Breaking the Food Seduction: The Hidden Reasons Behind Food Cravings--And 7 Steps to End Them Naturally by Neal D. Barnard

Breaking the Food Seduction: The Hidden Reasons Behind Food Cravings--And 7 Steps to End Them Naturally Reviews

• 
  Ken

  For me, it all comes down to oatmeal.
  
  But first you have the name of the book: Breaking the Food Seduction. It sounds a little goofy at first, like a cover blurb on a checkout stand magazine. But Dr. Barnard has a real point: the reason it's so hard to resist, say, chocolate, or cheese, or (for me) that doughnut, has nothing to do with willpower. It's chemistry. We literally become addicted to the physical effects of components of these foods, and that leads us to crave them.
  
  Dr. Barnard is careful to cite the sources of all his conclusions, although I ding him one star for occasionally implying without evidence that trace amounts of certain chemicals found in foods are enough to have the effects that he attributes to them.
  
  Still, this is a quibble at only a couple of points in the book. And you can't argue with Dr. Barnard's findings that by making certain food choices, one can actually reduce the urge to eat unhealthy foods. And that making those choices leads to real results -- in terms of blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, and plain old weight loss. The dietary changes he suggests aren't too far fetched for someone like me, who is already a vegetarian, but he does recommend major changes for those who usually enjoy eating meat.
  
  Breaking the Food Seduction includes a kick-start plan, to help the reader dive in and make those dietary changes. There is also a sizable selection of healthy recipes. These come courtesy of Joanne Stepaniak, herself the author of several cookbooks. I've tried a few of the recipes, with uniformly good results.
  
  But, as I said initially, it all comes down to oatmeal. For me, one paragraph alone was worth the price of the book. In that paragraph, Dr. Barnard tells us to ignore the instructions on oatmeal packages. He gives us a better way to prepare it. And -- voila -- now I like oatmeal, and I haven't looked back since!
• 
  Michele Harrod

  Wow, this book has been a real eye-opener, in understanding the biochemistry that goes into the 'cravings' we have for foods that are so bad for us!! It's actually made me angry to understand how little options I have actually had in controlling my own appetite, when foods filled with opiates are being shoved down our throats (literally of course) but big food industries, and why we sabotage our good efforts so easily.
  
  So now I'm going to take on some of these menu suggestions to free myself from these insidious products (like cheese, chocolate, and ice-cream) and see if I can't sort out this cholesterol problem that's been trying to kill me for the last decade, once and for all! Having become vegetarian a year ago, the plant based food options do all look and sound delicious to me. So, overall, I found this informative, easy to follow, and inspirational. Now it's all about turning knowledge into ACTION. Watch this space. If I get an amazingly reduced cholesterol reading, feel great, and lose the pound a week most people do eating this way (yes, that is a whole 52 pounds a year, if you have it to lose) - I'll be sure to come back and update this review! And I just changed my review to 4 stars, because really, all this information about health and nutrition - it has to be translatable to real life change doesn't it? So I will up it to a 5, if it turns out it is!!
• 
  Cheryl

  A little hard-core, and a little out of date? / controversial? Barnard has no problem with seitan and rice & new potatoes. My husband's doctor says no carbs. Barnard recommends (old-fashioned) oatmeal over wheat cereal, but uses a lot of whole-wheat flour in the recipes... why not substitute oat flour? Very vegetarian, almost vegan.
  
  It's about avoiding the opiates that encourage the cravings and about leveling the blood sugar. Glycemic Index is very important. His research volunteers did great, and I think anyone can get a good start on a new healthier diet with three weeks of perfect menus and support and accountability. I want to know how the subjects are doing now, years later. I also wish Barnard had emphasized exercise more as I see so much evidence in my own family and friends that it is key.
  
  Read the first part to get the science, so as you think about the advice you've been following, and as you see new headlines, you'll have some background to use to process it all. And whether or not you want to go virtually vegan, do look at the recipes. Some are substitutes for our favorites, like tofu scrambled eggs and mac'n'cheese, and some are creative, enticing new ways to serve veggies and beans as the main dish. Plenty of breakfast recipes because that is truly the most important meal of the day.
  
  My notes, for me more than for you because I do recommend the context, the whole book:
  
  Sugar probably contributes to my bad moods, esp. irritability.
  
  Wellbutrin, an antidepressant, reduces chocolate cravings in some ppl.
  
  Cheese is constipating to many in exactly the same way that opiate painkillers can be.
  
  Fiber and Gly. index are both important but not the same. Read both charts, eg different rices.
  
