Sugar Crush: How to Reduce Inflammation, Reverse Nerve Damage, and Reclaim Good Health Paperback – February 16, 2016

In Sugar Crush, Dr. Richard Jacoby casts sugar as a stealthy villain, quietly wreaking havoc on our body’s internal pathways. With his "Global Compression Theory," Jacoby unveils how excess sugar leads to glycation, a process in which sugar molecules cling to proteins and fats, creating a sticky matrix that compresses nerves, blood vessels, and vital organs. This “compression” restricts blood flow and oxygen, especially in narrow or high-stress areas like the carpal tunnel and spinal column. Left unchecked, this pressure-filled environment can trigger serious health conditions like neuropathy, Alzheimer's, and diabetes.Jacoby offers a clear solution: swap out sugar for healthy fats to “decompress” tissues, improve circulation, and support nerve health. Through a powerful blend of patient stories and scientific insights, Jacoby sounds the alarm on sugar’s subtle yet devastating impact and advocates for dietary shifts as a path to long-term wellness. Sugar Crush is as much a wake-up call as it is a guide, urging readers to take control of their health by rethinking their relationship with sugar and embracing strategies for lasting vitality. Jacoby’s accessible yet scientific approach makes this book a compelling read for anyone eager to understand and counteract sugar’s hidden dangers.Dr. Mike Van Thielen, PhD.

Awareness is key.Good read for people who are serious about wellness for self and others.This book connects the necessary dots between health and wealth for each person, families, communities and nations.Nice work. Timely as the current trajectory individually and at scale is not sustainable. The kick in the pants I needed.Too much refined sugar... not good for anyone or our systems of living well.

The best thing about this book is that it totally convinced me that sugar in all of its refined forms is really, really bad for the body. Before reading this, I only knew about some of the most obvious problems with the white stuff (weight gain, feeling crappy, etc.). Formally, I was willing to put up with these symptoms in order to enjoy the taste and texture of sugary foods. Having read this book, I now know that sugar causes nerve damage. This explains a number of symptoms I have lived with for quite some time. Also, I am more aware of how and where food manufacturers hide sugars in their products. I am now planning my meals and snacks around whole foods as close to their natural state as possible. After just a few days, I am already feeling better. I also enjoyed reading Sugar Crush because the author has a very conversational style and a sense of humor.The reason I am giving only four stars instead of five is because of the author's recommendation to follow the Paleo diet. I believe that a plant-based diet is more beneficial, for humans, animals, and the planet. Why buy expensive grass-fed beef for omega-3 fatty acids when you can get omega-3s directly from eating greens yourself? I highly recommend How Not To Die by Michael Greger, M.D. for information about a plant-based diet.In addition, I disagree with the Sugar Crush about the need to limit fruit. I believe it is the most perfect food for humans to consume, as long as the fruit is in its natural state. Although fruit does contain sugar, the sugar is in a natural form, is not particularly concentrated, and exists along with a multitude of beneficial micro nutrients, water, and fiber. The best way to eat fruit and maximize its benefits is to eat it in its natural state and by itself. Fruit does not digest well when combined with other foods, so wait a least a half hour after eating other foods to eat fruit, and then wait at least a half hour before consuming another food. This is a principle of Natural Hygiene, which dates back to the 1800s. There is plenty of information about Natural Hygiene on the web. Personally, I feel great when I follow this way of eating fruit. In addition, I often make a green smoothie, which combines greens and fruit in a smoothie made in a high-speed blender like my Vitamix.Having said that, I do believe that a diet that is free of added sugar, chemicals, trans fats, etc. is still going to be better for the body than a diet of manufactured food, even if it is not purely plant-based. I still eat eggs once or twice a week.I also recommend a most excellent book that helps tremendously with the mental processes and techniques for eating better. It is Mini Habits for Weight Loss by Stephen Guise. Such a great book!

If you are still eating some sugar in your diet after reading books like Robert Lustig's Fat Chance, this book will make you give it up for good. With terrifying detail, Richard Jacoby discusses the mechanics of how too much dietary sugar eventually leads to the crippling nerve damage, infection, gangrene and amputation that are the hallmarks of advanced metabolic disease. In fact, you could have serious damage long before the diabetes diagnosis. It is full of nuggets of new information, such as how such diseases as ALS, gallbladder disease, or even Bell's palsy may be related to this sort of damage caused by sugar.That said, I have some reservations, none of which are enough to justify knocking off a star. I think he is too cool with dairy products and red meat, despite some evidence that they increase risk of cancer and heart disease. He misses the problems with too much protein, which is that it can increase cancer risk and also convert to glucose. In general, the longest lived and healthiest societies on earth, such as the Japanese and the Europeans that live around the Mediterranean, do eat some carbs in the form of grain products, rice for the former and pasta for the latter. He does not show that rigorously giving all that up completely leads to greater longevity. He also unfairly bashes stevia and claims that you should do without a sweet taste in your mouth altogether. I think this is harsh and unnecessary. No one ever gets diabetes from putting stevia in their coffee. To be fair, he allows a more flexible form of his recommended diet which is based on glycemic index and glycemic load. Finally, he should have recommended coconut oil rather than butter for the bulletproof coffee. I do this and it's awesome. Coconut oil has many benefits over butter even though the latter is okay.But my overall view is that this book is excellent and valuable. I personally have cut way, way back on my sugar and starchy carb intake, and the health benefits are immediate and obvious - greater mental sharpness, more even energy, gradual weight loss, to name just a few.Highly recommended.