The Sugar Shock! Quiz

By Connie Bennett, M.S.J., C.H.H.C., Author, Sugar Shock! (Berkley Books)

1. “If I’m at a party, as soon as no one’s watching, I’ll sneak an extra piece of pie, more cookies, or a handful of chips. I’ll even drive an hour in the middle of the night for my favorite ice cream.”
True (Sometimes) _____, True (Often) _____, False (Never) _____

2. “At times, the only letters of the alphabet I can remember are `M’ & `M.’”

True (Sometimes) _____, True (Often) _____, False (Never) _____

3. “If I don't grab a candy bar, eat a cookie, or drink a soda by 3 p.m. I turn into a wiped-out, really spacey, almost dazed zombie. What’s more, I may even slump in fatigue over my desk.”
True (Sometimes) _____, True (Often) _____, False (Never) _____

4. “Whenever I eat sugary things, almost instantaneously I become happy and energetic. When I don’t eat any, I’m like a lethargic lump with no oomph.”

True (Sometimes) _____, True (Often) _____, False (Never) _____

5. [For women] “People sometimes ask me, `Is it that time of month again?’ even when it’s not. Then, soon before I get my period, I get severe PMS.”

True (Sometimes) _____, True (Often) _____, False (Never) _____

6. “If crumbs are left over in the corner of a cookie package, I use my tongue like a vacuum cleaner to scoop them out.”
True (Sometimes) _____, True (Often) _____, False (Never) _____

7. “At times I’m overcome by ravenous hunger. Then I eat just about everything in sight, and it’s usually stuff like chips, cookies, and crackers. At that point, I don’t care if it’s good for me or not.”

True (Sometimes) _____, True (Often) _____, False (Never) _____

8. “Life is supposed to be about sugar and spice and everything nice, but I’m beginning to suspect that if I guzzle or gobble sugar and spice, I'm just not nice.”

True (Sometimes) _____, True (Often) _____, False (Never) _____

9. “I just can’t get going in the morning without my sugared coffee, sweet cereal, or sweet roll. It’s a ritual I can’t imagine living without.”

True (Sometimes) _____, True (Often) _____, False (Never) _____

10. [For women or men] “Sometimes, after a big dessert and a glass of wine, I lose interest in getting intimate with my beloved.”

True (Sometimes) _____, True (Often) _____, False (Never) _____

11. “Life is short so I eat dessert first. Second and third too, for that matter.”

True (Sometimes) _____, True (Often) _____, False (Never) _____

How did you score? Count your number of Trues (Sometimes or Often) to learn your sugar truth.

0 to 1 – Congratulations! It sounds like you have healthy food habits. Keep up the good work.

2 to 3 – You’re sweet, but you may have a slight case of Sugar Shock! You may wish to lick your habit now, before it gets out of hand.  

4 to 11 – Uh oh! You may be Sugar ShockED! It’s smart to cut out, curtail, and confront your carb habit now. It also may be helpful to see a doctor to find out if you have blood sugar issues.

Note: This is NOT a bona fide medical test! Rather, this quiz is designed as a playful and entertaining, but ultimately probing and serious exercise to help you begin to conduct Sugary Soul Searching™ so that you can learn what role sweets and quickie carbs play in your life and how they affect your health and moods. For a provocative and ultimately helpful exploration of sugar’s dangers, check out Sugar Shock! (Berkley Books) by Connie Bennett.

Feel free to reprint this Sugar Shock! Quiz, but please credit as follows: Copyright © 2006 Connie Bennett, Author, Sugar Shock!, www.SugarShock.com.