  Low-fat foods don't just tend to increase the amount of leptin (appetite control) in your blood, they also boost its ability to work (to boost your metabolism).
  
  Cold turkey (vs. moderation) and a food diary are two of the most often successful tools. The latter will reveal that you're not actually eating only when hungry, even though you think you're being smart and not doing a lame low-calorie diet. Do eat enough. At least 10 times your ideal weight. But don't eat too much because of binging or too frequent grazing.
  
  8 80 cal whole grain servings
  3 100 cal legume servings (ie 1 cup low-fat soy milk, 1/2 cup beans)
  1 leafy green serving for calcium
  4 or more servings additional veggies (1/2 cup cooked, 1 cup raw)
  3 80 cal fruit servings (generally a serving is actually 1/2 banana or apple)
• 
  Have Mercy Killer Reviews

  I don't buy a whole lot of diet books or healthy eating books. My reading base is usually fantasy or science fiction, but while I was in Florida a couple months back they had Neal Barnard on public television, and I could not pull my eyes away from the television. The things he explained about differences in diets, the things you eat, and so forth, were so intelligent yet easy to understand. You just knew the man knew what he was talking about.
  
  So, that's how I came about his books. This is the first one I read. I know some of you are like "Ack! No meat! Are you insane?!" But let me tell ya...after you read the scientific differences in the diets you will really begin to wonder "Why is it you feel you must eat meat with every meal?" The answer he actually gives you. It's pretty simple too. The industry throws meat at us every which way from tv commercials to mostly meat dishes at restaurants.
  
  I love this book and plan to treasure it for a while.
  
  By the way, I've been following it for 3 weeks now and haven't felt better.
• 
  Zachary

  This book is absolutely amazing!
  
  It lays out the fundamentals of why Chocolate and Cheese and other foods are so addicting and hard to stay away from. He also tells you exactly how you can get away from them.
  
  My biggest take away was that is changed my perception of animal products and why there is so much misinformation out there about them.
  
  There are huge government lobbies for the Meat, cheese, sugar and chocolate industry in Washington.
  
  Also, by reading the book, there is a plethora of good information about making healthier choices. Choices that will help you fall asleep easier and kill your mood swings. I never realized how much my body is affected by the stuff I put in my mouth.
  
  I knew that after I eat an Oreo, I want another. And After I eat a full plate of spaghetti, I feel sleepy. This book tells you why that happens. It tells you what you can eat to break the addiction to those sweets. He gave a good example of switching from whole milk to skim. It takes about 3 weeks to really change your taste buds, but when you do, the addicting foods won't have the same appeal.
  
  Anyways, you can tell I'm overzealous about this book. It was great. Definitely a good read! \(*0*)/
  
• 
  Julie

  Merci Dr Barnard!
  Cette fois-ci, le sujet traite plutôt du « comment » réussir à se défaire de nos mauvaises habitudes alimentaires. Vraiment utile!
• 
  Kamilya Basyrova

  эх, попала бы ко им не эта книга в руки два года назад, когда я начала увлекаться диетами... я бы избежала многих ошибок.
  книга понравилась. написано легко, информация очень полезная. даны конкретные рекомендации.
  вообще не ожидала, что книжка окажется с вегетарианским уклоном.
  по сути , эта книга очень похожа на ту, что я читала до этого - полезная еда. но насколько меня бесила та, настолько же мне нравится эта. написано очень легким языком, читается влет, как художестаенная литература.
  теперь о сути.
  во все - шоколад, сыр, мясо и т.д. - добавлены опиаты, то бишь легкая наркота, вызывающая привыкание. короче, часть один можно просто пробежать глазами, много лишнего.
  
  во второй части уже полезные рекомендации, что есть. бобы, овощи, фрукты, злаки. клетчатка.
  
  лептин - гормон, который сообщает, что мы наелись. допамин - вещество, стимулирующее чувство удовлетворенности.
  
  физическая активность.
  
  плюсы вегетарианскошо образа жизни и спорта: стать примером детям, похудеть, меньше риск возникновения рака, избавление от ишемической болезни сердца и болей в спине, сохранение сексуальной активности, предупреждение диабета, снижение артериального давления, уменьшение риска аппендицита и пищевых болезней, укрепление костей, облегчение менструации, прилив энергии, сохранение здоровья в старости, увеличение шансов дожить до старости, открытие новых вкусов, экономия денег (за счет еды и ненадобности лекарств), помощь в борье с мировым голодом, забота об окружающей среде, сострадание к животным.
  
