Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful for anyone taking a steroid medication
Review: I was diagnosed with a rare bone marrow failure syndrome at the age of six months. One of the treatments is chronic steroid use. I had been on Prednisone from six months to 25 years and have been on and off it for the past three years. I've known for awhile that steroids, such as Prednisone, produce excess cortisol in the body, but I never knew, till I picked up The Cortisol Connection, why Prednisone causes so much damage and now that I've read this book it all makes sense to me. In October 2001 I started having tremors of my left hand and had to under go an MRI. The results showed my brain has shrunk and the neuorologist and I thought it may have been the Prednsione, but we couldn't say for certain. Now I know and I can't wait to tell my hematologist when I see him in November. In January 2002 I was diagnosed with Osteoporosis secondary to steroid use. I've had acid reflux from the age of 15 and was also diagnosed with depression secondary to steroid use.
Thank you so much Dr. Talbott-Your book was a huge eye opener for me and hopefully it will be for other patients using steroid meds.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent easy to read book on a critical topic.
Review: I was suprised to find The Cortisol Connection a very easy to read book given the technical nature of the topic. The author, Dr. Shawn Talbott, writes in an engaging, humorous style and adds several case studies to illustrate the information provided in the book. I found this book to be helpful and I would recommend it to anyone suffering the side effects of stress.
Rating:
Summary: Oustanding!
Review: i've been ill for quite a while with extreme fatigue, muscle weakness, fuzzy thinking, etc. i learned from reading this book that i have syndrome x (insulin resistance). i am gradually implementing the recommendations outlined in the book and for the first time in a long while i feel like i am heading back toward healing and wholeness again - i am beginning to feel better!you will find this book easy to read with practical advice about diet, exercise and food supplements. it's really helping me to turn my physical life around.
Rating:
Summary: Read the book before you "review" it
Review: In response the "review" of my book my myrtlemoon from Tennessee, the writer acknowledges having NOT read the book. There is NO mention in the Cortisol Connection of ANY brand of dietary supplement. The book does not promote any product or any brand and the many cortisol control products on the market came out MANY months after publication of the Cortisol Connection book. The book, in fact, presents a very easy to follow and research-proven approach to controlling cortisol for weight loss and long-term health (diet + exercise + cortisol control). Just wanted to set the record straight...
Rating:
Summary: Read the book before you "review" it
Review: In response the "review" of my book my myrtlemoon from Tennessee, the writer acknowledges having NOT read the book. There is NO mention in the Cortisol Connection of ANY brand of dietary supplement. The book does not promote any product or any brand and the many cortisol control products on the market came out MANY months after publication of the Cortisol Connection book. The book, in fact, presents a very easy to follow and research-proven approach to controlling cortisol for weight loss and long-term health (diet + exercise + cortisol control). Just wanted to set the record straight...
Rating:
Summary: Read the book before you "review" it
Review: In response the "review" of my book my myrtlemoon from Tennessee, the writer acknowledges having NOT read the book. There is NO mention in the Cortisol Connection of ANY brand of dietary supplement. The book does not promote any product or any brand and the many cortisol control products on the market came out MANY months after publication of the Cortisol Connection book. The book, in fact, presents a very easy to follow and research-proven approach to controlling cortisol for weight loss and long-term health (diet + exercise + cortisol control). Just wanted to set the record straight...
Rating:
Summary: So, now what do I do????
Review: My wife and I have two children under the age of three, we both work, eat mostly vegetarian and organic foods, and we exercise regularly, so you'd think we have a healthy lifestyle. Wrong. You know how much energy it takes just to find and pay for healthy foods and quality exercise venues for us and our children? After running across The Cortisol Connection, I discovered why we are so routinely frazzled. Dr. Talbott touches a topic that makes so much sense and was completely unknown to us. He offers detailed and definitive explanations as to why our stress levels are so high and how to combat them. I can definitely say that after utilizing some of his advice and supplement suggestions, we feel far less "stressed out" than we used to be. My wife has broken free of her afternoon sugar craving and has lost the 5-10 lbs of stubborn post-pregnancy chub. I highly recommend this book to anyone who feels stressed out by our "modern" way of life.
Rating:
Summary: Very informative and well writen book
Review: My wife and I have two children under the age of three, we both work, eat mostly vegetarian and organic foods, and we exercise regularly, so you'd think we have a healthy lifestyle. Wrong. You know how much energy it takes just to find and pay for healthy foods and quality exercise venues for us and our children? After running across The Cortisol Connection, I discovered why we are so routinely frazzled. Dr. Talbott touches a topic that makes so much sense and was completely unknown to us. He offers detailed and definitive explanations as to why our stress levels are so high and how to combat them. I can definitely say that after utilizing some of his advice and supplement suggestions, we feel far less "stressed out" than we used to be. My wife has broken free of her afternoon sugar craving and has lost the 5-10 lbs of stubborn post-pregnancy chub. I highly recommend this book to anyone who feels stressed out by our "modern" way of life.
Rating: 
Summary: Good stress info -- but all solutions are food supplements
Review: Stress is bad for you. We all knew that, but Shawn Talbott explains some of the biochemistry of stress in layman's terms. After reading The Cortisol Connection, you will know WHY chronic stress is bad and what it's likely to do to you. Much of this has been covered better in other books about stress, such as Robert Sapolsky's Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers. What's new about Cortisol Connection is the strong evidence that stress makes you gain weight. It puts on fat and makes your cells resistant to insulin, which puts you at risk for diabetes. I'm very interested in this, because I'm currently researching a new book called The Politics of Diabetes. (I should also admit that Hunter House, publisher of Cortisol Connection, also published my first book, The Art of Getting Well: Maximizing Health When You Have a Chronic Illness.) I found Talbott's work helpful. What I did not find, though, was many good ideas for what to DO about stress. He mentions stress reduction and exercise, but he seems to believe these are not realistic goals for most of us in our fast-paced society. Nearly all his recommendations are for food supplements - vitamins, herbs, minerals, amino acids - over 50 in all. And he really doesn't prioritize among them. I still have no idea where to start with these supplements, which ones have strong supporting evidence and which don't. I also found his reference list really aggravating. I like to check references, both to learn more and to confirm that the author is playing straight with the facts. Talbott combines all the references for the first five chapters (six pages of references) into one long list, without numbers. So there's no way to tell which reference goes with which paragraph or claim in the book. The supplements actually have many more references than the information on stress does. So if you are inclined to seek health through supplements, this may be the stress book for you. If you don't like investigating supplement claims and prowling around health food stores, you can still get some good information about stress here, but that's about it. David Spero RN, author of The Art of Getting Well, Maximizing Health When You Have a Chronic Illness. www.davidsperoRN.com
Rating:
Summary: To the point
Review: The authors have done a wonderful job of telling a complex tale in an easy to read format.
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