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The Blood Sugar Solution: The UltraHealthy Program for Losing Weight, Preventing Disease, and Feeling Great Now!
Find balance in your life and in your blood sugar with the easy to follow guide on leading a healthier life and being a happier person - perfect for anyone looking to take control of their body!
In The Blood Sugar Solution , Dr. Mark Hyman reveals that the secret solution to losing weight and preventing not just diabetes but also heart disease, stroke, dementia, and cancer is balanced insulin levels. Dr. Hyman describes the seven keys to achieving wellness -- nutrition, hormones, inflammation, digestion, detoxification, energy metabolism, and a calm mind -- and explains his revolutionary six-week healthy-living program.
With advice on diet, green living, supplements and medication, exercise, and personalizing the plan for optimal results, the book also teaches readers how to maintain lifelong health. Groundbreaking and timely, The Blood Sugar Solution is the fastest way to lose weight, prevent disease, and feel better than ever.
In The Blood Sugar Solution , Dr. Mark Hyman reveals that the secret solution to losing weight and preventing not just diabetes but also heart disease, stroke, dementia, and cancer is balanced insulin levels. Dr. Hyman describes the seven keys to achieving wellness -- nutrition, hormones, inflammation, digestion, detoxification, energy metabolism, and a calm mind -- and explains his revolutionary six-week healthy-living program.
With advice on diet, green living, supplements and medication, exercise, and personalizing the plan for optimal results, the book also teaches readers how to maintain lifelong health. Groundbreaking and timely, The Blood Sugar Solution is the fastest way to lose weight, prevent disease, and feel better than ever.
448 pages, Hardcover
First published March 30, 2011
1067 people are currently reading
3646 people want to read
About the author
Mark Hyman
339 books1,037 followersMark Hyman, MD, believes that we all deserve a life of vitality--and that we have the potential to create it for ourselves. That's why he is dedicated to tackling the root causes of chronic disease by harnessing the power of Functional Medicine to transform healthcare. Dr. Hyman and his team work every day to empower people, organizations, and communities to heal their bodies and minds, and improve our social and economic resilience.
Dr. Hyman is a practicing family physician, an eleven-time New York Times bestselling author, and an internationally recognized leader, speaker, educator, and advocate in his field. He is the Director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine. He is also the founder and medical director of The UltraWellness Center, chairman of the board of the Institute for Functional Medicine, a medical editor of The Huffington Post, and was a regular medical contributor on many television shows including CBS This Morning, Today Show, CNN, and The View, Katie, and The Dr. Oz Show.
Dr. Hyman works with individuals and organizations, as well as policymakers and influencers. He has testified before both the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine and the Senate Working Group on Health Care Reform on Functional Medicine. He has consulted with the Surgeon General on diabetes prevention and participated in the 2009 White House Forum on Prevention and Wellness. Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa nominated Dr. Hyman for the President's Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health. In addition, Dr. Hyman has worked with President Clinton, presenting at the Clinton Foundation's Health Matters, Achieving Wellness in Every Generation conference, and the Clinton Global Initiative, as well as with the World Economic Forum on global health issues. He is the winner of the Linus Pauling Award, The Nantucket Project Award, and was inducted in the Books for Better Life Hall of Fame.
Dr. Hyman also works with fellow leaders in his field to help people and communities thrive--with Rick Warren, Dr. Mehmet Oz, and Dr. Daniel Amen, he created The Daniel Plan, a faith-based initiative that helped The Saddleback Church collectively lose 250,000 pounds. He is as an advisor and guest co-host on The Dr. Oz Show and is on the board of Dr. Oz's HealthCorps, which tackles the obesity epidemic by educating American students about nutrition. With Dr. Dean Ornish and Dr. Michael Roizen, Dr. Hyman crafted and helped introduce the Take Back Your Health Act of 2009 to the United States Senate to provide for reimbursement of lifestyle treatment of chronic disease. And, with Tim Ryan in 2015, helped introduce the ENRICH Act into Congress to fund nutrition in medical education. Dr. Hyman plays a substantial role in a major film produced by Laurie David and Katie Couric, released in 2014, called Fed Up, which addresses childhood obesity.
Dr. Hyman is a practicing family physician, an eleven-time New York Times bestselling author, and an internationally recognized leader, speaker, educator, and advocate in his field. He is the Director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine. He is also the founder and medical director of The UltraWellness Center, chairman of the board of the Institute for Functional Medicine, a medical editor of The Huffington Post, and was a regular medical contributor on many television shows including CBS This Morning, Today Show, CNN, and The View, Katie, and The Dr. Oz Show.
Dr. Hyman works with individuals and organizations, as well as policymakers and influencers. He has testified before both the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine and the Senate Working Group on Health Care Reform on Functional Medicine. He has consulted with the Surgeon General on diabetes prevention and participated in the 2009 White House Forum on Prevention and Wellness. Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa nominated Dr. Hyman for the President's Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health. In addition, Dr. Hyman has worked with President Clinton, presenting at the Clinton Foundation's Health Matters, Achieving Wellness in Every Generation conference, and the Clinton Global Initiative, as well as with the World Economic Forum on global health issues. He is the winner of the Linus Pauling Award, The Nantucket Project Award, and was inducted in the Books for Better Life Hall of Fame.
Dr. Hyman also works with fellow leaders in his field to help people and communities thrive--with Rick Warren, Dr. Mehmet Oz, and Dr. Daniel Amen, he created The Daniel Plan, a faith-based initiative that helped The Saddleback Church collectively lose 250,000 pounds. He is as an advisor and guest co-host on The Dr. Oz Show and is on the board of Dr. Oz's HealthCorps, which tackles the obesity epidemic by educating American students about nutrition. With Dr. Dean Ornish and Dr. Michael Roizen, Dr. Hyman crafted and helped introduce the Take Back Your Health Act of 2009 to the United States Senate to provide for reimbursement of lifestyle treatment of chronic disease. And, with Tim Ryan in 2015, helped introduce the ENRICH Act into Congress to fund nutrition in medical education. Dr. Hyman plays a substantial role in a major film produced by Laurie David and Katie Couric, released in 2014, called Fed Up, which addresses childhood obesity.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 289 reviews
March 28, 2015
Somewhat resembles a gluten-free, dairy-free carob-chip cookie with no sweeteners. Looks appealing, potentially good for you, but by the end, potentially a little hard to swallow. I will say this for it: at the heart of the book is a truth we all need to hear: Our lifestyles are making us sick.
Divided into six somewhat disparate parts, book sections include: Understanding the Modern Plague, a section on the diabetics epidemic with a strong implication that most of us are pre-pre-diabetic; Seven Steps to Treating Diabesity, which includes a number of lifestyle surveys identifying one's own insulin resistance; The Blood Sugar Solution: Preparation, or steps to implementing a healthier lifestyle; The Six-Week Action Plan, which includes a basic and 'advanced' diet plan for those who are more sugar-dependent; Take Back Our Health,how to including community support in your changes; The Meal Plan and Recipes; and of course, references.
For those sensitive to it, a note on formatting. Structure is very much of the "Dummies" school of writing, which includes (overuse) of bullet points, sections broken down into 2-page easily digestible segments, action steps, sidebars and (repetitive) life-style quizzes. This truly isn't meant to be an educational tome so much as a motivational speech coupled with a plan for lifestyle change.
The first part inundates with statistics proving that the American diet is unhealthy, causing an epidemic of obesity. He attempts to link obesity to industry, government and pharmaceutical companies--certainly all implicated in problems with the modern food chain, as well as general individual confusion about nutrition. There's vital substance here--much like the almonds in your chocolate bar--but it feels a little media-spun and breezy, and I would have preferred something more substantial. For instance, his assertion that "The food industry has decided to preempt any food-labeling regulations that would given consumers real, credible information" (p.47) is some what misleading. While I'd agree that industry isn't/hasn't been helpful, food labels now are more readable than ever before. It's actually a voluntary front of package labeling that industry suggested that he has issue with. Certainly true, but spun in a way that diminishes consumer responsibility and government efforts to improve knowledge. Personally, I would have been interested to learn more factual information about the deliberate creation of (unhealthy) highly-processed food on the part of industry--after all, I'm a sucker for an big conspiracy, especially if I get to blame my weight on it. But for that, I plan on checking out the lauded Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us.
Still, while every health care provider should already be aware of the current health crisis around poor diet and minimal exercise, some of this information might be new to the average American who may not have made the links between lifestyle and health (I don't know how they wouldn't have, but I'm trying to be generous here). Points he brings up include "low-fat" diets--there is now is strong evidence that defining healthy food strictly in terms of fat content is not enough. Likewise diet sodas--he cites a newer well-done study that links diabetes with higher diet soda consumption. I also like his assertion that too many medical practitioners--and their patients--accept the "pre-diabetic" label without actively fighting against further development of diabetes.
Other positives include linking inflammatory food choices with lifestyle stresses and inflammatory health conditions, although he often characterizes these as "toxins." There's a wide body of scientific research hoping to connect food, stress and inflammation, but as of right now, blanket statements are definitely out. Science is relatively certain inflammatory factors play a role in disease progression, specifically cardiovascular disease, breast cancer and autoimmune diseases (at least the ones that I know about off the top of my head). However, the link with inflammatory or "toxic" diets has been tenuous. A new European study on the Mediterranean diet was just released, and that seems to provide more conclusive proof. (However, contrary to Hymans' recommendations, that diet does contain alcohol, so it is sure to gain wider support).
There is a lot of good information here, spun in a way the average consumer might appreciate. However, because so much is referencing his website, it somewhat limits the extent to which it is accessible to everyone. My dad, for instance, should read this book; however, as he is computer illiterate, the online questionaires and resources would be useless. This issue perhaps hints at one of the hidden plagues of the food revolution--it usually requires significant economic or time resources to change.
Recipes and meal plans seem healthy, and no doubt would be part of a great balanced diet. He includes smoothies, breakfasts, snacks and solid meals. I also appreciate his checklists of kitchen supplies and spices, undoubtedly helpful for the kitchen impaired. It truly is a step-by-step recipe for change for those who are interested.
There is also a lot of selective information. Hyman would prefer that you don't drink alcohol at all. Not that I'm a fan, necessarily, but by not acknowledging the numerous studies that show a glass of red wine a day seems to be cardio-protective, he chips away at his own validity. And while I appreciate his emphasis on both 'real' food and food prepared by the consumer, I fail to understand how he doesn't consider it hypocritical that he would also recommend supplements.