  рекомендую всем, кто интересуется здоровым питанием.
• 
  Tamara Evans

  A insightful book providing information behind why people crave the unhealthy foods (chocolate, sugar, cheese,potato chips). The author also shows readers how to break their addictions to such unhealthy foods.
• 
  Rhea

  Overall it was a great book. It presented so much "known" information in a new light. I can say it has me thinking differently about the life changes I would like to make.
• 
  Marilee

  I didn't find the recipe section particularly helpful, but the information and real life examples are inspiring. I'm trying to keep motivated to eat right.
• 
  Suphatra

  I found this book to be very valuable. I had read the popular "21-Day Kick Starter Diet" (a low-fat vegan manifesto about resetting your taste buds to healthier choices) and had tried and failed at the Kick Starter, though I did notice some benefits while I was trying it. So when I came upon another book by Dr. Barnard, I thought I should give his philosophy a second chance.
  
  Breaking the Food Seduction reads very much like a prequel to Kick Starter. It gives you the context to what shapes his philosophy: that a low-fat vegan lifestyle is the healthiest lifestyle for modern people that prevents and reverses disease. He dives into deep detail about the most-loved foods and why we love them so much, and why we're eating way too much of them: sugar, meat, cheese, and chocolate. Most of all, he talks about fat and how Americans are taking in far too much of it. Here are some really useful take-aways I got from this book:
  
  1. Cheese is compressed milk with all of its water squeezed out. What you're left with is a block of fat. Ounce by ounce, cheese has as much (and sometimes more) fat than a steak.
  2. It takes three weeks for your taste buds to reset. Only three weeks!
  3. Exercise increases your body's ability (through leptin) to manage your appetite accurately.
  4. Americans, on average, are gaining a net of one pound a year, and that happens in the 2nd half of the year. The weight gain during the holidays is mostly permanent for the vast majority of Americans.
  
  There is plenty more, but I'll let you read the book. A must read for people like me, who sit in offices all day, commute an hour or more to work, and are interested in understanding how diet affects our body composition.
• 
  Rosemary

  
  It's about time for us to change our habits and most of all be responsible for the way we feed our children.
  
  I won't say I will give up on my chocolate at all...that's my addiction...but red meat,dairies and all that white junk we think it's good (white rice,sugar,flour,etc.)I'm definitely making the effort to give up !!
  
  
  
  
• 
  Richard

  Did you know that chocolate affects the same opiate receptors in your brain as heroine. Do you ever wonder why you get weak at the knees when bread, sugary snacks, cheese, etc. becomes available? Certain foods really are like drugs.
  
  Resistance is not futile. Barnard demystifies the connection between food and cravings.
• 
  Sarah

  Of all the Barnard books I perused this one had the most recipes I actually made and liked. Funny how some of the recipes show up in multiple books and some books seem to have the least accessible and recipes I've ever seen - all by the same author. If I had to pick just one to own I think this one would be it.
• 
  Cheryl

  This book was chosen by the Weight Watchers Vegetarian message board. We read it as a group and discussed it every Friday. This book makes total sense to me. It affirmed things that I have found since I gave up meat, dairy, caffeine and sugar 10 months ago.
  
  These suggestions work!!
• 
  debbicat *made of stardust*

  This explains a lot! Full review to follow.
• 
  Kellie Monibidor (Hermansen)

  Paperback.
  
  I stumbled upon this book in a thrift store. Normally I'd just say "eh, another diet book" and not give it a second thought, but when I saw the author, I knew I needed it, lol. I love Dr. Neal Barnard. He's down to earth and straightforward and his books are always very well referenced. This book referred to well over 100 studies. He's also not an alarmist and he doesn't see challenges and obstacles as crises (as I sometimes do, lol).
  
  I've been mostly plant-based for a long time, but I can never say that I'm 100% because I feel like I'm so frequently battling cravings. This book shed a lot of light on what causes cravings and had some very helpful tips on combatting them. I've read a lot of books on diet and this is the first time I've really had a lightbulb moment when it comes to food cravings. This book was fascinating!!
  
  For instance, I learned that leptin, the hormone that allows us to feel full, doesn't work as efficiently when we eat a lot of added fats and oils, so even though we can feel full right after a fatty meal (digestion slows down due to a process that happens in the small intestines), it won't help us in the long run, because leptin has been inhibited. He goes into more detail about why this is, but my brain was only able to retain the basic idea, haha.
  
