My Most Popular Blog Posts

Here you’ll find some of the most popular Sugar Shock Blog posts that I’ve written since founding this blog in June 2005. […]

Tips to Deal with Ticks and/or Lyme Disease

This is the season for ticks, which means you may be at risk of getting infected with Lyme disease, as well as Babesia, Erlichia, Bartonella and other associated diseases.
If you get Lyme disease and/or a related disease, you may get some or more of the following ailments: fatigue, muscle or joint pain, headaches, mental confusion, fever or chills and swollen lymph nodes.
Why am I bringing this up now?
Well, in the past week, two people (one friend and one acquaintance) sought me out to discuss Lyme disease. They both know that back in 2008, one of those teeny-tiny bugs got far too cozy with me (burrowing under my skin — yuck!) and gave me this Modern Menace. So now I know a bit about this devastating condition.
In 2008, after being afflicted with Lyme disease, I plunged into investigative journalist mode. (My background is as a reporter.)
So I began holding Gab with the Gurus shows to help others, reading books, etc. Therefore, here are some Lyme disease resources for you and your loved ones:
First I invite you to read and comment on my op ed piece on AOL News last year about Lyme disease — http://tinyurl.com/LymeDiseaseOpEdConnieAOL10
Then listen to my Gab with the Gurus Shows about Lyme disease. I’ve done several. Here’s my last show about Lyme in 2010: http://tinyurl.com/LymeDiseaseGabGurus2010Connie
Now, listen to links to two Gab with the Gurus shows with Lyme experts in 2009 http://tinyurl.com/LymeDiseaseGurus07-09Connie and http://tinyurl.com/LymeDiseaseGurus08-09Connie
And check out my very first Gab with the Gurus Show right after I got Lyme disease in 2008. I was joined by more amazing experts. (Bear in mind that I wasn’t feeling well when I did this show and was kind of spacey and wiped out.) Listen here: http://tinyurl.com/LymeDiseaseGabGurus08-08Connie
Watch this trailer for the dramatic, eye-opening film, “Under Our Skin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxWgS0XLVqw
See this blog post about Lyme disease, too, and how you can get Bitten in the City.
Now, for a few pointers if you’ve been out near nature and aren’t feeling right:
Get some help right away!
Bear in mind that fewer than 50 percent of people know they were bitten by a tick.
See what’s called a Lyme-literate doctor pronto. You can find one through ILADS (that’s the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society at www.ilads.org or the Turn The Corner Foundation at ww.turnthecorner.org.
If you do have Lyme disease, I believe that one week or 10 days of antibiotics isn’t enough. Of course, bear in mind that I am NOT a doctor, and I’m not giving medical advice. This is my perspective based on my own experiences and the considerable research that I did. That’s why it’s imperative to see a Lyme-literate doctor.
Purify your diet big time. Get on what I call a Quality Diet. You don’t want your body to be a hospitable host for those nasty spirochetes.
In particular, cut out all processed carbs and sweets. This is very important! (After being diagnosed with Lyme disease, I started laughing when the doctor told me to quit sugar. For some reason, in my fatigued, fuzzy-headed state, it struck me as humorous. I’m not sure why, but bear in mind that I felt awful and I’d already been off sugar since 1998.)
Educate yourself. You need to learn about this scary disease. I highly recommend Pamela Weintraub’s book, Cure Unknown: Inside the Lyme Epidemic. You also may want to read Coping with Lyme Disease and User’s Guide to Treating Lyme Disease.
Meanwhile, if you haven’t been bitten by a tick, here are some ideas what to do when you go out outdoors:
When you go into nature, wear long pants! Then, make sure to tuck your pant legs into your socks so those little critters can’t crawl up under your pant legs. Apparently, some ticks even can crawl down into your shoes. They’re even small enough to crawl through socks.
If you don’t wear long pants or if you do, make sure that every time you come back from nature, especially tick-infested areas such as in the Northeast, very, very carefully check your and/or your loved ones’ bodies body for ticks! This is imperative! (You can even whip out a mirror and a magnifying class to inspect under your arms, near or even in your ears, inside your belly button, between your legs, on the back of your knees, and even near your hair. (One Lyme expert found a tick washing her hair after being out in nature!) That’s why, with my long curly hair, I usually hide it under a hat under my helmet if I’m out bicyling.
When you’re back home, take off your clothing and toss everything in the washing machine and the dryer. Make sure to put the the dryer at high heat, because that’s how ticks are killed.
Bear in mind that your pets may be tick carriers, too, so inspect them, too. Just think — they often frolic about in nature so when you hug or pet them, those ticks could be transferred to you.
If you do find a tick attached to your skin, pull out a tweezer and pluck it out. Do not pull it out with your hands. At that point, you may even want to get the tick checked for Lyme disease. (URL coming of places that do that.)
Read more extensive information at www.turnthecorner.org or www.ilads.org.
Would you like to chat about ticks and Lyme disease? Post comments here, on this Sugar Shock Blog and on my Facebook page, at www.facebook.com/smarthabitsfans
Look forward to connecting.

