Customer Reviews

Sugar Shock!: How Sweets and Simple Carbs Can Derail Your Life-- and How YouCan Get Back on Track

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Even though I gave "Sugar Shock" three stars, I want to say up front that I DO like it; it has made clear to me how sugar has messed my life up and I have been in so much denial about my reliance on it. I really am like an alcoholic or crack addict! I have not yet stopped eating sugar - it's scary to think about trying to do it again and failing again, but I am feeling more concern for my health and damn it, I want to live a real life that's not clouded by the stuff.

The reason I gave this book three stars is because of the author's presentation; she frequently reads like an ad, not a book. She'll say things like, "...John showed classic signs of sugar addiction, which I outline on my website and blog site www...." It's so infomercial-y. I tried to overlook this but it kept coming up through the book. Although this doesn't dilute her message, the constant referral to her web site and commercial references like that make her sound like she's more interested in marketing her company and herself than she is in her message. In other words, she can be annoying.

Also, I felt she spent too much time on how sugar is ruining our lives - but little space on how to practically eliminate it. She offers a list of seven tips on getting sugar out of your life but if I am a sugar addict, I need more than that.

I would have liked to have learned more about her own experience than just about when her dr told her to drop sugar and she did and it changed her life. I would like to have heard about if she had sugar withdrawals so strong she thought she would scream or if she ever experiences cravings now. She doesn't really talk about herself much apart from that initial "burning bush"-like moment at her dr's office -- which doesn't inspire me much. I've had those moments, too, and make a great start but then fail.

I do believe her when she says it changed her life but for most addicts of any kind (note I said, "most") it's not just "I decided to stop and I did and my life is SO much better!" That's the issue with addicts: we all WANT to stop but it's hard to do it, so we feel trapped. HOW do we get out?

On another note, I was surprised to see an endorsement on the book and a review here from Jimmy "Livin' La Vida Low Carb" only because on his web site he seems really into artificial sweeteners (which I am, too) but the author of this book does not recommend them at all. Whatever!

The authors of "Sugar Shock" make a convincing case to significantly cut down, if not completely eliminate, sugar from our diets. I'm going to try it for sure.

I never thought I would be able to talk about life without sugar for more
than 3 days. I am in the process of getting rid of sugar from my diet,
and am proud (and SHOCKED) to say that I have been refined sugar-free
for 19 days. My personal record before this was 8 days (a rarity, most
of the time it was 2 or 3 days!)

Truly, honestly, I have Sugar Shock! to thank for helping me finally
kick the habit. In reading about how sugar sets up a subclinical
infammation that can cause so many diseases like cancer, heart disease,
arthritis, diabetes, etc, it really helped me to gain perspective on my
habit. It didn't happen right away, and I had a few binge episodes
after reading this (the last one being the day after Christmas), and
just imagined what was going on inside my body the whole time. That
took the "fun" out of it for me. I thought I would be battling this problem for the rest of my life, but Connie took the struggle out of it for me. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

You must read SUGAR SHOCK! It is so informative, so interesting, you will change the way you eat!

Connie has written what will be regarded as a respected reference on sugar and an important resource for the public.

I have highly recommended it to friends, families, and patients already after reading the book in just a couple days. The amount of research that went into this book is unbelievable. Connie has exceeded all expectations and will surely gain the respect of anyone interested in learning about how to control their sugar habit.

I met Connie at a professional meeting several years ago and her personality shines through in SUGAR SHOCK. Her upbeat personality and conversational tone make SUGAR SHOCK easy to read and her personal stories are so engaging that they will inspire anyone who has felt the highs and lows of too much sugar to make changes. You will find all the solutions to stopping your sugar habit in this book!

Tens of millions of people in the United States of America every single day willfully expose themselves to one of the most harmful substances that has ever been discovered. This stuff quite literally wreaks havoc on both your mental and physical health in a multiplicity of ways like nothing else and yet nobody seems to be sounding the alarm loud enough for something to be done about this dangerous substance before it claims any more victims.

Is it crack cocaine? No. How about the much-vilified fat? Uh-uh. Could it be alcoholic beverages? Nope again. This is arguably one of the most stealth public health threats in the history of mankind that has quite literally fallen beneath the radar of public scorn somehow while millions of people worldwide have fallen prey to its inevitable health consequences.

