Category: Blood Sugar Blues

Get Ready to Calm Your Crazy Cravings with Me

Join the Crazy Cravings Conversation™. What foods do you most crave and when? Post your comment now.
Cravings-can-stock-photo_csp5445145
Do you find that whenever stress strikes, deadline hits, your kids misbehave or grief wallops you, you’re seized by absolutely urgent, overpowering Crazy Cravings™ for easily accessible, fiber-stripped carbohydrates or other sugary, salty, fatty foods?
Then, the next thing you know, fueled by your frantic cravings, you hunt out your favorite trigger foods, which, of course, are quite easy to find.
After all, unless we live in the boonies or the outbacks, we’re in the midst of a junk-food jungle, which is full of convenience stores, bakeries, and carts that sell a plethora of tempting donuts, candies, cookies, crackers, chips, and junk foods.
What’s a wanna-be healthy eater to do?
And what can you do if you want to lose weight and your cravings keep derailing you?
Well, you need to learn to Calm Your Crazy Cravings™, as I put it.
Lately, I’ve been wracking my brain and exhaustively researchng how to help you do just that.
In fact, that’s why, as you may have noticed. I haven’t been posting as much lately on this Sugar Shock Blog or on my Huffington Post or Heal Your Life blogs.
You see, I’ve been deep into writing and researching my third book, Calm Your Crazy Cravings (that’s the wokring title).
My next book will help you finally let go of your urgent urges for unhealthy sugary, salty, fatty junk foods, or what I call nonfoods or unreal foods.
My next book, which I’ve been working on intensely for two years, while healing after the death of my mother, is the the follow up to my books, Sugar Shock and Beyond Sugar Shock.
Although — as I mentioned in My Carb Confession here and then later here, when I thanked Sean Croxton for inspring me to come clean — the initial inspiration for this book grew out of my own challenging, traumatic experiences and Crazy Cravings, my next book can help millions, I believe, to rise about those incessant desires for unreal foods, which can lead you to disease and even an early death.
Anyhow, I ask you to please be patient with me a while longer, because I’m sooooooo close to finishing my book, Calm Your Crazy Cravings, and then I’ll be posting lots of great tips for you.
For now, I invite you to get excited! At last, you’ll get help to rise above your Crazy Cravings.
Alex-JamiesonIn the meantime, I encourage you to get valuable perspective, awesome insights and wonderful help to understand and manage your cravings from my astute colleague, Alex Jamieson.
Alex offers a different, wortehile, brilliant perspective on the subject of cravings. (Yes, our books will complement each other well.)
The empowering, personable Alex Jamieson — who I had the pleasure of meeting years ago while living in New York City and who I saw recently at an awesome event for health experts presented by cutting-edge health guru JJ Virgin — is now gearing up for the publication of her next book, Women, Food and Desire, which comes out in January.
In fact, you may have been one of millions, who had the pleasure of seeing her on such shows as “Oprah” or “The National Health Test with Bryant Gumbel” or in the award-winning documentary, Super Size Me.
You also can hear her inspring TedX talk here.
In fact, I’m honored to be able to present Alex as one of more than 20 experts, who will participate in my upcoming Sugar World Summit. Stay tuned for details.
In the meantime, talk to us.
Join the Crazy Cravings Conversation™. What foods do you most crave and when? Post your comment now.
Photo Credit: Please note that since I’m on book deadline, I haven’t resarched if it’s okay to use this artwork above. If not, please let me know and I’ll take it down. In the meantime, I want to profusely thank Clipart Vector for this awesome cartoon. Check them out.

Are You a “Heavy User” of Salty, Sugary, Fatty Foods? Let Michael Moss Open Your Eyes

