Sugar addiction, according to studies cited by Appleton & Jacobs, is more addictive than cocaine! If someone has never had an addiction to sugar he or she must have very enlightened parents--or be living in the rural area of some remote part of the world.
On p. 10 the authors list 31 types of sugar. Some are ones many of us have thought of as healthful, such as agave, honey, molasses, raw sugar and maple syrup. But just because they are natural doesn't mean they are healthful.
Chapter 2 lists 140 reasons why sugar is ruining our health. Each of these has footnotes at the back with scientific studies to back them up. Chapter 3 shows how sugar throws off our body's homeostasis, disrupting the balance of minerals. Chapter 4 teaches us about how sugar destabilizes our blood sugar, as we learn about glycemic index, glycemic load, 8 things to consider when choosing a carbohydrate, as well as the dangers of the oral glucose tolerance test and better alternatives to use.
In chapter 5 we get the hard facts about soft drinks (you really won't want to have another one after reading this, I promise!) We learn how to calculate our BMI (body mass index) to see if we are overweight, or even obese. (Currently 74.1% of Americans are overweight!) We learn to interpret deceptive labels, and to calculate the number of teaspoons of sugar in a product. We uncover the horrors of high fructose corn syrup, and how it has a double whammy in creating the obesity epidemic: it becomes fat faster than glucose or sucrose, and it releases the hormone ghrelin which stimulates the appetite. We also discover the alarming truth of what happens when you cook food--how it creates toxic byproducts called AGEs that age you. (If you must cook, steam at low temperatures, and use water.) As the author of a raw food diet book, I was pleasantly surprised that Nancy went into such detail about this.
Chapter 6 discusses some of the major sugar-related diseases and conditions: obesity, hypoglycemia, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, dementia, cancer and even epilepsy. Chapter 7 gives us the strategies to fight sugar addiction, choosing from 3 different food plans that involve 5 food categories. There are a few recipes that include sweet potatoes and beets. (When we get off the intense sugars, vegetables like these taste very sweet and satisfying!)
At the end of the book is a glossary, resource guide, recommended reading, and plenty of footnotes to support the authors' claims. There is also a page on how to order a Body Monitor Test Kit which helps you figure out, through urine tests you do at home, whether your body is in homeostasis or not.
This book is easy to read and a must for the vast majority of eaters--carnivores, frugivores, vegetarians, vegans, etc. All parents and teachers need to read this, no matter how much they think they know about the dangers of sugar.