I'm referring to the sweet kiss of death known as sugar!

In the great debate over the healthiness of this white granular substance, there is one singular voice of reason that rises above them all. Her name is Connie Bennett and she has written the ultimate book on why people should be concerned about consuming too much sugar in her long-awaited debut book release entitled "SUGAR SHOCK!: How Sweets And Simple Carbs Can Derail Your Life--And How You Can Get Back On Track!" from Berkley Books (part of the Penguin Group).

With all the honesty of a woman who admits her once all-encompassing, head-over-heels love affair with sugar, Bennett implores her tremendous skills as a talented journalist to uncover some deep dark secrets surrounding sugar by digging into the great body of research and personal experiences of people who have been negatively impacted by it. What she discovers in the process could very well unlock the mystery behind so many of the health crises that plague our healthcare system today.

Incredibly entertaining and impeccably sourced, "SUGAR SHOCK!" will quite literally give you the "shock" of your life when you learn just how ruthless and unforgiving sugar can actually be on your health. For people who smugly proclaim that "it's only sugar," you might want to get yourself a copy of this book and see for yourself why there is cause for concern.

Bennett, along with medical consulting from cardiologist and nutritionist Dr. Stephen Sinatra, share her harrowing experiences with sugar, including wild mood swings, unstable blood sugar, depression, headaches, and much worse. It's this personal touch that makes you realize she isn't just blowing smoke on a subject she knows nothing about. On the contrary, Bennett is abundantly aware of the reaction she had to sugar and wants to warn others so they can avoid the same mistakes she did.

Aftering becoming successful at overcoming her own "SUGAR SHOCK!," now Bennett seeks to educate people about what they can do to not only reduce, but actually eliminate their desire to eat sugar ever again. Seriously! Does this sound too good to be true? After you read this book, you may never want to put anything containing sugar in your mouth for the rest of your life. This book is indeed lifechanging!

As someone who has lost nearly 200 pounds on the low-carb lifestyle and by permanently eliminating sugar from my diet, I can certainly appreciate what Bennett has to say about how processed carbs are exascerbating the weight and health of most Americans. I was there once weighing over 400 pounds and suffering from high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and breathing problems. Additionally, my sugar addiction had me gripped by the throat and refused to let me go.

All of that changed in 2004 when I bid farewell to sugar and my life will never be the same again. It is a difficult transition, but a necessary one that people need to make before sugar claims you as its next victim. That's why I appreciate what Connie Bennett is doing to help others who desire to learn more about the outstanding benefits of eating quality carbohydrates while pointing people away from eating simple sugars. She really puts the whole "low-carb equals no carb" rumor to rest by sharing the kinds of "quality carb" foods people can and should be eating as part of a healthy lifestyle.

You also have the opportunity to jump in on the challenge to kick sugar from your life forever after Bennett explains why you would want to do that, including improving your sex life (WHAT?!), helping your brain function, giving your emotions a boost, and loosening your addiction to the sweet stuff. Plus, Bennett reveals how that innocent sugary dessert you feel you can't live without could actually be the reason why diabetes, cancer, heart disease and obesity rates are all reaching epidemic proportions in the United States and around the world! It makes you wonder, doesn't it?

So, what do you do after you experience "SUGAR SHOCK!" and are thoroughly convinced of your need to stop eating sugar? Well, you look for the cure and Bennett offers that to you as well with key tips and advice about what to eat, how and what to shop for instead of sugar, overcoming cravings, and defeating the sugar monster in your life forever. You just don't realize how much better you will feel until sugar no longer has control over your life.

Featuring a distinguished foreword by Dr. Nicholas Perricone as well as input and endorsements from many of the world's most renowned health experts, including Dr. Mehmet Oz, Dr. Marion Nestle, Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Barry Sears, Dr. Fred Pescatore, and countless others, "SUGAR SHOCK!" is indeed one of the most important health books of the twenty-first century! Every single diabetic and obese person needs to read this book! Get a copy for yourself and for every overweight and sick friend and family member that you know. This is just too important a subject to be ignored any longer! THANK YOU, Connie Bennett!

I think that this book provides a TON of information about the harmfulness of sugar, which is good, but it was almost too much background info for me. I ended up skipping some parts because it just went on and on about various conditions related to sugar (again, that's great and important, but it was just too much repitition for me).