End-of-Summer Fun – Watch Out for Nature-Loving, Disease-Carrying Ticks

As many of you restless, must-have-time-off vacationers venture out into nature, the wilderness or the beach for one last summer hurrah, I encourage you to be careful.
Don’t lie on the grass, run barefoot in fields or get too affectionate or up close and personal with any trees.
You may think me a nature spoil sport, but, as I discovered much to my shock two years ago, it’s imperative that you’re watchful for those nature-loving, disease-carrying ticks, which can transmit Lyme disease, a confusing malady that may give you mysterious ailments such as mental confusion, fatigue and muscle pains.
Learn about this often-misunderstood disease in my recent AOL News op ed piece.
Unfortunately, many people are ignorant about these freckle-sized dangers that lurk in nature.
In fact, last night, on a conference call for a transformational women’s program that I’m taking, one of the women with whom I was partnered up with in a group literally laughed when recommended that she be careful of ticks when she goes off into the wilds in Holland.
Given that I’d been working on my next book, Beyond Sugar Shock, into the wee hours (shame on me!), I was too tired to plead with her to take me seriously, but lo and behold, I just discovered that Lyme disease is on the rise in Holland.
So I urge you, if you do go out into nature this Labor Day weekend, make sure to carefully inspect yourself for ticks after you return from grassy areas. You do not want to suffer the way millions have, as you can read about in my AOL News op ed piece.
On another matter entirely, if you yearn to let go of your sugar habit, tomorrow is the deadline for the Early Bird End-of-Summer Special for my upcoming Break Free of Your Sugar Addiction in 6 Weeks Program. This is a six-week mind/body/spirit, sugar-releasing program that will give you lectures, coaching, mini-audio messages all 42 days, guest interviews, several bonus audios, some 50 ways to combat sugar cravings, help to disover your Sugar Color Code, access to a private membership website, a shopping list, meal plans and more. (FYI, I’ve been developing this program for years.)
Why bother to kick sugar since it tastes so darn good? Well, as millions can testify, cutting out sweets and simple carbs is a very quick path to weight loss. The extra pounds just peel right off when you not consuming those quickie-carb “treats.” Plus, if you Break Free of Your Sugar Addiction, you may get more energy, better relationships, a better libido and many other benefits.

Beware of Ticks That Spread Lyme Disease

Recently, I talked to a friend of mine, whose daughter has been suffering from a host of ailments for nearly two years!
At last, they discovered that she had Lyme disease.
So please, dear readers, be careful when you frolic outdoors.
By the way, did you ever see my opinion story about Lyme, which ran on AOL News?
To read my op ed piece, just go here: http://tinyurl.com/LymeDiseaseOpEdConnieAOL10
I also invite you to listen to my Gab with the Radio Shows about Lyme disease.
Here’s how to listen to my recent show, for which I interviewed a number of experts. Just go here:
2010
http://tinyurl.com/LymeDiseaseGabGurus2010Connie
And I also have presented shows last year and the year before:
2009
http://tinyurl.com/LymeDiseaseGurus07-09Connie
http://tinyurl.com/LymeDiseaseGurus08-09Connie
2008
http://tinyurl.com/LymeDiseaseGabGurus08-08Connie
Share your stories about Lyme and please share this post with loved ones, especially those who hang out in nature a lot or who live in the suburbs.

Overlooked Health Epidemic: Experts Educate You on my Radio Show About Lyme Disease & Read My Op Ed on AOL News

Are you aware about the terrifying, tick-transmitted epidemic that’s growing at a rate faster than AIDS?
Lyme-disease Did you know that prominent victims include Parker Posey, Richard Gere, President George W. Bush, Alice Walker and Christie Brinkley?
In fact, this is a health problem that often befuddles physicians.
Sadly, “ill-informed doctors are often flummoxed when patients complain of fatigue, headaches, fever or chills, muscle or joint pain, mental confusion, swollen lymph nodes and neurological symptoms. It’s an appalling display of indifference.” So I pointed out in my recent op ed piece on AOL News.
Have you guessed yet? I’m talking about Lyme disease.
Learn more about this terrifying epidemic now. Just tune into yesterday’s Gab with the Gurus Radio Show.
Listen now this eye-opening show at http://tinyurl.com/LymeDiseaseGabGurus2010Connie.
My articulate, helpful guests were:
* Pamela Weintraub, author of Cure Unknown: Inside the Lyme Disease Epidemic;
* Dr. Leo J. Shea, III, vice president of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) and Clinical Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at Rusk Institute, a division of the New York University Langone Medical Center;
* Phyllis Mervine, founder of the California Lyme Disease Association (CALDA); and
* Connie Strasheim, a health care journalist and author of two books about Lyme disease, including her latest, Insights Into Lyme Disease Treatment.
You will be surprised and awed by the insights of these amazing guests, I predict.
Please read my important op ed now on AOL News now.
Now, listen to yesterday’s Gab with the Gurus Radio Show about Lyme disease.