Although I certainly believe in increasing environmental and pharmaceutical toxins, I think there aren't many studies that draw clear correlations with health, and those that do tend to center around asthma and cancer. Even then, connections are challenging to prove--if it was clearly provable, we'd have more success with EPA regulations. I feel his assertion of "increasing levels of toxins... are a significant cause of diabesity" (p.9) is seriously stretching the science. This truly is the section of the book that caused me the most skepticism. His self-analysis questions cover just about every symptom possible, so I think it would be hard to find someone that didn't merit his detox diet with supplements.
As a side note, for people into testing, he recommends a battery of blood work that is unlikely to be supported by many doctors and many more insurance companies. A full thyroid panel and insulin testing are two of the more esoteric ones that most practitioners--and clinical guidelines--would only recommend a screening thyroid and fasting glucose. Again, this speaks to well-financed readers, and I feel it is somewhat irresponsible to suggest someone with limited financial resources spend $800 on lab testing (just guessing off the top of my head as I don't have the book in hand--it's actually more like a couple thousand if it was market cost) that would need to be repeated in order to assess "improvement."
At the end of the day, I'm not sure to what extent cause matters. Humans are hard-wired to select sweets and fats, so whether its because of capitalism or choice, we're gonna pick the unhealthy ones most of the time. I do buy into the 'addictive' component; again, whether it is from a dopamine cycle or habit is almost irrelevant. Almost, because knowing can help us with strategies. I do dispute Hyman's tendency to equate heroin with sugar. A little extreme, maybe? But that's where the addictive behavior figures in, and where behavior modification has to be an emphasized component of dietary and lifestyle change. I do like the way Hyman tries to connect that back to community, and how to enlist community support in ones' change. I don't know that the web community is the only option, but it is the one most strongly supported by this book.
I did chuckle at his Inflammation questionnaire: "At work, I am exposed to pesticides, toxic chemicals, loud noise, heavy metals, and/or toxic bosses and coworkers." Tell me that isn't funny stuff!
If only his prescription didn't also include his own brand of products. There was one line I found quite ironically funny where he complains that the solution isn't "diet and exercise" the way we've been hearing our doctors suggest for decades. Um, hypocritical much? Because that is, after all what he is recommending. Along with a healthy dose of his brand of supplements.
Summary: if it gets you to healthify your lifestyle--awesome. But don't waste your money on lab tests and supplements.
http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2013/0...
Divided into six somewhat disparate parts, book sections include: Understanding the Modern Plague, a section on the diabetics epidemic with a strong implication that most of us are pre-pre-diabetic; Seven Steps to Treating Diabesity, which includes a number of lifestyle surveys identifying one's own insulin resistance; The Blood Sugar Solution: Preparation, or steps to implementing a healthier lifestyle; The Six-Week Action Plan, which includes a basic and 'advanced' diet plan for those who are more sugar-dependent; Take Back Our Health,how to including community support in your changes; The Meal Plan and Recipes; and of course, references.
For those sensitive to it, a note on formatting. Structure is very much of the "Dummies" school of writing, which includes (overuse) of bullet points, sections broken down into 2-page easily digestible segments, action steps, sidebars and (repetitive) life-style quizzes. This truly isn't meant to be an educational tome so much as a motivational speech coupled with a plan for lifestyle change.
The first part inundates with statistics proving that the American diet is unhealthy, causing an epidemic of obesity. He attempts to link obesity to industry, government and pharmaceutical companies--certainly all implicated in problems with the modern food chain, as well as general individual confusion about nutrition. There's vital substance here--much like the almonds in your chocolate bar--but it feels a little media-spun and breezy, and I would have preferred something more substantial. For instance, his assertion that "The food industry has decided to preempt any food-labeling regulations that would given consumers real, credible information" (p.47) is some what misleading. While I'd agree that industry isn't/hasn't been helpful, food labels now are more readable than ever before. It's actually a voluntary front of package labeling that industry suggested that he has issue with. Certainly true, but spun in a way that diminishes consumer responsibility and government efforts to improve knowledge. Personally, I would have been interested to learn more factual information about the deliberate creation of (unhealthy) highly-processed food on the part of industry--after all, I'm a sucker for an big conspiracy, especially if I get to blame my weight on it. But for that, I plan on checking out the lauded Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us.
Still, while every health care provider should already be aware of the current health crisis around poor diet and minimal exercise, some of this information might be new to the average American who may not have made the links between lifestyle and health (I don't know how they wouldn't have, but I'm trying to be generous here). Points he brings up include "low-fat" diets--there is now is strong evidence that defining healthy food strictly in terms of fat content is not enough. Likewise diet sodas--he cites a newer well-done study that links diabetes with higher diet soda consumption. I also like his assertion that too many medical practitioners--and their patients--accept the "pre-diabetic" label without actively fighting against further development of diabetes.
Other positives include linking inflammatory food choices with lifestyle stresses and inflammatory health conditions, although he often characterizes these as "toxins." There's a wide body of scientific research hoping to connect food, stress and inflammation, but as of right now, blanket statements are definitely out. Science is relatively certain inflammatory factors play a role in disease progression, specifically cardiovascular disease, breast cancer and autoimmune diseases (at least the ones that I know about off the top of my head). However, the link with inflammatory or "toxic" diets has been tenuous. A new European study on the Mediterranean diet was just released, and that seems to provide more conclusive proof. (However, contrary to Hymans' recommendations, that diet does contain alcohol, so it is sure to gain wider support).
There is a lot of good information here, spun in a way the average consumer might appreciate. However, because so much is referencing his website, it somewhat limits the extent to which it is accessible to everyone. My dad, for instance, should read this book; however, as he is computer illiterate, the online questionaires and resources would be useless. This issue perhaps hints at one of the hidden plagues of the food revolution--it usually requires significant economic or time resources to change.
Recipes and meal plans seem healthy, and no doubt would be part of a great balanced diet. He includes smoothies, breakfasts, snacks and solid meals. I also appreciate his checklists of kitchen supplies and spices, undoubtedly helpful for the kitchen impaired. It truly is a step-by-step recipe for change for those who are interested.
There is also a lot of selective information. Hyman would prefer that you don't drink alcohol at all. Not that I'm a fan, necessarily, but by not acknowledging the numerous studies that show a glass of red wine a day seems to be cardio-protective, he chips away at his own validity. And while I appreciate his emphasis on both 'real' food and food prepared by the consumer, I fail to understand how he doesn't consider it hypocritical that he would also recommend supplements.
Although I certainly believe in increasing environmental and pharmaceutical toxins, I think there aren't many studies that draw clear correlations with health, and those that do tend to center around asthma and cancer. Even then, connections are challenging to prove--if it was clearly provable, we'd have more success with EPA regulations. I feel his assertion of "increasing levels of toxins... are a significant cause of diabesity" (p.9) is seriously stretching the science. This truly is the section of the book that caused me the most skepticism. His self-analysis questions cover just about every symptom possible, so I think it would be hard to find someone that didn't merit his detox diet with supplements.
As a side note, for people into testing, he recommends a battery of blood work that is unlikely to be supported by many doctors and many more insurance companies. A full thyroid panel and insulin testing are two of the more esoteric ones that most practitioners--and clinical guidelines--would only recommend a screening thyroid and fasting glucose. Again, this speaks to well-financed readers, and I feel it is somewhat irresponsible to suggest someone with limited financial resources spend $800 on lab testing (just guessing off the top of my head as I don't have the book in hand--it's actually more like a couple thousand if it was market cost) that would need to be repeated in order to assess "improvement."
At the end of the day, I'm not sure to what extent cause matters. Humans are hard-wired to select sweets and fats, so whether its because of capitalism or choice, we're gonna pick the unhealthy ones most of the time. I do buy into the 'addictive' component; again, whether it is from a dopamine cycle or habit is almost irrelevant. Almost, because knowing can help us with strategies. I do dispute Hyman's tendency to equate heroin with sugar. A little extreme, maybe? But that's where the addictive behavior figures in, and where behavior modification has to be an emphasized component of dietary and lifestyle change. I do like the way Hyman tries to connect that back to community, and how to enlist community support in ones' change. I don't know that the web community is the only option, but it is the one most strongly supported by this book.
I did chuckle at his Inflammation questionnaire: "At work, I am exposed to pesticides, toxic chemicals, loud noise, heavy metals, and/or toxic bosses and coworkers." Tell me that isn't funny stuff!
If only his prescription didn't also include his own brand of products. There was one line I found quite ironically funny where he complains that the solution isn't "diet and exercise" the way we've been hearing our doctors suggest for decades. Um, hypocritical much? Because that is, after all what he is recommending. Along with a healthy dose of his brand of supplements.
Summary: if it gets you to healthify your lifestyle--awesome. But don't waste your money on lab tests and supplements.
http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2013/0...
July 1, 2012
Thanks Goodreads for the great giveaway!!! I’m on a diet similar to The Blood Sugar Solution, so when I heard about this book I thought it would be perfect for me. And it is to a point, but I can’t fully recommend this book due to its complexity. The first section of this book condemns the typical American diet & explains Dr. Hyman’s concept of diabesity. While I appreciate Dr. Hyman’s passion for this subject and agree with him on most points, this part of the book is an excessive 60 pages. While this introduction is necessary, it could have been effectively whittled down to about 20 pages & still captured the essence of his argument. The second section of the book includes eleven quizzes (including the energy metabolism quiz, the oxidative stress quiz, the adrenal fatigue quiz, etc.) to pinpoint possible health issues. Again, these are great, but a little convoluted & drawn-out. Part three prepares for the Blood Sugar Solution. Part four (on page 189) finally discusses the six week plan. For the most part, I like the plan as it incorporates not only diet changes, but lifestyle changes as well, including relaxation techniques, exercise & eliminating environmental toxins. I especially enjoyed the section about the one week media fast. The recipes in the book are fairly simple & include ingredients found at most grocery stores. I will definitely be incorporating those into my own low sugar diet.
Anyone purchasing this book has already acknowledged that they need to make drastic changes. Altering your life is hard enough without having to muddle through terminology such as “low-glycemic-load meals” & “phytonutrient-rich foods”. If this had been a simpler, more concise book I would have given The Blood Sugar Solution a rave review. Unfortunately, I believe that The Blood Sugar Solution’s unneeded complexity will alienate the audience that needs this book the most.
