Customer Reviews

Beat Sugar Addiction Now!: The Cutting-Edge Program That Cures Your Type of Sugar Addiction and Puts You on the Road to Feeling Great - and Losing Weight!

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Teitelbaum and Fiedler's book is easy to understand and the book is broken down into several sections.

Part I outlines the different kinds of sugar addictions and how they affect people's lives.

4 kinds of addicts are described:


Type 1 addicts use sugar and caffeine to keep themselves awake, and tend to be addicted to energy drinks. They are stressed out, often Type A personalities who substitute the quick fix of coffee or sugar to make up for not getting enough sleep or eating a healthy diet.


Type 2 addicts are suffering from adrenal failure and use sugar to keep themselves going when they are exhausted or stressed out. These are the hypoglycemics, the people whose blood sugar drops and leaves them irritable, shaky, and tearful.


Type 3 addicts have sugar cravings caused by an overgrowth of yeast. These people spend a lot of time eating and wanting to eat foods with a lot of sugar and white flour because it makes them feel better...briefly.


Type 4 addicts have hormonal imbalances and crave sugar to stave off irritability and depression. This applies to men as well as women, though it is most often characterized by women with PMS, or menopausal problems.


Part II introduces healing practices for sugar addicts in general, as well as specific solutions for each of the 4 types of addicts outlines in part I. This section explains how to deal with the sugar cravings as well as the underlying medical conditions that cause them.


Part III deals with the treatment of health problems that often accompany sugar addiction. There are chapters on anxiety, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, depression, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, heart disease, hypothyroidism, irritable bowel syndrome, migraines and tension headaches, obesity, and sinusitis.


These sections are then followed by several appendixes, all of which are jam packed with helpful information.

Overall, this is a complete and well organized book with ample strategies to help all kinds of sugar addicts overcome their addictions and move forward with their lives.

This book has changed the way I look at food, and I am pretty excited about it. I am ready to lose weight, to feel better and to have a better life.


Having just finished reading it, I haven't started yet, but I have faith that I will. This is not an unrealistic plan and there are no specific weight loss goals or promises. Nowhere in this book does he say "You will lose 30 pounds in the first 4 months-guaranteed!" or anything like that, because those kind of claims are either BS or based on unhealthy weight loss goals.

This is not a diet book. It's not about following a plan to reach a set weight and then stopping. This is about changing your life and your lifestyle for good. It's about saying good bye to some things and adding a lot of other things in.


I thought this would just be a preachy book telling me what a bad person I am for eating brownies and how I need to do better. Instead there isn't any judgment. I never felt like he was accusing me of being fat because of what I've done. Instead, everything is very logical, just giving info about how the body processes things, how people feel when they are suffering from sugar addiction, and what people can do to get healthy again.


The book was broken up into chunks which made it very readable. First it talks about sugar addiction and you figure out what kind of sugar addict you are (there are different kinds based on what your body is doing that makes you want to eat sugar).Then there are treatment plans for each kind of addiction, and it's not just stopping eating candy. There's medicines and natural health stuff to do, and things you can take like vitamins and things to help your body do its work better.


Then there's a whole section on different diseases you might have and how you can make them better or even cure them by taking natural vitamins and getting more sleep and taking medicine and exercising and stuff.At the end there's lists of doctors and places to buy vitamins and lists of foods to eat. What I'm trying to say is this book makes it pretty easy for you. All you need to do is fill out the questions and follow what it tells you to do.


I am planning on starting right now. It's tempting to pig out on cookies tonight and then promise myself that I won't do it again and I am making a fresh start, but I think it's better to just say that starting right now I will be treating my body and myself better.

Overall, this book was disappointing. The book starts off well, promising to identify one's type of sugar addiction and then offer solutions. There are some good points made, and things I will follow-up on. However, in its efforts to be a gimmicky "workbook", the book shortchanges the readers on important details and specifics. Just a few examples: in the discussion of sugar alcohols, there is absolutely no mention of xylitol, which is probably one of the most widely used sugar alcohols in the world (particularly in the Scandinavian countries) and readily available in North America. There is no mention in the book of vegetarian diets, leaving some of us mystified as to how to modify his prescriptions for meat, fish, eggs, and seafood (and of course, I'm not even mentioning the extremely well-documented negative health consequences of the amount of animal products he suggests, including the effects of excess protein). He does not discuss the effect of polished white rice on the body, which in my limited understanding acts in a way similar to white sugar and white flour.

Some of his discussions are simplistic. When describing how walking burns calories, he uses a straight one-to-one ratio, without clearly explaining how exercise (or the lack of it) changes one's metabolic rate, thus producing a multiplier effect on calorie burning. And his prescription to "eat more salt" left me dumbfounded. Yes, individuals react to sodium differently, but such blanket advice is simply dangerous.

Furthermore, and without comment on the products' merits, the book is suffused with not-so-subtle advertisements for various products sold or promoted by the author. A simple disclaimer (something to the effect of "I sell and/or have a financial interest in these products" would have helped the author's credibility).

