretty sure that two or three years ago, I would have been considered prediabetic. In fact, a blood sugar test about two years ago was high enough that my doctor mentioned that I might have a "little bit of diabetes," though how someone can have a "little bit of diabetes" is beyond me. When the fasting test came back alright, I was relieved, but if I'd read this book then, I would have known that that should never be the final word. I suspect I've had high blood sugar since high school, which would explain my lack of energy, severe headaches, rage when I didn't eat at regular times, constant hunger, bad skin, and inability to loose weight, despite walking every day and eating a low fat diet. I was doing it wrong, as I've found out - cutting out the meat and fat (for a while there, I was practically a vegetarian, and the fattest I've ever been), and eating a ton of pasta, rice, bread, and other garbage. Carbs make you fat, but I had been fooled by the low-fat advice being dished out in the 80s and 90s. Interestingly, my doctor never mentioned changing my diet when all of this was happening. I had to do all this research myself to really understand how to get better.
Look, low-carb diets may not work for everyone (my husband is one of those, unfortunately, at least in the short term, but we're going to persevere, since undoing years of damage probably doesn't happen in a few months) but for me, it's been an absolute godsend. I finally feel like I'm in control of my health and my body. I feel lucky that I found this out now, before developing Type 2 Diabetes, but kind of gutted that I didn't find it out ten years ago before destroying my gall bladder with my carb-laden diet. Since cutting out carbs, increasing my consumption of meat, good fats, and veges, and upping my exercise to an hour and twenty minutes a day, I've lost quite a lot of weight and feel so much better. Incidentally, when I got my eyes checked last time, my prescription didn't change. That's the first time in more than ten years that I haven't had to go up a strength. Not surprising, given that high blood sugar causes macular degeneration.
I guess my only quibble with this book is the lack of an easy-to-follow low-carb diet plan. I'm already following the diet recommended in Wheat Belly, so it wasn't a problem for me, but I think for others who are just learning about how terrible sugar and carbs are for you (only the causes of most Western disease, including diabetes, colon cancer, breast cancer, gall bladder disease, PCOS, Alzheimers and a host of other nasty nasty things), it would be nice to have it laid out for you. O'Connell does talk about specific high intensity workouts that yield great results in terms of improving insulin sensitivity, so I'll give him points for that. For those wanting a low-carb diet that's easy to follow, see this: http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2011/10...
I'll admit that the first few weeks on this diet were a bit challenging in terms of figuring out what to eat, but now that I've been on it for a few months, it's so easy. Breakfast is eggs or homemade coconut muesli/granola (unsweetened coconut flakes, dried currants, pumpkin seeds, chopped almonds, cashews and pecans, with unsweetened almond milk), lunch is usually a combination of carrots, celery, nuts, cheese, and a boiled egg, or a spinach salad, and dinner is often roasted veges with baked salmon or homemade grassfed beef patties, or a mushroom omelet. It's easy and good, and I never feel deprived, which is the key to sticking with this lifestyle. I don't feel hungry much either. I do indulge in dark chocolate in the evenings, but only chocolate over 85% cacao - very low sugar content. Endangered Species 88% cacao is my favorite.
For non-science people like me, Sugar Nation provides simple explanations for the effects of high carb lifestyles on the body and the way that insulin, which is constantly being released to combat high blood sugar, tells the body to store more fat. I was particularly interested to find out that people who are insulin resistant often become overweight - their excess weight is caused by the same thing that causes diabetes (and which is responsible for the whole host of diseases collectively referred to metabolic syndrome - diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and heart disease) - high blood sugar.
Some of this I already knew from Wheat Belly and the Sugar: The Bitter Truth video, but it was helpful to hear it from some one who directly experienced the effects of consuming too many sugars and carbs and not exercising enough. It also led me to an awesome little Canadian documentary called My Big Fat Diet (which I watched on Youtube - make sure you search for the Canadian version) about the inhabitants of Alert Bay in British Columbia and their attempts to regain their health by returning to a more traditional high fat diet.I did find O'Connell's embrace of processed low carb foods such as protein shakes kind of crazy, and kind of wanted to slap him for his refusal to learn to cook (it's a life skill, mate, not a hobby), but there's some really eye opening stuff in this, such as a couple of doctors who describe Alzheimers disease as "Type 3 diabetes." If that's not reason enough to give up sugar and processed carbs, I don't know what is.
Sugar Nation is pretty gripping overall, although it could have been a bit shorter. Some of the later chapters were a bit repetitive. The book ends with the death of Jeff O'Connell's father from diabetes complications. It's a sad ending for what is a pretty sad book in some ways - Jeff's father left his family when Jeff and his brothers were young children and started a new family. Jeff carried a lot of anger towards his father and then, just as they were starting to reconnect, was denied the chance at a real relationship by the fact that his father's untreated diabetes ate away at his body very quickly. Seeing his father die this way left Jeff with a fear of going the same way and a sense of being cheated, partly by his father's refusal to acknowledge his disease and treat it accordingly.