Join the Conversation: Are you a “heavy user” of salty, sugary or fatty foods?
Salt, Sugar, FatAre you hooked on salty, sugary or fatty processed foods?
If you wonder why certain packaged food products call out to you often, you must read the brilliant, eye-opening book, Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us from Pulitzer Prize-winning Michael Moss, an investigatve reporter for The New York Times.
Lately, while researching and writing my next book, I haven’t been able to put down the fascinating Salt Sugar Fat.. (Mostly, I’ve been listening to the book via CDs while en route to the gym, Whole Foods or bvusiness meetings. This book was so compelling that I’m now listening to all 12 CDs again.)
Frankly, I’m in awe of Moss and his investigative prowess. Over a period of three-and-a-half years, he interviewed hundreds of industry insiders, who revealed jaw-dropping, inside information about what our favorite food companies do to land space on grocery store shelves, crush the competition, boost the bottom line, please Wall Street, and influence our buying habits so we can’t pass up on foods with salt, sugar and fat.
For those of you, who find yourself frequently buying and eating certain processed chips, cookies or cereals, Moss sheds light on why this may be happening.
The captivating processed food substances you find on supermarket shelves “are knowingly designed—engineered is the better word—to maximize their allure,” Moss writes.
Michael-Moss_credit-Tony-Ce._V374823686_ (2)“Their packaging is tailored to excite our kids,” he continues.
“Their advertising uses every psychological trick to overcome any logical arguments we might have for passing the product by.”
Plus, their “taste is so powerful,” he writes, “we remember it from the last time we walked down the aisle and succumbed, snatching them up. And above all else, their formulas are calculated and perfected by scientists who know very well what they are doing.”
Indeed, those of you, who struggle to peel off pounds and hate that you can’t quit over-consuming your favorite sweet soft drinks, salty chips, or fatty cookies, you need to know that food scientists are actually using cutting-edge technology to calculate the “bliss point” and enhance the “mouthfeel” of your preferred foods so they’ll sell more, Moss explains.
Oh Goodness! Food Companies Call Big Buyers of Processed Foods “Heavy Users”
Perhaps one of the more scary revelations Moss makes in Salt, Sugar Fat is how the food industry regards its ardent customers.
In their board rooms and science labs, food industry insiders call you, their loyal buyers, “heavy users.”
No, I’m not talking about drugs, but, in light of recent food addiction research, that shows how the brain lights up on sugar as it does on cocaine, the term “user” is certainly apt.
And you wonder why your most intense, all-consuming, wild cravings for unnatural, packaged, sugary, salty, fatty foodstuffs swoop in on you often as if they were ravenous vultures waiting for their next dead prey to disembowel?
Sorry for the gross imagery, but as a former sugar-addicted journalist, my goal is not only to educate you, but to help you become strong, alert, and determined to lift your choose-healthy-food muscles when you’re at your favorite supermarket, as well as at drug stores, movie theaters and even hospitals..
By the way, just as I was about to put this post up on this Sugar Shock Blog, I discovered — while catching up on Dr. Oz Show episodes — that yesterday, Moss was featured in an awesome episode, Supermarket Secrets: How They Fool You Into Buying Foods That Make You Fat.
Watch The Dr. Oz Show episode with Moss now.
And bear in mind, as Moss told Dr. Oz, that “when you walk into the store, there are traps.”
With that in mind, it’s best to be prepared with “that shopping list, commit yourself to stick with it, shop when you’re full, shop with a clear mind,” Moss urges.
Let Michael Moss open your eyes now by buying his intriguing book, Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us.
Join the Conversation: Are you a “heavy user” of salty, sugary or fatty foods?

7 Lessons I Learned Because I Lost My Cell Phone — Again!

Join the Conversation. Have you ever lost your cell? What did you do? How long did you go without it? Talk to us now.