I was left with the overall impression that I did not have the information I needed about this important problem. Based on his quizes, I was not even able to concretely identify my type of sugar addiction. In fairness, the book may have been simplified for the mass market. Still, I would recommend that you get this book from your local library and skim it before you purchase.

I just finished reading Beat Sugar Addiction Now! And it definitely has me convinced.
I had a hard time believing how perfectly I fit the profile for a person with rampant and serious yeast overgrowth. Yet even now I am having a hard time agreeing to give up the sugar. Just thinking about a world without my daily Starbucks drink and without my favorite cookies is a sad thought.

Of course this just goes to show that sugar really is a drug, because how can I still want to eat something when everything I have just read proves, without a shadow of a doubt, that every time I eat it I am making myself sicker and feeding the yucky fungus that has pervaded my body.

I guess I need to do one last hurrah and then bid farewell to my favorite sugary snacks. I know this book favors a gradual cutback and not a shock to the system, but at this point I do eat so many sweets that even a cutback will make a big difference in the amount of stuff I eat. I am trying to figure out what to stop eating first, but I know I need to take that first step and this was truly the book that showed me that I have a problem.

Who isn't concerned about the fact that food manufacturers put sugar in EVERYTHING? And who isn't concerned about how much sugar we are consuming? Beat Sugar Addiction Now! gives real insight into how our body interacts with sugar in all its forms. Far from being a "Nutrition Nazi", Dr. Teitelbaum outlines how you can enjoy your meals, and even carbohydrates in moderation. He gives practical, step by step advice on how to greatly reduce sugar in your diet--and specifically how these changes will benefit you. The sections in each chapter titled "Your Wellness Prescription" give a list of interventions to address everything form migraines to indigestion to fatigue to sinusitis, etc. I found the book written in an intelligent yet understandable manner, and the index was quite useful to jump to chapters in which I was particularly interested.

Carbohydrate craving is a major cause of obesity. Dr. Teitelbaum is the world's foremost chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia expert and has encountered the four main causes of sugar and carbohydrate addiction in many of these patients. The four main types of sugar addiction are easily identified with the questionaires in this workbook. More importantly, effective treatments for the four main causes of sugar addiction are explained.

I was especially pleased to read the explanation of estrogen deficiency as a cause of low serotonin and carbohydrate craving. Estrogen is needed to open the female Serotonin receptor and many estrogen deficient women are self treating their Serotonin deficiency with carbohydrates which provide a brief Serotonin increase.

Sadly, over publicized, poorly designed studies using overdoses of horse estrogens (Premarin) have misled many people to overgeneralize problems with horse estrogens, to human estrogens.

I agree with Dr. Teitelbaum that they are hidden causes of sugar addiction.

This book is very readable, even for non scientists. Dr. Teitelbaum reveals he was once a sugar addict and provides sugar addicts an effective compassionate solution in this book.

If you are a sugar addict read this book and take your life back.

Steven Sponaugle

This book has strategies and helpful ideas for treating all kinds of sugar-related health problems. Dr. Teitelbaum uses a combination of scientific information and common sense advice to convince readers that they can take charge of their lives and their health.


The tone is comforting and supportive which can mean a lot for people struggling with these types of illnesses.


The first section, which describes different types of sugar addicts and the problems they face, is particularly captivating. Readers are sure to recognize themselves in the detailed descriptions and knowing that they are not alone and that their problems are not unique is sure to help them find the courage to take on their addictions and make the necessary changes in diet and lifestyle.


While the information presented in this book is sobering and potentially depressing, it is written in an inspiring way and this book will help a lot of people find hope and a brighter future.


One recurrent theme in this book is the unwillingness and/or inability of many conventional doctors to recognize the role that diet plays in treating common health problems such as migraines, sinus infections, and anxiety. The need for patients to find holistic practitioners comes up several times in this reading.


Why are conventional western medical practitioners so slow to pick up on what so many of us have already known for years: that what you put into your body affects everything about the way your body functions? This seems like common sense and standard western medicine has certainly acknowledged the crucial role that diet plays in diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.


You are what you eat, so if you are eating a lot of sugar and starch, then it is no wonder that you are probably experiencing a plethora of medical ailments. Sugars and starches are basically empty calories, nutritionally defunct and sure to cause a ton of side effects.


I would have liked to see more written in this book about the connections between sugar addiction and other kinds of addiction. It is well known that alcoholics often crave sugar as do heroin addicts. In fact, in some areas of the South(most notably in New Orleans in my experience) restaurants serve two kinds of sweet iced tea: "regular" (still shockingly sweet by northern standards or to someone who doesn't consume a lot of sweetened food or beverages) and "junkie tea"-iced tea which has been saturated with so much sugar that most people find it virtually undrinkable.


To me, the fact that people with serious problems like heroin addiction also commonly crave huge amounts of sugar exemplifies that fact that sugar is a drug. It is a serious drug with serious side effects, and if it were to come up for FDA approval today, I wonder if it would even pass.


