Diabetes News

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It's an early morning for me today.

850 KOA's Rick Barber interviews me between 6 and 7 am this morning EST.

By the way, the 50,000-watt Denver-based station has a huge listenership around the country.

In fact, the station has a whopping 1.25 million listeners in 38 states.

To catch me on the air, listen live here.

Missed the show? No problem. Catch it here later.

Just got off with Rick Barber of 850 KOA, which reaches 1.25 million listeners nationwide.

The show was a lot of fun and Rick asked some very compelling questions, including "Why should we listen to you, Connie, about sugar's dangers? You're not a nutritionist." (I love answering that question -- actually, I invite radio hosts to ask me it! Go ahead, put me on the spot.)

Anyhow, one of the high points of the KOA interview was when Dave, a listener, called in. You see, Dave, who's a truck driver, has been trying to cut back on his sugar consumption in recent years. His chiropractor recommended it, as did a nutritionist, who's a family friend.

Of course, I was curious to see how Dave feels now that he's taking in less sugar. And guess what?

Dave told KOA's listeners that he now has a lot more energy, is "more vivacious," has less brain fog and just feels better all around. He's even able to drive for longer stretches because he's more alert. Pretty cool, eh?

You see, when Dave ate more sugar, he'd get more wiped out, and he used to have to pull off at truck stops and take more frequent naps. Not so now! So his work performance has improved.

Aren't those wonderful benefits? Many people report having similiar reactions to eating less sugar.

Dave, write to me here to claim your prize -- a copy of my book SUGAR SHOCK!

It was such a thrill today to interview Roberta Ruggiero, founder and president of the Hypoglycemia Support Foundation, for my Stop SUGAR SHOCK! Radio Show.

Roberta -- author of the Do's and Don'ts of Hypoglycemia -- is absolutely one of my favorite people on this earth, as you can probably surmise by listening now to our radio interview.

You see, Roberta and I go back nearly 10 years to spring of 1998. At that time, my new doctor grilled me about my sugar habit, told me I had low blood sugar and instructed me to quit sweets and refined carbs.

He insisted that kicking those culprit carbs, plus snacking every three or four hours on high-quality foods, would make all my strange symptoms such as headaches, fatigue and heart palpitations go away. (He was right -- I got a new lease on life by stomping out my sugar habit.)

But I needed some help go through that trying time in my life. Enter Roberta. She was my sole support network, and she and her wonderful non-profit organization were my life savers.

So, to this day, I'm greatly indebted to Roberta -- in fact, she's one of three people to whom I dedicated my book SUGAR SHOCK! (I also dediated it to the millions of people unknowingly trapped in SUGAR SHOCK!)

Listen now to the interview I had with Roberta on Stop SUGAR SHOCK! Radio today.

The evidence against soda -- both high-fructose corn-syrup filled and artifically sweetened -- keeps mounting.

Today, yet another study, which appeared appeared online in this month's Circulation, revealed that middle-aged people adults one or more soft drinks -- whether sugar-filled or "diet" drinks -- have a higher prevalence and incidence of multiple metabolic risk factors, AP and CBS reported.

The biggest surprise to researchers was that drinking diet sodas could have that kind of health-harming effect, too.

The study's senior author, Vasan Ramachandran, M.D., D.M., told CBS that the findings don't show diet sodas are a cause of increased heart disease risks, but he said they show a surprising link that must be studied.

Although the president of the soda industry's trade organization, the American Beverage Association, pooh-poohed the fact that diet soda could be linked to weight gain, this concept actually is nothing new, and I've written several times previously, including here and here, about this "paradoxical weight gain" effect.

For the study, researchers looked at 9,000 middle-aged men and women, who are part of the massive, multi-generational heart study following residents of Framingham, Mass., a town about 25 miles west of Boston.

Watch the CBS news video with Dr. Jon LaPook.

Speaking of CBS, are you aware of the fabulous CBS News Sunday Morning story, "Americans May Be Too Sweet on Sugar," for which I was interviewed a month ago?

Stop SUGAR SHOCK! Radio will present some very exciting, cutting-edge guests in the next three weeks.

First off, tomorrow -- that's Tuesday,July 24 -- I have the distinct honor of interviewing the amazing Roberta Ruggiero, founder and president of the wonderfully worthwhile non-profit organization, Hypoglycemia Support Foundation at 4 p.m. EST.

