Diabetes News

Thanks to Calorie Lab for joining in and spreading the word about the fact that Americans are just eating way too much sugar. Sarah White for the site's Calorie Counter news section discusses our love affair with the substance while summarizing the wonderful CBS News Sunday Mornng story, "Is America Too Sweet on Sugar?," which aired last Sunday.

FYI, while Calorie Lab points out that my brain fog lifted when I kicked sugar and refined carbs, that was only one of many conditions that completely vanished. In addition, my excessive fatigue, mood swings, severe PMS, ferocious headaches and other ailments also totally vanished -- just from kicking all those culprit carbs. In fact, I tell my amazing story in chapter 1 of SUGAR SHOCK! I invite you to learn about my remarkable transformation by getting my book now.

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As you may already have read here, the Center for Science in the Public Interest reached an "historic settlement agreement" with the Kellogg Co. to limit the sugar content of cereals advertised to kids under age 12.

Now, I'd like to invite you to listen to CSPI founder director Michael Jacobson's reaction. Kudos definitely go to the organization for its hard work in getting the cereal manufacturer to back down somewhat.

But, while I applaud the CSPI for forcing Kellogg's to have more of a conscience about how much sugar is put into cereals, I'm leaning now towards thinking that the agreement may not be as wonderful as many have been led to believe.

However, this is a really wonderful first step. Let's just hope that the Kellogg Co. and other processed food companies take even stronger measures now to reduce sugar content so that kids all across America aren't starting their days with a mega dose of the substance that could lead to a number of ailments.

I'd really like to see these companies start to put -- if they haven't already -- some of the R&D budget (research & development) budget into creating some sugar-free, high-fiber cereals.

Thank you, CBS News Sunday Morning -- in particular correspondent Susan Spencer and producer Jason Sacca -- for today's very intriguing, informative lead story about sugar.

Susan and Jason, of course, as well as CBS, deserve major kudos for shedding light on this important subject, and I do hope and believe that CBS News Sunday Morning's five million viewers will find the segment quite eye-opening.

It's my greatest hope that the millions who saw the CBS News Sunday Morning story will reassess their intake of sugar and refined carbs and think about cutting them out -- or at least cutting back -- so they may get more energy, concentrate better, peel off the pounds, and maybe even reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes.

Wow! Susan did a spectacular job pulling together so many intriguing bits of information and then weaving them into a highly enjoyable, engrossing segment. (Susan -- who creates impressive, thoughtful stories -- really draws you in when presenting some salient facts and fascinating tidbits about Americans' love affair with sugar.)

For those of you who missed this morning's CBS News Sunday Morning segment, right now you can read the transcript of the sugar story here. (Of course, you'll miss out on the dazzling video footage, which included oodles of gooey, sugary foods; obese people waddling along; interviews with experts, including the one Susan did with me, as well as with one of my favorite experts, David Ludwig, M.D., Ph.D. (read on); sugar historian Sidney W. Mintz, author of Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History; a representative from the Sugar Association; and a crowd of about 200 gathered at my recent book signing and my signing copies of SUGAR SHOCK! at Border's at Columbus Circle in New York City.)

I'm very grateful to CBS News Sunday Morning for showcasing my book SUGAR SHOCK!, which has received, much-appreciated, pivotal support from contributing author Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D. and Nicholas Perricone, M.D., who wrote the foreword. In addition, I'm indebted to numerous bestselling authors and top health experts for endorsing the book including frequent "Oprah" guest Mehmet Oz, M.D., author of YOU: On A Diet.

It was a pleasure to be included in CBS News Sunday Morning's important piece, and it was nice to see that David Ludwig, M.D., Ph.D., one of the health experts I greatly admire and recommended, was quoted in the CBS News Sunday Morning segment.

Speaking of Dr. Ludwig, mark your calendars. On Tues., July 17, this world famous children's obesity expert -- author of Ending the Food Fight -- is participating in an exciting teleseminar with me to teach parents how to help their kids slim down.

Parents, this is your amazing opportunity to ask questions of this knowledgeable expert, and we'd love to have you. Just sign up here now for this July 17 event. (Please note that the date has been rescheduled.)

For the record: While the CBS News Sunday Morning piece was absolutely fabulous, comprehensive and entertaining, I'd like to clarify some figures cited in the story.

According to the USDA, the average American consumes about 142.6 pounds per year or a little more than 3/4 of a cup per day of added caloric sweeteners, including refined sugar (from cane and beets), high fructose corn syrup, glucose syrup and dextrose. However, I believe, as do other experts, that the average American takes in more like 170 pounds per year or just shy of a cup of sugar per day. It's important to note that this 142-pound figure (or 170-pound figure) does not include artificial sweeteners, as mentioned in the CBS piece.

