Diabetes News

As regular readers of this SUGAR SHOCK! Blog know, I attended and graduated from the amazing Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) in New York City, which brings in a Who's Who of nutrition experts to teach students there.

Now, as an alumni of IIN, I periodically receive e-mails about subjects of interest. I am including verbatim the contents of one such e-mail because it is vitally important. It's about the Farm Bill currently up for consideration in Congress.

I believe that it's important to galvanize as many people as possible to tell our legislators that they need to change the Farm Bill so that we make significant changes in the availability of healthy foods and nutrition education for Americans.

Please join the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, the Center for Science in the Public Interest and me to send an important message to your representatives in Congress so that they will realize that their constituents believe nutrition and health should be a major priority in the Farm Bill and that the bill should help:

• Improve the nutritional quality of school foods
• Increase the availability of fruits and vegetables in schools
• Expand research at the U.S. Department of Agriculture
• Ensure that low-income pregnant women and small children have access to nutritious foods
• Strengthen nutrition education initiatives through the Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program

This is what the Institute for Integrative Nutrition sent me:

Make your voice heard in Congress!

This month the American Congress will vote on the “Farm Bill,” a major piece of legislation on food, agriculture and nutrition in the U.S. for the next five years.

This legislation is a chance to make significant improvements to the availability of healthy foods and nutrition education in America. In partnership with Michael Jacobson and the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Integrative Nutrition and our students and alumni are getting active.

Please take a moment now to send a message to your representative in Congress. Let them know that you think nutrition and health are a major priority.

When you're done, please forward this message to everyone you know. Your life depends on it!

Together we can rock this world! Thank you for your support.

Please click here to take action now.

Again, I urge you to please join the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, the Center for Science in the Public Interest and me so that we make our legislators realize that we need the Farm Bill to increase the availability of healthy foods and improve nutrition education for Americans.

I'm pleased to give you an update about the sugar story that CBS News Sunday Morning is airing this Sunday, June 17, at 9 am EST and various times in other markets.

Previously, I wrote here on the SUGAR SHOCK! Blog about my exciting day with the CBS crew, when they filmed me, as well as some other sugar addicts I'd gathered. Now, here's a press release that I just wrote and am distributing.

Spread the word about this exciting sugar story that will air on CBS News Sunday Morning!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK--Connie Bennett, author of SUGAR SHOCK!, is one of several experts appearing this Sunday on the national show, CBS News Sunday Morning, in an approximately 8-minute segment about sugar. It is the lead story, barring any breaking news.

"This is heartening that a major national TV show such as CBS News Sunday Morning is delving into this extremely important subject and telling people the truth about sugar," says Bennett, a former sugar addict, journalist and certified holistic health counselor.

"Americans need to learn that they're probably getting at least one-quarter to one-third of their calories from refined sugar and processed carbs. And they should know that consuming so many nutrient-deprived foods and drinks could lead to a host of health-damaging problems, including depression, failing memory, fatigue, headaches, heart disease, sexual dysfunction, cancer, hypoglycemia, type 2 diabetes and premature aging," adds Bennett, whose book SUGAR SHOCK! has been endorsed by a number of renowned health experts, including frequent "Oprah" guest Dr. Mehmet Oz. Bestselling author Nicholas Perricone, M.D. wrote the foreword; and Stephen T. Sinatra is the SUGAR SHOCK! contributing author.

The CBS News Sunday Morning segment about sugar is reported by the talented, Emmy Award-winning journalist Susan Spencer and produced by the thorough Jason Sacca.

Other experts or self-described "sugar addicts" interviewed for the segment include:

* Children's obesity expert David Ludwig, M.D., Ph.D., author of Ending the Food Fight.

* Sugar historian Sidney W. Mintz, author of Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History.

* Melanie Miller, vice president of public relations for the Sugar Association.