Anyone purchasing this book has already acknowledged that they need to make drastic changes. Altering your life is hard enough without having to muddle through terminology such as “low-glycemic-load meals” & “phytonutrient-rich foods”. If this had been a simpler, more concise book I would have given The Blood Sugar Solution a rave review. Unfortunately, I believe that The Blood Sugar Solution’s unneeded complexity will alienate the audience that needs this book the most.
July 31, 2018
Good book to understand the importance of diet in our health.
Nicely explained with scientific explanations.useful for those looking to drop a few kilos on a sustainable basis. Wisdom, tools and recipes to take back your health from processed sugary foods. Don't miss reading this for your health.
Nicely explained with scientific explanations.useful for those looking to drop a few kilos on a sustainable basis. Wisdom, tools and recipes to take back your health from processed sugary foods. Don't miss reading this for your health.
Read
February 18, 2012I'm not a health food nut. In fact, I love my diet cola more than the average American. I ordered this book simply because I'm going to Hawaii in a minute and I thought I might make some changes and look fantastic in a bathing suit.
Chances are slim, but there was a possibility.
Maybe because I'm new to the understanding-the-power-of-foods movement but I found the information a great launching pad for me. I accepted very early on that there was no chance I'd get my 23 year old body back I found that a condition that has been plaguing me for a few years can be greatly improved by controlling inflammation through monitoring foods that cause it. Certainly, I'll continue taking prescription anti-inflammatories but I thought Hyman clearly explained the process of inflammation and made a couple of supplemental changes to my diet. It's not huge but it's something.
Dr. Hyman breaks down certain herbal supplements and their health benefits so I knew what I should be looking for. I'm not going gung-ho because I realize herbal supplements are not monitored by the FDA, but I have found a reputable health food store that sells supplements with the ingredients he indicated. I'm also replacing at least one can of Diet Coke with a bottle of flavored green tea extracts. For me, that is huge.
I liked it and found it helpful.
Chances are slim, but there was a possibility.
Maybe because I'm new to the understanding-the-power-of-foods movement but I found the information a great launching pad for me. I accepted very early on that there was no chance I'd get my 23 year old body back I found that a condition that has been plaguing me for a few years can be greatly improved by controlling inflammation through monitoring foods that cause it. Certainly, I'll continue taking prescription anti-inflammatories but I thought Hyman clearly explained the process of inflammation and made a couple of supplemental changes to my diet. It's not huge but it's something.
Dr. Hyman breaks down certain herbal supplements and their health benefits so I knew what I should be looking for. I'm not going gung-ho because I realize herbal supplements are not monitored by the FDA, but I have found a reputable health food store that sells supplements with the ingredients he indicated. I'm also replacing at least one can of Diet Coke with a bottle of flavored green tea extracts. For me, that is huge.
I liked it and found it helpful.
June 6, 2020
Dr. Mark Hyman is one of my favorite authors and podcasters in the health field. Being that this was written in 2012, it still has 95% relevant information current research. There is outdated information in this book which I’m sure he’s now aware of (some examples: P. 207 he says to “eat often,” meanwhile current research supports IF and fasting. Also on p. 202 he recommends what we now know is an inflammatory oil (sunflower) and doesn’t mention to use avocado oil, especially for high temperature cooking). In his more recent book, “Food: What the Heck Should I Eat,” and on his current podcast, he does correct this info.
My other issue with this book is the constant mention of going to his website throughout the book. Couldn’t he have used an asterisk or footnotes instead? It just made this read like lowbrow free literature. Also I wish he didn’t include the workbook info, daily checklists, recipes and shopping lists in the back. That should’ve been available on his website instead of taking up the last 75 pages in the back. I didn’t care about it and skipped it.
Overall, this gets 3 stars because MOST of the information is true, relevant and important in reversing blood sugar and all health issues. If our population read and followed the advice in this book, so many ailments would be reversed/mitigated. I wanted to learn more about blood sugar, knowing nothing about the specific topic and I feel I did.
I also have no idea why this review is so long, so if you read through all of this- PROPS.
My other issue with this book is the constant mention of going to his website throughout the book. Couldn’t he have used an asterisk or footnotes instead? It just made this read like lowbrow free literature. Also I wish he didn’t include the workbook info, daily checklists, recipes and shopping lists in the back. That should’ve been available on his website instead of taking up the last 75 pages in the back. I didn’t care about it and skipped it.
Overall, this gets 3 stars because MOST of the information is true, relevant and important in reversing blood sugar and all health issues. If our population read and followed the advice in this book, so many ailments would be reversed/mitigated. I wanted to learn more about blood sugar, knowing nothing about the specific topic and I feel I did.
I also have no idea why this review is so long, so if you read through all of this- PROPS.
August 11, 2016
Thanks to goodreads for sending me this great book! This is written by an MD so there is some in-depth info being covered, but I thought it was pretty easy to read and understand. He provides some startling statistics (especially about children's nutrition) that really are inspiring me to make some changes for my family. For example, the sugar consumption of an average person has gone up from 10 pounds per year in the 1800's to currently 150-180 pounds of sugar per person per year! yikes. Also, the breakfast cereals with the worst nutritional value have the most advertising? and more than 90% of American children drink soda every day? I could go on, but I won't. Now I know that statistics can be skewed for different purposes, but this is still some eye-opening information on a topic that effects all of us.
So basically the book lays out a 6 week plan to get started on this healthy lifestyle where you eliminate sugars and reboot your metabolism. There are some quizzes you can take to help personalize the plan to your needs, and also a website to check out. There are recipes at the end of the book, although I wished there were more. Overall, if you are looking to change your nutritional habits or learn more about America's health crisis, give this book a read.
So basically the book lays out a 6 week plan to get started on this healthy lifestyle where you eliminate sugars and reboot your metabolism. There are some quizzes you can take to help personalize the plan to your needs, and also a website to check out. There are recipes at the end of the book, although I wished there were more. Overall, if you are looking to change your nutritional habits or learn more about America's health crisis, give this book a read.
September 10, 2019
4 stars but only if you take out and/or discount everything he says about supplements.
As far as his assertion that we all need supplements - I realize that there are people out there who are "metabolically" sick, so that an individual who is diabetic and taking insulin is completely different than someone who is trying to take a more proactive approach to avoid lifestyle diseases. And while some of these people might benefit from taking supplements, to simply take these "drugs" which do impact our bodies much the same way more traditional pharmaceuticals do, seems irresponsible at best and maybe dangerous at worst. I get that he is a doctor, and maybe under his care with specific testing and monitoring these supplements offer patients a better alternative to the conventional treatment of diseases like diabetes, but to encourage people to blindly take a virtual cocktail of supplements sort of feels like hypocrisy on Hyman's part.
I also do not accept that we all need supplements. That's just alarmist, you better buy my product and pop this pill or else, and there is tons of research out there to support that supplements are not necessary for health but could even be detrimental to it.
Supplements aside, Hyman's book offers a lot of insight into the role that lifestyle plays in promoting health or disease and highlights some solid strategies for making better choices.
He promotes a whole foods, plant-based diet, regular exercise, stress-management, and good sleep. In my mind and experience both personal and professional, these really are the four pillars of good health. He also advocates for personalized medicine/functional medicine, which is a emerging branch of medicine that focuses on promoting health as a means of preventing and curing disease as opposed to simply treating disease without addressing the underlying causes behind it. This is an idea many practitioners embrace, even if managed care has limited their ability to successfully practice it with their own patients. It's the difference between what's ideal and what is practical based on the restraints that many medical professionals are forced to work against.
Perhaps the greatest strength of Hyman's book is that it asserts that we can both prevent and cure disease by the choices we make. Just because you have a family history of diabetes or even diabetes doesn't mean that you are destined to a life on insulin. There is a tremendous amount of research to support this notion. Better health, optimal health, really is within our control, most of the time. And if we hope to get a handle on non-communicable diseases (aka preventable diseases) we need a paradigm shift in how we approach disease...both in treatment and prevention.
As far as his assertion that we all need supplements - I realize that there are people out there who are "metabolically" sick, so that an individual who is diabetic and taking insulin is completely different than someone who is trying to take a more proactive approach to avoid lifestyle diseases. And while some of these people might benefit from taking supplements, to simply take these "drugs" which do impact our bodies much the same way more traditional pharmaceuticals do, seems irresponsible at best and maybe dangerous at worst. I get that he is a doctor, and maybe under his care with specific testing and monitoring these supplements offer patients a better alternative to the conventional treatment of diseases like diabetes, but to encourage people to blindly take a virtual cocktail of supplements sort of feels like hypocrisy on Hyman's part.
I also do not accept that we all need supplements. That's just alarmist, you better buy my product and pop this pill or else, and there is tons of research out there to support that supplements are not necessary for health but could even be detrimental to it.
Supplements aside, Hyman's book offers a lot of insight into the role that lifestyle plays in promoting health or disease and highlights some solid strategies for making better choices.
He promotes a whole foods, plant-based diet, regular exercise, stress-management, and good sleep. In my mind and experience both personal and professional, these really are the four pillars of good health. He also advocates for personalized medicine/functional medicine, which is a emerging branch of medicine that focuses on promoting health as a means of preventing and curing disease as opposed to simply treating disease without addressing the underlying causes behind it. This is an idea many practitioners embrace, even if managed care has limited their ability to successfully practice it with their own patients. It's the difference between what's ideal and what is practical based on the restraints that many medical professionals are forced to work against.
Perhaps the greatest strength of Hyman's book is that it asserts that we can both prevent and cure disease by the choices we make. Just because you have a family history of diabetes or even diabetes doesn't mean that you are destined to a life on insulin. There is a tremendous amount of research to support this notion. Better health, optimal health, really is within our control, most of the time. And if we hope to get a handle on non-communicable diseases (aka preventable diseases) we need a paradigm shift in how we approach disease...both in treatment and prevention.
August 10, 2012
So far, it is saying what I have said for years that the medical community treats symptoms and not causes. Our body is similar to a finely tuned engine where all the components must be in balance otherwise problems will develop. I'm only one-third through the book and feel like what I'm reading has a lot of truth to it. Here is a statement from the book: In Chapter 6 Functional Medicine: A New Approach to Reverse This Epidemic: "The Question isn't 'What disease do you have?' but 'Which system or systems are out of balance?' The goal is to understand what disturbs the normal function of these systems, and how we can create optimal function."