After reading this book, I'm pretty sure that two or three years ago, I would have been considered prediabetic. In fact, a blood sugar test about two years ago was high enough that my doctor mentioned that I might have a "little bit of diabetes," though how someone can have a "little bit of diabetes" is beyond me. When the fasting test came back alright, I was relieved, but if I'd read this book then, I would have known that that should never be the final word. I suspect I've had high blood sugar since high school, which would explain my lack of energy, severe headaches, rage when I didn't eat at regular times, constant hunger, bad skin, and inability to loose weight, despite walking every day and eating a low fat diet. I was doing it wrong, as I've found out - cutting out the meat and fat (for a while there, I was practically a vegetarian, and the fattest I've ever been), and eating a ton of pasta, rice, bread, and other garbage. Carbs make you fat, but I had been fooled by the low-fat advice being dished out in the 80s and 90s. Interestingly, my doctor never mentioned changing my diet when all of this was happening. I had to do all this research myself to really understand how to get better.
Look, low-carb diets may not work for everyone (my husband is one of those, unfortunately, at least in the short term, but we're going to persevere, since undoing years of damage probably doesn't happen in a few months) but for me, it's been an absolute godsend. I finally feel like I'm in control of my health and my body. I feel lucky that I found this out now, before developing Type 2 Diabetes, but kind of gutted that I didn't find it out ten years ago before destroying my gall bladder with my carb-laden diet. Since cutting out carbs, increasing my consumption of meat, good fats, and veges, and upping my exercise to an hour and twenty minutes a day, I've lost quite a lot of weight and feel so much better. Incidentally, when I got my eyes checked last time, my prescription didn't change. That's the first time in more than ten years that I haven't had to go up a strength. Not surprising, given that high blood sugar causes macular degeneration.
I guess my only quibble with this book is the lack of an easy-to-follow low-carb diet plan. I'm already following the diet recommended in Wheat Belly, so it wasn't a problem for me, but I think for others who are just learning about how terrible sugar and carbs are for you (only the causes of most Western disease, including diabetes, colon cancer, breast cancer, gall bladder disease, PCOS, Alzheimers and a host of other nasty nasty things), it would be nice to have it laid out for you. O'Connell does talk about specific high intensity workouts that yield great results in terms of improving insulin sensitivity, so I'll give him points for that. For those wanting a low-carb diet that's easy to follow, see this: http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2011/10...
I'll admit that the first few weeks on this diet were a bit challenging in terms of figuring out what to eat, but now that I've been on it for a few months, it's so easy. Breakfast is eggs or homemade coconut muesli/granola (unsweetened coconut flakes, dried currants, pumpkin seeds, chopped almonds, cashews and pecans, with unsweetened almond milk), lunch is usually a combination of carrots, celery, nuts, cheese, and a boiled egg, or a spinach salad, and dinner is often roasted veges with baked salmon or homemade grassfed beef patties, or a mushroom omelet. It's easy and good, and I never feel deprived, which is the key to sticking with this lifestyle. I don't feel hungry much either. I do indulge in dark chocolate in the evenings, but only chocolate over 85% cacao - very low sugar content. Endangered Species 88% cacao is my favorite.
April 29, 2015
This book was a little too technical for me. It was also disjointed...he doesn't seem to have a clear flow with his chapters or the points he wants to convey. But it is very informative about diabetes. It talks about how even thin people can have Type 2 Diabetes. It talks a lot about how Type 2 Diabetes is reversible, and how diet and exercise can cure it. It talks about how the drug industry makes tons of money off diabetics. It supports a low-carbohydrate diet.
Read
December 28, 2014I was torn between calling this book 'One Man's Journey into His Own Metabolism' - or 'Jeff O'Connell's Non-Unified Theory of Everything'.
Although O'Connell's research is interesting, & his stats on the dangers of diabetes (so prevalent it runs the risk of becoming disregarded except as a 'normal part of getting old') compelling, in the end I was left with two questions.
a) What really **is** the 'simple way' to beat diabetes? I've read the whole book & I'm not exactly sure.
And,
b) Who can I trust to help me?
O'Connell's best advice seems to be "trust no one". Not the health bodies, not your GP, not the other amateur metabolic sleuth he connects with late in the book. He does offer several complicated answers to beating diabetes - exercise & diet-based, though with so many personalised variations on both (did you know that if you DO have to eat carbs, you should make sure to combine them with fats? Never have a baked potato without sour cream and bacon, for example) that I was left with the conclusion that the only way to beat this thing is to undertake my own complicated investigation across a myriad of tests and doctors, to uncover the unique and personalised means to my own salvation.
And if it ends up being similar to O'Connell's - mini-meals every 2 hours, an extreme low-carb approach which most medical bodies would describe, apparently, as 'unhealthy', BUT with a couple of glasses of red wine allowable, somehow - then god help me.
I don't know, I kinda felt like O'Connell's approach was often ... convenient. Grab hold of the research that suits your conclusions, ignore the rest.
Still. I will be eating less carbs from now on...