* Six self-described current or former "sugar addicts" -- Bhaswati Bhattacharya, MD.; Deborah Buell, H.H.C.; Sheila Drew; Christy Goldfeder, C.H.H.C.; Moe M. Leary, H.H.C.; and Donna Sonkin, C.H.H.C.

Tune in this Sunday, June 17, at 9 am EST to CBS News Sunday Morning to watch the sugar segment.

Click here to find out where and when it airs in your market.

I have tears in my eyes now and I'm sort of choked up, because I just finished reading a poignant "My Turn Online" piece, entitled, "Starvation of the Spirit," from anorexic Emma Farnsworth.

My emotions were triggered upon reading this beautiful, brutually honest essay, because years ago, I was very heavy into an eating disorder myself, dropping as low as 96 pounds. (I'm 5'6 1/2.") Naturally, I'm thinking back to a time when I was riddled by unhappiness, loneliness, and despair until I finally licked my disease.

But, as I mentioned in Chapter 1 of my book SUGAR SHOCK!, while I had overcome anorexia and bulimia years previously, back in 1998, I was still trapped by my sugar addiction.

Sadly, years ago, when medical doctors and therapists were treating me for my eating disorder, they were not at all hip to the dangers of sugar and refined carbs, and they made me drink this disgusting, sugar-loaded, calorie-packed concoction about three times -- or was it 6 times? -- a day so I'd gain weight and leave my state of emaciation behind me. (FYI, I'm normal weight now and have been for years.)

By the way, after plying me with this excessively sugary, calorie-packed substance, those same M.D.s and therapists who were helping me couldn't figure out why I was so moody. Well, duh, like millions of Americans, when I consume a lot of sugar, I get really edgy, irritable and cranky.

Please see Chapter 11 in SUGAR SHOCK!, "Sweets Can Sour Your Moods," in which I reveal recent research about this and delve into this fascinating, but little-known phenomenon in detail.

Anyhow, this is all history for me and my memory is kind of fuzzy because this was a different Connie who suffered from this horrible problem. But I do remember that crying when confronting my eating disorder is nothing new to me. As I recall, while I was recovering from the disease, I shed a flood of tears.

Then, years later, in around 2002 and 2003, when I was knee deep into researching and writing SUGAR SHOCK!, on several occasions, I simply blubbered (in privacy, of course), because I was finally -- although years had past -- excising remaining demons of my tragically sad days of either restricting food but allowing myself many low-cal sugary candies or over-consuming sweets and simple carbs and then purging.

Nowadays, I rarely think about my eating disorder. It's like I've forgotten that it happened. It's simply not a part of me or my life anymore. I've so moved beyond it and now have a normal life. But when I do very occasionally reflect on that time of my life, I get terribly sad and really remorseful.

You see, I'm absolutely convinced that my eating disorder would have quickly come and gone and would never have progressed to the extent it did if I'd known what I know now about nutrition and the importance of protein, healthy oils, vegetables, fruits and the addictive qualties of sugar and simple carbs. I'm not discounting the emotional component, but I think I could have moved through it rapidly if I hadn't been eating sweets and those processed grains or what I call "culprit carbs."

If you suffer from bulimia and anorexia as I once did, I just know that you'll find my book SUGAR SHOCK! to contain some ahah! information that sheds light on why it can be very hard to lick this eating disorder. Eating sweets and culprit carbs is very tied into bulimia, as some researchers revealed to me. (You'll definitely want to check out Chapter 9, "Proof Pours In: New Studies Show That You Can Become Dependent on Sweets.")

Although I felt sad after reading this article, I now feel very exhilarated and excited, because I know the power and joy that comes from leaving the miserable, sugar-addicted, eating-disorder-plagued Connie behind, and I'm now on a mission to bring hope to sugar sufferers everywhere, many of whom may be now in the depths of bulimia. (As it was, to clarify, first I conquered the eating disorder and then years later dealt with the sugar issues. You can lick them both at the same time, I believe.)