There are testing questions that will help you find the imbalances in your body and set about correcting them. I can't wait to reach the end not of the book but to put into action the things I'm learning and to reverse some of the destructive imbalances in my body. It's like having a Jaguar that isn't running correctly. If I were a car that is what I would be. So I want to become a body mechanic in my own life. I will update this when I am through and maybe weeks into my progress if this is a project I decide to persue.
OK...OK..it's been 41 days. I know it took me a long time. There was a lot to digest and absorb.
Here is my update:
"The Blood Sugar Solution" by Mark Hyman, MD. I've been reading and re-reading it for some time. It is what I believe medicine should be. It is called Functional Medicine. In almost every case, and in every area, any system must have balance to function correctly. If you were installing a pond in your yard as a landscape element, all the elements of the pond must fit together in such a way that the pond reaches homeostasis. Homeostasis is the property of a system that regulates its internal environment and tends to maintain a stable, constant condition of properties such as temperature or pH(and other things for the human body). It can be either an open or closed system. That's one example. A car engine is composed of many parts with different functions that must be within a certain range to work in balance with one another at which point you have a fine running car. In our bodies all the parts must work together for us to be healthy and stable. Just as we should run a certain octane gasoline in our car, we need certain elements in our body in certain quantities and we need to feed it a certain quality of food for energy and nourishment. It is not just for Diabetics. This information will work for anyone. This book explains the 7 areas that need to be in balance for you to be healthy. They are 1. Boosted Nutrition, 2 Regulated Hormones, 3. Reduced Inflammation, 4. Improved Digestion, 5. Maximized Detoxification, 6. Enhanced Metabolism, 7. Soothed Mind. There are quizzes you can take in each of these areas that will show what areas are possibly in an unbalanced state. The quizzes check Magnesium, Essential Fatty Acids, Thyroid, Sex Hormones, Inflammation, Digestion, Toxicity, Energy Metabolism, Oxidative Stress, Stress and Adrenal Fatigue, and Diabesity ( a new term coined by this author). Once you take the tests, you can take your score and rate what level of imbalance you are in and then follow the plan to put it into balance. As it is in anything worthwhile, nothing is simple. Why? Why? Why? I wish something could be simple!
As you start the plan, you will give yourself a starting point by measuring and weighing.
Journal what you are doing and what changes you notice. Find out what supplements will help in this challenge. You will have to eliminate certain foods and drinks from your diet to break addictionsfor at least 6 weeks. It gives you guidance on exercise. If you follow the plan, you have the chance of eliminating medication, reversing disease processes, losing weight, and finding a balanced healthy way of living. It will help you know how to maintain this lifestyle choice. I know that if your health is better, then you will be happier. I don't enjoy being sick. It is a total body adjustment. You will be tuned up and energized. I know this is a good choice for me and it is my plan to follow the directions I can and continue on the road to making a different choice about my life and my body. Change does not come easy to me. I have already been working on certain changes for the past two years. Some days I do great and other days I fall flat on my face. I get up and start again. My plan is to succeed. I don't beat myself up. I just pick myself up, dust myself off and continue on my way. I also give myself times when I'm free to do whatever I want without reprisal or guilt.
I hope you will be interested in this book. It is of benefit to everyone no mater what disease you have, whether you are skinny or fat, and no mater what age you are. Come join with me and find your healthy balance.
There are testing questions that will help you find the imbalances in your body and set about correcting them. I can't wait to reach the end not of the book but to put into action the things I'm learning and to reverse some of the destructive imbalances in my body. It's like having a Jaguar that isn't running correctly. If I were a car that is what I would be. So I want to become a body mechanic in my own life. I will update this when I am through and maybe weeks into my progress if this is a project I decide to persue.
OK...OK..it's been 41 days. I know it took me a long time. There was a lot to digest and absorb.
Here is my update:
"The Blood Sugar Solution" by Mark Hyman, MD. I've been reading and re-reading it for some time. It is what I believe medicine should be. It is called Functional Medicine. In almost every case, and in every area, any system must have balance to function correctly. If you were installing a pond in your yard as a landscape element, all the elements of the pond must fit together in such a way that the pond reaches homeostasis. Homeostasis is the property of a system that regulates its internal environment and tends to maintain a stable, constant condition of properties such as temperature or pH(and other things for the human body). It can be either an open or closed system. That's one example. A car engine is composed of many parts with different functions that must be within a certain range to work in balance with one another at which point you have a fine running car. In our bodies all the parts must work together for us to be healthy and stable. Just as we should run a certain octane gasoline in our car, we need certain elements in our body in certain quantities and we need to feed it a certain quality of food for energy and nourishment. It is not just for Diabetics. This information will work for anyone. This book explains the 7 areas that need to be in balance for you to be healthy. They are 1. Boosted Nutrition, 2 Regulated Hormones, 3. Reduced Inflammation, 4. Improved Digestion, 5. Maximized Detoxification, 6. Enhanced Metabolism, 7. Soothed Mind. There are quizzes you can take in each of these areas that will show what areas are possibly in an unbalanced state. The quizzes check Magnesium, Essential Fatty Acids, Thyroid, Sex Hormones, Inflammation, Digestion, Toxicity, Energy Metabolism, Oxidative Stress, Stress and Adrenal Fatigue, and Diabesity ( a new term coined by this author). Once you take the tests, you can take your score and rate what level of imbalance you are in and then follow the plan to put it into balance. As it is in anything worthwhile, nothing is simple. Why? Why? Why? I wish something could be simple!
As you start the plan, you will give yourself a starting point by measuring and weighing.
Journal what you are doing and what changes you notice. Find out what supplements will help in this challenge. You will have to eliminate certain foods and drinks from your diet to break addictionsfor at least 6 weeks. It gives you guidance on exercise. If you follow the plan, you have the chance of eliminating medication, reversing disease processes, losing weight, and finding a balanced healthy way of living. It will help you know how to maintain this lifestyle choice. I know that if your health is better, then you will be happier. I don't enjoy being sick. It is a total body adjustment. You will be tuned up and energized. I know this is a good choice for me and it is my plan to follow the directions I can and continue on the road to making a different choice about my life and my body. Change does not come easy to me. I have already been working on certain changes for the past two years. Some days I do great and other days I fall flat on my face. I get up and start again. My plan is to succeed. I don't beat myself up. I just pick myself up, dust myself off and continue on my way. I also give myself times when I'm free to do whatever I want without reprisal or guilt.
I hope you will be interested in this book. It is of benefit to everyone no mater what disease you have, whether you are skinny or fat, and no mater what age you are. Come join with me and find your healthy balance.
September 6, 2012
This book had some good information; however, there were two aspects of this book that I had a problem with. The first is that is was a constant AD for his website, which, at the time of reading it, did not have all of the features that he touted. Once these features were up, you have to pay $175 to access them. I also had a problem with how Dr Hyman was trying to get people to self-diagnose and self-medicate, which I think are very dangerous prospects as a physician. It is one thing to make people aware of a situation, and completely another to tell people to take several supplements without really knowing what their specific issues are.
I do agree that we need to get away from sugars and white flour as a nation. I think it would help to cure what ails us. With the ever-rising rates of obesity in America, and with type 2 Diabetes being diagnosed at an alarming rate, to include children as young as 8 years old, I feel it is important to get the information out to the public and to have a vanguard that will help reverse this problem. Unfortunately, I do not seeing it happen at a rate that will be beneficial. We need more people talking about this devastating epidemic of 'diabesity' and the evils of highly processed foods.
Don't get me wrong. I think that there is good information in this book, but I also think that it could have been presented in a better way. I hope that America wakes up and stops its love affair with white flour and high fructose corn syrup. I think that we, as a nation, need to become more aware of our food and where it comes from and that medicine needs to start treating the cause of disease, not just putting more drugs in our bodies to find symptoms of what is truly wrong with us.
Once again, I did feel that this book could have been shorten by several pages (simply removing all of the plugs for his website alone would do that!) and it would have been more impactful to this reader, as I started to get annoyed by all of the references to website capabilities that were not easily accessible. I also felt it irresponsible of the publisher to allow a book to have so many quizzes and remedies and not state (again and again) that it is best to have a medical professional run tests and then prescribe courses of action instead of wholesale 'take these supplements and feel better'.
I do agree that we need to get away from sugars and white flour as a nation. I think it would help to cure what ails us. With the ever-rising rates of obesity in America, and with type 2 Diabetes being diagnosed at an alarming rate, to include children as young as 8 years old, I feel it is important to get the information out to the public and to have a vanguard that will help reverse this problem. Unfortunately, I do not seeing it happen at a rate that will be beneficial. We need more people talking about this devastating epidemic of 'diabesity' and the evils of highly processed foods.
Don't get me wrong. I think that there is good information in this book, but I also think that it could have been presented in a better way. I hope that America wakes up and stops its love affair with white flour and high fructose corn syrup. I think that we, as a nation, need to become more aware of our food and where it comes from and that medicine needs to start treating the cause of disease, not just putting more drugs in our bodies to find symptoms of what is truly wrong with us.
Once again, I did feel that this book could have been shorten by several pages (simply removing all of the plugs for his website alone would do that!) and it would have been more impactful to this reader, as I started to get annoyed by all of the references to website capabilities that were not easily accessible. I also felt it irresponsible of the publisher to allow a book to have so many quizzes and remedies and not state (again and again) that it is best to have a medical professional run tests and then prescribe courses of action instead of wholesale 'take these supplements and feel better'.
March 18, 2014
This book provides a comprehensive blueprint for integrating pracitical tips to help you live a healthy life. The recipes are delicious and easy to follow. Buying the book just for the recipes is well worth your purchase.
One of the ways that we can become aware of our thinking is through journaling. Part of Dr. Hyman’s 10-Day Detox Diet includes keeping a journal. He offers some suggestions about what to write about each day. There is also an online community to provide you with support.
I will share this with you about my experience (Full Disclosure- I did not use any of the supplements recommended). On day three of the detox, I felt the positive effects of a healthy diet. I embraced it now that I got through the first two days and my break up with sugar no longer seemed like a long haul. I don’t own a scale, but I felt lightweight. No cravings. My head was clear; no clutter; no anxiety despite the difficult phone call the night before. Now, I notice that my running is stronger and I’m sleeping through the night.