Although O'Connell's research is interesting, & his stats on the dangers of diabetes (so prevalent it runs the risk of becoming disregarded except as a 'normal part of getting old') compelling, in the end I was left with two questions.
a) What really **is** the 'simple way' to beat diabetes? I've read the whole book & I'm not exactly sure.
And,
b) Who can I trust to help me?
O'Connell's best advice seems to be "trust no one". Not the health bodies, not your GP, not the other amateur metabolic sleuth he connects with late in the book. He does offer several complicated answers to beating diabetes - exercise & diet-based, though with so many personalised variations on both (did you know that if you DO have to eat carbs, you should make sure to combine them with fats? Never have a baked potato without sour cream and bacon, for example) that I was left with the conclusion that the only way to beat this thing is to undertake my own complicated investigation across a myriad of tests and doctors, to uncover the unique and personalised means to my own salvation.
And if it ends up being similar to O'Connell's - mini-meals every 2 hours, an extreme low-carb approach which most medical bodies would describe, apparently, as 'unhealthy', BUT with a couple of glasses of red wine allowable, somehow - then god help me.
I don't know, I kinda felt like O'Connell's approach was often ... convenient. Grab hold of the research that suits your conclusions, ignore the rest.
Still. I will be eating less carbs from now on...
February 13, 2012
The author takes the reader on his personal health journey. He takes you inside his visits with his "medical" doctors and the medications they prescribe to him. He indicates how difficult it is to find accurate information. The drug industry has saturated most of the literature in the doctor's office. Doctors in general do not teach prevention or reversal. They pedal pills.
Sadly, the author did not find the "cure" for his diabetes or answer he was looking for. He did not know that John McDougall MD and Neal A. Barnard MD have been reversing diabetes for over 30 years with exercise and a plant-based whole foods diet. I highly recommend Dr. McDougall's and Dr. Barnard's books. I recommend the documentary, Forks Over Knives.
I think it is important for people to understand how sugar acts in the body. Below is my favorite college lecture on diabetes and sugar. Sugar: The Bitter Truth by Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology, explores the damage caused by sugary foods. He argues that fructose (too much) and fiber (not enough) appear to be cornerstones of the obesity epidemic through their effects on insulin. Series: UCSF Mini Medical
Sadly, the author did not find the "cure" for his diabetes or answer he was looking for. He did not know that John McDougall MD and Neal A. Barnard MD have been reversing diabetes for over 30 years with exercise and a plant-based whole foods diet. I highly recommend Dr. McDougall's and Dr. Barnard's books. I recommend the documentary, Forks Over Knives.
I think it is important for people to understand how sugar acts in the body. Below is my favorite college lecture on diabetes and sugar. Sugar: The Bitter Truth by Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology, explores the damage caused by sugary foods. He argues that fructose (too much) and fiber (not enough) appear to be cornerstones of the obesity epidemic through their effects on insulin. Series: UCSF Mini Medical
March 11, 2023
Oof. I hate giving low reviews for books with an important message, but this was no enjoyable read. Firstly, as other reviewers mentioned, the book title is misleading. The book is basically only about diabetes. Second, the writing is all over the place. Similar things are said in different chapters, chapters seem to lack focus. Third, the author has a weird vision on what healthy eating is. Often he describes diet soda as a healthy choice, or only eggs for breakfast. Those options might be healthier than high-sugar alternatives, they are not healthy by default. Lastly, the title and some passages imply that there are tactics and tips explained somewhere to minimize your own chances for getting diabetes, but this is not clear nor easy to find. There's no specific advice, it's all vague. Eat better, exercise more, that's basically it. I wish there were more practical tips at the end.
I found the author's personal story interesting to read, and the sort-of reconnection with his father. I think if the author focused more on this, more like a memoir, I would have overall enjoyed the book more.
I found the author's personal story interesting to read, and the sort-of reconnection with his father. I think if the author focused more on this, more like a memoir, I would have overall enjoyed the book more.
February 3, 2012
I expected this book to be more about what you could do about this Sugar Nation of ours -- not an expose on the author's personal experiences (and other than saying that what he does to control it only specifically works for him because he has a unique type of situation, he doesn't go any further than that in terms of how others in this sugar nation world can deal with it). It was also severely bogged down in facts, studies, blah blah blah, that was just way over my head in terms of what I could even grasp.
And the author is highly critical of the medical establishment and the ADA and anything really that is being done for diabetics in our Sugar Nation -- and it was weird that that didn't appeal to me because I agreed with it. But I guess it was the lack of well, do this, or at the very least try this. I am not sure what the message was at all!
I mean the title even states The Simple Way to Beat It. Ummm, I read the book cover to cover and I still don't know how!
And the author is highly critical of the medical establishment and the ADA and anything really that is being done for diabetics in our Sugar Nation -- and it was weird that that didn't appeal to me because I agreed with it. But I guess it was the lack of well, do this, or at the very least try this. I am not sure what the message was at all!
I mean the title even states The Simple Way to Beat It. Ummm, I read the book cover to cover and I still don't know how!
