Sugar Nation

The true story of one man’s struggle to regain control of his life and save himself from his father’s fate.

“Excellent reading for diabetics and anyone interested in understanding and/or managing diabetes.” —Kirkus Reviews

The prescriptive memoir tells the tale of a tall, fit Men’s Health writer who knew nothing about type two diabetes until he learned one day that his estranged father had lost a leg to the disease. At a routine physical the following week, he found out that same killer had him in the crosshairs as well. He was stunned and, like most people who receive a serious medical diagnosis, frightened.

Over the next eighteen months, Jeff O’Connell successfully counterattacked the disease, the world’s fastest growing, with a barrage of exercise, diet, and supplement strategies that are different from—and in some cases, the opposite of—the recommendations of most doctors, the American Diabetes Association, and government agencies. He learned that these misguided policies help explain why one in three U.S. adults now has diabetes or pre-diabetes, and why many of them don’t even know it.

From the aisles of the supermarket to the halls of Congress, O’Connell investigated the consumer behavior, science, and politics associated with this devastating epidemic. Too much sugar, he discovered, is literally rotting our population from the inside out and turning type two diabetes into a raging epidemic in China, India, the Middle East, and mother other parts of the developing world. So why isn’t more being done to stop it? And why isn’t there a consensus among health organizations and medical professionals about how to fight it? The answer will surprise you.

Through the prism of one man’s experience, Sugar Nation is a penetrating, startling, and insightful look at this quiet killer and what needs to e done now to triumph over it—before it’s too late.

“Sugar Nation is a must-read! . . .This book is a fundamental tool in educating the world on just how dangerous dietary sugar can be. Jeff O’Connell’s direct yet user-friendly approach to this important and overlooked subject is more than refreshing. All will benefit from picking this book up.” —Jennifer Nicole Lee, author of The Jennifer Nicole Lee Fitness Model Diet