Customer Reviews

Sugarcoating Diabetes: The Empowering Truth About Diet, Supplements, and Drugs

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I loved this book also (I've been reading some great books lately).. The auther describes the different ways consumers and patients are affected by the drug industry. The control advertising, get their employees on medical review boards, including the Food & Drug Administrations, the ADA, the AHA, etc. I read their articles now with a jaundiced eye--these groups should be advocating for patients, not the drug industry. The author mentions one particular drug that has resulted in over 500 deaths--while the company responsible advocated for more testing, instead of taking it off the market. This is a great eye-opener, especially given recent events--the dispute about taking yet another diabetes medicine off the market, and the discussion in Congress about the symbiont relationship between the FDA and the drug industry.

Some interesting insights into Diabetes, he criticizes the system. In the last chapters he made some interesting observations about the current research. I bought a great book he refers to Eat Drink and Be Healthy by a Dr. Willett of the Harvard Medical School. This book details the current research,I recommend it, he also refers to Dr. Bernstein's book Diabetes Solution which I also recommend.

He is critical of the pharmaceutical industry and warns about dangerous drugs staying on the market. Another observation he made about the report some time ago that 100,000 people a year are killed by medical, his studies indicate that only about 7,000 medication errors were actually due to error and the rest he attributes to reactions to drugs which is something I can relate to. I personally have experienced rgic reactions to medications and that seems to be a common occurrence.

He states he has been successfully controlling his disease without medication.

This book tells a lot about how various organizations promote various ideas that may not be in the best interest of the Diabetic patient. The FDA and the drug companies work together in ways the place the public safety in jeopardy. This book is not a Diabetes how to book. It does not really suggest what methods may work better but rather leaves me with an uneasy feeling about safety of the oral drugs I am taking. The book does provide some hope for the future treatments that may actually cure the disease but does not say much about what the patient can do right now to help himself other than eating real foods and using your meter. If you are looking for methods that may be used to help the condition, I suggest "Death to Diabetes" rather than this book. If you are content to read about the FDA, ADA, etc. then this book may be for you. The book appears to be well researched but except for part about current research for a cure, there is not much that I have not seen elsewhere and written more positively as well.

In an age where "preventive" medications are doled out as a side-order to old fashioned common sense advice on more fiber and vegetables in the diet, this book is long over-due and should be read by anyone with any interest in a healthy life-style, diabetes status notwithstanding. Too many physicians today are in the pockets of big pharma and dole out innocent sounding drugs with shady side-effects, often in cases where a healthy, balanced diet and exercise would be more effective. It is refreshing to read a book debunking many of these propaganda-like marketing schemes, especially when the author has first hand knowledge of the situation and is obviously passionate about the topic. I especially enjoyed the graphics and images accompanying the text as well as the extensive bibliography for further reading. The author skillfully weaves a compelling story while backing up his claims with an impressive breadth of research. This book is both engaging and enlightening. I would highly recommend this book.

The first part of the book starts off slow, but then it really picks up strong. I think anyone looking to live a healthier life should read this book. Next time my doctor prescribes medication, I'll be asking alot of questions. I especially enjoyed the information in the appendix.