August 5, 2011
Outstanding book on the discrepancies in diabetes self-care. The person who is thin, fit, yet with prediabetic numbers may not concern a physician; a referral to a dietician may still result in a lack of correct information. There are cofusing, differing verdicts on diabetes treatment, and a tendency toward little intervention until the disease is full-blown and in control. The author, a thin, fit prediabetic, has researched this in-depth, and suggests his own physical salvation through a diet that goes beyond what many in the field suggest. Superbly written. Not too technical and easy to read.
December 26, 2012
Sugar Nation is Jeff O'Connell's personal journey, but his health issues, I now realize, are my health issues, and this book has ripped the scales from my eyes.
I suppose to really explain my reaction to this book, there has to be a little background about me. Last month, right after Thanksgiving, I saw my doctor who asked why I had put on so much weight since the last time I saw her. The answer was stress and junk food, and she said, "Well then, you know what to do there, but you may also want to look at quitting starchy carbs (bread, rice, pasta, potatoes) and sugar." It was the right message at the right time; I was feeling miserable. I cut them from my diet and dropped 7 pounds in the first 3 weeks and even more shocking found that my near daily headaches disappeared. Moreover, I wasn't having any more hypoglycemic episodes. I was starting to think that maybe sugar is evil, and so I picked up this book hoping to find some reasons to justify and reinforce my new commitment to a sugar-free lifestyle.
What I got, however, was a face-first dive into the specter of diabetes. So, yeah, I knew the hypoglycemia wasn't great, but I always just figured it was the opposite of diabetes, not the other side of the same coin. It's the precipitous drop that follows the spike; it's the reason that two donuts can put me down for an involuntary nap two hours later. Maybe willfully, I had never made the connection that my reaction to sugar was a symptom of insulin resistance. This is particularly ridiculous because my mom was diagnosed as a Type II Diabetic at 52. I just figured that her health problem didn't apply to me because her worst weight was still 90-100 lbs greater than my worst weight. If there's anything that this book taught me, it's that while obesity is an indicator for diabetes, it's not the only one, and being in a mostly normal weight range isn't the protection from insulin resistance that you might think that it is.
My whole maternal family is hypoglycemic--my grandmother, mom, aunt, cousin, sister, all. I've had episodes of it since elementary school and always have to remember to not go too long between meals, or else fight grogginess, shakes, anger, etc. Moreover, I've always treated it with a quick dose of sugar, which I now know is about the worst thing you can do. So when I say that this book has changed my entire perspective on having a good diet and regular exercise, I'm not joking. I'd always felt that those things were good but somewhat voluntary. I'm now treating them as if they're as necessary as my feet, which by the way, I have no interest in losing. I think the most horrific thing I learned in this book is that every nasty sugar-induced spike was causing small vessel damage. That's why diabetics have issues with their kidneys and vision and feeling in their feet. Think about that, you do not have to be diabetic to damage yourself with a spike in your blood sugar.
Some of what O'Connell explores is also how insidious drug prescriptions for diabetes can be, and now sometimes the side effects are worse than what they're curing. I don't think that I made the same connection about my mom as he did about his dad for a pretty simple reason. My mom died two years later at 54, so I never had to watch diabetes tear her apart, but the way she died has taken on new significance for me. She died of an accidental overdose, a bad drug interaction from her diabetes meds. They determined that it was accidental because she hadn't exceeded the daily recommended dosage for either drug. So yay, go diabetes drugs.
So, perhaps it's a tad dramatic, but Jeff O'Connell has changed my life. He's made me realize that diet and exercise are something that I need to work on every day and that sugar is not a harmless pleasure. He's also made me very grateful that I have a doctor willing to take the time to give me not only dietary advice, but good dietary advice. I'm seriously writing her a thank you note for putting in that extra bit of effort. I'm also giving a copy of this book to all the hypoglycemics I know and love.
--------
Oh, I do need to add one caveat on this, which as I mentioned at the top of the review, and the author states several times in the book, this is his personal story and a record of what worked for him. I don't agree with everything he does. For instance, I wouldn't touch processed food like diet soda and soy protein with a ten-foot pole. Additionally, he takes time to ridicule housework as aerobic exercise.
I very much suspect that dude doesn't do his own cleaning. Even if he does, I don't think that a single man who travels extensively for work and doesn't cook can even conceive of the kind of destruction that my sister's four kids can wreak in a couple of hours. He specifically conjures up the image of "your great-grandmother...washing the floor on her hands and knees." Yeah, great, and how do you get the bottom of your shower clean? Anyhoo, I've read a lot about HIIT training outside of this book, and I think that he was just making a poor argument for how much more effective it is, but seriously, don't knock how much work maintaining a home is if you've never done it. If you want to say that interval training is more effective, fine, I agree. If you want to say that five hours of cleaning is the same thing as five hours of sitting on the couch? You can go screw yourself. ;)
I suppose to really explain my reaction to this book, there has to be a little background about me. Last month, right after Thanksgiving, I saw my doctor who asked why I had put on so much weight since the last time I saw her. The answer was stress and junk food, and she said, "Well then, you know what to do there, but you may also want to look at quitting starchy carbs (bread, rice, pasta, potatoes) and sugar." It was the right message at the right time; I was feeling miserable. I cut them from my diet and dropped 7 pounds in the first 3 weeks and even more shocking found that my near daily headaches disappeared. Moreover, I wasn't having any more hypoglycemic episodes. I was starting to think that maybe sugar is evil, and so I picked up this book hoping to find some reasons to justify and reinforce my new commitment to a sugar-free lifestyle.