  Also, the more processed your food is, the more quickly it will be digested and absorbed, raising your blood sugar more quickly and dropping it more dramatically later. At the beginning of the book he talked about a study showing the simple difference between old fashioned rolled oats and quick oats. The people who ate quick oats for breakfast got hungrier earlier and had more intense cravings as opposed to those who ate old fashioned rolled oats for breakfast - these people were usually able to last without cravings until lunch time.
  
  So...you're not weak willed, it's chemistry! Your daily/monthly/yearly cycles and routines can also have an effect on your cravings as well as your amount and quality of sleep and how often you exercise. I loved all the information he shared, it was so relevant to my goals right now. I found this book very encouraging and helpful.
  
  I love Dr. Barnard's no-nonsense way of encouraging his readers. My favorite quote from the book is: "Do it 100 percent. Resist the temptation to deviate from these guidelines. Allow yourself to experience what it is like to be on as close to a perfect diet as is humanly possible." I feel like most diet books treat you with kid gloves, but Dr. Barnard has high expectations for his readers, which to me felt like a vote of confidence.
  
  This book is very accessible with lots of practical tips. I'm glad I own it since I will be referencing it often. 5 stars.
• 
  Paola

  I'm going to save you so much time, here's the entire book; eat more fiber to stay fuller longer. Avoid refined sugar to keep your blood sugar steady because when it crashes, you crave. Eat low calorie, high volume foods. Avoid fatty foods because its easier to overeat. Exercise, make friends, eat enough calories and don't skip meals. He recommends going vegan for 3 weeks to 'reset your tastebuds', then go from there. BAM. Low rating because it could have been way more concise.
• 
  Sophie Approved

  Extremely interesting and quite detailed, this book is kind of a reference for me now. It explains so many things in a way that the reader can actually understand. Before, I knew that I should eat healthy because otherwise I’d be sick, basically. Now, I actually know why and, most importantly, how.
• 
  Susan

  Some interesting science behind foods I love - cheese, chocolate, etc. But definitely a vegan book touting carbs. This fits the times the book was written, not sure today's research upholds this view. Did not find the suggestions on how to break the food seductions new or particularly helpful. Still I will probably try to modify my diet some after reading this.
• 
  Jim Graham

  The book is a heavy read. It’s a good book to have a highlighter with. Keep it with your cookbooks so you can reference it. While I won’t become a vegan from it I understand better how the food chemical reactions work.
• 
  Angie Kennedy

  Oh cheese, I wish I could quit you for good. Most of this info is a repeat of other books I've already read, but a good reminder never hurts. It's interesting to know more about the 'why' behind my cravings.
• 
  Andrew Russo

  A lot of useful, and sometimes surprising, information.
• 
  Daniela Racina

  Libro molto interessante, con nuovi spunti su come seguire una sana alimentazione. Consigliato.
• 
  Cindy Dyson Eitelman

  Frustrating book! The first part explains the biology behind the cravings and offers some insights as to why some cravings may be beneficial to our species. After all, if mother's milk didn't taste good to babies they'd be disinclined to put up with it, right? It's full of fun stuff about the opiate effect of chocolate and dairy products and sugar. He didn't include salt for some reason.
  
  So after the fun stuff, here comes a chapter subheading: Is it Good to Break a Chocolate Habit? The answer he proposes is overwhelmingly, YES--chocolate can trigger migraines, increase irritability, it's full of fat, etc, etc. Definitely a habit to break. So why, in the last part of the book, out of 21 dessert recipes, 7 recipes are for things like "ultra-fudge brownies" and "creamy fudge frosting" using cocoa powder? And other five use carob powder but say, cocoa powder can be substituted? Someone wasn't listening to himself.
  
  In his descriptions of vitamins, and at various other places throughout the book, he recommends fortified breakfast cereals--Corn Flakes, Product 19, Total, Special K.... But his chapter on the glycemic index of foods and lists Cheerios at 106 and Corn Flakes at 130. Anything over 90 is considered high glycemic index and theoretically should be avoided. So you should get your vitamins from highly processed, pre-digested and often sugary breakfast cereals instead of from fruits, vegetables and whole grains? And worse still, he recommends a daily multi-vitamin, because it will provide vitamin B12 and also ease your mind in case you're worried you're missing something. I'm okay with the latter, but if you're filling your body with a cocktail of synthesized chemicals to provide only one vitamin, something's screwy.
  
  So I have some serious issues with the details, but I can't fault the content. And he has a delightful writing style, for example in quoting the Coca-Cola Company's "Myths and Rumors" web site about the non-addictiveness of caffeine, he says:
  Caffeine is not addictive? This is what your mother used to call "a lie."