Even if you don’t feel that you are ready or can commit to ten days, I encourage you to take a look at this book. Many of the meal and suggestions you can incorporate into your daily routine. Feeling better about ourselves comes when we are living a healthy lifestyle. This plan teaches you how to listen to your body and provide it with nutrient rich foods. The recipes are easy to follow. Even the kitchen challenged, like myself, can complete them.
Five out of Five Stars!
One of the ways that we can become aware of our thinking is through journaling. Part of Dr. Hyman’s 10-Day Detox Diet includes keeping a journal. He offers some suggestions about what to write about each day. There is also an online community to provide you with support.
I will share this with you about my experience (Full Disclosure- I did not use any of the supplements recommended). On day three of the detox, I felt the positive effects of a healthy diet. I embraced it now that I got through the first two days and my break up with sugar no longer seemed like a long haul. I don’t own a scale, but I felt lightweight. No cravings. My head was clear; no clutter; no anxiety despite the difficult phone call the night before. Now, I notice that my running is stronger and I’m sleeping through the night.
Even if you don’t feel that you are ready or can commit to ten days, I encourage you to take a look at this book. Many of the meal and suggestions you can incorporate into your daily routine. Feeling better about ourselves comes when we are living a healthy lifestyle. This plan teaches you how to listen to your body and provide it with nutrient rich foods. The recipes are easy to follow. Even the kitchen challenged, like myself, can complete them.
Five out of Five Stars!
Read
March 14, 2012This book addresses one of the most important health issues of our time. And if you have friends or relatives who are struggling with their weight, or with high blood pressure and cholesterol, or other inflammatory conditions, we think you — and they — will want the guidance, perspective and practical wisdom this book provides.
We are currently in the middle of an epidemic of obesity and type 2 diabetes — what Dr. Hyman calls “diabesity” — that threatens more than half of all Americans. Even more startling, most conventional doctors are having very little success in treating diabesity, which is the leading cause of chronic disease (think heart disease, dementia, high blood pressure, cancer, etc.) in the 21st century.
It’s important to know that The Blood Sugar Solution is not just for people who are diabetic or obese. In fact, Hyman tells us, most people who suffer from diabesity don’t even know it — and they also don’t know that this condition is 100 percent reversible.
In The Blood Sugar Solution, Dr. Hyman focuses on lifestyle — non-drug based approaches to preventing, treating, and even reversing diabesity.
Hyman’s compelling and accessible book includes many quizzes and tips like these to help you develop your own personalized self-care plan to improve things like hormonal imbalances, inflammation, metabolism and detoxification.
We are currently in the middle of an epidemic of obesity and type 2 diabetes — what Dr. Hyman calls “diabesity” — that threatens more than half of all Americans. Even more startling, most conventional doctors are having very little success in treating diabesity, which is the leading cause of chronic disease (think heart disease, dementia, high blood pressure, cancer, etc.) in the 21st century.
It’s important to know that The Blood Sugar Solution is not just for people who are diabetic or obese. In fact, Hyman tells us, most people who suffer from diabesity don’t even know it — and they also don’t know that this condition is 100 percent reversible.
In The Blood Sugar Solution, Dr. Hyman focuses on lifestyle — non-drug based approaches to preventing, treating, and even reversing diabesity.
Hyman’s compelling and accessible book includes many quizzes and tips like these to help you develop your own personalized self-care plan to improve things like hormonal imbalances, inflammation, metabolism and detoxification.
March 12, 2013
You may find some helpful things in here but it is in no way worth sitting through this guy's commercial for himself. These guys, and there are plenty of doctors out there getting incredibly rich by playing on our suspicions about traditional medicine and especially big pharma, dazzle you by throwing in a bit of empirical data then take off on their own. It's the old magician's trick--you're watching the empirical hand that gives you confidence in his knowledge, while the other hand is going where no medical study has ever gone before and picking your pocket at the same time. It's time consuming but do your homework on these quacks. If you're not willing to do that then promise yourself that you will never take advice from some "medical professional" with his/her own product line. The only exception to that rule is dermatologists who love to develop various things to make you gorgeous and for which you will pay ridiculously high prices. At least with dermatologists, your own eyes will give you evidence about the worth of the product. Yes, I know HuffPo gives space to this guy and I couldn't be more appalled.
October 18, 2015
I really feel like this book has a lot of good information. My complaint is the extra and repetitious info that made the book tedious. Everything could have been said in less than half the time.
Still like I said, the information was good and I do believe that our diet has a lot to do with the diseases and conditions that we acquire. There are a few recipes included but I didn't see anything that appealed to me personally. This is a book I would still recommend for those persons who want to make healthy lifestyle changes.
Still like I said, the information was good and I do believe that our diet has a lot to do with the diseases and conditions that we acquire. There are a few recipes included but I didn't see anything that appealed to me personally. This is a book I would still recommend for those persons who want to make healthy lifestyle changes.
August 23, 2022
Most of this information seems like common sense to me, but obviously there are many people in America who need to learn it. That’s not why I gave it three stars though. I found this book to be repetitive, occasionally gimmicky, and annoyingly political. I’m big on educating people and applaud the book as far as this does, I’m not big on advocating for more regulation and government power.
June 15, 2012
Read like a very lengthy commercial.
September 12, 2016
“Diabesity” is what Dr. Mark Hyman calls the epidemic of obesity and of type 2 diabetes. This book is primarily about disabesity – its causes and its cure.
Hyman predicts that one out of two Americans will be afflicted with diabesity by 2020. So what causes it? Diabesity is almost entirely caused by environmental factors and lifestyle. Hyman calls it a myth that diabetes (type 2) is genetic. The incidence of diabetes is growing so fast that it can’t be caused by genetic changes.
What we eat and drink is the main factor in contracting disabesity. Sugar stimulates the brain’s pleasure centers through dopamine just like addictive drugs, he claims. Brain imaging shows that high-sugar and high-fat foods work like heroin on the brain. Sugar “is at least as addictive, if not more so” than tobacco and alcohol.
Sugar-sweetened beverages (S-SB) are the single biggest source of sugar in the diet. Nine of ten American children imbibe S-SBs daily. From 1977 - 2002, consumption of calories by S-SB doubled, while obesity rates doubled in children ages 2 - 11 and tripled in children ages 12 - 19.
Much of the sugar consumed comes from high fructose corn sugar (HFCS), which is worse than sucrose, he explains, because HFCS doesn’t require digestion and is more quickly absorbed into the blood stream than sucrose. Eliminating HFCS from the diet “radically reduces health risks.”
“The increased rate of chronic illness we see in our society is a direct outcome of increased rates of inflammation. There is no longer any debate about this in the world of medicine…Dietary sugars and refined flowers are the biggest triggers of inflammation” causing insulin levels to spike and a cascade of reactions that lead to chronic inflammation. Food sensitivities and allergies is another cause of inflammation.
So what is the solution? Hyman advocates Functional Medicine, which he defines as patient-centered health care, not disease-centered medicine. It means treating the whole body, with all of its interconnected systems, rather than focusing on one organ or one symptom.
He also advocates a nutritional approach called nutrigenics -- the science of how food talks to our genes, The information our body receives from the foods we eat turns certain genes off and on; food = info.
Americans must change their diets, and Hymn offers specific, if familiar, advice about how to carry out a diet improvement plan. He also recommends a long list of supplements.
Our environment is “obesogenic,” writes Hyman, with inexpensive, addictive junk food and unfettered marketing campaigns even to young children. What’s changed over the decades is our environment, not our genes, as Americans get fatter than ever. On the other hand, the food industry would have us believe health problems are the result of gluttony and weak will power, and that individual responsibility is all that matters.
In the realm of public policy, a penny-an-ounce tax on soft drinks would, per the director of the CDC, reduce consumption by 23% and save $50 billion in health care costs over a decade. A Coke study fund that when their prices rose by 12%, their sales dropped by 14.6%. That’s why the soft drink industry spends $tens of millions lobbying against the soda tax; they know that altering the environment will reduce their profit.
Another policy would be to limit the advertising of junk food to young children. Currently there is no legal limit, the average child sees 10,000 ads for junk food a year, and the average two-year old can identify more junk food brands than vegetables. By contrast, 50 other countries restrict or ban advertising to children.
Hyman contends that diabetes is reversible, especially if caught in the early stages and treated aggressively through lifestyle intervention and nutritional support. To catch it early, doctors should revise their cutoff on a patient’s fasting blood sugar (fbs): A recent study shows that anyone with a fbs of 87 mg/dl was at increased risk of diabetes. Most doctors are not concerned until the blood sugar is over 110 mg/dl, or 126 mg/dl, the level that technically signals diabetes. Insulin spikes before blood sugar, so doctors should order the two-hour glucose tolerance test, which measures not only glucose but also insulin levels at fasting and one and two hours after a sugar drink.
Here are some other Hyman assertions:
• “We get the most pleasure from life when we focus on quality – of our relationships, of our work, and of our food.”
• “Obese citizens cost the US health care system 40 percent more than normal-weight citizens.” They also lose an average of 9 years of life expectancy.
• Statins aren’t any good at preventing heart disease – a contention rejected by much of the medical establishment.
• If we eat food that spikes our insulin level, we gain weight, even when the calories are the same as a diet that doesn’t spike insulin levels. Low glycemic load diets that don’t spike blood sugar and insulin are the only diets proven to work.
EVALUATION
I think Dr. Hyman generally gives good advice, though I have some caveats.
Hyman provides quizzes throughout the book so readers can determine whether they have a particular problem. Most of the quizzes, however, lead all or almost all people to conclude they do. Some of his sweeping risk factors are being nonwhite, a senior and living north of Florida. Even when someone has none of the risk factors, Hyman’s still concludes the person “may have a deficiency.” Consequently, his checklists aren’t very helpful to the reader, though they no doubt help his marketing.
Though critical of gluten, Hyman nonetheless endorses consuming whole grains, even though in places he recognizes how glycemic flour is. There is much overlap between this book and two other books I like on diet and health – Wheat Belly and The 4-hour body. All three books focus on blood sugar, and the need to prevent it from spiking due to sugar and refined carb consumption. All three books warn, to varying degrees, about starches in grains, rice, and flour and the need to abstain from them in order to prevent or reverse diabesity.
None of the three books expresses much worry about consumption of fats. As a matter of fact, Hyman says focus on fat has distracted Americans from the bigger diet problems, such as sugar.