I lost my cell phone a few days ago.
Thankfully, this is the first time in several months that my iPhone has gone missing for so long.
But more than a year ago, while my poor mother was being ravaged by cancer and I was helplessly watching her dying — a very painful time — I lost my iPhone repeatedly. Every few days, I couldn’t find it. A few days after she passed away, I even lost it twice in one day. I was that upset.
(In fact, after losing my iPhone the last time, I finally bought a new one, but then the old one surfaced while I was moving. Alas, I still can’t access photos of my Mom in her final days, because in my grief, I spaced out and punched in the wrong pass code too many times.)
Back to my cell phone that went M.I.A.. this week.
This week, apparently my joy, excitement, and desire to serve others distracted me.
Somehow, my cell phone went missing while I was getting more and more thrilled that so many big names have agreed to participate in the Sugar World Summit.
I am so excited!
This virtual Sugar World Summit — which I’ve scheduled to begin exactly two weeks before Halloween — or what I call Sugar Overload Day — will present world-renowned experts on sugar, carbs, stress, emotional eating, mindfulness training, addiction science, cravings, weight loss and more.
In this Sugar World Summit, our gurus won’t just tell you The Sour Scoop. They’ll give you some Sweet Solutions, too, as I announced here.
Back to my missing iPhone. I haven’t bought a new cell phone yet, because I keep thinking it’ll turn up, but searching my car, desk, bedroom, kitchen and living room hasn’t helped.
I’m also waiting to talk to a friend of mine, who has an uncanny knack for helping me find missing things. (She’s off dealing with some personal issues.)
Anyhow, It’s been very strange to be phone-less.
No calling friends or family members while on a walk.
No calling friends while parked in my car.
No calling business colleagues if I get a hot idea.
No digging up phone numbers of important people.
No tweeting cool stuff, something I started doing recently.
The case of my MIA Cell Phone is intriguing me. In fact, NOT having my iPhone has taught me five main things.
1. I multitask far, far too much — like most of you? There’s no need to be on my cell phone while going for a wonderful walk along the ocean, when I can focus fully on waves crashing against the shore.
2. I’m entirely too reliant on my cell phone. This is not a necessary appendage!
3. I’m also entirely too dependent on my iPhone camera, on which I’ve taken the some beautiful sunset photos. (See one here that I previously downloaded to my computer.) But why don’t I buy a real camera instead, as I’ve been planning?
4. I need to totally unplug more often. Although I turn off my cell several times a day, that time without it is very cleansing. Darn am I being productive!
5. I need to get more in touch with nature and less attached to my cell.
6. By disconnecting from electronics, I’m reconnecting to my purpose, passions, and peace of mind. This is perhaps my biggest lesson. I’m really enjoying the calm of not being so attached to my cell phone. It’s a welcome relief during this time of book deadlines and Sugar World Summit planning.
7. While I’ve been without a cell phone, I’ve become quite creative in the kitchen. Instead of chatting on the phone with friends, I’ve been concocting a variety of culinary dishes (all sugar-free, of course) that taste pretty good, if I may say so myself. (More later about that.)
So now I have an idea. I was thinking about giving in and buying another iPhone, but today it hit me that I’m going to give myself a Cell Phone Challenge.
You see, I’m on tight deadline now for my next book — I’ll tell you more shortly — and I decided not to let myself buy another iPhone phone until I’m finished writing the book. Now that may be another three weeks or more, but how’s that for incentive to finish the book?!
If I finish the book, I get a cell phone!
If not, I have to go without my iPhone. Dislosure: I do, however, have a helpful land line.
Join the Conversation. Have you ever lost your cell? What did you do? How long did you go without it? Talk to us now.
Special thanks to the TeleComBlog.com and to Matt Klassen. Forgive me if I shouldn’t have used this art from your story. I’ll take it down if you ask.