An Overlooked Health Epidemic: My Op Ed Piece on AOL News

“We’re in the midst of a terrifying epidemic, although you wouldn’t know it to talk to most doctors and health specialists.”
That’s what I wrote in my opinion piece, that was posted on AOL News on Friday.
Just in case you were on vacation, I wanted to make sure you see this.
“The disease is growing at a rate faster than AIDS,” I continued.
“From 2006 to 2008 alone, the number of cases jumped a whopping 77 percent. In 2008 alone, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed 28,921 “confirmed” and 6,277 “probable” cases of the disease, but there could be as many as 420,000 because of underreporting.”
“Prominent victims include Parker Posey, Richard Gere, President George W. Bush, Alice Walker and Christie Brinkley,” my op ed piece on AOL News points out.
Lyme map “If any other disease had stricken so many people, the medical community would be scurrying for knowledge, scrambling for cures or rushing to warn patients (think swine flu).
“But that’s not the case with Lyme disease — a disease carried by ticks.
“Instead, ill-informed doctors are often flummoxed when patients complain of fatigue, headaches, fever or chills, muscle or joint pain, mental confusion, swollen lymph nodes and neurological symptoms. It’s an appalling display of indifference.”
Anyhow, at last, two years after my own terrifying health experiences, my op ed piece is on AOL News.
Learn more about this terrifying epidemic on Wednesday, June 2 at 2 pm EST on my Gab with the Gurus Radio Show when I interview several Lyme disease experts.
And please share your or your friends’ experiences and insights here and on AOL about your or their terrifying, often-misunderstood disease.
Many thanks to my smart health friend JJ Virgin, to whom I’m greatly indebted for helping me to quickly find out why I was so sick two years ago.
In addition, my gratitude goes to the following for their support and invaluable help:
* Knowledgeable Lyme disease expert Kris Newby, senior producer and researcher for the eye-opening documentary, “Under Our Skin.”
* Talented editor/writer Abby Ellin
* Katie Orenstein and Danielle Grace Warren of the fabulous Op Ed Project (which you can learn more about soon on an upcoming radio show)
* Talented editors/writers Susan Shapiro and Gerry Jonas
Please read my important op ed now on AOL News now.
And please join us Wednesday, June 2 for my Gab with the Gurus Radio Show about Lyme disease.

An Often-Overlooked Health Epidemic: My Opinion Piece on AOL News

Lyme-disease “We’re in the midst of a terrifying epidemic, although you wouldn’t know it to talk to most doctors and health specialists.”
That’s what I wrote, in my opinion piece, that is posted on AOL News today.
I continued, “The disease is growing at a rate faster than AIDS. From 2006 to 2008 alone, the number of cases jumped a whopping 77 percent. In 2008 alone, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed 28,921 “confirmed” and 6,277 “probable” cases of the disease, but there could be as many as 420,000 because of underreporting.”
“Prominent victims include Parker Posey, Richard Gere, President George W. Bush, Alice Walker and Christie Brinkley,” my op ed piece on AOL News points out.
Lyme map “If any other disease had stricken so many people, the medical community would be scurrying for knowledge, scrambling for cures or rushing to warn patients (think swine flu).
“But that’s not the case with Lyme disease — a disease carried by ticks.
“Instead, ill-informed doctors are often flummoxed when patients complain of fatigue, headaches, fever or chills, muscle or joint pain, mental confusion, swollen lymph nodes and neurological symptoms. It’s an appalling display of indifference.”
Anyhow, at last, two years after my own terrifying health experiences, my op ed piece is running on AOL News today.
Learn more about this terrifying epidemic on Wednesday, June 2 at 2 pm EST on my Gab with the Gurus Radio Show when I interview several Lyme disease experts.
And please share your or your friends’ experiences here and on AOL about your or their terrifying, often-misunderstood disease.
Many thanks to my smart health friend JJ Virgin, to whom I’m greatly indebted for helping me to quickly find out why I was so sick two years ago.
In addition, my gratitude goes to the following for their support and invaluable help:
* Knowledgeable Lyme disease expert Kris Newby, senior producer and researcher for the eye-opening documentary, “Under Our Skin.” (See the fascinating blog, too.)
* Talented editor/writer Abby Ellin
* Katie Orenstein and Danielle Smith Warren of the fabulous Op Ed Project (which you can learn more about soon on an upcoming radio show)
* Talented editors/writers Susan Shapiro and Gerry Jonas
* The astute, insightful, personable John Merline of AOL News
Please read my important op ed now on AOL News now.
And please join us Wednesday, June 2 for my Gab with the Gurus Radio Show about Lyme disease