Even if you don't suffer from an eating disorder, I highly recommend that you read this compelling "My Turn Online" piece in which the anorexic Emma so very bravely confronts "the depression, fear and hopelessness that," as she put it, "ache far more than a bony body."

Just listen to her honest glimpse at this disease." Eating disorders are abusive, selfish, vacuous and deadly—but the media glamorizes them by giving them attention, even when showing a skeletal model on the verge of death."

Please know, sugar addicts, bulimics and anorexics out there -- as well as overweight and obese people -- you do not need to suffer. You can break free from your seemingly hopeless situation. And my intention -- however lofty it may sound -- is to help millions of you to do just that.

I invite you to begin to receive help by getting my book SUGAR SHOCK! now.

Again, all you sugar addicts, bulimics and anorexics out there, my thoughts and warmest wishes are with you.

Let me repeat, because I feel so very strongly about this: You can triumph over your sugar habit, eating disorder or binge-eating symdrome. I'm now living proof that you can squash those habits to smithereens and reclaim a joyous, fulfilling, healthy life instead.

Every so often, I learn about an inspiring, life-changing book, and I feel compelled to spread the word.

The 100-Year Lifestyle from renowned chiropractor and health expert Dr. Eric Plasker is one such book.

It basically arms you with many practical ideas, fun exercises and pearls of wisdom that can help you become a thriving, healthy, joyous centenarian.

For instance, this book recommends that you:

• Choose quality-of-life motivation--not crisis motivation. (p. 25).
• Undertake a personal energy inventory where you stop the energy drainers and opt for energy enhancers (pp. 37-41).
• Take a 100 Percent Conscious Day, where you're aware of every moment and you approach your relationships from a place of acceptance, love and kindness; eat or drink consciously; etc. (p. 55).
• Determine which activities are killing you and eliminate them. (p. 65).
• Decide what self-care you should incorporate into your lifestyle. (Ch. 8).
• Plan activities that make you more in sync with your environment. (Ch. 13)

Impatient and eager to get more info?

Order Dr. Plasker's book now,

By the way, if you're one of those people who think you don't have much control over how you'll age, Dr. Plasker wants you to know that only 30 percent of how you age is based on your genetics but a whopping 70 percent is attributed to your lifestyle choices.

This friendly, easy-to read book is full of many fun, probing exercises such as determining which of your activities are energy drainers and which are energy enhancers. (FYI, Dr. Plasker -- who was kind enough to endorse my book SUGAR SHOCK! -- categorizes sugar as a major energy drainer.)

This book also helps you to customize your new 100-Year Lifestyle with:

• Your 100-Year Lifestyle Assessment
• Your Prime Time, Prep Time, Play Time Calendar
• Your Personal Renewal Recipe
• Your Personal Energy Inventory
• Your Action Plan for Lifelong Change
• Your 100-Year Balance Sheet and Income Statement

To learn how to make the 100-Year Lifestyle leap, get The 100-Year Lifestyle now.

I just learned that my labor of love -- i.e., my book SUGAR SHOCK! -- has been listed on the influential OprahSelects.com website. Now that's pretty exciting!

In case you're wondering, OprahSelects.com is billed as "A look at the books, must-haves and favorite things as seen on The Oprah Winfrey Show, O At Home and O, The Oprah Magazine."

As I hope you already know, Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen are two well-respected physicians on the cutting edge.

In fact, their # 1 New York Times bestseller YOU: On A Diet comes on the heels of their # 1 YOU: The Owner's Manual: An Insider's Guide to the Body That Will Make You Healthier and Younger.

By the way, previously, Dr. Roizen also interviewed me for his radio YOU: The Owner's Manual Radio Show on the Health Radio Network.

Anyhow, I need to thank Renee of ReneeGetsFit.com for the heads-up about SUGAR SHOCK! being listed on OprahSelects.com.

You see, thanks to a Google Alert, I found out that Renee was nice enough to post a positive review of SUGAR SHOCK! on her blog. (Thanks, Renee!)