The Sugar World Summit Begins October 17: Save the Date

Join the Conversation: What expert would you like to hear in the first Sugar World Summit? Let us know now.
Sugar-World-Summit_w_Date.fw_Save the date Friday, October 17, 2014.
That’s when the frist Sugar World Summit — a virual event — will take place to educate, entertain and motivate you to Take Back Your Sugar Power.
The Sugar World Summit begins Friday, October 17 — exactly two weeks before Halloween, or what I like to call Sugar Overload Day.
Dr. Lustig During this once-in-a-lifetime virtual event, you’ll have access to world-renowned anti-sugar pioneers, scientists, researchers, New York Times bestselling authors, educators, and wellness gurus, who specialize in weight loss, emotional eating, compassion, mindful eating, and cravings.
We’re also planning a few surprise celebrity guests.
Sign up below now to get exciting details delivered directly to your in box.
In this Sugar World Summit, you’ll get both The Sweet News and The Sour News.
You’ll not only find out about sugar’s dangers, but you’ll also discover sweet, simple tools to help you let go of your addiction to sugary foods and much-like-sugar carbs (or what I call auickie carbs or culprit carbs.).
Among those who’ve already agreed to participate are:
Dr. Robert Lustig, ‎ pediatric endocrinologist and New York Times bestselling author of Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity & Disease. His “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” lecture has had more than 4.6 million hits on YouTube. Photo shown above.
Dr. Mark Hyman, chairman of the Institute for Functional Medicine, medical editor at the Huffington Post, on the Medical Advisory Board at “The Doctor Oz Show,” and New York Times bestselling author of The Blood Sugar Solution 10-Day Detox Diet..
JJ Virgin, P.h.D., C.N.S., celebrity nutritionist, fitness expert, New York Times bestselling author, whose new book, JJ Virgin’s Sugar Impact Diet: Drop 7 Hidden Sugars, Lose Up To 10 Pounds, Just 2 Weeks, is being published days after the Sugar World Summit.
Dr. David Perlmutter, “Empowering Neurologist,” Linus Pauling award-winner and author of the # 1 New York Times bestselling Grain Brain.
Sarah Wilson, acclaimed Australian blogger, TV personality, journalist, author of I Quit Sugar and founder of the popular I Quit Sugar Community
Dr. Pamela Peeke, internationally recognized expert, physician, scientist and author of the New York Times bestselling author of The Hunger Fix: the 3 Stage Detox and Recovery Plan for Overeating and Food Addiction
Jimmy Moore, popular low-carb blogger, co-author with Dr. Eric Westman of Cholesterol Clarity. He shed 180 pounds and peeled off 20 inches by quitting sugar and going low carb.
Dr. Richard Johnson, a practicing physician, acclaimed clinical scientist and author of The Sugar Fix::What You Don’t Know about Fructose and HFCS Could Kill You.
Serge H. Ahmed, Ph.D., CNRS Research Director, Principal Investigator & Team Leader, Addiction, Compulsion and Dopamine Dysregulation Syndrome, Université de Bordeaux. He’s done fascinating research on addcition, sugar and cocaine.
Dr Pedram Shojai, former Taoist monk, physician of Chinese medicine and founder of founder of the popular site, Well.org,
Trudy Scott, nutritionist, food-mood expert and author of The Antianxiety Food Solution
Kristin Neff, PhD., Associate Professor, Human Development and Culture, Educational Psychology Dept., University of Texas at Austin and author of Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself
Roberta Ruggiero, founder of the Hypoglycemia Support Foundation and author of Do’s and Don’ts of Hypoglycemia. An Every Day Guide to Low Blood Sugar.
Ann Louise Gittleman, Ph.D., CNS, leading nutritional expert and bestselling author of 30 books, including Zapped: Why Your Cell Phone Shouldn’t be Your Alarm Clock and 1,268 Ways to Outsmart the Hazards of Electronic Pollution and Get the Sugar Out, Revised and Updated: 501 Simple Ways to Cut the Sugar Out of Any Diet
High Voltage (Kathie Dolgin), author of Sugar Savvy and founder of Energy Up Voltage Approved, Inc. (EUVA), a nonprofit organization to fight teenage obesity and to prevent type 2 diabetes and other diseases, particularly among teenage girls.
Sign up now for this exciting Sugar World Summit so you won’t be left out in the cold this holiday season with all those tempting “treats,” which can trick you into weight gain, mood swings, low libido, heart disease, and more.
So why would you want to quit or cut back on sugar? Well, you could: :
Easily shed your dreaded excess weight.
Leave behind your depression and get filled up with good cheer, passion and enthusiasm.
Have enough energy to keep up with your kids or perform well on the job..
Tame Your Cravings™ for sugary, salty or fatty unreal foods.
Banish your horribly annoying brain fog and begin to concentrate with a razor-sharp focus..
Rev up your libido so you’ll be thrilled with your time alone in the bedroom with your beloved..
Ditch those debilitating female ailments (either PMS or menopause, depending on your time of life.)
And much more.
Connie-headshot (2)Connie Bennett is a former sugar-addicted journalist. After kicking sugar on doctor’r orders in 1998, all 44 of her ailments vanished. Connie is now known as The Sweet Freedom Guide, and she is a transformational speaker, blogger, certified health coach, certified life coach, Gab with the Gurus host, and bestselling author of Beyond Sugar Shock, which was praised by many experts such as Dr. Wayne W. Dyer and Dr. Daniel Amen. Her first book, Sugar Shock. was praised by Dr. Mehmet Oz. Connie’s next book will be out later this year.
Join the Conversation: What expert would you like to hear in the first Sugar World Summit? Tell us know now.

Mom Berated & Fined $10 for Not Giving Child Grains

Have you heard about the Mom, who was berated and then fined $10 for not including grains in her child’s school lunch?
Seriously! A mother had to fork over $10, because she didn’t add gluten to her kid’s allegedly healthy lunch.
To make the lunch more well-rounded, the school then added some gluten-filled Ritz Crackers.
Ritz CrackersI’m saddened, appalled, and disheartened to discover that children — many of whom may be allergeic or sensitive to gluten, grains and sugar — may be encouraged to eat the very foods that they should avoid.
Admittedly, this is only one such instance (and overseas, too), but I believe this incident exemplifies the problem worldwide.
Both adults and children here in the United States and abroad are often being brainwashed or programmed to eat potentially dangerous, processed grains.
Small wonder then that millions of children and adults worldwide are suffering from obesity, type 2 diabetes and early death.
To learn about the dangers of gluten on your brain, I invite you to listen to this recent Gab with the Gurus Show, during which I interviewed Dr. Perlmutter, author of the bestselling book, Grain Brain.: The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar — Your Brain’s Silent Killers.
Listen now at your convenience.
New Health Internet Radio with Gab With the Gurus on BlogTalkRadio
Special thanks: I’m very grateful to Weighty Matters, Boing Boing,, as well as Mark Freuenfelder and Dr. David Perlmutter, for the heads-up about this sad carb catch.
Join the Conversation
What do you think of the fact that a school fined a mom for not giving he child grains for lunch?
Post your thoughts here.