Roberta, as you can read in my book SUGAR SHOCK!, was my entire support network when I kicked sugar back in 1998.

She also, as you'll soon find out, is a woman with a heart of gold.

If you have any baffling ailments such as headaches, heart palpitations, mood swings and anxiety, you'll want to tune into our show, because you could have hypoglycemia, and Roberta has an amazing perspective about the subject -- both as a sufferer and as a leader, who's helped millions around the world.

You can listen live here to the Robert Ruggiero interview or you listen here after the fact, at your convenience.

Then on Wednesday -- that's July 25 -- tune in at 4 p.m. EST for a special program, "Is Big Food Being Altruistic or Pressured to Stop Advertising to Kids Under 12?"

My guest will be renowned children's health advocate Susan Linn, author of Consuming Kids.

The incredibly articulate Susan, who I also interviewed in my book SUGAR SHOCK!, is an instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Associate Director of the Media Center at Judge Baker Children's Center.

She's also co-founder of the coalition Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood.

Then, the following week, on Wednesday, Aug. 1, also at 4 p.m. EST, I will have the distinct pleasure to interview leading weight loss expert Brian Wasink, Ph.D., director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab.

Dr. Wasink is author of the much-acclaimed book, Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think.

Publishers Weekly said of this book: "This peppy, somewhat pop-psych book argues that we don't have to change what we eat as much as how, and that by making more mindful food-related decisions we can start to eat and live better.

"The author's approach isn't so much a diet book as a how-to on better facilitating the interaction between the feed-me messages of our stomachs and the controls in our heads..."

Remember, you can listen to all three shows live or you can tune in here after the fact.

To call in with questions during the show, just dial (646) 716-7312.

Just this afternoon, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Pat Bullock, host of "The 11th Hour," for KHAC Radio in New Mexico, a station that's run by Western Indian Ministries.

Pat was a great interviewer and he asked great questions, which I hope helped his audiences, who are members of the native American population.

How tragic! Obese girls are half as likely to attend college as non-obese girls, researchers from the University of Texas at Austin recently found.

"Obesity has been identified as a serious public health issue, but these results indicate the harmful effects extend far beyond physical health," said sociologist Robert Crosnoe, author of the study, which was published in the July issue of the journal Sociology of Education.

The UTA study also shows obese girls are even less likely to enter college if they attend a high school where obesity is relatively uncommon.

The study also uncovered even more horrifying news -- that obese girls were more likely to consider committing suicide, use alcohol and marijuana and have negative self-images.

Bear in mind, folks, that young girls who eat so many refined carbs are more likely to gain weight and become obese.

To learn more about sugar's many dangers, you can check out the book SUGAR SHOCK!

Energy drinks. Hidden sugars. Picnic baskets. The benefits of kicking or cutting back on sugar.

Those are just some of the many subjects I chatted about when Phil Roberts, the producer for "Thrive Live," a health, fitness and public affairs program on ESPN 1420 in Honolulu interviewed me for the cutting-edge show that's sponsored by Kaiser Pernamente. (The show is normally hosted by Don Robbs.)

I have to admit: I sure would have loved to have been there, in glorious Hawaii, in person to do the interview!

It was wild to do an interview with such a massive time difference. You see, it was 6:30 p.m. here on the East Coast and only 12:30 p.m. back in Honolulu.

FYI, Thrive Live -- which airs from 12 noon to 1 p.m. from the Fort Street Open Air Market and is broadcasted from Kaiser Permanente's Pensacola location in Honolulu.

Its goals are to encourage people to "eat and live healthy by learning about proper nutrition, diet, exercise and health care with the advice of Kaiser Permanente physicians."

It was gratifying to learn that people phoned the station during my interview to ask questions -- this despite the fact that ESPN doesn't take calls for the Thrive Live show!

Some of the nation’s biggest food and beverage companies, including the Coca-Cola Co., General Mills Inc. and Kraft Foods Inc., have agreed to stop advertising certain brands of cereals, candy bars, drinks and other foods on TV shows aimed at children under 12, a development reported by New York Times, Reuters (Brooks Barnes), the Associated Press (Vinnee Tong), Los Angeles Times (Alana Semuels), etc.