In sum, much of this information is available elsewhere. What helps distinguish this book from others is the comprehensive approach to changing how we eat, which includes follow-up on his web site. Here’s a reason to make those changes: “Recent studies have found that as your waist size goes up, the size of your brain goes down.”
Hyman predicts that one out of two Americans will be afflicted with diabesity by 2020. So what causes it? Diabesity is almost entirely caused by environmental factors and lifestyle. Hyman calls it a myth that diabetes (type 2) is genetic. The incidence of diabetes is growing so fast that it can’t be caused by genetic changes.
What we eat and drink is the main factor in contracting disabesity. Sugar stimulates the brain’s pleasure centers through dopamine just like addictive drugs, he claims. Brain imaging shows that high-sugar and high-fat foods work like heroin on the brain. Sugar “is at least as addictive, if not more so” than tobacco and alcohol.
Sugar-sweetened beverages (S-SB) are the single biggest source of sugar in the diet. Nine of ten American children imbibe S-SBs daily. From 1977 - 2002, consumption of calories by S-SB doubled, while obesity rates doubled in children ages 2 - 11 and tripled in children ages 12 - 19.
Much of the sugar consumed comes from high fructose corn sugar (HFCS), which is worse than sucrose, he explains, because HFCS doesn’t require digestion and is more quickly absorbed into the blood stream than sucrose. Eliminating HFCS from the diet “radically reduces health risks.”
“The increased rate of chronic illness we see in our society is a direct outcome of increased rates of inflammation. There is no longer any debate about this in the world of medicine…Dietary sugars and refined flowers are the biggest triggers of inflammation” causing insulin levels to spike and a cascade of reactions that lead to chronic inflammation. Food sensitivities and allergies is another cause of inflammation.
So what is the solution? Hyman advocates Functional Medicine, which he defines as patient-centered health care, not disease-centered medicine. It means treating the whole body, with all of its interconnected systems, rather than focusing on one organ or one symptom.
He also advocates a nutritional approach called nutrigenics -- the science of how food talks to our genes, The information our body receives from the foods we eat turns certain genes off and on; food = info.
Americans must change their diets, and Hymn offers specific, if familiar, advice about how to carry out a diet improvement plan. He also recommends a long list of supplements.
Our environment is “obesogenic,” writes Hyman, with inexpensive, addictive junk food and unfettered marketing campaigns even to young children. What’s changed over the decades is our environment, not our genes, as Americans get fatter than ever. On the other hand, the food industry would have us believe health problems are the result of gluttony and weak will power, and that individual responsibility is all that matters.
In the realm of public policy, a penny-an-ounce tax on soft drinks would, per the director of the CDC, reduce consumption by 23% and save $50 billion in health care costs over a decade. A Coke study fund that when their prices rose by 12%, their sales dropped by 14.6%. That’s why the soft drink industry spends $tens of millions lobbying against the soda tax; they know that altering the environment will reduce their profit.
Another policy would be to limit the advertising of junk food to young children. Currently there is no legal limit, the average child sees 10,000 ads for junk food a year, and the average two-year old can identify more junk food brands than vegetables. By contrast, 50 other countries restrict or ban advertising to children.
Hyman contends that diabetes is reversible, especially if caught in the early stages and treated aggressively through lifestyle intervention and nutritional support. To catch it early, doctors should revise their cutoff on a patient’s fasting blood sugar (fbs): A recent study shows that anyone with a fbs of 87 mg/dl was at increased risk of diabetes. Most doctors are not concerned until the blood sugar is over 110 mg/dl, or 126 mg/dl, the level that technically signals diabetes. Insulin spikes before blood sugar, so doctors should order the two-hour glucose tolerance test, which measures not only glucose but also insulin levels at fasting and one and two hours after a sugar drink.
Here are some other Hyman assertions:
• “We get the most pleasure from life when we focus on quality – of our relationships, of our work, and of our food.”
• “Obese citizens cost the US health care system 40 percent more than normal-weight citizens.” They also lose an average of 9 years of life expectancy.
• Statins aren’t any good at preventing heart disease – a contention rejected by much of the medical establishment.
• If we eat food that spikes our insulin level, we gain weight, even when the calories are the same as a diet that doesn’t spike insulin levels. Low glycemic load diets that don’t spike blood sugar and insulin are the only diets proven to work.
EVALUATION
I think Dr. Hyman generally gives good advice, though I have some caveats.
Hyman provides quizzes throughout the book so readers can determine whether they have a particular problem. Most of the quizzes, however, lead all or almost all people to conclude they do. Some of his sweeping risk factors are being nonwhite, a senior and living north of Florida. Even when someone has none of the risk factors, Hyman’s still concludes the person “may have a deficiency.” Consequently, his checklists aren’t very helpful to the reader, though they no doubt help his marketing.
Though critical of gluten, Hyman nonetheless endorses consuming whole grains, even though in places he recognizes how glycemic flour is. There is much overlap between this book and two other books I like on diet and health – Wheat Belly and The 4-hour body. All three books focus on blood sugar, and the need to prevent it from spiking due to sugar and refined carb consumption. All three books warn, to varying degrees, about starches in grains, rice, and flour and the need to abstain from them in order to prevent or reverse diabesity.
None of the three books expresses much worry about consumption of fats. As a matter of fact, Hyman says focus on fat has distracted Americans from the bigger diet problems, such as sugar.
In sum, much of this information is available elsewhere. What helps distinguish this book from others is the comprehensive approach to changing how we eat, which includes follow-up on his web site. Here’s a reason to make those changes: “Recent studies have found that as your waist size goes up, the size of your brain goes down.”
May 10, 2019
As prediabetic, this book has been a lifesaver of sorts... my blood glucose numbers are dropping! Dr. Hyman provides a lot of beneficial and eye-opening information.
March 28, 2016
This book was on a reading list as part of a course that I'm on and being a book junkie I got it. Well, I'm also very interested in knowing what clients and prospects are using so that I'm better able to design my cooking lessons.
In other words, I'm not the direct target audience for this book. I've given it one star because of this part in the book (otherwise it would have been 2-stars):
Here are some of my favourite tips for dining out and staying healthy:
1. Be selective. Choose the restaurant, if possible, when dining with others
2. Be obnoxious! Be clear about your needs and do not accept any food that does not nourish or support you. Do not assume you are being impolite; you are simply taking care of yourself.
3. Tell the server you do not want bread on the table, nor the alcoholic beverage menu. But do ask for raw cut-up veggies without dip.
4. Ask for water. Drink one or two glasses before your meal to reduce your appetite.
5. Tell the server you will die if you have gluten or dairy. It's not really a lie - you're just talking about a slow death.
Maybe this practice is more accepted in the US (and maybe why American are generally regarded as brash and self-centered) but number 2 and 5 are just horrible to me. And even worse I can see people doing the above and then secretly stuffing their faces with bad food when nobody is looking.
If you are someone who already maintains a very strict and healthy diet, I can see that you would want to be consistent when you eat out and I respect that, but then you wouldn't reading this book. And if you currently have a terrible diet, then perhaps start with smaller steps at home and on your own. And you're eating out, be polite, decline gently and explain how hard you're trying and how any ounce of help from the servers and your friends would be marvellous to you.
I've tried hard to see if I'm missing the author's humour and I really don't think so. I love dry, satirical, piss-taking humour, which is largely why I live in Britain. If the author is being funny in that way, this is the only point in the book he uses this form of humour.
Yes, I know a little harsh but I'm also tired of books aimed at people whose diets are in terrible state* and make things much more complicated than they need to be. This mostly results in people buying more and more books, supplements, shakes, equipment and paying for all sorts of treatments and, in the main, failing.
*there's a questionnaire at the start that suggests that the audience are not sportspeople looking to optimise their diet
I'm more than happy to be wrong about my sentiment above. Maybe this book has helped more people than I can imagine. I guess I'm irked because I agree that most people would benefit from eating more vegetables that they've cooked at home without all the unnecessary additives and I'm not convinced that this book genuinely causes people to move towards that in a long-term sustainable way.
In other words, I'm not the direct target audience for this book. I've given it one star because of this part in the book (otherwise it would have been 2-stars):
Here are some of my favourite tips for dining out and staying healthy:
1. Be selective. Choose the restaurant, if possible, when dining with others
2. Be obnoxious! Be clear about your needs and do not accept any food that does not nourish or support you. Do not assume you are being impolite; you are simply taking care of yourself.
3. Tell the server you do not want bread on the table, nor the alcoholic beverage menu. But do ask for raw cut-up veggies without dip.
4. Ask for water. Drink one or two glasses before your meal to reduce your appetite.
5. Tell the server you will die if you have gluten or dairy. It's not really a lie - you're just talking about a slow death.
Maybe this practice is more accepted in the US (and maybe why American are generally regarded as brash and self-centered) but number 2 and 5 are just horrible to me. And even worse I can see people doing the above and then secretly stuffing their faces with bad food when nobody is looking.
If you are someone who already maintains a very strict and healthy diet, I can see that you would want to be consistent when you eat out and I respect that, but then you wouldn't reading this book. And if you currently have a terrible diet, then perhaps start with smaller steps at home and on your own. And you're eating out, be polite, decline gently and explain how hard you're trying and how any ounce of help from the servers and your friends would be marvellous to you.
I've tried hard to see if I'm missing the author's humour and I really don't think so. I love dry, satirical, piss-taking humour, which is largely why I live in Britain. If the author is being funny in that way, this is the only point in the book he uses this form of humour.
Yes, I know a little harsh but I'm also tired of books aimed at people whose diets are in terrible state* and make things much more complicated than they need to be. This mostly results in people buying more and more books, supplements, shakes, equipment and paying for all sorts of treatments and, in the main, failing.
*there's a questionnaire at the start that suggests that the audience are not sportspeople looking to optimise their diet
I'm more than happy to be wrong about my sentiment above. Maybe this book has helped more people than I can imagine. I guess I'm irked because I agree that most people would benefit from eating more vegetables that they've cooked at home without all the unnecessary additives and I'm not convinced that this book genuinely causes people to move towards that in a long-term sustainable way.
June 13, 2012
Something I discovered in both of my pregnancies is that I have Gestational Diabetes, while I am blessed for it to go away completely when I’m no longer pregnant… it is something I’ll have to deal with most likely every time I become pregnant. My mother has type 2 diabetes and it seems that whenever you reach a certain age in her side of the family that is bound to happen. It’s not surprising and it’s not rare, but it’s a factor of my life that I need to address.