Low-Carb & Weight-Loss Dream: The NoOodle or The Miracle Noodle with Glucomannan

Do you crave pasta but are worried about all the carbs?
Meet shirataki, the traditional Japanese food I recently discovered, thanks to vegetarian chef Sarah Nee, who uses it to create an amazing Organic Coconut Kelp Noodle dish. Yummy!
If you haven’t yet tasted this calorie-free, fat-free, gluten-free noodle, you’ve been missing out on a great food.
Sold on varying websites such as The NoOodle or The Miracle Noodle, it is the ideal weight-loss food for people, who are seeking to restrict sugar, calories, and carbs.
Often called konnyaku noodles, these traditional Japanese textured noodles are thin, chewy, translucent, gelatinous, and have almost no flavor by themselves.
Super low in carbs with zero calories, their key ingredient is a water-soluble dietary fiber called Glucomannan, which is derived from the root of yam-like Konjac plant grown in Japan and China.
Pasta lovers 001If weight is an issue with you, this food is your ally. In fact, Shape Magazine called Glucomannan The Weight-Loss Supplement Dr. Oz Loves.
But weight loss is only one of its many virtues. Not only does this food help you shed weight, but it is highly versatile.
For instance, you can create Chicken Vegetable NoOodle Soup. Or you can make Primavera NoOodle and Mama Mia Marinara. (If dairy is an issue, I recommend skipping the Parmesan cheese).
Split-Pea-Dal-Soup-with-Miracle-Noodle-Rice-Spinach-and-TomatoesYou also could try Split Pea Dahl Soup with Miracle Noodle Rice, Spinach, and Tomatoes.
Manufacturers of this versatile product note that this zero-calorie, low-carb food has many benefits.
For instance, according to the NoOodle company website, their product allegedly:
Delays hunger and lowers calorie uptake. Glucomannan in NoOodle increases the viscosity of gastro-intestinal content and extends the feeling of fullness so one doesn’t feel hungry for a longer period of time. It also reduces rate of food absorption in the small intestine.
Promotes satiety. Glucomannan is made up largely of water, which fills one up quickly, making you feel satiated..
Modulates glucose spikes. Glucomannan — which has been clinically proven to be more effective than xanthan gum and psyllium — reduces the rate of glucose absorption in the small intestine and prevents blood glucose from spiking.
Modulates insulin surges. Glucomannan slows glucose uptake in the small intestine, reducing the body’s need for insulin.
Cholesterol reducing agent. Glucomannan allegedly traps the cholesterol from foods, as well as the cholesterol released by the body, preventing it from being re-absorbed.
Helps with regularity. Water-soluble Glucomannan prevents constipation by increasing bulk in the colon without the discomfort associated with most other dietary fibers.
Anti-inflammatory. “The positive effect of Glucomannan on skin inflammation is well known among its users,” the NoOodle website notes.
Prebiotic activity. Serves as food for bacteria in the colon and helps enhance immunity.
Meanwhile, the Miracle Noodle website makes this promise:
“Just by replacing one meal per day with our noodles will significantly raise your needed fiber intake and dramatically lower your total calorie intake.”
These claims appear to have some validity. In fact, weight-loss and cholesterol-reducing properties in Glucomannan (given in capsules) have been clinically demonstrated in a double-blind study among obese patients. But the food supplement isn’t nearly as fun or tasty as the noodles.
By the way, please note, as the Shirataki Noodles website suggestst, you may want to be cautious.
“If you’ve never eaten shirataki noodles before, try a small amount initially to ensure you won’t experience any stomach or intestinal distress. Shirataki noodles are different from common types of foods in a western diet, and sudden changes in diet patterns or sensitivity to ingredients in the noodles can in some cases trigger sickness and an upset stomach.”
Do you have recipes for the NoOodle, Miracle Noodle or any variety of Shirataki Noodles?
Please share your recipes now.

How to Skip Overeating This Thanksgiving: 3 Simple Tips for a Sweeter, Slimming Holiday