At first blush, you may be inclined to heartily applaud this voluntary move by the above corporations, who are joined by The Hershey Co.; PepsiCo Inc. (maker of Frito-Lay and Quaker Foods and seller of Pepsi and Gatorade drinks); Cadbury Adams USA LLC; Campbell Soup Co.; Kraft Foods Inc.; Mars Inc., McDonald's USA;. Unilever (maker of SlimFast and Country Crock), and Masterfoods USA (makers of Snickers, M&Ms and Skittles).

But.. and here's the rub... you need to know that these companies just happened to announce their new pledges at a Federal Trade Commission forum Wednesday.

That's right: The companies were scrambling "to placate legislators" (as Alana Semuels so aptly puts it in the Los Angeles Times), because lawmakers are considering more aggressive food marketing crackdowns to stem childhood obesity.

So let's face it: These moves are a direct response to avoid governmental regulation.

Naturally, I welcome these changes to stop pushing foods to kids that don't meet certain nutritional guidelines. But it's simply difficult to believe that these voluntary pledges came about because the corporations genuinely care about the health of our nation's children.

In fact, critics -- including the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and yours truly -- claim that such self-regulated pledges simply don't go far enough.

What's more, they argue, "advertising guidelines without an industrywide standard or method of enforcement won't do much good," as Semuels points out in the Los Angeles Times.

Margot Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, had another valid point.

"This gets rid of marketing of the very worst junk food," she told the L.A. Times, "but it doesn't mean that only truly healthy foods are going to be marketed to kids."

Incidentally, these announcements come in the wake of previous commitments from the Kellogg Co. last month. As you may recall, in mid-June, I first told you about the "historic agreeement" (which I initially wrote about enthusiastically here and then again here, but not as excitedly), by which the Kellogg Co., was able to avoid litigation by the Center for Science in the Public Interest by agreeing to stop advertising sugary cereals and other products containing more than 12 grams (3 tsp.) of sugar per serving to children under 12. (I also talk about this threatened lawsuit in my book SUGAR SHOCK!. By the way, my publisher Berkley Books, part of the Penguin Group, will update this soon but not in time for the next reprinting, which is happening shortly.)

Anyhow, once you start looking at the actual specifics of these just-announced efforts at self-regulation -- which you can find here -- you begin to get a bit cynical, if not skeptical.

In fact, Brooks Barnes of The New York Times puts it well, noting that these corporate efforts "will probably amount to a ripple rather than a sea change in terms of what foods children see pitched on their favorite television shows and Web sites."

Let's look at three corporate changes.

• General Mills will only advertise cereals that have 12 grams or less of sugar. (That's 3 teaspoons.) This means Trix (with 13 grams or 3.25 tsp. of sugar and 28 grams of total processed carbs, which is processed much like sugar) is off limits on shows for the under-12 set, but the company will still continue to pitch Cocoa Puffs which has 12 grams of sugar (only 1 gram less than Trix) for 3/4 of a cup. (Excuse me, but what kid only eats 3/4 of a cup of sugary cereal at once? Isn't 1 1/2 cups more the average servingsize?) That's not all. As the New York Times points out, Trix's message will still reach kids watching family shows, including, for instance some 2.1 million kids, who are fans of "American Idol."
• Then, we have McDonald's promise to only advertise two types of Happy Meals to the under 12-set -- one with four Chicken McNuggets, apple dippers with low-fat caramel dip and low fat milk, or one with a burger, apple dippers and dip and milk. These fast food items have less than 600 calories (still an awful lot), no more than 35% of calories from fat, 10% from saturated fat and no more than 35% sugar content. (So the fast-food giant can still advertise foods to kids that contain up to about 1/3 sugar. )
• Meanwhile, Pepsi will continue to market Gatorade Thirst Quencher energy drinks, dubbed "Smart Spot" beverages, to young children. But one 8-ounce serving of this Gatorade -- which is much smaller than the average amount a person drinks in a sitting -- still has 14 grams of sugar or 3 1/2 teaspoons of sugar.

Don't get me wrong. These new corporate pledges are quite welcome, and they're certainly much needed to combat obesity and encourage our kids to consume less sugar and fat, but at this point, I just don't believe that self regulation will do much.

Unfortunately, real reform, I believe, just won’t happen until industry-wide standards and mandatory enforcement policies are put in place.

Not sure? Think energy deregulation. Think Enron.

What it comes down to, as Susan Linn, co-founder of the CCFC told the Los Angles Times, "Corporations are bound by law to increase shareholder profits, not to promote the well-being of children."

Karen James and Jennifer Moore contributed to this item for the SUGAR SHOCK! Blog