Diabetes News

Food costs are on the rise, as various news outlets have reported. But we need to look deeper into this whole phenomenon, something that TIME magazine's John Cloud helps us do. The intrepid reporter offers a wonderful perspective on our food spending patterns.

In fact, he says that despite the recent price increases, "Americans still spend less to feed themselves than any other people on the planet--probably less than any monetized society in history."

What's up, Americans? Why don't we Americans care about feeding ourselves well? Why do we fork over only 9.9 cents of every dollar we spend on food when people in Britain spend 16 % of their household expenditures on food; Brazilians, 23 percent, Thais, 29 percent?

TIME magazie's John Cloud also observes that these rising food costs are due to our food being shipped great distances and gas being high. He also cites demand for ethanol triggering the price of corn to spike, and thousands of processed foods containing such derivatives like high-fructose corn syrup. (Of course, as you'll read here and in my book SUGAR SHOCK!, I'm not a fan of HFCS nor other refined sweeteners.)

In the fascinating TIME story, you'll also learn about U.S. subsidies of corn, which lead corn-dervied snacks to be well prices and convenient; "Engel's law" about how "as you get rich, you spend proportionately less to eat"; etc.

And then, a big hurrah for reporter John Cloud, because he suggests: "In short, we should stop subsidizing junk [food]." What's more he points out that healthy food, on a dollar-per-nutrient basis is not more expensive and more satiating than processed junk food. Read the TIME article now.

You can listen to me at 8 am on "The Big Show" with Michael Patrick Shiels, a radio program that is aired on 12 stations statewide on The Michigan Talk Network.

We're going to talk about the recent Kellogg's story about how the company is avoiding litigation by making some changes to improve the nutritional value of their cereal. What a great topic!

Listeners of "The Big Show," write to me here and let me know that you tuned in today. The first three listeners who contact me here at my SUGAR SHOCK! Blog will receive a free teleseminar on Wed., July 17 with famous children's obesity expert David Ludwig, M.D., Ph.D., who will help you help your kids to slim down. You'll be in for a real treat!

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)

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.

Hurrah for the folks at the Alameda County Public Health Department, which just launched the Soda-Free Summer campaign, designed to awake people to the dangers of sugary fizzy drinks and the benefits of healthy alternatives

The California community points out that soda is the # 1 source of sugar in the American diet and that one 20-ounce bottle of soda each day for a year can lead a a 25-pound weight gain.

The progressive Alameda Public Health Department also is inviting residents to enter a raffle by Aug. 31, 2007 to win a $500 healthy shopping spree — if they sign a pledge to make this a soda-free summer. (Now that's a cool idea!)

"It's time to rethink the drink," Diane Woloshin, director of nutrition services, told reporter Rebecca Vesely, who wrote an article that ran in both InsideBayArea.com and the Oroville Mercury Register..

Alameda County health officials are even pointing out that some drinks advertised as juice actually contain a lot of sugar. (The California folks are so right on -- that's exactly one of the things I point out in my book SUGAR SHOCK!)

Instead of reaching for a soda, Alameda County health officials are encouraging residents to choose other alternatives such as water, non-fat milk or sugar-free iced tea. (I'm not a fan of the recommendation to choose diet soda "once in a while.")

Now get ready for some uncanny aspects of this campaign given the title of my book, website and blog.

Alameda's Woloshin says that the "theme of the campaign is `sugar shock' because some of this information is really shocking to people."

What a cool theme, eh?! (I wonder -- do the Alameda County folks know yet about my book SUGAR SHOCK!?)

Wait, that's not all. In trying to educate people about sugary drinks, the Alameda County officials even provided some stats about soda that they're calling sugar shockers. (Whoah, talk about psychic -- I use the exact same prhase, "SUGAR SHOCKERS!," in sidebars for my book SUGAR SHOCK! Guess great minds do think alike!)

Anyhow, thanks to Google Alerts for letting me know about this wonderful program via Rebecca Vesely's article in both InsideBayArea.com and the Oroville Mercury Register.

It's time for me to track down the people in Alameda County. Clearly, they need to know about my book and work!

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.