Every Thanksgiving, being grateful often takes a back seat to over-indulging at family gatherings.
Gulping down fast-acting, processed carbohydrates, sugar-loaded desserts, and gluten-rich foods is far more common than pleasurably savoring the various culinary concoctions.
20101117-stuffingFor many, Thanksgiving means they’ll go into Sugar Shock and Carb Shock (as I dub it), and develop “Grain Brain,” as Dr. David Perlmutter puts it in his book of the same name.
In fact, I predict that on Thanksgiving, most Americans will overeat, especially those culplrit carbs.
It’s simply a given that you’ll over-indulge on this holiday. One gym even suggested that you “work out before you pig out.” Aargh!
It’s time to ignore the insidious programming that drives you to overeat on Thanksgiving.
Even if you’ve stuffed yourself at previous holiday feasts, instead this Thanksgiving you can achieve Sweet Freedom.
To begin the Sweet Freedom Thanksgiving Funcise (Fun Exercise), think ahead to the day after Thanksgiving,
Choose now not to get an upset stomach. Plan now not to pig out. Select the smarter choice — to savor the sweet holiday experience.
This Thanksgiving, you can easily shift your attention away from those cunning carbs and desserts, which most Americans over-consume and which ample research shows can contribute to more than 100-plus diseases and ailments, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, type 2 diabetes, and even an early death.
It’s time to take back your Sugar Power and Carb Control. This Thanksgiving, you can avoid being overly tempted by:
Cranberries, a super-healthy food that’s generally downgraded by adding gobs of sugar.
Yams or sweet potatoes, whose inherent nutrient-goodness is often destroyed on Thanksgiving by adding unnecessary brown sugar and marshmallows.
Stuffing, which generally contains gluten galore. (Use Dr. Sarah Gottlieb’s awesome gluten-free, sugar-free recipe instead.)
Pumpkin pie, which is a far cry from the delectable, nutritious, fiber-rich vegetable and weight-loss ally, as Dr. Jonny Bowden points out. The dessert you usually get a Thankisviing is weighed down by sugary, fatty ingredients; features a gluten-rich crust; and is slathered by whipped cream.
Gravy-sodden turkey.
Here’s a three-part simple way to skip over-indulging this Thanksgiving and take leisurely, sociable tastes instead. (I recommend you take two to four small bites maximium of each dish.)
But before you dig into those tantalizing carb creations, just ask yourself these three simple questions:
Would I rather overeat [fill in name of food(s)] tonight and feel sluggish, fuzzy-headed, and cranky tomorrow (for up to three days afterwards)? OR would I rather have a slim, healthy body and mind? (If you have weight to lose, this thought can stop you from over-indulging.)
Would I rather overeat those carbs or sweets or enjoy the good company of family and friends on this special day?
Wouldn’t I rather feel better about myself by shifting my focus from the carb-food to gratitude, which, of course, is supposed to be the whole point of this celebration? Remind yourself that night of list of “5 Things for Which I’m Most Grateful.”
This simple, three-part mental exercise can take your attention away from those potentially harmful carb substasnces and instead put you on the path toward feeling good and enjoying your life -– not just on this holiday but during the whole holiday season ahead.
Have a sweet, joyous and healthy Thanksgiving.
New to this Sugar Shock Blog? Connie Bennett is a former lethargic, dejected sugar-addicted journalist, who reluctantly quit sugar on doctor’s orders in 1998 after being pummeled by 44 strange ailments (brain fog, heart palpitations, mood swings, etc.). Now, 15 years later, the energetic, uplifting Connie spreads the word that Life is Sweeter When Sugar Doesn’t Seduce You™. She is recognized as the Sweet Freedom Coach, and she is a life coach, health coach, blogger, and motivational speaker, who has helped thousands of sugar and carb addicts worldwide. Connie is author of two bestselling books, Sugar Shock and Beyond Sugar Shock, which have been praised by many acclaimed health gurus and celebrities, including America’s Favorite Doctor, Dr. Mehmet Oz, as well as Dr. Wayne Dyer, Dr. Christiane Northrup, Dr. Daniel Amen, Brian Tracy, Bernie Siegel, Mark Sisson, Marci Shimoff, John Assaraff, JJ Virgin, Katie Dolgin (“High Voltage”), and Jimmy Moore.
Subscribe to this Sugar Shock Blog and like Connie on her Facebook fan page.

It’s Easy to Get Duped by Food Labels

If you’re trying to cut out sugar or curtail your consumption of it to shed weight, manage your hypoglycemia or type 2 diabetes, or reduce your risk of heart disease, you need to read food labels if and when you buy packaged foods.
That’s because many foods may contain sugar, even if you don’t think they do.
And if you rush while shopping at the supermarket, you’ll never know about the hidden sugars.
After 15 years of being mostly sugar-free, you’d think I would have known better to catch sweetened foods.
But darn, I forgot to t follow my own advice last night, because I was really hungry and hurriedly snapped up a few items so I could hurry home to cook my dinner.
Sure enough, I got duped by tasty-looking crumbled goat cheese, which I’d been eagerly looking forward to adding to my salad..
It wasn’t until I got home and was close to opening the package when I realized my oversight.
My crumbled goat cheese contained sugar. In fact, it had 4 grams or 1 teaspoon, enough to cause havoc in my sugar-sensitive body.
Of course, if I’d taken a moment to read the label while still at the grocery store, I would have quickly caught the sugar and been able to buy unsweetened goat cheese instead.
No wonder people get so confused when buying packaged foods.
No wonder people eat lots of added sugars without even realizing it.
Tell us about your food label challenges. When did a food label deceive you?

My Most Popular Blog Posts: What Did I Forget?