What I got, however, was a face-first dive into the specter of diabetes. So, yeah, I knew the hypoglycemia wasn't great, but I always just figured it was the opposite of diabetes, not the other side of the same coin. It's the precipitous drop that follows the spike; it's the reason that two donuts can put me down for an involuntary nap two hours later. Maybe willfully, I had never made the connection that my reaction to sugar was a symptom of insulin resistance. This is particularly ridiculous because my mom was diagnosed as a Type II Diabetic at 52. I just figured that her health problem didn't apply to me because her worst weight was still 90-100 lbs greater than my worst weight. If there's anything that this book taught me, it's that while obesity is an indicator for diabetes, it's not the only one, and being in a mostly normal weight range isn't the protection from insulin resistance that you might think that it is.
My whole maternal family is hypoglycemic--my grandmother, mom, aunt, cousin, sister, all. I've had episodes of it since elementary school and always have to remember to not go too long between meals, or else fight grogginess, shakes, anger, etc. Moreover, I've always treated it with a quick dose of sugar, which I now know is about the worst thing you can do. So when I say that this book has changed my entire perspective on having a good diet and regular exercise, I'm not joking. I'd always felt that those things were good but somewhat voluntary. I'm now treating them as if they're as necessary as my feet, which by the way, I have no interest in losing. I think the most horrific thing I learned in this book is that every nasty sugar-induced spike was causing small vessel damage. That's why diabetics have issues with their kidneys and vision and feeling in their feet. Think about that, you do not have to be diabetic to damage yourself with a spike in your blood sugar.
Some of what O'Connell explores is also how insidious drug prescriptions for diabetes can be, and now sometimes the side effects are worse than what they're curing. I don't think that I made the same connection about my mom as he did about his dad for a pretty simple reason. My mom died two years later at 54, so I never had to watch diabetes tear her apart, but the way she died has taken on new significance for me. She died of an accidental overdose, a bad drug interaction from her diabetes meds. They determined that it was accidental because she hadn't exceeded the daily recommended dosage for either drug. So yay, go diabetes drugs.
So, perhaps it's a tad dramatic, but Jeff O'Connell has changed my life. He's made me realize that diet and exercise are something that I need to work on every day and that sugar is not a harmless pleasure. He's also made me very grateful that I have a doctor willing to take the time to give me not only dietary advice, but good dietary advice. I'm seriously writing her a thank you note for putting in that extra bit of effort. I'm also giving a copy of this book to all the hypoglycemics I know and love.
--------
Oh, I do need to add one caveat on this, which as I mentioned at the top of the review, and the author states several times in the book, this is his personal story and a record of what worked for him. I don't agree with everything he does. For instance, I wouldn't touch processed food like diet soda and soy protein with a ten-foot pole. Additionally, he takes time to ridicule housework as aerobic exercise.
I very much suspect that dude doesn't do his own cleaning. Even if he does, I don't think that a single man who travels extensively for work and doesn't cook can even conceive of the kind of destruction that my sister's four kids can wreak in a couple of hours. He specifically conjures up the image of "your great-grandmother...washing the floor on her hands and knees." Yeah, great, and how do you get the bottom of your shower clean? Anyhoo, I've read a lot about HIIT training outside of this book, and I think that he was just making a poor argument for how much more effective it is, but seriously, don't knock how much work maintaining a home is if you've never done it. If you want to say that interval training is more effective, fine, I agree. If you want to say that five hours of cleaning is the same thing as five hours of sitting on the couch? You can go screw yourself. ;)
September 26, 2011
More fuel to add to the "you better watch what you eat" fire. It's rather alarming just how much sugar and simple carbs the average American eats, and how devastating this can be on a person's body. Reading this book has made me look at my own diet a little more closely, though I have yet to do anything about it.
Also alarming is the way Jeff O'Connell portrays much of the U.S. health care system as not very informed -- and led, one way or another, by the nose by the pharmaceutical industry.
I do wish he'd included a little more guidance as to what to eat and in what proportions, but I suppose a little research on my end won't kill me.
Also alarming is the way Jeff O'Connell portrays much of the U.S. health care system as not very informed -- and led, one way or another, by the nose by the pharmaceutical industry.
I do wish he'd included a little more guidance as to what to eat and in what proportions, but I suppose a little research on my end won't kill me.
January 10, 2017
I actually only got through about 65 pages of this book before I had to walk away. There is good material here if one is struggling with metabolic syndrome or diabetes but I needed something more for me and my situation and this one just didn't seem to offer it and the book also began to seem redundant.
