Mark Hyman, M.D. presents a holistic, in-depth guide to wellness in his latest book The Blood Sugar Solution: The UltraHealthy Program for Losing Weight, Preventing Disease, and Feeling Great Now! The book cover features a promotional quote from former President Bill Clinton "I hope Dr. Hyman's new book will inspire you as he has inspired me," next to an image of dark leafy greens. Clinton has been using a plant-based diet to help reverse his cardiovascular problems and has successfully lost weight using this healthy diet and lifestyle approach. Hyman is an acclaimed complementary medicine physician who was a featured presenter in 2011 at The University of Miami's Integrative Medicine Symposium. Hyman's book is a thorough guide for anyone seeking to improve their health and avoid "diabesity" and other common health problems associated with poor diet and lifestyle habits. Hyman uses the term diabesity to refer to the related factors associated with both obesity and diabetes, which are national epidemics in the USA, where by 2020 it is estimated that around 50% of Americans will exhibit these conditions.
Hyman first looks at all the factors contributing to our public health decline, including the food production and pharmaceutical industries, food addiction, medical myths, and more. He then provides a solution approach based on functional medicine (the modern term for what arose as orthomolecular medicine in the 20th Century). This wellness approach offers aids to boost nutrition, balance hormones, reduce inflammation, improve digestion, enhance detoxification, maximize energy metabolism, and soothe the mind from stress. Hyman offers extensive information and guidance to help readers absorb and apply what he is teaching. He encourages readers to form groups and communities to collaborate in implementing these healthy lifestyle guidelines. His 6-week action plan covers all the bases that are needed to ensure success. Hyman provides recommendations for societal change as well, suggesting that social and governmental institutions play a critical role in helping people get on track for healthy living.
The solution he offers entails a major lifestyle change, so the process of making this shift is similar to the process involved with breaking free of other forms of addiction. Recognizing that you have a problem and treating the factors that fuel that problem (which are often social, emotional, and psychological) so that you can embrace the solution, will lead to greater success with this transformation into a healthy way of living. Hyman is very knowledgeable about health and wellness, and he clearly explains how insulin resistance develops and how it (diabetes and related conditions) can be quickly reversed. He shows how the factors connected to obesity and diabetes are also involved in other health problems, as diets lacking nutrients and full of disruptive processed food chemicals lead to a vast array of illnesses.
The step by step plan shared in this book to help the reader achieve health is one that will work if you follow it. Don't be misled by the main title of this book - it's not just for those who are facing diabetes or blood sugar imbalances, it is a resource for creating excellent overall health. Hyman points out how attempting to treat these health concerns with drugs or surgery fails to truly address the problem and often leads to serious side effects and additional health problems. The functional medicine model seeks to examine how the human system functions, providing needed nutrients and removing disruptive chemicals and stresses so that health can be restored. This is not an approach for those who believe they can take a pill to magically remove the consequences of an unhealthy lifestyle. This book is for those who want to take responsibility for their well-being and not become dependent on drugs to cover up their symptoms of poor health.
Dr. Hyman covers multiple facets of diet and nutrition, outlining how different factors interrelate to affect the way the body regulates itself. His approach promotes a primarily plant-based diet with processed foods eliminated. Some readers may be resistant to the scope of dietary change that Hyman recommends. However, the understanding that the sense of desire or need for those processed foods is addictive in nature, and can be released, will help many go forward successfully with these changes. When the body is more balanced and emotional stress is relieved, the cravings for processed foods will tend to go away. It is the out-of-balance addict who craves drugs, not the healthy sober person. Once you have become that healthy person you typically don't feel you are missing the harmful or intoxicating substances you once consumed. Maintaining your commitment and connecting with those who support you through the process of transition and healing is a key. Having a comprehensive, clearly outlined book like Hyman's The Blood Sugar Solution is an invaluable resource in helping one get through that transition process feeling confident and motivated to take action and get positive results.
The Blood Sugar Solution is due for release at the end of February 2012 - more information about the book (plus a preview) can be found at www.bloodsugarsolution.com
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