Well, at the bottom of her item, Renee posted a few links, which I followed, and lo and behold, I landed up at OprahSelects.com, only to find out that SUGAR SHOCK! has been featured!

Don't you just love how following clicks a few times on the Internet is, in some ways, akin to a treasure hunt except the "prize" is that you're mentioned? Well, that's how I see it.

You see, lately, now that SUGAR SHOCK! has been published, I'm finding mentions of my book on sites all over the World Wide Web.

Incidentally, it's thanks to Google Alerts that I know about some of these SUGAR SHOCK! citations. (If you're not familiar with this service, you absolutely must learn about it. It's the best!)

Anyhow, if you haven't purchased SUGAR SHOCK! yet, I invite you to do so.

Wondering what people think of the book? Check out a few of the reader raves the book has been receiving.

For instance, listen to the following four comments I received:

Readers Rave About SUGAR SHOCK!

"Reading Sugar Shock! is a watershed event. To sum up Connie's book in a word: WOW! No other book I've read on it (starting with Sugar Blues) has motivated me to get off the junk even though I've felt tired, humiliated, lackluster and FAT for years now and have had the blues and out-of-control sugar cravings. ..."THANK YOU, CONNIE, FOR HAVING WRITTEN THIS BOOK! It has the potential of being on the cutting edge of saving millions of lives. That is not an exaggeration, in my opinion. I wrote a review on Amazon, and this book deserves more than the usual five stars, that's for sure. ...Disclaimer: LOL, no, I don't know the author and am not being paid for this endorsement. But it's that good. I haven't had many life-changing and life-saving books, but this is definitely one of them."
-- Pat

"Stopping sugar stopped my pains and mood swings. ...I am a distance study student of Natural Health Institute, Canada. I became one basically, because I was puzzled at all my bodily pains (joints, muscles, bones) my mood swings and my low energy ALWAYS by 4PM. I am 56 years old. After researching about sugar and finding out about your book, I eliminated sugary products and desserts from my diet. After only a month, I am a different person -- no aches, no pains, no mood swings, no low energy...and a happy and proud owner of your SUGAR SHOCK! book... Thank you Connie. Bless your effort to reach out to people and tell them about sugar's problems."
-- Edna, the Philippines

"Great book! It is a masterpiece. As an organic chemist and author of Health Myths Exposed, I found the book to be one of the best written books on the subject -- and all other subjects relating to health! Way to go...I can tell you worked your ass off! Thanks for the effort!"
-- Shane Ellison, M.Sc., author, Health Myths Exposed

"I'm LOVING your book! Thanks for writing it. It is already making a difference in my life. I am taking it to show my integrative medicine M.D. next week!"
-- Sue

If you feel hooked on sugar, SUGAR SHOCK! is for you. This book, I'm convinced, can wake you up to sugar's dangers and give you valuable tools and tips so you can finally break free of your habit. So get the book now on Amazon or on BarnesAndNoble.com.

Some fascinating research was just released from British scientists, who found that overweight, obese and average-weight children aged 9 to 11 double their food intake after watching food advertisements on TV.

Indeed, according to a recent study by psychologists from the University of Liverpool in England, ads for tempting foods trigger excess eating by kids of all sizes, even those of normal weight.

Specifically, the researchers found that:

• Obese kids ate 134% more after watching food ads;
• Overweight children uppped their intake by 101%; and
• Normal-weight youngsters consumed 84% more.

Interestingly, the U.K. researchers also discovered that obese kids chose the highest fat product -- chocolate -- whereas overweight children picked jelly sweets, which have a lower fat content, as well as chocolate. (It sounds like both groups opted for overdoing it on sugary foods, though.)

Kudos to the British researchers for pointing out a fact many Americans overlook or ignore.

Let me repeat these compelling findings as one of the researchers put it.