In fact, if you add in stats for artificially sweetened foods and drinks, the figures are considerably higher. According to the Calorie Control Council, a whopping 180 million American adults (as of 2004) consume low-calorie and sugar-free sodas, other beverages and foods using five different sugar substitutes approved by the the U.S. Food and Drug Administration—saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame-K, sucralose and neotame.

Which, of course, begs the question. Are these sugar substitutes safe to consume? This is one of the Frequently Asked Questions I answer in SUGAR SHOCK! (I had to cover this, because while researching my book, thousands of people I've been coaching or connecting with online wanted to know if they reduce their sugar intake if it's OK to drank or eat foods using sugar substitutes.)

I was shocked at what I learned. Interviews with health experts revealed that questions have been raised about the safety of all artificial sweeteners on the market -- this, despite repeated claims from the FDA and the companies creating them. In SUGAR SHOCK! you also can learn about what some experts call a "paradoxical weight gain" that some people experience when ingesting foods with artificial sweeteners.

Anyhow, back to the wonderful CBS News Sunday Morning sugar story. I recommend that you read the transcript here now.

Again, thank you CBS News Sunday Morning. Hats off to you, Susan Spencer, for your diligence, dedication and intrepid reporting. And applause goes to you, Jason, for coming up with the idea for this segment in the first place and for so seamlessly pulling together various sources and concepts for this piece. Your viewers will benefit from your hard work. It was also an honor and pleasure to work with both of you.

By the way, I'm also grateful that the CBS News Sunday Morning story featured the cover of my book in the segment. Americans are curious, which has been evident since all day SUGAR SHOCK! has been moving up the charts.

At last look, SUGAR SHOCK! soared from #3,153 around 9:15 in the morning to # 43 on Amazon late Sunday night/early Monday morning. Meanwhile, BarnesAndNoble.com also saw an upswing in sales to # 77.

Join in the movement to learn about and stop SUGAR SHOCK! now -- get this book for you, a loved one and a work colleague. I like to believe that this book can not only open your eyes, but help you to break free from your sugar habit. (That's my intention at least, and according to the dozens of e-mails I've received, it does just that.)

Thought you'd find the following interesting:

Product Details

Now here's BarnesAndNoble.com:

• Paperback
• ISBN: 0425213579
• Pub. Date: December 2006
• Sales Rank: 77
• Customer Rating:
  

Check out the CBS website to find a description about Sunday's cover story about sugar, on the CBS News Sunday Morning. The piece is now entitled, "Short and Sweet." Here's the item on the CBS website.

Set your TiVos now if you plan to be busy for Father's Day. Learn first where the CBS News Sunday Morning airs in your area.

FYI, you can learn more about this segment here and also here, when I first posted about my exciting day with the CBS News Sunday Morning crew.

(CBS)

Exciting news comes from the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

After a year and a half of negotiations, the CSPI came to an agreement with the Kellogg Company to adopt nutrition standards for the foods it advertises to young children. In announcing the agreement, CSPI hails this as "an historic commitment."

Kudos really go to CSPI for its hard work to reach this new agreement, which now means that CSPI, as well as the Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) and two Massachusetts parents, will not proceed with a previously announced lawsuit against the company. (FYI, I mentioned this pending lawsuit in my book SUGAR SHOCK! So this is the latest info that you can't currently find in my book.)

According to the new agreement with Kellogg, CSPI states, "foods advertised on media—including TV, radio, print, and third-party Web sites—that have an audience of 50 percent or more children under age 12 will have to meet new nutrition standards."

In addition, thanks to CSPI's efforts, Kellogg also agreed not to:

• "Advertise to children any foods in schools and preschools that include kids under age 12;
• "Sponsor product placements for any products in any medium primarily directed at kids under 12;
• "Use licensed characters (Shrek, SpongeBob, etc.) in mass-media advertising directed primarily to kids under 12 (for example, on the labels of food packages unless those foods meet the nutrition standards);
• "Use branded toys in connection with foods that do not meet the nutrition standards."

Watch CSPI executive director Michael Jacobson, Ph.D. discuss the settlement.

The CDC's National Center for Health Statistics finds that the rate of tooth decay amongst kids aged 2 to 5 is on the rise, Will Dunham of Reuters and Mike Stobbe of the Associated Press report.

The CDC's report, "Trends in Oral Health Status-United States, 1988-1994 and 1999-2004," found that 24% of preschoolers had at least one cavity in the period 1988 to 1994. Then, the rate jumped by 4% so that 28% of 2- to 5-year-olds had the same problem from 1999 to 2004.