September 19, 2018
This is one of those books you would call life changing. Jeff O'Connell shares his journey from being diagnosed with pre-diabities to learning to control it through diet and exercise. His explanations make a lot of sense and he actually put his money where his mouth was in the sense he actually did the advise he gives others. I knew a lot of what was in the book, but to read about his own life style changes it inspired to me to make a few myself. Here's hoping...
November 19, 2018
I lost interest in this after listening for a few minutes. The title of it was the most interesting part of what I made it through.
December 31, 2022
If you're looking for a book with a lot of stuff that will scare your socks off without giving you any actionable ways to help, this is it. If you want actual information to fend off diabetes, WebMD will give you better info.
November 20, 2011
Some of this book is very common sense, and shows that the American Diabetes Association isn't. Why is the ADA pushing MORE carbs for the average diet, even if it's saying high-fiber carbs should be part of that.
O'Connell pushes, rather, a high-fat and high-protein diet. He's careful to say, though, that he doesn't endorse a full-blown Atkins diet, and to note that it often doesn't work so well as a diet tool in general, let alone an anti-diabetes tool. And, O'Connell also pushes exercise, with some specific ideas.
That said, at times, he veers into the fringes of nutritional science, when he references people like Gary Taubes, and when he hits hard the hypoglycemia theory. Read with a grain of salt ... or sugar substitute.
O'Connell pushes, rather, a high-fat and high-protein diet. He's careful to say, though, that he doesn't endorse a full-blown Atkins diet, and to note that it often doesn't work so well as a diet tool in general, let alone an anti-diabetes tool. And, O'Connell also pushes exercise, with some specific ideas.
That said, at times, he veers into the fringes of nutritional science, when he references people like Gary Taubes, and when he hits hard the hypoglycemia theory. Read with a grain of salt ... or sugar substitute.
September 23, 2011
At first the tone of the book, definitely written by a magazine writer!, put me off, but the information was so compelling I continued reading and am beyond glad I did! Extremely well-researched and examining the issue from multiple angles, this is an excellent text. Also, I'll be able to recommend it to my friends who don't like slogging through academic literature!
December 27, 2011
An excellent look at why type 2 diabetes has become a runaway epidemic in our society, and how most of the medical community and the American Diabetes Association have basically let it happen. This is a must-read for anyone who has been diagnosed with the disease, or with prediabetes, or has a family history of it.
September 22, 2011
I believe his scare-tactic approach was too extreme because my love for sugar (no matter how sluggish it makes me feel) still took precedence over living the extreme diet and exercise regimen that he proposes.
October 27, 2018
I appreciate the heavy research and unflinching dedication that this author has put into managing his diabetes with diet and exercise. It is a feat to commit to this degree of self study and discipline in the interest of your own health. I have done a fraction of this kind of research to investigate and manage my son's ADHD and it is not easy. That said, my feeling on this book is that it is perhaps mis-titled and perhaps mis-marketed by the publisher's synopsis.
Re: the title - there is nothing simple about the author's approach to beating his prediabetes. It is a really tricky balancing act that took (and continues to take) MUCH MUCH research and careful daily management. To suggest that he provides a simple solution is misleading. In addition, the title doesn't help the reader to see that the book is very specifically about one person's approach to managing his prediabetes and not about helping people in general wean themselves from sugar. In fact, diabetes is not even in the title and that is what the whole book is about. (I do not have pre-diabetes and was looking for a title about sugar in general.)
Re: the marketing - This is indeed "the personal story of one man who has unearthed the mysteries of this global [diabetes] epidemic" but the "hard-won practical advice" is, in my opinion, not very practical at all. The book is mostly a telling of the author's journey specific to his own experience and the reader has to ferret out from this tale which pieces of dietary advice may or may not help with their own unique blood sugar situation. In addition, the author's really diligent work to arrive at his own balance required repeatedly going against medical advice and the advice of our country's supposed diabetes "experts", including the American Diabetes Association. Unlike the author, most people are a)dependent on insurance and therefore their insurance-approved physician and whatever advice said physician recommends b) not magazine editors with connections, research experience and a job that pays you to investigate your health journey and c) afraid of venturing off on their own in conflict what ALL of the experts recommend.
That is not to say that the book does not have merit. It is important that we learn that our "experts" are a) misleading us, b) ignorant of important dietary considerations and c) in the clutches of big pharma. This book is pretty dry and academic, but has good stuff in it. It just would have been better billed as "What the ADA, and the American Health System Don't Know or Won't Tell You About Beating Diabetes Without Commonly Used and Truthfully Harmful Meds" or something like that.
Re: the title - there is nothing simple about the author's approach to beating his prediabetes. It is a really tricky balancing act that took (and continues to take) MUCH MUCH research and careful daily management. To suggest that he provides a simple solution is misleading. In addition, the title doesn't help the reader to see that the book is very specifically about one person's approach to managing his prediabetes and not about helping people in general wean themselves from sugar. In fact, diabetes is not even in the title and that is what the whole book is about. (I do not have pre-diabetes and was looking for a title about sugar in general.)
