Sugar Busters is a healthy way of life
Written: Sep 11 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: I feel great
Cons: can be tough to stick to
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| katiemccann's Full Review: Sugar Busters! |
The Sugar Busters Lifestyle
Note that I am not using the word "diet". I am of the school that considers "diet" to be a 4-letter word. Rather, Sugar Busters for me is a way of life.
First things first- Sugar Busters is not a low-carbohydrate way of eating. I think there are a lot of misconceptions about Sugar Busters. It is nothing like the Atkins plan (which advocates low carbohydrates) or any of the other weight-loss plans that advocate high-protein, low-carb eating habits that force your body into an unnatural metabolic state.
What Sugar Busters advocates is a low refined sugar, low white flour way of eating. From now on, I will refer to all the "evils" as just sugar (white flour is metabolized in the body in the same way as refined (white) sugar is). I'm not going to re-write the entire book here, but to summarize- when you eat sugar, your blood sugar rises and your body releases insulin to lower the amount of sugar in your blood. Elevated insulin levels cause your body to store extra fat. The theory is- cut down on the sugar, and you will stop storing so much fat.
Sugar Busters does advocate eating plenty of "good" carbohydrates. These include things like most fruits (apples, oranges, berries), most vegetables, and products containing whole grains (i.e. Whole Wheat bread that doesn't contain sugar in the ingredient list). These carbohydrates do not cause your blood sugar level to rise nearly as much as the bad sugars do.
The Sugar Busters book
For the most part, the book is well-written. I read through it surprisingly quickly. The authors go into a good amount of detail about why eating sugar and white flour cause you to gain weight. They provide plently of scientific evidence and detail to convince you that their theory is a valid one. But the science isn't so detailed or complex that the average reader can't grasp it.
One problem with the book itself (and the reason why I give it 4 stars, not 5) is that it did leave me with a lot of questions. For instance, you will find a lot of foods at Whole Foods or other natural food stores that are sweetened with Cane Juice or other natural sugars. Are these foods OK? (the answer, I have since discovered, is no. Foods sweetened with fruit juice, however, are OK). Furthermore, while the book does give pretty good lists of what foods are acceptable and what are not, there are still plenty of foods that are not found on the list. To answer my questions, I did a lot of research on the internet, and was able to find lots of "Glycemic Index" lists (The Glycemic Index is how foods are ranked based on how much they elevate your blood sugar).
My experience with Sugar Busters
First of all, let me say that weight loss was not my primary reason for following the Sugar Busters way of eating. I am not overweight, though I had gained a few pounds that I wanted to lose. My main reason for following Sugar Busters is that I am borderline hypoglycemic, and get migraine headaches when my blood sugar drops too low. I have been told many times in the past by doctors to eat less sugar, but not until I read Sugar Busters and learned all the science behind what happens in your body
was I motivated to really cut down on my sugar intake (Sugar Busters includes an entire chapter devoted to hypoglycemia).
When I stick to Sugar Busters, my hypoglycemia symptoms are basically gone. No migraines, moodiness, shakiness, etc. Furthermore, I did lose the little bit of weight I had gained. I also don't get the ups and downs that come with eating sugar (big bursts of energy followed by big "down" times where I feel exhausted).
I will admit, Sugar Busters is not always easy to stick to, especially if you eat out a lot. Furthermore, you will really have to be careful at the grocery store and be adamant about reading the labels- you wouldn't believe what they stick sugar into. I only stuck 100% to the guidelines for a few weeks. But I have made a lot of lifestyle eating changes thanks to Sugar Busters that I still stick to to this day- I only buy whole grain bread, drink absolutely no sugared beverages, etc. A few weeks ago, I was on my honeymoon and basically ignored Sugar Busters- within a few days, I was getting headachy, lethargic, etc., and wound up with a 24 hour long migraine. Wow, was that a big reminder of why I started doing Sugar Busters in the first place.
In conclusion, Sugar Busters gave me the motivation I needed to switch to a healthier lifestyle. Although I always considered myself a healthy eater before (vegetarian, no fatty foods, etc.) I was way off with the amount of sugar I was eating. I highly recommend this lifestyle to anyone, regardless of whether you are trying to lose weight or not. Read the book, and it just might change your perspective.
Recommended:
Yes
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