Product Description

You can feel great again!

"Syndrome X proactively lays out a nutritious, tasty, and simple diet plan to get us back to the basics of healthy nutrition."-Lendon H. Smith, M.D., New York Times bestselling author of Feed Your Body Right

"Syndrome X is the best new book to help you understand the facts about nutrition, health, and aging. . . . It is full of new information and insights most readers have never had access to before. Everyone who values his or her health will want to read the book and then individualize the program to suit his or her needs-the authors have made this easier than ever to do."-Richard A. Kunin, M.D., author of Mega-Nutrition

What is Syndrome X? It's a resistance to insulin-the hormone needed to burn food for energy-combined with high cholesterol or triglycerides, high blood pressure, or too much body fat. Syndrome X ages you prematurely and significantly increases your risk of heart disease, hypertension, obesity, eye disease, nervous system disorders, diabetes, Alzheimer's, cancer, and other age-related diseases.

Syndrome X is the first book to tell you how to fight the epidemic disorder that is derailing the health of nearly a third of North Americans. It outlines a complete three-step program-including easy-to-follow diets, light physical activity, and readily available vitamins and nutritional supplements-that will safeguard you against developing Syndrome X or reverse it if you already have it.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #330702 in Books
• Published on: 1999-12-20
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .97" h x 6.48" w x 9.58" l, 1.21 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

From Amazon.com
If you're aging prematurely, getting fatter, feeling sluggish, and watching your blood pressure and cholesterol sneak upwards, you may have "Syndrome X," claim the authors, who say that up to 60 million North Americans have it. "Syndrome X is primarily a nutritional disease caused by eating the wrong foods," they write. The mysterious-sounding "Syndrome X" refers to a group of health problems including insulin resistance ("the inability to properly deal with dietary carbohydrates such as sugars"), plus at least one additional problem, such as abnormal blood fats (elevated cholesterol or triglycerides), overweight, and/or high blood pressure. Insulin resistance is "a diet-caused hormonal logjam that interferes with your body's ability to efficiently burn the food you eat." According to the authors, you probably have this problem, and if you do, eating processed carbohydrates are the root of it. Pastries, pastas, breakfast cereals, soft drinks--these refined carbos are the enemy. The book warns you that you probably suffer from insulin resistance (please get a blood test instead of relying on the admittedly unscientific questionnaire in the book, which makes everyone suspect who eats cereal or drinks fruit juice). Then the authors jump on the high-protein, low carb bandwagon. You can eat three eggs for breakfast, roast duck for lunch, and salmon for dinner, and snack on chicken slices.

It seems odd that if the problem is refined carbs that the solution is high protein and low carbs. The authors admit that most unrefined, or complex, carbohydrates do not have the excessive glucose- and insulin-stimulating effect of refined carbs, so why not recommend high-quality, unrefined carbohydrates (which are preferred over high-protein diets by the American Dietetic Association)? Consumers can't tell the difference, the authors say. So rather than educate them to the difference, let them eat meat. Go figure.

From Library Journal
Syndrome X is a metabolic disorder that interferes with the body's ability to use insulin to move glucose into cells. It causes insulin resistance or diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension and results in obesity and heart disease. Stanford University researcher Reaven and his coauthors clearly explain what the syndrome is; its impact on the body, especially the heart and circulatory system, is well described. Reaven describes his reasonable six-step program of diagnosis, diet, weight loss, physical activity, healthy lifestyle habits, and medical intervention for control of the disease. An excellent book on a disease that is becoming more common in the American population. Challem, a columnist for Natural Health, and coauthors Burt Berkson, M.D., and health journalist Melissa Diane Smith, call Syndrome X a nutritional disease, caused by a diet high in refined carbohydrates, that can be treated through nutrition and exercise. They falsely imply that most people over age 35 are physically and mentally sluggish owing to this syndrome and warn against using drugs for hypertension, cholesterol, and diabetes. Their recommended diet program is high in protein, with moderate carbohydrate intake. Supplements such as chromium, zinc, and alpha lipoic acid are recommended. Unfortunately, the authors' scare tactics are unnecessary, and the medical information is faulty. Not recommended; get Reaven's book instead.
-Janet M. Schneider, James A. Haley Veterans Hosp., Tampa, FL
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
Health columnist Challem (Natural Health, Lifestyle, and Modern Maturity magazines) and physician Berkson (President of the Integrative Medical Centers of New Mexico) define Syndrome X as two or more of the following occurring together: insulin resistance and glucose intolerance; high cholesterol; obesity; high triglycerides; and/or high blood pressureand warn that this is ``a disorder most people seriously risk developing by the time they reach middle age.'' In practical terms, they warn, the syndrome leaves sufferers feeling tired and fuzzy-minded, causes premature aging, and sets the stage for more serious diseases to develop. The authors therefore lay out a program involving diet, light physical activity, and nutritional supplements. After explaining the basic physiology of the disorder (insulin resistance is the starting block), they explain how we might get in trouble (poor diet, sedentary lifestyle) and how we might get out. While their diet is higher in protein and lower in carbohydrates than usually recommended by experts for general good health, the differences are not drastic. The authors do fall easily into diet-book hyperbole: ``You are about to be engulfed in one of the largest disease epidemics ever to strike North America. Recipes, advice on ordering in restaurants, and information on supplements and on customizing the diet for more complicated situations (if one also has cancer, for instance) complete their guide. The reasonable first of what will no doubt be many self-treatment guides on the constellation of symptoms that have coalesced into this newly-christened disorder. -- Copyright ©2000, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.