Sugar Nation Book Review – Jeff O’Connell

Sugar Nation – a Remarkable Book

 

Sugar Nation: The Hidden Truth Behind America’s Deadliest Habit…, by Jeff O’Connell is an important book on diabetes and the caustic world we live in now for those prone to this disease.  It’s not, however, just for diabetics.   The book is a warning to us all that diabetes may well be a part of our future if we don’t heed Mr. O’Connell’s warning.  Sugar Nation is also a remarkably well written perspective of the personal impact of diabetes as well as what your response should be to the danger it poses (who to ignore and what to do).  I’d recommend this to anyone interested in weight loss, nutrition, and of course anyone who has a concern about diabetes.

Jeff O’Connell is the editor-in-chief of Bodybuilding.com, the Internet’s largest fitness site.  He was previously an executive writer at Men’s Health and the editor-in-chief at Muscle & Fitness.  He co-authored a number of books before writing Sugar Nation.   The following video is a trailer for the book.

Mr. O’Connell is tall and fit and, to his surprise, learned that he was prediabetic (and close to being a type 2 diabetic), shortly after learning that his estranged father was suffering from the same disease.  The book is centered on his experiences as he reacted to this shock and, over time, developed a strategy that he used to conquer Type 2 diabetes – a strategy he proposes for us all, involving exercise and a restricted carbohydrate diet.

The following key topics were covered in the book, which will equip you with the information you need to deal with this dangerous disease.  Sugar Nation also paints a picture of the environment a diabetic faces in dealing with this disease.  You’d think there would be plenty of valuable help from national agencies focused on our health and particularly diabetes.  That is unfortunately not true, but this book provides a way forward…

1. Human Perspective – both the impact of this disease and the response to it by patients, doctors and our public health organizations are fully covered.
2. Death Toll – this disease is much more dangerous and pervasive than you’d think.
3. Diagnosis – many people find out by surprise that this disease will be a part of their lives.
4. Metabolic syndrome – Diabetes is coupled very closely with obesity and heart disease.
5. Health Agencies – Contrary to what you’d expect, the American Diabetes Association and the National Institute of Health are providing woefully inadequate advice and support for diabetics or the public regarding diabetes.
6. His solution for diabetes – Mr. O’Connell provides a complete description of the regime he uses and suggests for countering diabetes.
7. Fundamental Flaw in the Perception of Diabetes:  too many people just “accept’ the inevitability of this disease and it’s destruction of our bodies, rather than, as he proposes, fighting and conquering it.

Sugar Nation begins with a poignant visit to a Community Health Center in the Mississippi delta, which is flooded with victims of type 2 diabetes.  These patients eat the wrong kinds of foods, don’t exercise, rely on drugs for treatment and consequently suffer the ravages of diabetes.  This isn’t their fault, but rather a failure of our healthcare system to provide assistance that will really help.  The book closes in the last chapters with Jeff O’Connell’s admonition to not let this disease scare you into accepting defeat but rather to follow his lead in using exercise and diet to battle it:

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Joe Lindley

This post is featured on the Modern Paleo Blog.

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