The Editors of Prevention - Prevention the Sugar Solution

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This book is intended as a reference volume only, not as a medical manual. The information presented here is designed to help you make informed decisions about your health. It is not intended as a substitute for any treatment that may have been prescribed by your doctor. If you suspect that you have a medical problem, we urge you to seek competent medical care.

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2006 by Rodale Inc.

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Prevention is a registered trademark of Rodale Inc.

Writer: Sar Harrar

Exercise photographs by Hilmar

Book design by Christina Gaugler

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

The sugar solution : your symptoms are real and your solution is here / by the editors of Prevention magazine with Ann Fittante.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN-13 9781579549138 hardcover

ISBN-13 9781594868948 ebook

1. Blood sugarPopular works. 2. Insulin resistancePopular works. 3. Sugar-free dietPopular works. I. Fittante, Ann. II. Prevention (Emmaus, Pa.) III. Title: Sugar solution.

RM237.85.S846 2006

613.25dc22

2006021912

We inspire and enable people to improve their lives and the world around them
www.rodalebooks.com

I f one simple thing could energize you within hours, soothe crankiness and fatigue within a day, allow you to (finally!) shed extra pounds, and dramatically reduce your lifetime risk of heart attack, stroke, and dementiayoud say its magic. Or a wonder drug.

The good news is, this wonderful something is realand it can change your life without drugs or magic. All you need to do is take charge of your blood sugar.

Controlling blood sugar isnt just for people with diabetes. Its for everybodywomen, men, and even kids who want to stay fit, healthy, and happy. Luckily, getting there is a delicious, fun, and fascinating journey with Preventions The Sugar Solution.

This book is for you if:

You rely on goodies and sweet beverages to get you through the dreaded 3:00 p.m. slump, yet you feel groggier and even more tired by 4:45.

Your attempts to lose weight end in late-night refrigerator raids.

You want to do all you can to lower your risk for heart attack, stroke, and dementia.

Youre a woman with fertility problems or a history of pregnancy diabetes.

You are slightly overweight, have slightly high blood sugar, and have slightly elevated cholesterol or triglyceridesa deadly combination overlooked by most family doctors.

Youre looking for an eating plan for life that balances protein, good fats, and carbohydrates so that you can still enjoy the foods you like and even eat out without guilt.

Inside this book, youll find cutting-edge medical research on blood sugar, insulin resistance, and diabetes and related conditions. Top medical researchers are discovering that well before blood sugar reaches levels most doctors consider dangerous, your risk of heart attack and stroketwo of Americas top three killersmay be many times higher than normal. Even newer evidence links out-of-whack blood sugar and the condition behind itinsulin resistanceto loss of mental functioning and perhaps even cancer.

Youll also find a satisfying eating plan based on low-glycemicindex foods, plus an exercise program that fits your fitness level and schedule and stress-relief tips to further control blood sugar. Try it! You can lose weight, safeguard your future health, and sail through your busiest day with energy to spare.

I magine pouring a 5-pound bag of sugar down your throat. Absurd, right? Wrong. New research shows that this is how much sugar each American man, woman, and child gets each monthand most of it doesnt come from the sugar bowl. Sweeteners go by more than 50 names and hide out in virtually all processed foods, from your morning doughnut to those lunchtime baked beans, from fruit-flavored yogurt to the ketchup on your burger.

Added sugars in the American diet have grown exponentially since the early 1900sby more than 2,100 percentadding calories and edging out more nutritious fare. Researchers say its no coincidence that as the food we eat grows sweeter, rates of overweight and blood sugar problemsincluding insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, prediabetes, full-blown type 2 diabetes, and even pregnancy diabeteshave soared.

Sugar entwines us in a love-hate relationship. Your body needs a steady supply of blood sugar, the primary fuel burned by your cells. It plays a central role in physical and mental well-being. Your brain, for example, runs almost entirely on blood sugar. Your muscles can burn fat in a pinch, but they prefer blood sugar (glucose) for zip. A baby growing in a mothers womb relies on it, too.

But the carbohydrates we eat and drinkthe source of virtually all blood sugarare more treacherous than ever before. Refined carbs (white bread, cakes, and snack foods) can make blood sugar skyrocket to dangerous levels. And theres growing evidence that high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), now the most ubiquitous sweetener in the American food supply, is directly linked to the nations twin epidemics of overweight and diabetes. HFCSs role? This sweetener seems to bypass the bodys I feel full mechanisms. In a study of 93,000 women, Harvard School of Public Health researchers recently linked a 10-pound weight gain and 83 percent higher diabetes risk directly to the consumption of HFCS.

Add other 21st-century factors that also pack on pounds and disrupt blood sugar levelsincluding big portions, fatty fast foods, and inactivityand youve got a blood sugar crisis. Up to half of Americans have a prediabetic condition called insulin resistancea serious, early stage blood sugar control problem that wont even show up on a blood sugar test. As many as 41 million have prediabetes (above-normal blood sugar levels), and 21 million have full-blown type 2 diabetes. Meanwhile, the number of children and teens with type 2 diabetes has increased six- to tenfold since 1994, mirroring the childhood obesity epidemic.

The bottom line for you: Blood sugar problems can zap your energy levels, make weight loss difficult or nearly impossible, and put you at risk for an astonishing variety of serious health problems, including heart attack, stroke, Alzheimers disease, some cancers, infertility, blindness, kidney failure, amputation, and sexual difficulties. And thats not sweet.