Syndrome X: The Complete Nutritional Program to Prevent and Reverse Insulin Resistance

You can feel great again! For years, medical researchers have been trying and failing to explain the widespread prevalence of heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and other health problems among adults of all ages. Then, just a few years ago, a handful of enterprising scientists began to connect the dots between these seemingly disparate medical problems. A frightening pattern emerged: Syndrome X. Now, in the first book to tell you how to fight the epidemic disorder that is derailing the health of nearly a third of North Americans, find out what Syndrome X is and what you can do to protect yourself against it.

What is Syndrome X? The hallmark of Syndrome X is a resistance to insulin, the hormone that enables your body to use the energy stored in the food you eat. If you have insulin resistance together with high cholesterol, high triglycerides, high blood pressure, or too much body fat, you have Syndrome X.

How does Syndrome X affect you? It ages you prematurely, making you look and feel older than you should. It significantly increases your risk of heart disease, hypertension, obesity, eye disease, nervous system disorders, diabetes, Alzheimer's, cancer, and other age-related diseases. It saps your energy, dulls your mental focus, and darkens your outlook on life, leaving you depressed or subject to mood swings.

What causes Syndrome X? Eating too many processed high-carbohydrate foods such as breads, pastas, and sweets creates an excess of glucose and cell-destroying free radicals in your system, leads to insulin overload, and deprives your body of the nutrients it needs to thrive.

How can you tell if you have Syndrome X? Signs can be as simple as a spare tirearound your waist, fatigue, mental fuzziness, and elevated blood pressure or cholesterol. To get a more complete picture, read this book. It arms you with a self-test and other valuable tools for determining whether you have or are in danger of developing Syndrome X.

What can you do to fight Syndrome X? The first big step in conquering Syndrome X is reading this book. It outlines a complete, three-step program -- including easy-to-follow diets, light physical activity, and readily available vitamins and nutritional supplements -- guaranteed to safeguard you against developing Syndrome X or to reverse it if you already have it.

JACK Challem, known as the Nutrition Reporter(TM), is a leading health journalist with more than 25 years of experience reporting on nutrition research. In addition to his scientific articles, he is a contributing editor for Let's Live and Natural Health magazines and the coauthor of The Natural Health Guide to Beating the Supergerms.

Burt Berkson, M.D., Ph.D., practices nutritional medicine as President of the Integrative Medical Centers of New Mexico. He has conducted research and served as a professor at several institutions, including Rutgers University, and is one of the world's leading experts on alpha lipoic acid, an important antioxidant. His other books include The Alpha Lipoic Acid Breakthrough.

Melissa Diane Smith is a nutrition counselor specializing in customized diet plans and consumer education. The author of All About Zinc and the coauthor of All About Vitamin E and Why Am I Always So Tired?, Smith writes about nutrition topics for a variety of health magazines, including Great Life and Delicious!.