I also tend to think a lot about the history of sugar. Sugar production played a vital role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, making it a product that was, historically speaking, ethically problematic.


Regardless of the history of sugar production or the unwillingness of many doctors to recognize its detrimental effects on public health, sugar addiction is a reality and Teitelbaum's book Beat Sugar Addiction Now is a great weapon against that addiction. The book does count on reader readiness to seriously take on the problems associated with sugar addiction and to exercise will power and self restraint. However, one would assume that people would not purchase this book if they were not serious about making a change.


I liked that way holistic medicine and standard Western medicine were integrated in the treatment plans outlined here. Because Teitelbaum is a medical doctor, he is able to discuss prescription medications that may help to treat specific symptoms. His first line of defense, however, is always to cut our the sugar and to supplement with natural remedies when appropriate.

The book is straightforward, easy to read, and presents a treatment plan that is easy to follow and simple to comprehend. If readers are truly committed to changing the way they eat and the way they live, this book can do a lot to help them take their lives back.

One of the things I liked best about this book was the well organized appendices in the back. What a great list of resources for anyone who has read the book and is ready to take on treating their problems. Any nutritional supplement, vitamin, prescription medication or natural remedy mentioned in the book is listed here, usually along with its commercially marketed names.

There are also lists of medical practitioners and a great glycemic index that is very easy to use.


This book is set up to help people be successful at changing their diets and their lives.

About 20 years ago I realized that I was a sugar addict. Give me a LARGE bag of peanut M&M's and I'd finish the bag in one sitting every time. I'd consistently take "just one more sliver" of chocolate cake till the cake was almost all gone.

One day I made a decision. I decided to give up eating refined sugar once and for all. After a week or two off refined sugar I had no desire to eat it ever again. It wasn't hard to do at all. If I slipped and had sugar by mistake it tasted terrible.. these foods tasted way too sweet, many foods I previously enjoyed (like McDonald's milk shakes) started tasting like chemicals and not like food at all... not enjoyable anymore to put in my body. The decision I had made to eliminate all refined sugar changed my life... my weight stabilized down to a size 6, I'm 54 years old and people say I look young for my age, my skin is clear and radiant, my moods stabilized, I feel totally healthy and absent of the aches and pain some of my friends have, and I feel like I am 35 years old.

"Beat Sugar Addiction Now" is finally an explanation for what I have found a success for twenty years. Now it all makes sense. The authors make the book readable for both scientific and lay people. They explain the various reasons for sugar addiction (since we are all unique) and help us solve the problem. So thank you thank you for this ground-breaking book to finally explain my experience!

PS To a previous reviewer who talked about the "advertising" in the book: I don't feel that your opinion is an accurate assessment. Dr Teitelbaum does mention a few products that he has seen very effective but it is clear in the book that he received no financial gain for the products he recommends. These are natural products. Have you ever seen holistic physicians who do not have a few products they have seen work and recommend? I'm personally very grateful for his first hand experience and recommendations of what he has seen highly effective with patients.

All in all, "Beat Sugar Addiction Now" is an easy to read, Godsend of a book. Start by "making a decision to change your "sugar habit" then follow the recommendations in this book and give it a real good try. I believe strongly that the advice in this book will improve your life IMMENSELY. In my opinion making "the decision" is a crucial part of the process.

Whenever I read one of Dr. Teitelbaum's books, I feel like I'm taking a college course. I get out my note-book and pencils, sit at my office desk in a comfortable chair, and dig in. My sense is that Dr. Teitelbaum would rather teach people to learn how to manage their health than simply give instructions on what to do. This empowers one to make the best health care choices possible. He uses this same principle in "Beat Sugar Addiction Now!". This is a workbook developed to help the reader learn how to identify if they have a sugar addiction, what the implications are on health and how to learn to defeat the addiction and be a better manager of health. I cringed each time Dr. Teitelbaum used the word addiction, thinking, "Really? It's just sugar". But, as I continued to read, I realized that it was driving home a point for me, that even though it's only sugar, it is a real and potentially harmful addiction. So, ok, now I'm a believer. The workbook is set up to identify 4 types of sugar addiction. There is a simple quiz for each of the 4 types so that the reader can use the chapters that are personally relevant. Dr. Teitelbaum suggests that a person could have more than one type of sugar addiction. I took all 4 quizzes and it only takes a few seconds to complete the quizzes and complete the analysis. There is an overview of what each type of addict would look like and some chapters with the suggested remedies and lifestyle changes. There are also chapters dedicated to specific sugar related health issues: Anxiety Chronic Fatigue Syndrome & Fibromyalgia Depression Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome Heart Disease Hypothyroidism Irritable Bowel Syndrome/Spastic Colon Migraines and Tension Headaches Obesity Sinusitis As with all of Dr. Teitelbaum's books, this is not a one time read, this is an owner's manual that you should keep handy to refer to often.