While right now I’m breastfeeding and not about to abruptly change my diet, nor have I had the book quite long enough to speak to results… the tone of the book is right. It is dead on in inspiration and motivation. Written at a level that makes you part of your health care team. With a checklist format and a weekly overview, this appears to be something you can really do and without struggle for understanding. I love that something finally includes journaling and vitamins – both so important and often left out. Packed with recipes and shopping list, this could really be a jump start.
I’m willing to try. Why wait until I’m further into borderline diabetes? Or again with gestational diabetes? Or later in life, full on type 2 diabetes? This book is filled with advice to take to heart now, and to jump in full stream when we move past breastfeeding.
Like always as I discovered with the Great Physicians Diet and others, getting healthy does cost some money up front. Healthier food has a higher grocery store price tag as does organic and more natural options. Vitamins too… as for his recommendation of the supplements that he sells on his website, he knows how their made and that’s his safe suggestion since he cannot comment on everything behind other brands, however just as I thought with Jordan Rubin’s vitamins and such you can use other brands to get a healthy balance.
Pretty much all I’ve read here seems to go hand in hand with what I’ve been slowly gathering in my mind researching over the last few years…
***Thanks to The B&B Media Group for sending me a review copy.***
posted: http://creativemadnessmama.com/blog/2...
While right now I’m breastfeeding and not about to abruptly change my diet, nor have I had the book quite long enough to speak to results… the tone of the book is right. It is dead on in inspiration and motivation. Written at a level that makes you part of your health care team. With a checklist format and a weekly overview, this appears to be something you can really do and without struggle for understanding. I love that something finally includes journaling and vitamins – both so important and often left out. Packed with recipes and shopping list, this could really be a jump start.
I’m willing to try. Why wait until I’m further into borderline diabetes? Or again with gestational diabetes? Or later in life, full on type 2 diabetes? This book is filled with advice to take to heart now, and to jump in full stream when we move past breastfeeding.
Like always as I discovered with the Great Physicians Diet and others, getting healthy does cost some money up front. Healthier food has a higher grocery store price tag as does organic and more natural options. Vitamins too… as for his recommendation of the supplements that he sells on his website, he knows how their made and that’s his safe suggestion since he cannot comment on everything behind other brands, however just as I thought with Jordan Rubin’s vitamins and such you can use other brands to get a healthy balance.
Pretty much all I’ve read here seems to go hand in hand with what I’ve been slowly gathering in my mind researching over the last few years…
***Thanks to The B&B Media Group for sending me a review copy.***
posted: http://creativemadnessmama.com/blog/2...
May 22, 2012
Title: THE BLOOD SUGAR SOLUTION
Author: Mark Hyman, MD
Publisher: Little Brown
February 2012
ISBN: 978-0-316-12737-0
Genre: Healthy living
THE BLOOD SUGAR SOLUTION is a book for those individuals who want to be on an ultra-healthy program for losing weight, preventing disease, and feeling great. Dr. Hyman is the best-selling author of other medical books for the general public, and he maintains that fifty percent of all Americans have diabesity, which is the spectrum of imbalance ranging from mild insulin resistance to prediabetes, to full-blown type 2 diabetes.
The latest research shows that insulin imbalance is the major cause of weight issues and diabetes, as well as heart disease, cancer, dementia, and most other diseases. You may have diabesity and not know it.
In THE BLOOD SUGAR SOLUTION, Dr. Hyman presents his scientifically based program for rebalancing insulin and blood sugar levels. He identifies the seven factors in achieving wellness: peak nutrition, regulated hormones, reduced inflammation, optimized digestion, maximized detoxification, better energy metabolism, and a calm mind.
Included in THE BLOOD SUGAR SOLUTION are self diagnostic tests, advice on supplements and medication, stress-reducing strategies, a menu plan and recipes, as well as a six-week action plan.
If you follow the advice in THE BLOOD SUGAR SOLUTION, you will gain back your health.
The reading of this book is rather dry—and it does suggest working with your medical doctor, so your physician will need to be open-minded and accepting of Dr. Hyman’s approach and views. The recipes included sound wonderful, but pricy, and also includes a shopping list so you can make sure you have all the ingredients on hand (some are hard to find). Also, the supplements recommended seem to be only available on his website for a pricy amount. If you are looking for a healthier lifestyle then pick up THE BLOOD SUGAR SOLUTION is a book to consider. $27.99 hardcover. 420 pages.
Author: Mark Hyman, MD
Publisher: Little Brown
February 2012
ISBN: 978-0-316-12737-0
Genre: Healthy living
THE BLOOD SUGAR SOLUTION is a book for those individuals who want to be on an ultra-healthy program for losing weight, preventing disease, and feeling great. Dr. Hyman is the best-selling author of other medical books for the general public, and he maintains that fifty percent of all Americans have diabesity, which is the spectrum of imbalance ranging from mild insulin resistance to prediabetes, to full-blown type 2 diabetes.
The latest research shows that insulin imbalance is the major cause of weight issues and diabetes, as well as heart disease, cancer, dementia, and most other diseases. You may have diabesity and not know it.
In THE BLOOD SUGAR SOLUTION, Dr. Hyman presents his scientifically based program for rebalancing insulin and blood sugar levels. He identifies the seven factors in achieving wellness: peak nutrition, regulated hormones, reduced inflammation, optimized digestion, maximized detoxification, better energy metabolism, and a calm mind.
Included in THE BLOOD SUGAR SOLUTION are self diagnostic tests, advice on supplements and medication, stress-reducing strategies, a menu plan and recipes, as well as a six-week action plan.
If you follow the advice in THE BLOOD SUGAR SOLUTION, you will gain back your health.
The reading of this book is rather dry—and it does suggest working with your medical doctor, so your physician will need to be open-minded and accepting of Dr. Hyman’s approach and views. The recipes included sound wonderful, but pricy, and also includes a shopping list so you can make sure you have all the ingredients on hand (some are hard to find). Also, the supplements recommended seem to be only available on his website for a pricy amount. If you are looking for a healthier lifestyle then pick up THE BLOOD SUGAR SOLUTION is a book to consider. $27.99 hardcover. 420 pages.
June 7, 2012
The ultra-healthy program for losing weight, preventing disease and feeling great now.
Dr. Hyman’s new book takes a look at Diabesity “a more comprehensive term to describe the continuum from optimal blood sugar balance toward insulin resistance and full blown diabetes”.
Diabesity is a globally affecting children through adults and is one of the leading cause in chronic disease today. To effectively get rid of it we need to take back our health.
Dr Hyman goes indepth on the myths of diabetes and obesity by looking at our health care system, the foods consumed today, of our sugar levels and how to regulate them. Very detailed responses to the issues that are behind the diabesity epidemic. For someone who wants to know the hows and whys behind the epidemic, the first section of the book will be extremely helpful.
Part two begins the 7 steps to treating diabesity by looking at your nutrition, hormones, stress, inflammation, metabolism and more. Fantastic step by step ideas on how to begin treating each of these areas.
In Part four Dr. Hyman begins the 6 week action plan, after prepping a week in the previous section. Now this is where you get down to the grass roots and apply what he has been shedding light on in the previous sections. Basically getting rid of any foods that are not natural for your body. Get rid of the refined flours, carbs, sugars especially. Anything artificial or you can’t pronounce on the label, avoid it. I have been slowly working on this exact concept so it was very helpful to find it reinforced in this book!
There are recipe ideas and and menu plans in the last section including shopping lists. I am hoping to take some of these ideas and work with them this summer as the fresh produce is abundant around us. I look forward to seeing the results of my own health as I work toward getting rid of my own diabesity problems.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Dr. Hyman’s new book takes a look at Diabesity “a more comprehensive term to describe the continuum from optimal blood sugar balance toward insulin resistance and full blown diabetes”.
Diabesity is a globally affecting children through adults and is one of the leading cause in chronic disease today. To effectively get rid of it we need to take back our health.
Dr Hyman goes indepth on the myths of diabetes and obesity by looking at our health care system, the foods consumed today, of our sugar levels and how to regulate them. Very detailed responses to the issues that are behind the diabesity epidemic. For someone who wants to know the hows and whys behind the epidemic, the first section of the book will be extremely helpful.
Part two begins the 7 steps to treating diabesity by looking at your nutrition, hormones, stress, inflammation, metabolism and more. Fantastic step by step ideas on how to begin treating each of these areas.
In Part four Dr. Hyman begins the 6 week action plan, after prepping a week in the previous section. Now this is where you get down to the grass roots and apply what he has been shedding light on in the previous sections. Basically getting rid of any foods that are not natural for your body. Get rid of the refined flours, carbs, sugars especially. Anything artificial or you can’t pronounce on the label, avoid it. I have been slowly working on this exact concept so it was very helpful to find it reinforced in this book!
There are recipe ideas and and menu plans in the last section including shopping lists. I am hoping to take some of these ideas and work with them this summer as the fresh produce is abundant around us. I look forward to seeing the results of my own health as I work toward getting rid of my own diabesity problems.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
March 10, 2015
If you've read one of these, you've read them all. Not much new ground covered here. Big pharma, bad! Processed foods, bad! Carbs, bad! Rawr, Hyman smash! (that is one letter away from being an extremely painful epithet)
Whole food and exercise, par for the course, and this one is encouraging supplements, which I find rather ironic considering how unregulated they are and that are also the product of greedy corporations that have been opposing regulation with evil lobbyists just like every other multi-billion dollar industry today. It's like watching a battle with both sides praying to the same god to smash the other side's face, but this is your side so obviously it's the right one. That's not to say that big pharma isn't awful and greedy and gleefully killing people then hiding their bodies in a well, but there is a certain hypocrisy in claiming your side is right and good when it's really just the same people under a different flag.
The book is basically a long, cynically marketed advertisement much like the G.I. Joe and Transformers cartoons of the 80s, and just like every other popular health book out there are a few red flags. Anytime a doctor talks about toxins, I take a harder look to find the snake oil on the bottle's ingredients. And then, towards the end, we get a mega church group and Dr. Oz... yeaaaah.
There is some good information here despite the most obvious (diet and exercise, yo) being bashed against the reader's skull multiple times like a boxer pummeling me to death because he hates his mother. Okay, yes! I'll never use sugar again! Please stop hitting me. It's just that I have to wade through the same redundant piles of rubbish to find the few bits of new and possibly useful information.