Instead, I was hoping for lots of suggestions for kicking the sugar addiction....I happen to be someone who eats some form of dessert after lunch and dinner, and I wanted to break that habit. Overall, the book had a lot of good ideas, but I found some better ones (and basically the same info, but condensed) in "Get the Sugar Out: 501 Simple ways to Cut the Sugar Out of Any Diet" by Anne Louise Gittleman, Ph.D., C.N.S. Either way, this book is a useful tool and I would recommend it, but I would definitely recommend "Get the Sugar Out" more.

Once I saw "Super Size Me," I could never look at McDonald's the same way again. Now that I've read "Sugar Shock," I will never be able to look at simple carbs the same way again!

Once I learned about the havoc these simple carbs (i.e., sweets, white breads and pastas) wreak on your body from obesity and diabetes to even mood swings and fatigue, I completely changed my eating patterns.

A quick read and highly informative, "Sugar Shock" should be read not only by people who want to overcome their addiction to sugars and simple carbs but by anyone who wants to adopt a healthier lifestyle for themselves!

A little over a year ago, I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. It didn't take me long to see that avoiding sugar and refined carbohydrates and cutting back on starches not only improved my glucose control significantly, but also helped me lose much more weight than I had on previous diets. I am now more confident about keeping the weight off and maintianing excellent control over my blood sugar.

I kicked sugar before I read Sugar Shock and before I discovered Connie's blog. However, I have been reading her blog regularly and read Sugar Shock as soon as I could. Sugar Shock is a very well researched book on the evils of sugar and refined carbohydrates. Connie demonsitrates, with impressive references, that "quickie carbs" can adversely affect both emotional and physical health. I was especially impressed with her treatment of sugar and diabetes. The American Diabetes Association says that it's okay for diabetics to eat sugar and that sugar doesn't cause diabetes. Connie and co-author Stephen Sinatra prove them wrong. They also show a strong link between "quickie carbs" and heart disease. That was very refreshing. With the obssion over cholesterol, I think that the medical establishment is missing other significant risk factors for heart disease. It is also enlightening to see how money and politics play into the excess sugar and "quickie carbs" that are added to our food.

The book concludes with excellent advice on kicking sugar and refined carbohydrates. While it confirmed much of what I already knew, it did add new information and gave me good strategies for getting the rest of my family to cut back on sugar and refined carbs. Sugar Shock is highly recommended.

This book is a valuable new additition to my nutrition library and a book EVERYONE should read. The amount of research backing up Bennett's claims should sway even hardcore skeptics. Plus, Connie Bennett's upbeat style makes the book a FUN READ - hard to do with a book like this. I hope to see more work from this author and I pray that this is the start of a SUGAR FREE movement...

I've always tested myself, and one way I did that was in seeing how long I could go without candy. The longest I ever made it was a week. Then I joined kicksugar at yahoogroups, and I've really realized how much I had a real life "addiction" to candy. It's pretty amazing.

So I immediately went out and got a copy of Sugar Shock, and I loved it. It's funny, personal, and very realistic. She quotes all the huge doctors from many major universities and health organizations.

I have never read a book in my life with this much pure journalistic research done in pursuit of the truth. It's amazing how much valid science and testimonial from credible sources backs up her ideas. The data and testimonials give a fuel to the information that really has made me think twice.

This book has been life changing. I am only on day 2 without candy. But more importantly, I switched from sandwich to salad (which was REALLY good suprising to me) at dinner yesterday. I've started to have real change in my life toward less candy and more energy.

Thank you to the author of this book, and thank you to the people that help put it together!

I have several books that I consider life-changing. Last year, it was T. Colin Campbell's "The China Study." It will probably save years of my life for me.

But, despite greatly improving my diet, I continued with desserts. At 60, I've been perplexed with prediabetes, obesity, lethargy, irritability, and STRONG CRAVINGS along with an inability to control my eating!

I picked this up last week and have been on fire about applying it! Plus, am reading many other books about it. I had "Sugar Shock" read in just a few days.

It's hard giving up sugar and I felt (as predicted) so deprived and depressed for a couple of days without my sugar! Now it's better.

This book just hit home for me. Other books haven't. Thank goodness I picked it up at the bookstore.

"Try it, you'll like it!!"