Customer Reviews

Potatoes Not Prozac

5 star:		(91)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"Potatoes not Prozac" is a cutesy name for a truly wonderful book that will help millions of people heal their bodies and their lives. Her concept of "sugar sensitivity" and her 7-step treatment plan will enable readers to understand and recover from addiction to foods, drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes. People who have failed repeatedly at sobriety or weight loss can succeed with this plan, as thousands have already.

Kathleen des Maisons learned about the importance of sugar through her work as a drug and alcohol treatment counselor. She was having the usual low success rate in helping people stay off alcohol. Then she discovered how certain foods lead to addiction to alcohol and drugs, as well as being addictive themselves.

She found that nearly all alcoholics lived largely on pasta, white breads and sweet things. She knew what they were suffering. Her own father drank himself to death at age 51, and she herself weighed 240 pounds and had had problems with drinking. When she discovered the benefits of a diet high in protein and vegetables for herself, she started using it with her clients. Her success rates soared, even with the hardest cases.

She realized that addictive behavior has a lot to do with food, and that sugar was the primary culprit. She believes that some people are born "sugar-sensitive," which means they don't have enough serotonin or beta-endorphin in their brains. Serotonin and beta-endorphin make us feel secure, stable, confident, cheerful. If you have low levels of these chemicals, you are likely to feel badly.

Sugar and alcohol raise your serotonin and beta-endorphin levels. So they make you feel better and more energetic, especially if your levels were low to start with. Unfortunately, eating concentrated sugars or refined carbohydrates causes a rebound effect. Your sugars levels drop quickly, you feel worse than before, and you need more sugar, caffeine or alcohol to pick back up.

Pretty soon you're addicted. You feel alternately great and miserable. The sugar swings stress your adrenal glands. You blame yourself for being out of control and unfocused, for putting on weight or drinking, but actually it's the sugar. It's a physical problem, although emotions do play a part.

Getting off sugar is difficult. Our food supply is awash in sugars and simple carbs. They can't be avoided. Des Maisons gives us a practical strategy based on 12-step recovery programs. Her seven steps are
1. Keep a food journal every day
2. Eat three meals a day at regular intervals
3. Take Vitamin C, B complex, and zinc
4. Eat enough protein at each meal
5. Move from simple to complex carbohydrates, or from "white foods" to "brown" and "green" foods. "Brown" refers to things like whole grains and beans. "Green" means vegetables, of whatever color.
6. Reduce or eliminate sugars (including alcohol)
7. Create a plan for maintenance.

She doesn't spell out a diet or recommend a lot of supplements or medications. She says that, using her steps, each person can figure out for herself what is best for her body to eat. She wants you to go through the 7 steps slowly, not to get impatient and rush ahead. The idea is to build a better relationship with your body and with food, to learn how food relates to your physical and emotional feelings.

Des Maisons writes with a compassion that comes from living with sugar addiction herself. Chapter 3 is called, "It's Not Your Fault." (I also use that title in my book, "The Art of Getting Well: Maximizing Health When You Have a Chronic Illness.") Her plan is based on "abundance, not deprivation." This means you focus more on adding good things (foods, exercise, prayer, pleasure etc), rather than giving things up. She keeps telling us to be gentle with ourselves, to focus on "progress, not perfection." She also has a great sense of humor and an apparent affection for potatoes.

"Potatoes not Prozac" also gives a very clear explanation of the biochemistry of addiction. She explains how serotonin and beta-endorphin are produced, get to the brain, and are regulated there, and how our food affects all those processes. She cites more than 50 studies in support of her ideas, although most of them are animal studies.

I disagree with Des Maisons on a couple of points. I don't think sugar-sensitivity is all in your genes. Your early environment, including the environment in your mother's uterus, makes a big difference. Also, I'm pretty sure that too much stress or too sugary a diet at any time in your life can create sugar-sensitivity or something very much like it.

I would have liked to see more on why, where, and how to get help. She mentions the need for support several times, but doesn't give much specific advice on finding it or asking for it. Reading The Art of Getting Well or Cheri Register's "The Chronic Illness Experience" will give you those skills. I also would have liked to see more on exercise. Des Maisons pretty much just says, "go do it!" Hopefully, that will be good enough for you, because physical activity is just as important as diet change, in my experience.

But these are small complaints. The author's brilliant insights into sugar and addiction, her clear explanations of difficult concepts, her simple but effective treatment plan, and her generous and positive spirit make this book a treasure that can help with a wide variety of health and life issues. It's wonderful.