Re: the marketing - This is indeed "the personal story of one man who has unearthed the mysteries of this global [diabetes] epidemic" but the "hard-won practical advice" is, in my opinion, not very practical at all. The book is mostly a telling of the author's journey specific to his own experience and the reader has to ferret out from this tale which pieces of dietary advice may or may not help with their own unique blood sugar situation. In addition, the author's really diligent work to arrive at his own balance required repeatedly going against medical advice and the advice of our country's supposed diabetes "experts", including the American Diabetes Association. Unlike the author, most people are a)dependent on insurance and therefore their insurance-approved physician and whatever advice said physician recommends b) not magazine editors with connections, research experience and a job that pays you to investigate your health journey and c) afraid of venturing off on their own in conflict what ALL of the experts recommend.
That is not to say that the book does not have merit. It is important that we learn that our "experts" are a) misleading us, b) ignorant of important dietary considerations and c) in the clutches of big pharma. This book is pretty dry and academic, but has good stuff in it. It just would have been better billed as "What the ADA, and the American Health System Don't Know or Won't Tell You About Beating Diabetes Without Commonly Used and Truthfully Harmful Meds" or something like that.
June 29, 2021
A worrisome fact is that diabetes is such a complicated disease that a 10-minute (the standard meeting time of a doctor and a patient in today's managed care) meeting, twice a year, is not going to stem the tide of diabetes. My insurance company paid for me to take a class on diabetes when I was diagnosed with it. However, I was probably still in shock (no one in my family has ever had it except one distant relative with juvenile diabetes). This book is a wake-up call in many ways. I have a compromised heart and my cardiologist is constantly telling me to lose weight. Until reading this, I just thought I needed to eat less. What I need is to eat fewer carbs.
So far, the thing I'm coming away with is if the diabetic is not willing to exercise more (a lot more) and learn how to control carbohydrate intake, then things are going to get awful -- fairly fast. Amputations and death are high probabilities. A better title for this book might be SCARED STRAIGHT. Based on the research of the author, the Diabetes Foundation is not giving good advice.
Obviously, this author didn't think anyone would believe what he had to say on his own so he met with many experts in the field. I thought that made the story longer than it needed to be. Chapters one through nine were just for showing the scope of the problem. It wasn't until chapter ten that the author got to the good stuff - specifically glycemic index. This part is critical because all carbs are not the same. Choosing foods from the medium and low glycemic index is a very different issue from just cutting back on carbs.
I understood why the author wrote this book in the final chapters; he learned that he had reactive hypoglycemia. It was very important that he shared that diagnosis and how difficult it was to get the correct one. Then he explained how he had to tweak his diet to adjust to the new diagnosis. It is very interesting that a slender man could be prediabetic AND have reactive hypoglycemia. I am very glad I read this book and have made significant adjustments to my diet, based on the things I learned here.
So far, the thing I'm coming away with is if the diabetic is not willing to exercise more (a lot more) and learn how to control carbohydrate intake, then things are going to get awful -- fairly fast. Amputations and death are high probabilities. A better title for this book might be SCARED STRAIGHT. Based on the research of the author, the Diabetes Foundation is not giving good advice.
Obviously, this author didn't think anyone would believe what he had to say on his own so he met with many experts in the field. I thought that made the story longer than it needed to be. Chapters one through nine were just for showing the scope of the problem. It wasn't until chapter ten that the author got to the good stuff - specifically glycemic index. This part is critical because all carbs are not the same. Choosing foods from the medium and low glycemic index is a very different issue from just cutting back on carbs.
I understood why the author wrote this book in the final chapters; he learned that he had reactive hypoglycemia. It was very important that he shared that diagnosis and how difficult it was to get the correct one. Then he explained how he had to tweak his diet to adjust to the new diagnosis. It is very interesting that a slender man could be prediabetic AND have reactive hypoglycemia. I am very glad I read this book and have made significant adjustments to my diet, based on the things I learned here.
February 25, 2022
Interesting read, I thought it would be more like the documentary "FED UP", but it's nothing along those lines. In fact, it has nothing to do with its title. He doesn't talk about any "hidden truth" about sugar and he doesn't share a "simple way to beat it". What he does talk about, is Type 2 diabetes. This is entirely what the book is about and how he has learned he's susceptible, despite being thin, and what he has to do about it. Short answer, don't eat carbs. It should have been called "Carb Nation". He did a lot of research and pointed out how the medical establishment is more prone to just prescribe rather than really make patients change the way they eat. True. He also mentions how bad the food pyramid is because it's carb heavy and how eating even cholesterol laden meats are okay because of the way they metabolize in your bloodstream. Pretty much the same premise of Keto, but he's saying he's done the research and there's no health risk. The book got pretty repetitive, and despite not being focused on sugar, it did accomplish what I wanted it to... which was scare me into cutting sugar out of my diet and watching my carbs because according to O'Connell, we're all getting "The Sugar"
July 3, 2023
Although it is entitled Sugar Nation, this book mostly focuses on the subject of diabetes and the author's battle with this awful disease. Out of the entire book, perhaps one chapter is devoted to sugar (its origins in the US, the prevalence of high fructose corn syrup in our everyday foods now, etc) and the rest is about the author's father's death due to diabetes and his own subsequent diagnosis with it. As you read his personal anecdotes, it's clear that the author is angry at not only his father and the relationship they never had (until his father was on his deathbed dying of diabetes) but he is also angry at his own problems with diabetes despite being a thin, muscular man who once worked for Men's Health.