Here’s a list of my some of my most popular posts on this Sugar Shock Blog. Please check back, because I’m still adding to this list. (It’s taking a while to compile all the hot posts since I founded this Sugar Shock Blog in early June 2005,.
Weight Loss Assistance
CLS May Reduce Stubborn Fat Around the Middle
How Not to Pig Out on Thanksgiving;
Musings and Commentary
Shame on Reporters Critical of Cookie Monster’s New Moderate Habits
Holiday Help
7 Tips to Squash Your Sugar Cravings this Holiday Season
5 Ways to Indulge Over the Holidays Without Gaining Weight
‘Tis the Season to be Stressed: 7 tips to Relieve Holiday Stress
Relieve Holiday Stress: Holiday Gift to You from Debra Berndt and Me (Audio Program)
5 Tips to Soften Halloween Sugar Shock
The Sour Scoop About Sugar
Sugar at “Safe” Levels Can be Deadly;
The Inside Scooop about Agave (I don’t recommend it)
iHigh Fructose corn Syrup: Some Scary Facts to Consider Before You Gulp Down Soda & Other Foods (with 3-minute video)
146 Reasons Why Sugar is Ruining Your Health (Guest column from Nancy Appleton)
Reformed Sugar Addict Alec Baldwin Interviews Dr. Robert Lustig;
The Fallacy of Diet Foods
Study Shows Diet Sodas Are Linked to Weight Gain
Tips to Let Go of Sugar or Pile off the Pounds
Delay Away Your Sugar Cravings (Creatively Procrastinate)
7 Tips to Help You Squash Your Sugar Addiction
Slipped? Destroyed Your Diet? 7 Tips to Get Back on Track
Humorous Takes on the News
Michelangelo’s David Returns to Italy After Touring the U.S.
Help to Shop
Stumped when Shopping? Some Sugar-Free Foods By Brand
Social Media
The best time(s) to post on social media
Get Social Media Secrets with Mitch Meyerson
Woo-Hoo, Feel-Good Tunes
Listen to Woo-Hoo, Feel-Good Tunes
Listen to Guests on My Gab with the Gurus Shows
Lose Weight with Best-Selling Author & Spiritual Activitist Marianne Williamson (she spoke about her then-new book, A Course in Weight Loss; she wasn’t running for Congress yet;
Anita Moorjani: On Cancer, Near Death & Treasuring Our Magnificence
Other Health Posts
Hypoglycemia (Low Blood Sugar): Do You Have It?
Anita Moorjani: On Cancer, Near Death & Treasuring Our Magnificence;
Hyperactivity and Mental Woes Linked to Soda Consumption
Take Charge of Your Stress & Sleep: Two Keys to Live Life Well
Salt: The Forgotten Killer: — The AMA & CSPI Urge Crackdown On the White Powder, But What About The-More-Dangerous Substance, Sugar?
Other
Are You Among the 85 % of People With Low Self-Esteem? It Can Lead to Weight Gain & More
My Sweet, But Stringent Standards & Disclosures
Did I leave out your favorite posts? Let me know which one(s) to include.
Connie Bennett is a former sugar-addicted journalist and the author of two bestselling books, Beyond Sugar Shock and Sugar Shock, Connie’s sour-to-sweet story began in 1998, when she quit sugar on doctor’s orders. Her doctor blamed all 44 of her strange ailments (baffling brain fog, ferocious fatigue, horrible headaches, embarrassing mood swings, severe PMS, etc.) on her habit of eating hard candies, red licorice, refined crackers, and other quickie carbs. While releasing her sugar and carb addiction, Connie created many simple tactics to make letting go of sweets an easy, exciting adventure.
Since 2001, Connie has been helping thousands of sugar addicts worldwide through her Sugar Freedom Now Course, speaking, and coaching (she is a certified life coach, certified health coach and EFT practitioner). She founded this Sugar Shock Blog on June 7, 2005.
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Why do Millions Have Collective Forgetfulness on Spooky Sugar Overload Day (Halloween)?