David Spero RN wwwdotdavidsperoRNdotcom

Potatoes Not Prozac is a program with answers that will change lives. Dr. DesMaisons has created a nationally recognized program which not only has an impressive 92% success rate helping alcoholics to stay sober, but also boasts an incredible track record helping sugar and carbohydrate sensitive people finally kick the sugar habit for good. Different from Sugar Busters, this program gently outlines a simple seven step eating plan which will carefully and easily stabilize brain chemistry without causing suffering from cravings and hunger. When the steps are followed in the order presented, the resulting effect is a feeling of radiance and energy and good feelings that must be experienced to be believed. This simple eating program changes lives. Reading this book and following the program has changed mine. Potatoes Not Prozac is one of the most positive life-changing books that I have ever read. I recommend it highly to everyone.

For those of us who have unsuccessfully tried to lose weight for years and get rid of depression, this book (if you are sugar sensitive) provides relief and peace of mind in knowing that the inability to lose weight (and have weird behavorial patterns) is not your fault! I highly recommend reading the book cover to cover to understand fully the scientific research done to date on sugar sensitive bodies. It should be a crime for the food companies to continue to add sugar the way they do. I would say the great majority of the population has some "sugar sensitivity"...the amount of sugar used in every day products is obscene. And the world wonders why Americans are so fat! If you have ever excercised 2-4 days a week, did Jenny Craig/Weight Watchers and only watched yourself continue to gain another 20 pounds, this book might be the answers to your prayers. But don't expect a miracle. It takes an understanding of your body to make the changes in your diet. The hard work is more than worth the effort. Finally, I have the motivation (through knowledge)to beat the 80 pounds that have crawled onto me since my marriage. I am regaining my life and my body. That is priceless.

I have been working the Potatoes Not Prozac eating plan for about 3 months now, and have found it enormously helpful. As I read these many reviews, I felt compelled to argue with the critics. This IS different from other plans. My sugar sensitivity is strong, and my cravings have embarrassed me many times (I am 52). I have hidden candy, and I have become angry when someone else ate the ice cream I was saving for myself. I have been a closet sugar junkie. In my humble opinion, the great strength of Des Maisons' method is the order in which she arranges the steps in the program. Eating protein at every meal, spacing the meals realistically, taking a daily vitimin, and eating a potato before going to bed each night BEFORE giving anything up allowed my body chemistry to stabilize and my cravings to quiet down before I tried to adjust my carbohydrates and sugar.

I had often awakened in the middle of the night and not been able to get back to sleep, seemingly because my blood sugar level had dropped and I needed to get up and have a snack (usually an apple). Fear of not sleeping through the night often motivated me to overeat at dinner time, which usually didn't help me sleep through anyway. The potato before bed time not only raises my serotonin level, but it also puts that fear to rest and produces an uninterrupted night of sleep. What a blessing!

One critic said that everyone learns in high school that complex carbohydrates are better for us than the refined ones, but I disagree. Most high school kids have other things on their minds, and I know my high school didn't give me this information. We've learned to prefer whole wheat bread, but how many people give up pasta for a whole grain variety? How many people choose brown rice over white? And how many people go all the way to 100% whole wheat bread? For some of us, these distinctions are critical to our mental, emotional, and physical health. I guess this book just may not appeal to those who are not sugar sensitive, and that's O.K. The rest of us will find valuable help in its pages.

If you have any inkling that you might be even a little sugar sensitive, please do yourself a favor and read this book. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. You could feel free of cravings and mood swings!

I have always battled with eating sweets. I struggled with eating sweets between meals and right after eating a meal - even though I was full. I used to eat cake and cookies for breakfast and lunch. My favorite part of a meal was dessert! For the first time in my life, I actually am not craving sugary sweets after most of my meals. I am only on step 2 of this book, but I am already experiencing some wonderful and freeing changes! This book pointed out that I don't have to snack between meals - because it will encourage me to "graze" throughout the day and it's true. I have been able to actually not snack (most of the time) between meals and experience true hunger when it's time to eat (as long as it doesn't exceed 5 hours). Not grazing has helped me a lot.

Though I am only on step 2 (read the book and you'll see why), I am already cutting down the white stuff - bread, pasta, rice and replacing it with brown. I had some strawberries for a dessert the other day and actually enjoyed them without sugar. That's the first time I ever did that. I used to coat them in sugar. I usually do not like water, but am learning to sip on it between meals and it is helping me not snack as it gives me a little feeling of something in my belly. I am also tasting food better and fuller now.

The only time I struggle with binging on sweets is when I'm lonely or anxious! That's when it's tough and sometimes I give in. The good news is, it is easier for me to get back on track after I've "messed up." I still crave the sweets because I have "primed the pump" by having sugar. However, because I was in a daily habit of lowering my sugar intake, it was easier to get back on track.

This is a very gradual book. She doesn't push you into anything and encourages you to take your time even if you are at a step for several months (like me). But I can testify that even though I have been at step 2 for 2 months now, I am making progress.