This is disappointing news, because, according to Stobbe's piece, which also ran on Salon.com, tooth decay had been declining for 40 years up until now.

So why are more little ones getting cavities these days?

Dr. Bruce Dye, a dentist and the lead author of the CDC's study, says that parents are causing this unfortunate trend by giving their children more sugary juices, sodas, and more prepackaged, processed foods, along with giving them more bottled water instead of fluoridated tap water.

"They're relying more on fruit snacks, juice boxes, candy and soda," to feed their youngsters, Dye tells the AP.

Sheesh!

The good news is that the vast majority -- 72%, to be exact -- of preschoolers are cavity-free, which, I hope, means that their parents can keep their sugar intake under control. Maybe the parents of the 28% of kids with cavities need to read Connie's book SUGAR SHOCK for tips on how to wean their tots from the sweet stuff.

From Jennifer Moore

Please join me Monday night at 8 p.m. EST when I host a free chat at WeightLossBuddy.com.

This is the third chat I've hosted for this wonderful site, which bills itself as "The Leading Weight-Loss Network."

It's really a wonderful place to connect with experts and other people who are going through weight or sugar issues.

The concept of a buddy is one that's been proven to help people. Anyhow, the basic service is free, but you can get additional benefits by joining the paid program, too.

Hope to see you Monday night during my free chat.

FYI, you can find the schedule of chats here.

If you live near New York City, I'd love to have you catch my book signing and chat for SUGAR SHOCK! on Saturday, March 10 at 4:15 p.m. at the amazingly wonderful Border's bookstore at Columbus Circle. Get more info here.

We're expecting lots of people on March 10, as we did at my first book signing on Jan. 6 there, when some 200 people showed up!

What do you get out of taking time out to attend this SUGAR SHOCK! book signing?

• You get to have some fun! Seriously, you'll hear me read from my book for a bit, and you'll have fun laughing with me at myself and my "Sugar Shrew" days.
• You get to participate in some really fun, empowering exercises, which could help you to get ready to face your sugar issues.
• You get to meet wonderful, budding or current holistic health counselors from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, where I myself studied last year. (IIN holds classes upstairs that day, and we're hoping that hundreds of them will come to my book signing.)

Hope to see you March 10! Please let me know if you'd like to help out that day. If you do, I have some gifts for you.

Live in the Northeast? Wanna learn how not to get duped by those often misleading food labels? And have some fun laughing at Connie, the "Ex-Sugar Shrew"-turned-"Sugar Sleuth"?

Watch me on the "Your Morning" show on CN8, The Comcast Network, when anchor and managing editor Connie Colla interviews me out of Philadelphia at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow (Tues., Feb. 6) about foods with hidden sugars. (Cool, I get to chat with another Connie!)

Tune in to get helpful, juicy pointers so you can choose foods that don't contain all those unnecessary sweeteners.

Don't fret if you don't live in Philly. As the CN8 website explains, this network has a tremendous reach.

In fact, more than 9 million Comcast cable homes in 12 states and 20 TV markets from Maine to Virginia to Washington, D.C., will be able to to catch my interview tomorrow.

CN8, as its website explains, offers "a unique brand of live, interactive television delivered over its own fiber-optic network."

To clarify, you'll be able to watch me on CN8 Tuesday morning in any of the following areas:

• Albany
• Baltimore
• Boston
• Burlington
• Charlottesville
• Hartford-New Haven
• Harrisburg
• Harrisonburg
• Johnston-Altoona
• New York
• Philadelphia
• Pittsburgh
• Portland
• Providence
• Richmond
• Roanoke-Lynchburg
• Salisbury
• Springfield
• Washington, D.C.
• Wilkes Barre-Scranton

We're sure to have an eye-opening segment...

But I'll give you a little hint now though.... Why avoid all these hidden sugars? Well, all those sweeteners can really add up when you're unknowingly consuming them all day long, all week long, and all month long.

Indeed, excess sugars you're unwittingly taking into your wonderful body can lead to a whole host of problems. (I reveal the shocking scooop about sugar in my new book SUGAR SHOCK! from Berkley Books.)

You'll see me talk about buying:

• Yogurt
• Cereals
• Crackers
• Marinara sauce
• Salad dressings
• Peanut Butter
• Energy or snack bars
• And a surprise or two

After my TV appearance on CN8, I invite you to join in the discussion here. And, if you'd like some shopping help, you'll be able to get my Sugar-Free Shopper's Guide, too.

Bear in mind that we only have a few minutes for my interview, but you can get all kinds of helpful info on deciphering those food labels and in dispelling food-label misconceptions in my new book SUGAR SHOCK!, which is available at bookstores and online retailers nationwide.