It’s that spooky time of year again.
Not because of neighborhood kids masquerading as ghosts, goblins and ghouls.
Halloween candyBut because of scary candies.
Beginning Halloween, through the end of the year — for a whopping two-plus months — millions tend to completely “forget” the fact that too much sugar can trigger harmful effects on your children’s health, including obesity, of course. .
On Spooky Sugar Overload Day – my phrase for Halloween — millions develop collective amnesia about how rates of obesity, type 2 diabetes and other crippling sugar-triggered ailments are skyrocketing.
And every year, at this time, I watch in astonishment at how cool, chic and accepted it’s become to hurl your neighbor’s kids into Sugar Shock.
For instance:
This year 74 percent of households in the United States are expected to hand candies to trick-or-treaters (80 percent of households with children will do so), according to the candy-promoting National Confectioners Association. http://www.candyusa.com/FunStuff/content.cfm?ItemNumber=5137&navItemNumber=4569
Of those sugar pushers, 72 percent of those households will give away two or even three) pieces of candy per trick-or-treater.
Let’s put this in simple terms: On Halloween night alone, the average child in your neighborhood may mindlessly scarf down between 5 to 50 teaspoons of sugar and hundreds of calories.
In short, Spooky Sugar Overload Season starts with Halloween.
Factor in all the sugar that most people will gobble up during Thanksgiving dinners, holiday parties, as well as Christmas or Chanukah vacations.
All this sugar gorging begs these questions:
Why has it simply become un-American NOT to hand out candies on Halloween?
Why is it outright weird NOT to give your neighbors’ kids sugar-filled treats, which will surely send them into Sugar Shock? (Think anxiety, difficulty concentrating, mood swings, temper tantrums, crankiness and much worse.)
Why is candy-giving expected even though just about everyone knows that too much sugar (candies) can lead to obesity, type 2 diabetes and other diseases, which, in turn, can kill you?
Thankfully, a small but growing number of us are urging parents to give out safe, fun toys instead.
Unfortunately, though, it’s far easier to find candies than it is to locate sweet, sugar-free toys such as glow-in-the-dark insects, spooky fingers, Halloween-themed stickers or pencils, rubber worms, creepy fingers, action figures, kazoos and whistles, baseball cards, plastic animals, spin tops, and party favors like engine whistles, key chains, pen, and stickers.
Furthermore, let’s face it, these cool Halloween options cost more than sugar-filled, or high fructose corn syrup-laden candies.
Right now, I urge you parents to take charge. This Halloween, just become more mindful.
Every time you dish out candies, think about just two things.
You are an “enabler” – as drug addicts are to other drug addicts. Your neighbors and you could be paving the way for neighborhood kids to crave candies. For that matter, you could be addicting or re-addicting their parents, too. (A number of coaching clients confessed to me that they stole their kids Halloween candies!)
You could be contributing to soaring rates of obesity and other diseases in your neighborhood.
Do you really want to have that on your conscience?
Instead, why don’t you find ways to help your children and your neighbors’ kids to observe Halloween in a safer, healthier way?
For instance, you could:
Offer your kid(s) a healthy meal with ample protein, fiber and fat before she or he cavorts around the neighborhood.
Give away one candy per trick-or-treater. (Don’t let kids grab a handful of sweets.)
Hand out small bottles of water. That way, you’ll help trick-or-treaters stay hydrated.
When your child or children come home from trick-or-treating, have fun together doing high-intensity play or dancing for at least 10 minutes.
Hug your kids and figure out one or two other ways to give them lasting sweetness.
About the Author:
Connie Bennett, CHHC, CPC, ACC, is a self-mocking former sugar addict and author of two bestselling books, Sugar Shock! and Beyond Sugar Shock.
Her first book, Sugar Shock! How Sweets and Simple Carbs Can Derail Your Life– and How You Can Get Back on Track, was praised by Dr. Mehmez Oz and many others.
Her latest book, Beyond Sugar Shock: The 6-Week Plan to Break Free of Your Sugar Addiction & Get Slimmer, Sexier & Sweeter, has been endorsed by numerous luminaries, including Wayne Dyer, Dr. Daniel Amen, Dr. Christiane Northrup, Bernie Siegel, Joe Vitale, Marci Shimoff, Kathy Smith, John Assaraf, Colette Baron-Reid, Janet Bray Atwood, Donna Gates, Alex Jamieson, and Dr. JJ Virgin.
Connie is also a certified health coach, certified life coach, EFT practitioner, widely published jouirnalist, columnist, and and essayist (AOL News, eDiets.com, The Los Angeles Times, www.SheKnows.com, etc.), as well as an in-demand speaker, entertaining TV and radio show guest (“CBS News Sunday Morning,” “Oprah & Friends Radio,” “The Howard Stern Show,” etc.).
In 1998, Connie was a tormented sugar-addicted journalist, who secretly “used” candies galore just to make all her deadlines. When she was bombarded by brain fog, heart palpitations, severe PMS and 41 other baffling ailments, Connie finally turned in deperation to a doctor, who ordered her to quit sweets. Much to her surprise, all her ailments went poof!, and the journalist was reborn, filled with determination to spread the sour news about sugar.
Now sugar-free (mostly) for 15 years, Connie — now known as The Sugar Liberator — had helped thousands of people worldwide to break free of sweets and discover that Life is Sweeter Naturally™.
Get free gifts at www.Connie-Bennett.com. Then discover if you’ve been brainwashed to become a sugar addict by taking The Sugar shock Quiz at www.SugarShockBlog.com.