"Our research confirms food TV advertising has a profound effect on all children's eating habits -- doubling their consumption rate," declared Dr. Jason Halford, director of the University of Liverpool's Kissileff Human Ingestive Behavior Laboratory.

Dr. Halford said that the study also revealed "a strong connection between weight and susceptibility to over-eating" when exposed to food ads on TV.

FYI, about 14% of children in the U.K. are considered obese, and the average child watches 17 hours of commercial TV each week.

Interesting, the British are way ahead of us Americans in terms of making changes about what kids can and cannot watch. In fact, the first stage of controversial new regulations on advertising junk foods to children recently was introduced, as Bakery And Snacks reports.

For instance, In April, ads for foods high in salt or sugar aren't permitted before, during or immediately after programs made for children or in or around programs likely to appeal to kids.

But in the U.S., we haven't reached this level of sophistication. Just turn on the boob tube, and you'll see a plethora of commercials trumpeting the "joys" of fast food, as well as processed cakes, cookies, etc. And, surprise, surprise, most of these ads are targeted at younger audiences. And we wonder why childhood obesity is skyrocketing?

Of course, it's important to take into account that children do learn their eating habits by watching their parents or friends.

But, then again, let's bear in mind that they, in turn, often eat what the smiling people on food commercials eat.

Sure, TV commercials aren't totally to blame for our soaring obesity, but especially for youngsters watching lots of television, I believe that they play a pivotal part.

It's about time we follow the lead from the British. Let's also start to institute some advertising regulations here in the United States.

Of course, I realize that, alas, this is major-league wishful thinking on my part. Sigh.

Althea Chang contributed to this post.

Given that I'm not only a journalist but also a certified holistic health counselor -- I studied at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition -- I was absolutely fascinated by this New York Times article, "Winning the Nutrition Game With the Help of a Coach," from reporter Eilene Zimmerman.

Kudos to Zimmerman for having the insight to tap into a nationwide trend: More are more confused consumers are finding that their health and life improve by getting guidance and support from a nutrition-oriented coach.

The New York Times reporter puts it succinctly. One woman -- who'd unsuccessfully tried Weight Watchers and other approaches -- finally was able to shrink in size from 279 puonds to 128 pounds with the help of a private nutrition coach, who gave her the guidance and support she desired.

Zimmerman observes in her article that folks turn to one-on-one help, because they're motivated by a particular desire -- whether it's to lose weight, manage their diabetes, bring down their high cholesterol levels, handle food allergies, combat fatigue or resolve sleep problems.

In fact, the woman featured in the lead to the Times story -- Mariam NoorzaiI of Camarillo, Calif. -- is quite dedicated to her nutrition coach.

Zimmerman writes:

"Ms. Noorzai finds coaching so crucial to her well-being that she has cut certain luxuries out of her life to afford the several hundred dollars a month for her weekly phone sessions with Mr. Zehetner [her nutrition coach]. 'I stopped going out at night, I don’t get manicures or pedicures, I don’t get my hair cut as often,' she said.

"Thanks to the coaching, `I know now how to make food work for me,' she said. “I’ve introduced myself to new foods and learned where the hidden calories are,' she added. `I know how to better combine foods, like proteins and carbs. What Brian is teaching me is a lifetime skill, not a quick fix. It’s literally changed my life.'”

That's sure is heartening. To think that nutrition coaches nationwide are creating such an amazing impact is absolutely inspiring!

FYI, after attending the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, I realized that I could help people more if I became very specialized in my nutrition coaching. Right now, my focus is to help people break free from their sugar addiction. (People like to call me a "Sugar Liberation Coach.")

In addition, given my hectic schedule promoting my book SUGAR SHOCK! and doing group teleseminar programs, my work one-on-one with people is limited. (I can only work with three people at a time. If you're interested in private, kick-sugar coaching, you can contact me privately.)

Again, make sure to read Eilene Zimmerman's fascinating New York Times article, "Winning the Nutrition Game With the Help of a Coach."