Member Reviews

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I checked this book out for any new information on going sugarless, but I felt like the author was repeating everything already printed in other sugar-free books.

Was this review helpful?

This book was depressing. The advice of never ever drinking juice or eating bread is soul crushing. I wish it included more real world advice. I feel like "eat eggs and not doughnuts for breakfast" should fall under common sense. I think I will stick to a balanced diet and enjoy life which will include sugar in moderate amounts.

Was this review helpful?

An interesting and helpful book with info on how sugar truly is an addiction and how to change your eating. I liked that the book covered why excess sugar leads to overeating, hidden sources of sugar and all the other names, and then how to break dependence and handle hurdles and stress/setbacks/social pressures.
The book also includes 30 sugarless recipes for a variety of items and popular condiments.

Was this review helpful?

As a woman recently diagnosed with PCOS and insulin resistance, I was very interested by this book ! It fulfilled its promises - to teach me more about hidden sugars and how to avoid them, which is something I, like most people, desperately needed - even though the text was a little dense at times. I will probably put a physical copy of this on my birthday wishlist, for future reference !

Was this review helpful?

Sugarless offers a solid plan to kick sugar addiction, revealing hidden sources and providing practical steps to break the cycle. Dr. Nicole Avena's approach, backed by scientific research, makes the journey accessible for all. Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for allowing me to read and review.

Was this review helpful?

As a nearly 50-year-old woman who has a past diagnosis of Type II diabetes now controlled by diet and weight loss, this book was like a complete revelation on how I can continue to remain healthy by watching for hidden sugars. I have long been a believer in sugar addiction and the problems that such addictions cause, besides the obvious weight gain. I am anxious to put some of these practices into work in my own life and am hopeful for my continued success.

Was this review helpful?

Food and Frankenfood is one of my favourite subjects. I would buy this book for all my friends. Every health centre and any health professional or anyone concerned about their health should have a copy of this book.

If there is one health alert that is staring us in the face, it is our over-consumption of sugar. Dr Nicole Avena, a neuroscientist on food addiction, has had over 15 million views on her TED-Ed talk “How Sugar Affects Your Brain”. Now here are the facts, in book format, about the destructive forces of an ingredient in our foods that most people consider a treat.

Our entire culture is addicted. Every holiday, anniversary, or special occasion has cakes, chocolates and special treats built into it. Every meeting I go to, or party invitation, there is undoubtedly a sweet treat. Sugarless aims to provide a step-by-step plan to end this cycle of an addiction we didn’t even know we had.

Dr Avena lists 261 words for the hidden sugars in our food supply. Gobbledygook, in small print, like galactooligosaccarides, ethyl maltol, anhydrous dextrose. A good 80% of our food contain hidden sugars, not just the obvious like sweets, cakes and biscuits, but also sodas, fruit juices, breakfast cereals, the dairy cabinet, including so called health products like alternative milks and items like bread, sausages, ketchup and most processed ready meals.

Supermarkets and manufacturers make it almost impossible to escape the maze of ignorance about ingredients listed on your food products, without a degree in food science. Here is the information, anyone can understand, with reference to scientific studies. More importantly, perhaps is an escape plan. 30 recipes and a ton of sound advice to reduce sugar consumption. The book is available by pre-order from December 19th 2023. Paperback £10.99 and Hardcover £21.99.

My mother once gave me a book in 1988 called ‘Pure White and Deadly’ by John Yudkin, about how sugar is killing us. It has affected my entire attitude to sugar and its links with an array of health problems. I never use sweeteners. I occasionally use honey or date syrup. I use natural sweet food, like bananas, carrots and dates in recipes. The problem is from the sheer volume of sugars in our diet. Our ancestors were never overloaded with as much sweet fruit & and unnatural sweeteners before in history. Our bodies are not developed to cope with such abundance, and it gets stored in the liver and causes many health problems.

This is my own honest review of an advance copy, compliments of Netgalley via Union Square & Co - subsidiary of Sterling Publishing.

Was this review helpful?

There were parts of this that I found really helpful and interesting but in some ways I feel just as confused by sugar-related issues as I have always been. Looking at sugar from a scientific point of view is really helpful in understanding why we enjoy it the way we do and also makes the point that it's not completely our fault for our addiction to sugars. Where it gets confusing for me is the issue of added sugars. Even after reading the chapter more than once I'm still not sure what to make of this topic. On one hand, the author is telling us added sugars are bad, and on the other hand is recommending foods that I know have some of those added sugars in their ingredients. And the one issue that is never brought up is how expensive it is to avoid foods with added sugars. Many of the food brands she recommends are pretty expensive (and availability depends on your grocery store stocking them). It's also tough to navigate some of the recommendations here because it relies on using other foods that we have been told time and again are not good for us (mayo, heavy whipping cream). I'm someone who loves to bake so it also would have been helpful to have tips on how to make substitutions in recipes such as chocolate chip cookies which often use both white and brown sugars. There are a lot of great tips that I will take away with me, but this book also made it clear to me how difficult it is to follow all these recommendations in the real world.

Was this review helpful?

Sugar. Love it? Hate it? we all know it's not good for us, especially as a direct jolt from soft drinks, snacks, and fast foods. In SE Asia, it seems like most food is "seasoned" not with salt but with sugar.

Avena explores the effects of the constant infusion of sugar, as well as how to curb cravings and sugar dependence in her 7-step method. Most importantly, she addresses how to get through the pressures of eating with friends and family, the withdrawals, and balancing mental health without lapsing back into a sweet addiction.

The author ends with ideas for setting up a healthy kitchen (including tools and shopping tips), good recipes, and ways to think ahead for remaining "sugarless" for life.

While I didn't find anything dazzling or new in this book, if you're on the hunt for a basic revision of your sugar-saturated intake, this book offers solid advice - what, how-to, and a mental shift that may just be what you're looking for.

Was this review helpful?

Sugarless was an informative and comprehensive book on the addictions of sugar and how sugar in all of its forms affects your body. It was heavy on science which grew tiresome after a bit, but, as I read, I could scan for nuggets of valuable information.

Was this review helpful?

Sugarless : A 7-Step Plan to Uncover Hidden Sugars, Curb Your Cravings, and Conquer Your Addiction is a guidebook aimed at awakening you to the amount of unexpected and hidden sugars in our diets. As well as all the awareness information the author provides a plan to help you make changes and remove it from your diet. There are recipes in the appendix and despite them not having any pictures there are a few I would like to try. It is a good wake up call and would benefit most of us to read.

Was this review helpful?