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.

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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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)

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!

A big hurrah for CBS News Sunday Morning! They are planning an exciting story -- the lead one -- about sugar for Sunday, June 17.

Talk about thorough. Yesterday, I spent much of the day with the CBS crew, including talented, Emmy Award-winning reporter Susan Spencer and producer Jason Sacca, covering a number of different angles on this compelling topic.

Susan did a one-on-one interview with me, tossing some fascinating questions my way. Then, the CBS crew filmed all kinds of foods -- from culprit, sugar-packed carbs to quality carbs, all laid out on a table -- with my discussing them. From there, we went to a nearby grocery store, where I showed Susan how to find all those hidden sugars packed in processed foods.

And then, thanks to renowned physician, Dr. Woodson Merrell, we ended at the Center for Health and Healing in New York City, where Susan interviewed six sugar addicts I'd gathered. (I had the amazing opportunity to watch them discuss their sugar addiction, which most of them had successfully conquered. More later on the spectacular sixsome -- Moe, Deborah, Christi, Donna, Sheila and Bhaswati.)

Anyhow, yesterday -- especially since I'm a journalist myself and have long admired CBS shows -- it was quite impressive and really fun to watch the CBS pros in action.

I'll update you more in a couple of days about this exciting segment planned for CBS News Sunday Morning on June 17. I need to go work out -- got behind in the last couple of days. Then, I need to take some relaxing time for me after this whirlwind week, which entailed lots of prep work.

But before I go, make sure to mark your calendars for Sunday, June 17 at 9 am EST and set your TiVo if you're not around. It's CBS News Sunday Morning. Click here to find out where and when it airs in your market.