All in all, the book is very well researched, and one quickly realizes the effects of diabetes on the body is terrible indeed. I think O'Connell would be more authentic if the book's title had something to do with diabetes because that's essentially what it is all about. Again, very informative and makes you wonder how we can reign in the ugly effects of diabetes.
All in all, the book is very well researched, and one quickly realizes the effects of diabetes on the body is terrible indeed. I think O'Connell would be more authentic if the book's title had something to do with diabetes because that's essentially what it is all about. Again, very informative and makes you wonder how we can reign in the ugly effects of diabetes.
July 31, 2017
Interesting book. The author is a journalist so there was lots of research involved. He is also telling the story about himself and his treatment. I was interested as my husband is type 2 diabetic and the future complications we might expect are pretty horrifying. He never outright states "The trick to beating diabetes is carb control before you're diabetic and for sure afterwards." But that makes for a short book. I appreciate that he "doesn't have a dog in the fight". He'd not selling an herbal supplement with his name on it. He's not advocating a specific diet that you have to buy the book or their meals. The last part of the book is really about what he does to control his own blood sugar and his process of getting to that point. My husband and I have felt some details are a worthy take away to implement and just in a few days, we've seen a big improvement in his glucose numbers. For that, it's worth the 4*.
March 2, 2018
If fighting diabetes was a varsity sport, Jeff O'Connell would be the coach screaming at you at his players to "lay off the goddamn baked potato, you pussies!" O'Connell spends a lot of time on the pulpit deriding doctors, nutritionists and patients for doing diabetes all wrong. While it's unclear what evidence he taps for his personal diabetes-mitigation plan, it's clear he thinks highly of it. An unpalatable tone of smugness underlies the whole book... I found myself skimming several chapters. That said, the author's sample-size-of-one story was still somewhat useful to me. I, too, have a strong family history of diabetes... and this book helped me be more mindful of carbs and sugar. I checked this out as a library book (and thus it was free). If you're interested in a sugar book, I'd opt for one of the better researched tomes out there... "Sugar Blues" comes to mind. Skip "Sugar Nation" unless it's all you've got.
June 2, 2017
I enjoyed this book. It's more of a memoir/exposee than I expected. And I wish that there had been some better bullet point information or some information at the end to clarify how some of this science works and to suggest basic diet tweaks. The information was in the text but it would be nice if it was pulled out and easy to find when trying to reference it.
I really appreciated his candid discussion about the misinformation from the medical community as I often feel like I'm in the twilight zone when getting recommendations. They just don't match up with everything I read on the same subject! So having an author reveal the same discrepancies and offer references that back up the discrepancy helped me feel validated. :-)
I really appreciated his candid discussion about the misinformation from the medical community as I often feel like I'm in the twilight zone when getting recommendations. They just don't match up with everything I read on the same subject! So having an author reveal the same discrepancies and offer references that back up the discrepancy helped me feel validated. :-)
June 20, 2022
Trying to kick sugar? This book will scare you into quitting it NOW. It's an interesting look at diabetes in America, and the way the medical industry relies on medication as a go-to solution to manage it when it can actually be cured by diet and exercise (In its early stages). I enjoyed the human element to this book. Not only does it present facts about sugar addiction and diabetes, but it follows the story of its author and his journey to manage and then reverse his own diabetes after his father dies from the disease.
October 31, 2018
While I enjoyed this book, I will say that it wasn't what it seemed from the title. Instead of a straightforward anti-sugar medical/diet book, it was really quite an emotional memoir about an outwardly healthy man, his diagnosis of pre-diabetes, and his relationship with his dying father. There is some info about what diabetics are told to eat versus what they should eat, and some history of the treatment of diabetes, but there was more of the family drama than I was expecting.
November 8, 2017
*This* is the book I should have read 8 years ago when I realized something was wrong with my diet and knew I needed to do something about it, but not entirely sure just what.
This is a very readable, very interesting book. For this time around I checked it out from the library, but I plan on getting a copy of this one to keep.
This is a very readable, very interesting book. For this time around I checked it out from the library, but I plan on getting a copy of this one to keep.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 16, 2022
Not much to learn from this one except that, for some, perhaps a glucose tolerance test is in order… and that diet & exercise can play a key role in defeating, preventing, or reversing diabetes and similar or related health problems. For many, the author’s idea of eating eight times per day is highly impractical… even if it might be a possible solution to a serious health problem.
November 7, 2024
This is a book about the parts of having diabetes that the doctors ignore. That there are ways to tell if type 2 diabetes is in the future based on how you feel after eating a high carb meal or snack. The stability of your body in holding your blood glucose levels steady can according to this author be a big thing that you need to investigate.
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