Customer Reviews

Syndrome X: The Complete Nutritional Program to Prevent and Reverse Insulin Resistance (Health / Alternative Medicine)

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I have been on this diet for three weeks and have lost 6lbs. Recently diagnosed with PCOS, I have been researching insulin-resistance with a fervor. "Syndrome X" does an excellent job of explaining insulin-resistance and its causes. However the eating plan outlined in the book is too hard to follow. The advice to avoid high-glycemic foods is sound, but after three weeks I was finding this increasingly difficult. This is not a lifestyle that I could live with forever.

I just read the book, "The Insulin-Resistance Diet: How to Turn Off Your Body's Fat-Making Machine". This book is more current than "Syndrome X" and provides an eating plan more congruent with the typical American lifestyle. The book explains how to balance carbohydrates (even high-glycemic carbs such as sugar and pasta) with protein to avoid insulin spikes, promote weight loss, and avoid disease. I started the new eating plan yesterday and my energy has greatly increased. On our evening walk last night, my husband commented that I had much more energy than I used to. I think that energy was a result of allowing myself the small serving of carbohydrates with dinner (1/2 cup of pasta and 1oz of chocolate) that I had been denying myself on the "Syndrome X" plan.

The "Syndrome X" eating plan is difficult to follow but effective. I do not know how effective the plan outlined in "The Insulin-Resistance Diet" is but I will write a review of it in a few weeks and cite my progress.

UPDATE: "The Insulin-Resistance Diet" did not work for me. As difficult as the "Syndrom X" diet is to stick to, it is really the only diet that shown me good results. Therefore I have upgraded my rating from 3 stars to 4 stars. I suppose that diets are supposed to be hard, otherwise everyone would be thin...

At 38 years old, I was 55 pounds overweight with high blood pressure, sleep apnea, aching knees, and high triglycerides when my doctor informed me that I was insulin-resistant--bordering on diabetes. She told me to read this book. I have tried diets and exercises for the past 13 years, and nothing has worked for me. I read Syndrome X, followed it religiously (including the supplements) and I have lost 45 pounds in 5 months! I'm OFF my blood pressure medication, and I returned my CPAP (sleep apnea) machine! I am a strong believer in the theories presented in this book. I was never hungry, and I have felt great! I recommend this book to anyone with enough will power to follow it's instructions.

I checked out several X-Syndrome books from the library, and THIS is the one that helped me. Helped me lose 31 pounds so far -- and I only started 6 weeks ago. I've seen reviewers say it's impossible to stick to -- Well, yeh, if you're trying to follow the actual menu for severe symptoms. Follow their rule of thumb instead. No more than 4 carb-dense foods per day, balance with protein and a bit of fat.

Take it easy people. 1/3 of your calories from protein, the rest from good carbs and good fats. how hard is that. I'm not following any strict plan, yet my energy has increased 1,000 fold, I've lost a little under a pound a day AND I'M NOT STARVING!! I eat more than I did on an 1,800 calorie-a-day diet, I feel good, I have energy, and the weight is falling off of me.

I know the weight loss will slow down before long, but this is an eating plan I can live with.

I don't understand what the other reviewers found so difficult. The Reaven book had an eating plan that was impossible to follow and never even tells you how to figure out what percentage of your caloric intake is from proteins or carbs. What the hell, tell us to stick to a percentage and don't tell us how to figure that percentage. Well, that's easy! NOT! Foods listed in the Reaven book might be available in California, but not in Ohio. Hell, grocers hadn't even heard of items I had on a list from Reaven's book.

With this book, you can start your plan immediately -- use a couple of the recipes and go from there.

Lighten up people -- it's an eating plan, not a religion that doesn't allow you to vary one thing. It's working like magic for me. I wouldn't give up how good I feel for anything.

At last we have a book that explains some of the mystery behind middle-age. Syndrome X is the first book to present the new science explaining mid-life weight gain, rising cholesterol levels, and dropping energy levels. Yes, your middle-age metabolism is different and these changes have more to do with your diet and nutrition than your age! Syndrome X will help you put together a plan to overcome resistance to your own insulin. This is more than an abstract concept, it is the essence behind the current epidemic of obesity, high blood pressure and adult-onset diabetes. Author's Challem, Berkson, and Smith are to be commended. They have written an easy to understand book which provides a common sense plan for overcoming Syndrome X. Most importantly they cut through the current rhetoric and teach you how to treat yourself with a healthy diet. Everyone should read this book and take a copy to their doctor.

I have seen this book in stores for a long time. Today I finally decided to sit down and read it. Suffice to say, I was quite surprised how logical and well written it is.

As a critical care physician, heart disease has always been a major interest. I have followed for several years the gradual paradigm shift among some of my more open minded colleagues away from the simplistic "cholesterol is the villain" attitude. Syndrome X or insulin resistance more and more seems to be the underlying problem not only in most patients with CAD, but also type II diabetes, and in my opinion, obesity. And to the specific point of "bad LDL" particle size (type B), it seems that there is evidence that high triglycerides, the product of course of the usual high carb/low fat diet may be related to this probelm.

The advice in this book may be hard to follow for many "bad carb" addicts, but with 2/3 of the population now obese, type II diabetes showing up in children as young as twelve, and cardiac disease a major killer beyond epidemic proportions, this is THE diet for most people.

