Rating: 
Summary: What a pleasure to read this book!
Review: From the first page of this book, I realized the authors knew what they were talking about. The nutrition science here is not stuffy, but clearly explains the problem with Syndrome X. They also offer a simple plan to reverse it with tasty easy-to-prepare recipes and vitamin supplements. What a pleasure to read a book like this and to learn something new about nutrition and health.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely helpful and enlightening
Review: Having experienced many of the symptoms described in this book, despite what I felt were healthy lifestyle and eating habits, it was wonderful to find the answers to some complex questions in such an easy to understand format. It also further confirmed my belief in the diet/disease influence. What a marvellous resource! I highly recommend it!
Rating: 
Summary: Practical, easy, can follow for the rest of your life
Review: I checked out several X-Syndrome books from the library, and THIS is the one that helped me. Helped me lose 31 pounds so far -- and I only started 6 weeks ago. I've seen reviewers say it's impossible to stick to -- Well, yeh, if you're trying to follow the actual menu for severe symptoms. Follow their rule of thumb instead. No more than 4 carb-dense foods per day, balance with protein and a bit of fat. Take it easy people. 1/3 of your calories from protein, the rest from good carbs and good fats. how hard is that. I'm not following any strict plan, yet my energy has increased 1,000 fold, I've lost a little under a pound a day AND I'M NOT STARVING!! I eat more than I did on an 1,800 calorie-a-day diet, I feel good, I have energy, and the weight is falling off of me. I know the weight loss will slow down before long, but this is an eating plan I can live with. I don't understand what the other reviewers found so difficult. The Reaven book had an eating plan that was impossible to follow and never even tells you how to figure out what percentage of your caloric intake is from proteins or carbs. What the hell, tell us to stick to a percentage and don't tell us how to figure that percentage. Well, that's easy! NOT! Foods listed in the Reaven book might be available in California, but not in Ohio. Hell, grocers hadn't even heard of items I had on a list from Reaven's book. With this book, you can start your plan immediately -- use a couple of the recipes and go from there. Lighten up people -- it's an eating plan, not a religion that doesn't allow you to vary one thing. It's working like magic for me. I wouldn't give up how good I feel for anything.
Rating: 
Summary: A Non-Medical Reader
Review: I found the book extremely informative but the meal plan provided is unrealistic for a professional working woman to follow. I have a very hectic schedule and I need things spelled out better. I would like to find a book that offers a more basic meal plan, more options, and "non-gourmet" cooking. Who has time to prepare the meals described or eat the types of lunch described in the meal plan?
Rating:
Summary: Best Book on the Subject
Review: I found this book very informative, packed with research to back up its ideas. I will be using it in my medical practice. In comparison to the other book on this subject with the same title, this book offers an excellent program of supplements to improve insulin sensitivity, the key issue in Syndrome X.
Rating:
Summary: Effective and informative but hard to stick to.
Review: I have been on this diet for three weeks and have lost 6lbs. Recently diagnosed with PCOS, I have been researching insulin-resistance with a fervor. "Syndrome X" does an excellent job of explaining insulin-resistance and its causes. However the eating plan outlined in the book is too hard to follow. The advice to avoid high-glycemic foods is sound, but after three weeks I was finding this increasingly difficult. This is not a lifestyle that I could live with forever. I just read the book, "The Insulin-Resistance Diet: How to Turn Off Your Body's Fat-Making Machine". This book is more current than "Syndrome X" and provides an eating plan more congruent with the typical American lifestyle. The book explains how to balance carbohydrates (even high-glycemic carbs such as sugar and pasta) with protein to avoid insulin spikes, promote weight loss, and avoid disease. I started the new eating plan yesterday and my energy has greatly increased. On our evening walk last night, my husband commented that I had much more energy than I used to. I think that energy was a result of allowing myself the small serving of carbohydrates with dinner (1/2 cup of pasta and 1oz of chocolate) that I had been denying myself on the "Syndrome X" plan. The "Syndrome X" eating plan is difficult to follow but effective. I do not know how effective the plan outlined in "The Insulin-Resistance Diet" is but I will write a review of it in a few weeks and cite my progress. UPDATE: "The Insulin-Resistance Diet" did not work for me. As difficult as the "Syndrom X" diet is to stick to, it is really the only diet that shown me good results. Therefore I have upgraded my rating from 3 stars to 4 stars. I suppose that diets are supposed to be hard, otherwise everyone would be thin...
Rating:
Summary: Sound advice for a serious problem
Review: I have seen this book in stores for a long time. Today I finally decided to sit down and read it. Suffice to say, I was quite surprised how logical and well written it is. As a critical care physician, heart disease has always been a major interest. I have followed for several years the gradual paradigm shift among some of my more open minded colleagues away from the simplistic "cholesterol is the villain" attitude. Syndrome X or insulin resistance more and more seems to be the underlying problem not only in most patients with CAD, but also type II diabetes, and in my opinion, obesity. And to the specific point of "bad LDL" particle size (type B), it seems that there is evidence that high triglycerides, the product of course of the usual high carb/low fat diet may be related to this probelm. The advice in this book may be hard to follow for many "bad carb" addicts, but with 2/3 of the population now obese, type II diabetes showing up in children as young as twelve, and cardiac disease a major killer beyond epidemic proportions, this is THE diet for most people.
Rating:
Summary: Great understanding on insulin resistance and sound strategy
Review: I have type two diabetes and have found this book helpful. The diet in here matches the original diet I found works best when I first got diabetes II. I've been trying to steer from out of control sugars recently to back in control and this book has provided the insight necessary to start changing my diet back onto the right track. Also, I would recommend following the nutrient guidelines on antioxidants that the authors give. I would get "needles" from my polyneuropathy every time my sugars got high 200's and above. After I started taking vitamin E along with some other antioxidant supplements, the "needles" and "burning" have almost all gone away. (I have a mild case.) This book is a must read!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Great understanding on insulin resistance and sound strategy
Review: I have type two diabetes and have found this book helpful. The diet in here matches the original diet I found works best when I first got diabetes II. I've been trying to steer from out of control sugars recently to back in control and this book has provided the insight necessary to start changing my diet back onto the right track. Also, I would recommend following the nutrient guidelines on antioxidants that the authors give. I would get "needles" from my polyneuropathy every time my sugars got high 200's and above. After I started taking vitamin E along with some other antioxidant supplements, the "needles" and "burning" have almost all gone away. (I have a mild case.) This book is a must read!!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Diet is Totally Impractical and Unpalatable
Review: I thought the title of this book was intriguing and I also liked the explanation of Syndrome X. BUT, the diet part was ridiculous and impractical. Plus it didn't make any sense. Seems it was much too low in even the beneficial carbohydrates..I showed this to my nutritionist who really was up in arms. Too Bad.
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