The Sugar Fix: The High-Fructose Fallout That Is Making You Fat and Sick (Hardcover)

by Richard Johnson M.D. (Author), Timothy Gower (Author)
Key Phrases: nonfruit flavor, fructose factor, much fructose, United States, Low-Fructose Diet, Fructose-Free Phase (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Provides a detailed plan for reducing dietary fructose intake, promoting weight loss, and reversing many of the serious health consequences associated with the typical American high-fructose diet." -- Michael W. Rich, MD, director of the Cardiac Rapid Evaluation Unit, Washington University School of Medicine

"A road map to better health." -- Richard J. Glassock, MD, professor emeritus of medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description

In The Sugar Fix, Dr. Richard Johnson, who oversees a pioneering research program, reports on discoveries about how fructose impacts the body—and directly connects the American obesity epidemic to a frightening escalation in our fructose consumption.

It comes as no surprise that the sugar is found in processed foods like candy, baked goods, canned foods, and frozen meals in the form of high-fructose corn syrup, but it is also hidden in less obvious foods like peanut butter, egg products, and soups. Many fruits and vegetables contain high levels of it naturally. Dr. Johnson shows how to cut way back on the sweetener by making effective substitutions. The daily meal plans included here contain no more than 25 grams of fructose, one-quarter of the amount the average American now ingests.

Rather than the low-carb approach of so many recent diets, Dr. Johnson recommends a much easier to enjoy and stick to formula: 50% carbs, 25% fat, and 25% protein. The immediate benefit of this diet is to help anyone shed excess weight. The additional benefits are even more impressive—reduced risk for such serious health problems as high blood pressure, elevated blood fats, and insulin resistance, conditions directly linked to heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease, and stroke.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books; 1st edition (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594866651
• ISBN-13: 978-1594866654
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #405,978 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reveals the health problems of high fructose sweeteners, April 4, 2008

By	D. R. Schryer (Poquoson, VA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This book is a well written and quite readable fount of useful information about sugar and especially about the relatively new sweetener called high fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) was developed a little more than 35 tears ago. It has one big advantage, it's the most inexpensive sugar available. But it has the disadvantage of being very unhealthy when consumed in large quantities, in which it currently is consumed because of its low cost. High fructose corn syrup can cause obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes among other ailments and all of these ailments have increased dramatically since HFCS has come to be the most popular sweetener currently in use. HFCS is used in a large number of foods not normally thought of as containing sugar -- including bread, ketchup, and baby food -- but a major source of this unhealthy sweetener in modern American diets is soft drinks and sweetened fruit drinks, which are frequently dispensed these days in super-size quantities.

Yes, fruits -- which are good for us -- contain the sugar fructose but in very small amounts, because fructose is very sweet. And humans have safely been eating fruits for a hundred thousand years or more. But high fructose corn syrup in food and soft drinks has increased the amount of fructose which Americans now consume by a much as ten times the amount our ancestors got from fruit and this unnatural increase, as this book points out, has resulted in dangerous increases in obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Please read this book and learn about the risks of this dangerous food product and how to minimize them.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding!!!, April 10, 2008

By	houdini (Michigan) - See all my reviews

I bought and finished this book in 2 days. As a person who has suffered from insulin resistance for years and blessed not to have developed type 2 diabetes, this book was an answer to my prayers!! What should have been common sense to me in regards to overconsumption of sugar laden foods, was not. It took this book to show me just how dangerous HFCS and Fructose really is in large amounts. The diet outlined in the book is surprising at not at all difficult but one must ask themselves, how bad do they want to be healed. It is a small sacrafice for abundant health. I have often asked myself why so many Americans are so fat and unhealthy and now I know why. Thank-you so much Dr. Johnson for such simple yet profound information. Do yourself a favor and purchase this book. I guarantee that it will be an eye opener!!!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The dangers of excessive Fructose explained, August 8, 2008

By	Steve Burns "Life long learner" (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This book is a must have for the health conscious or for those looking for how to really lose weight. The author presents the inherent dangers of excessive fructose in the standard American diet and the damage it causes.A high fructose diet causes the body to increase its levels of uric acid which leads to high blood pressure and obesity. Fructose is the sugar naturally found in fruit and is an additive in most processed foods. The book presents a low fructose diet and advises the use of mainly starchy carbohydrates and the avoidance of all fructose for the first two weeks of the diet. After the first two weeks you can add a few pieces of fruit to the diet. The diet is well balanced between carbohydrates, protein, and fat. I have read 100 diet and health books and have lost 50 pounds myself on the Zone Diet which is very close to this one. I highly recommend this book for losing weight and for having better health. It really explains the damage that excessive fructose does to the body and what foods to avoid which contain it.