Trying reading this book to learn more about this condition--Here's my story--

I have had high blood pressure for about 6 years. It stayed in the 158/110 range even with medication. I even did the AVON 3 Day 60 Mile Walk in 2001 and trained for it for months. I walked about 45-50 miles per week and lost weight too. My blood pressure did not go down. The doctors doubled my medication and still no results. I was very discouraged and concerned. I started following Weight Watchers (for a healthy diet) and eating complex carbs such as brown rice, etc with lots of vegies-- no change in the BP. I measured my BP about every other day with a home kit that is pretty accurate.

Finally in desperation I started the Low Carb diet. In three DAYS, my BP was down to 128/67. I stopped taking the medication and my blood pressure has stayed constant at 128/70 within a point or two. And I have the records to prove it.

It is now 5 weeks later and I've lost 13 pounds (not easy at age 53) and no longer take glucosmine or BP medications. My arthritis is much better though I have a little pain when its cold.

This diet may not be for everybody but if you have a medical condition, it's worth a good try to see if it helps you. And once you feel better it's easier to stick to- I have no trouble with it. I will never go back to bread, pasta, etc. Now I see carbs as mud clogging up my veins and arteries.

I've lost 17 lbs in about 4 weeks on the Syndrome X diet. I started it on the advice of my doctor. I'm on the more "intense" version of the diet and I don't feel terribly deprived anymore, although it wasn't easy to begin with. I think it's easier now because I've sort of mixed some Atkins bars in with Sydrome X, while still adhering to the basic tenets of the S-X diet. (As a woman, this has really helped with those "sweets" cravings once a month) Also, I still have a few carbs a day and I'm losing steadily. The recipes I've tried in the book are really good (the salmon, the turkey-sausage patties) my kids and husband even liked them. My husband has lost about 15 lbs too, by the way. And he's hardly trying!

The only thing I would have liked more is to have had additional recipes and menu ideas and less densely packed medical information in the beginning. It felt quite repetitive to me.

But it is still a great book and a good diet. I especially like the focus on natural spices, reasons for putting them into your diet, and ways to introduce them into your diet.
I now grow dill, which is simple to grow, and I use it all the time. Also, cloves, bay leaves, sage, coriander, fennel and more.
Also, try the vitamin supplements. They help with your energy a lot. Walmart and Costco have them at a reasonable price. Good Luck!

This meticulously referenced book, with its lucid style and generous index, is the sort of work we have come to expect from its senior author. Syndrome X is important to know about because it has assumed epidemic proportions. This condition, characterized by insulin resistance, hypertension, obesity, and excessive blood lipids, is attributed to radical changes in the human diet since Paleolithic times.

The first part of the book describes the syndrome, its origins, and its relation to diabetes and aging. Part Two outlines the "Anti-X Diet and Health Program", including 9 dietary principles, shopping tips, recipes and exercise. Part Three discusses relevant nutritional supplements, with entire chapters devoted to key nutrients such as alpha lipoic acid and vitamin E.

Although no book can be truly interactive in the fashion of a computer program, this book is more interactive than most, as it contains an entire section (Part Four) on individualizing one's anti-X program. Thus the authors nimbly sidestep the one-size-fits-all pitfall so common to diet books.

A particularly useful feature of this book is the many highlighted blocks of text, summarizing points made in the main text and sometimes expanding upon them. The tabular material is well selected and organized. I found the list of resources at the book's end to be quite helpful, also.

Some of us just have to know why(?) before we can process a bit of nutritional advice. This is why I consider "Syndrome X" a Health Primer. Each succeeding chapter builds on the explanatons of the preceding chapter. Interspersed, are little gray boxes containing a few salient points, just made. The authors in all of their writings have shown the ability to simplify the explanation of complicated biochemical processes that contribute either to health or sickness, while putting the material in a form that can be remembered and easily recalled.

Certainly, while describing causes and corrections of the various signs and symptoms of Syndrome X, they have not felt compelled to stick solely to that subject. In explaining the actions of hormones, eicosanoids, flavonnoids, carotenoids, vitamins, antioxidants, and trace minerals, as they pertain to preventing or reversing the problems of Syndrome X, they address, while they have our attention, the relationship of these nutrients to cancer, heart disease and the myriad of other degenerative disorders.

Another unique feature comes from not sticking to the "one size fits all" approach of dispensing advice. Programs are outlined that pertain to the severity of the syndrome, from preventative measures all the way to treatment of out-and-out adult onset diabetes. There is the admonition to work with one's own doctor; but at the same time, we are told how medications work and how the two kinds of therapy can complement each other and reduce the requirement for pharmaceuticals.

There are many attractive, do-able recipes as well as shopping tips for obtaining safe and healthful produce and supplements that alleviate the frustration of, "I know what I need to do, but how am I going to do that?"

As a nutritionist in private practice for more than 20 years, I am delighted to finally find a book that explains how a person can identify and correct blood sugar fluctuations. Not everyone can afford (or find) a good nutritionist. We need more books like Syndrome X to help the consumer find answers. This book should be in the home library of every person, consumer and health practitioner, who faces blood sugar and energy swings. To the writers: congratulations!