My Friend JJ May Have Saved my Life; Now She Can Save Your Body

Whenever I think of my wonderful friend JJ Virgin, I feel respect, admiration and profound gratitude.
To make the long story short, JJ — a celebrity health and nutrition expert — helped me bounce back quickly from a severe illness two summers ago. Not only that, but because of her insights and insistence, my disease was diagnosed quickly.
(It turns out that a tick had given me Lyme disease, and JJ may have saved me years of misery. In fact, she may have saved my life.)
Now, whenever JJ speaks, I listen. And today, she is offering an amazing program, “Is Your Cardio Workout Making You Age Faster, Gain Fat and Lose Your Sex Drive?”
If you’re unsatisfied with your body, you need to pay attention.
In her free program today (which you can listen to later), JJ — who works with hot Hollywood celebrities — will reveal how your exercise program may be working against you!
JJ will share her insider secrets on the most effective way to work out for the quickest and most dramatic results, and promote the release of your “young” hormones! And the best part is, it takes far less time than you think, and you don’t even have to go to the gym!
Discover JJ’s proven strategies so you can get your dream body… FAST.
Reserve your spot on this complimentary call today.
FYI, I’ll be there, too, of course. I’m making time for this important call even though I’m on back-to-back deadlines. “See you” there?
Feel free to spread the word. Just send your friends to http://tinyurl.com/JJExerciseSecrets

Is Your Cardio Workout Making You Age Faster, Gain Fat and Lose Your Sex Drive?

Jjv-6052fcrop-webToday I’m pleased to tell you about a wonderful friend of mine. She’s the secret weapon the celebrities go to for losing (and keeping) the weight off and having a rock star body. Her name is JJ Virgin, and she’s a celebrity nutrition and wellness expert. Not only that, but she’s super astute and amazing. (I’ll share a personal story later about how she may have saved my life.)
Anyhow, JJ is about to turn everything you’ve been taught about how to exercise on it’s head with her new, free teleclass on April 22 at 1 pm Pacific / 4 pm Eastern. She’ll talk about: “Is Your Cardio Workout Making You Age Faster, Gain Fat and Lose Your Sex Drive?”
JJ will reveal how your workout may actually be working against you, and how you can achieve far better results in less time, without even going to the gym!
She will even share with you time-tested techniques that she has used successfully for over two decades with top athletes, celebrities and CEOs.
In a hurry? Just go here to sign up.
Here’s what you’ll learn on this revealing free call:
* The right type of exercise to BOOST your metabolism, help you BURN FAT all day long, and “de-age” you in just minutes a day.
* The MAGIC FORMULA to get fit fast.
* Which foods you MUST AVOID so that you don’t block fat burning after exercise.
* JJ’s favorite post-exercise meal to enhance recovery.
* Which supplements can HELP and which are just a bunch of hype.
Reserve your spot now to this complimentary teleclass on April 22.

Lyme Disease: You Can Get Bitten in the City & Country: Learn About this Controversial Infectious Disease With “Under Our Skin” Creators

I’m concerned. People quickly reading this New York Daily News article may falsely conclude that you can only get Lyme disease in wooded or rural areas in Connecticut, New Jersey, Long Island and Westchster County.
That’s not true. You can get “Bitten in the City,” which is what happened to me last year at this time. (You can learn about Lyme disease and my horrible experiences in last year’s radio show.)
In my opinion, a lot more than 538 New Yorkers got Lyme disease last year. You see, many people have this disease but don’t know it, because doctor’s often misdiagnose Lyme disease as chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, arthritis, etc.)
Anyhow, of course, there’s truth to the statement that “city dwellers have less exposure to ticks,” as Dr. David David P. Calfee of Mount Sinai tells reporter Katie Charles, but it’s false that “Rocky Mountain fever is the only disease known to be transmitted in all five boroughs.”
Incidentally, because of my experiences with Lyme disease, I’m now inspired to write a book about it. “Bitten in the City: Facts & Fallacies about Lyme Disease” is the working title for this book.
Tune in July 14 to my Gab With the Gurus Radio Show for a special show about Lyme disease in which I talk with Andy Abrahams Wilson, director/producer of the poignant documentary, “Under Our Skin.”