CARLTON FREDERICKS' NEW LOW BLOOD SUGAR AND YOU

by Carlton Fredericks ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 8, 1984

An update of Fredericks' 16-year-old work, in which he attributed all sorts of physical and emotional ills to low blood sugar. At the opposite pole from those who argue that physicians overtreat the body at the expense of the mind and the psyche, Fredericks is convinced that doctors have ""leaped aboard the psychosomatic bandwagon, to the point where today you must crawl into the physician's office on hands and knees to avoid shock therapy."" Symptoms which Fredericks says may be indicative of hypogylcemia range from nervousness and exhaustion, to mental confusion, heart palpitations, and asocial and anti-social behavior. And, argues Fredericks, current medical testing (notably the glucose tolerance test) does not accurately reflect the blood sugar fluctuations that cause such symptoms. After expounding these views, Fredericks goes on as before to describe diets for hypoglycemia (designed to reduce fluctuations) and to give other, related diet advice (including how to avoid food allergies, which may be implicated). After Fredericks' guide first appeared, hypoglycemia did gain medical popularity as an explanation for a variety of ills; now, however, it is often dismissed as an overused, inappropriate ""wastebasket"" diagnosis. Fredericks' often strident arguments do little to clarify the true nature of the condition.

Pub Date: Feb. 8, 1984

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Perigee/Putnam

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1984

Categories: NONFICTION