Sugar was my friend and I couldn't go through this process until I was ready to refine my relationship with it. But when I was ready, this was the book to see me through. Give it a shot, you may experience a transformed way of life and eating that you've never known.

I had adjusted to my lifelong uncontrollable moods and feelings, but I never felt truly happy for an entire day. I was unofficially diagnosed (by an M.D.) with Obsessive-Compulsive disorder and general depression. I was prescribed zoloft. I was a very angry person and yet I had no target or reason for my rage. Zoloft made the rage go away.
One month ago I began eating not only healthy, but organic foods.
Today I feel very different. There are no physiological symptoms of my old problems, which included shaking, confusion, panic. Psychologically, I still have worries, but now I am better equipped to deal with them.
I disovered Prozac or Potatoes today (a month after changing my diet) and can assure any victims of unexplained rage and manic-depressive tendencies that chanaging my diet from nearly all white foods like Italian bread, pasta, and refined white sugar to browns and the ocasional greens, changed my sense of well-being. But without the book and it's additional tips and guidelines I would never have known just how serious my change of diet was. Sugar is a drug. It fuels the mind and due to over-compensation can cause adrenaline and insulin overload (leading to fight or flight syndrome) in a sugar sensitive body. The zoloft zombified me, which was much appreciated, but my new diet invigorates me. This a book more for those interested in mental health, but anyone can benefit from a better diet.

This is an excellent guide for using food as medicine, especially for depression and chronic fatigue. The book is based on both personal experience and solid research. It¡¦s written in a way that is clear and easy to understand. DesMaisons describes ¡§sugar addiction¡¨ as a biochemical phenomenon very closely related to alcohol and other addiction.
She first describes the signs and symptoms of sugar addiction. Then in simple terms she describes how volatile blood sugar/insulin levels, serotonin, and beta-endorphins interact to create and maintain addiction, as well as depression, fatigue, etc. Finally, she explains a gradual, seven-step plan for recovering from a physical addiction to cover.
Her profile of a classic sugar addict describes me completely: I have a bigger sweet tooth than anyone I know, I have a history of skipping breakfast, I can¡¦t open a pack of oreo cookies without finishing them, and I¡¦ve had problems with chronic fatigue/adrenal exhaustion, poor memory and concentration, etc.
A ¡§seven-step¡¨ plan sounds complicated, but it¡¦s really not. In fact, most (not all) of what she recommends is pretty common advice, eat ¡§green¡¨ and ¡§brown¡¨ things, protein with every meal, etc. Her simple and clear explanations of how food interacts with brain chemistry help you to focus on your goal of eating well and becoming well. The ¡§seven steps¡¨ are about making very gradual, permanent lifestyle changes, rather than going cold turkey.
The information in this book can help lots of people like me.
Why only four stars? The book gave me a very clear understanding of why eatingthis way maintains a steady blood sugar level, and increases the level of serotonin produced in your brain naturally. But on re-reading the book, I couldn't find an explanation of how eating this way increases the level of beta-endorphins, only an assurance that it does. (It did make me understand how beta-endorphins are responsible for addictive relapse). If I found an explanation of how eating this way also raises beta-endorphin levels, I would give the book five stars.

This book has finally freed me from the bondage and insanity of sugar addiction. I saw that many reviewers focused on the Prozac part of the title. I was not and am not depressed, but I am sugar sensitive and was living in a sugar fog almost my entire life. I am finally free and can see clearly, have more energy and a more even-keeled life. Thanks a billion Dr. Des Maisons for rescuing me from the slavery to sugar.

As a recovering alcoholic, I knew from almost the beginning of my sobriety that there was "sugar connection." I read the literature on the subject (there is not much) and tried to avoid suger, but it always lured me back. This book explains why in a way that is clear, compassionate, knowing, and practical. I have been following its suggestions for 3 weeks and feel GREAT (and sometimes radiant!). On this plan, I do not crave brownies, chocolate candy, pastries and other "white stuff!" I especially appreciate that it encourages exercise, that its food plan suggestions comport with the sensible non-"magic" eating habits which I learned during previous positive weight loss experiences, and that the process does not advocate perfection. I know that I can eat sugar if I choose to, but the knowledge I have gained from this book of the brain chemistry involved (the bigger craving to following the next day) allows me to care enough for my own body chemistry to say "no thanks". Thank you, thank you, thank you, Ms. DesMaisons.

I am sugar sensitive and after almost thirty years of struggling to keep my life on some kind of track, Kathleens book saved me from it all. I can't rave about this program enough, I have since directed many people to her webpage and books. If you get depressed or suffer any addictive tendancies, this is for you. And if it sounds to good to be true, don't worry you won't be disappointed. I don't know where I would be now without this knowledge, I live a life of joy from a life of misery, all because of someones insight and work. Thank you Kathleen,like the thousands you've helped - I owe you my life as I know it.