Whole food and exercise, par for the course, and this one is encouraging supplements, which I find rather ironic considering how unregulated they are and that are also the product of greedy corporations that have been opposing regulation with evil lobbyists just like every other multi-billion dollar industry today. It's like watching a battle with both sides praying to the same god to smash the other side's face, but this is your side so obviously it's the right one. That's not to say that big pharma isn't awful and greedy and gleefully killing people then hiding their bodies in a well, but there is a certain hypocrisy in claiming your side is right and good when it's really just the same people under a different flag.
The book is basically a long, cynically marketed advertisement much like the G.I. Joe and Transformers cartoons of the 80s, and just like every other popular health book out there are a few red flags. Anytime a doctor talks about toxins, I take a harder look to find the snake oil on the bottle's ingredients. And then, towards the end, we get a mega church group and Dr. Oz... yeaaaah.
There is some good information here despite the most obvious (diet and exercise, yo) being bashed against the reader's skull multiple times like a boxer pummeling me to death because he hates his mother. Okay, yes! I'll never use sugar again! Please stop hitting me. It's just that I have to wade through the same redundant piles of rubbish to find the few bits of new and possibly useful information.
November 3, 2014
MY THOUGHTS
LOVED IT
The title of this book is a bit misleading since it covers more than just blood sugar. Once you get through the introduction and history of *diabesity* which runs about 70 pages, the information about eating and exercise are pretty spot on. My last two blood tests showed that my glucose levels were elevated and I needed to do something to avoid my own family history of diabetes. I am not overweight but I really wasn't eating properly. The book goes into detail about which foods actually reduce your blood sugar and relieve other problems like inflammation, head aches and fatigue. Even if you don't have issues with blood sugar, this book has great information just about living healthy.
So far, I have reduced my sugar count just by eating better food and exercise, so there really isn't much magic as far as accomplishing that. This book provides an excellent guide if you don't have access or the means to have clinical support in getting healthy. The plan is really simple and most of the foods are readily available. There is a handy recipe guide in the back with an index to help you find them easily. I can't tell you how many books like this don't include that simple thing. One thing I haven't read in a book like this is about chemical sweeteners, which it turns out can be pretty evil. I still crave my one diet soda a day, but maybe in the future I can start replacing it with a healthier drink like green tea. Overall, this is a great book to get started with if you want to change your life and make a committment to healthier living.
LOVED IT
The title of this book is a bit misleading since it covers more than just blood sugar. Once you get through the introduction and history of *diabesity* which runs about 70 pages, the information about eating and exercise are pretty spot on. My last two blood tests showed that my glucose levels were elevated and I needed to do something to avoid my own family history of diabetes. I am not overweight but I really wasn't eating properly. The book goes into detail about which foods actually reduce your blood sugar and relieve other problems like inflammation, head aches and fatigue. Even if you don't have issues with blood sugar, this book has great information just about living healthy.
So far, I have reduced my sugar count just by eating better food and exercise, so there really isn't much magic as far as accomplishing that. This book provides an excellent guide if you don't have access or the means to have clinical support in getting healthy. The plan is really simple and most of the foods are readily available. There is a handy recipe guide in the back with an index to help you find them easily. I can't tell you how many books like this don't include that simple thing. One thing I haven't read in a book like this is about chemical sweeteners, which it turns out can be pretty evil. I still crave my one diet soda a day, but maybe in the future I can start replacing it with a healthier drink like green tea. Overall, this is a great book to get started with if you want to change your life and make a committment to healthier living.
March 26, 2012
A great resource and wealth of information for anyone whatever their lifestyle.
First and foremost, don't let the title of this book fool you. You don't need to be a diabetic to benefit from the information Dr. Hyman provides in this book. Anyone who is looking to change their unhealthy eating habits will benefit from reading The Blood Sugar Solution.
Not sure if you have unhealthy eating habits? I can promise you will be surprised by all the eye opening information in this book. I thought I already knew everything there was to know about sustaining a healthy lifestyle, so I was really shocked by a lot of the information in this book.
This book was certainly an eye opening experience. Reading the chapter on inflammation alone, brought to mind certain family members and friends that would really benefit from knowing this information. I learned many things in this book that I have implemented in my own life which are helping me feel and look better.
I recommend this book to anyone, and not just those trying to lose weight. This book will change the way you look at your food. It gives you the tools and advice that are life changing. With this same information, Dr. Hyman has helped hundreds of people reverse their illness and get off of medication for good. It sounds hard to believe but Dr Hyman is a medical prodigy and one of just a few doctors in the medical field right now who are not following the norm and are actually out to truly help people get off of prescription drugs by implementing a system that truly works.
First and foremost, don't let the title of this book fool you. You don't need to be a diabetic to benefit from the information Dr. Hyman provides in this book. Anyone who is looking to change their unhealthy eating habits will benefit from reading The Blood Sugar Solution.
Not sure if you have unhealthy eating habits? I can promise you will be surprised by all the eye opening information in this book. I thought I already knew everything there was to know about sustaining a healthy lifestyle, so I was really shocked by a lot of the information in this book.
This book was certainly an eye opening experience. Reading the chapter on inflammation alone, brought to mind certain family members and friends that would really benefit from knowing this information. I learned many things in this book that I have implemented in my own life which are helping me feel and look better.
I recommend this book to anyone, and not just those trying to lose weight. This book will change the way you look at your food. It gives you the tools and advice that are life changing. With this same information, Dr. Hyman has helped hundreds of people reverse their illness and get off of medication for good. It sounds hard to believe but Dr Hyman is a medical prodigy and one of just a few doctors in the medical field right now who are not following the norm and are actually out to truly help people get off of prescription drugs by implementing a system that truly works.
January 27, 2018
UPDATE: I don't often re-read books, but I've picked out about 10 or so that I am going to try to reread in the next month or so. I felt they could help me with my theme this year (I don't make New Year Resolutions, I just pick a theme and go with that.)
This book still felt URGENT, but I think I got more out of it this time around. But still 3 stars for me.
This is not new info but he says it all like it is the most urgent info that needs to be put at the top of your to-do list if you want to feel better.....PRONTO! I actually really enjoyed this book, even though it felt like the sky was falling. I have a family member who was diagnosed with diabetes after years of going to his doctor for all the symptoms he experienced before it was full blown diabetes. I always thought that more could have been done before it came to meds and dialysis and was glad that this book validated that thought. I guess it comes down to what you are willing to put yourself through to steer clear of this awful disease. The eating suggestions/guidelines sounded pretty stringent.
I gave this only 3 stars because it also read like an infomercial for his website. While I would never slam capitalism, his website was mentioned several times. When I went there, it sounds like you have to purchase some extremely expensive things, such as over priced vitamins, to keep your account and quiz results.
This book still felt URGENT, but I think I got more out of it this time around. But still 3 stars for me.
This is not new info but he says it all like it is the most urgent info that needs to be put at the top of your to-do list if you want to feel better.....PRONTO! I actually really enjoyed this book, even though it felt like the sky was falling. I have a family member who was diagnosed with diabetes after years of going to his doctor for all the symptoms he experienced before it was full blown diabetes. I always thought that more could have been done before it came to meds and dialysis and was glad that this book validated that thought. I guess it comes down to what you are willing to put yourself through to steer clear of this awful disease. The eating suggestions/guidelines sounded pretty stringent.
I gave this only 3 stars because it also read like an infomercial for his website. While I would never slam capitalism, his website was mentioned several times. When I went there, it sounds like you have to purchase some extremely expensive things, such as over priced vitamins, to keep your account and quiz results.
June 25, 2014
2.5 stars
Very repetitive. I also find it annoying when I get a book and the author continually (and I mean all the damn time) points the reader to his website. Ugh. If I wanted to be online for this info, I would've done so. There are a few good things to be taken from this book, but not all of it was relevant to my situation, so maybe that's why I didn't care for it as much as other readers? I also cannot believe that the author and the editors attributed one of the quotes in the book to Robert Browning when the language so clearly wasn't of the era of Browning. I looked it up (I liked the quote) and the quote was actually made by Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese's. It's a little thing, I know. Pinned a few recipes and those are my main takeaway from the book.
Very repetitive. I also find it annoying when I get a book and the author continually (and I mean all the damn time) points the reader to his website. Ugh. If I wanted to be online for this info, I would've done so. There are a few good things to be taken from this book, but not all of it was relevant to my situation, so maybe that's why I didn't care for it as much as other readers? I also cannot believe that the author and the editors attributed one of the quotes in the book to Robert Browning when the language so clearly wasn't of the era of Browning. I looked it up (I liked the quote) and the quote was actually made by Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese's. It's a little thing, I know. Pinned a few recipes and those are my main takeaway from the book.
July 15, 2012
How does a person rate these type of books?
I judge it by 'THE FACTS' ---(the research and helpful information given).
Easy book to read. (written by a Nutritional M.D.) -- A valuable book for people to 'at least' be familiar with the issues' about this topic. I've read many books of this topic over the last 30 years (a Kinesiology major in College).
Its an excellent 'sane' resource useful book for those concern with 'sugar' addictions, general over-all health (and how diet can help correct many problems)
I judge it by 'THE FACTS' ---(the research and helpful information given).
Easy book to read. (written by a Nutritional M.D.) -- A valuable book for people to 'at least' be familiar with the issues' about this topic. I've read many books of this topic over the last 30 years (a Kinesiology major in College).
Its an excellent 'sane' resource useful book for those concern with 'sugar' addictions, general over-all health (and how diet can help correct many problems)
February 15, 2012
Nothing new. Same info as always in all Mark Hyman books repeated over and over again. First time I read his book Ultrametabolism I loved it. This is pretty much same stuff packaged differently, targeted at people with more serious problems (what he calls 'diabesity').
April 15, 2012
Surely a lot of helpful information. But the diet would be impossible for me as an ovo,,lacto vegetarian, since the only sources of protein would be eggs, beans, and nuts. No dairy or grains is too restrictive, although I am cutting down and adding more exercise.
June 21, 2013
Interesting book on our eating habits and how some dietary deficiencies can be overlooked. Skip the first 40 pages, take the quizzes to find out what you may be lacking and if you don't want to follow his plan, at least consider some of the ideas he puts forth to support a healthier lifestyle.
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