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laurenpedersen's review against another edition
4.0
The science of nutrition is convoluted and fascinating. This book made me reconsider processed food for my family, drinks with calories, and wonder if my medical doctor could test the hormones associated with hunger and satiety.
mkesten's review against another edition
3.0
As I am constantly on the hunt for insight into my own eating pathologies, Michael Moss’ latest screed on the processed food manufacturers helped me out with a few new tidbits of flavoring research:
1) The food companies learned that our earliest memories of eating can trigger deep-seated cravings, perhaps even tastes and flavors to which we are unwittingly addicted.
2) Scientists have not yet unravelled the mystery connection between taste and the brain. It may in fact be that all artificial sweeteners play havoc with the brain and cause us to return, ultimately, to real sweeteners.
3) And this I think I’ve actually known for some time, that there is no killer diet that works for everyone, not even boosts of protein to staunch the addiction to carbohydrates.
4) That speed kills. I must pay more attention to the volume of high glycemic foods in my diet like potatoes and highly processed grains. The speed with they convert carbs into sugar in the blood can’t be good for my metabolism.
For a reminder of what is high and what is not on the glycemic scale:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/glycemic-index-and-glycemic-load-for-100-foods
5) They’re still doing it to us: using salt, sugar, and fat to up our purchases of processed food, including the supposedly “diet” foods so WATCH OUT!
1) The food companies learned that our earliest memories of eating can trigger deep-seated cravings, perhaps even tastes and flavors to which we are unwittingly addicted.
2) Scientists have not yet unravelled the mystery connection between taste and the brain. It may in fact be that all artificial sweeteners play havoc with the brain and cause us to return, ultimately, to real sweeteners.
3) And this I think I’ve actually known for some time, that there is no killer diet that works for everyone, not even boosts of protein to staunch the addiction to carbohydrates.
4) That speed kills. I must pay more attention to the volume of high glycemic foods in my diet like potatoes and highly processed grains. The speed with they convert carbs into sugar in the blood can’t be good for my metabolism.
For a reminder of what is high and what is not on the glycemic scale:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/glycemic-index-and-glycemic-load-for-100-foods
5) They’re still doing it to us: using salt, sugar, and fat to up our purchases of processed food, including the supposedly “diet” foods so WATCH OUT!
arieltf's review against another edition
5.0
I did not expect this book to hold my attention as much as it did. To my surprise, Michael Moss did not shame people for their eating habits or spotlight diet and nutrition "experts" who made a career out of shaming people for their behavior. Ultimately, I learned that shifting eating habits is more difficult than I realized. The section about trauma and impulse-control was particularly interesting. I feel compelled to read papers by the researchers Moss mentioned. Dana Smalls stands out in my mind for her research on brain waves cravings, and the body'sresponse to liquid sugar consumption. It is frustrating to know that real education about nutrition is almost non-existent in the United States, even for people who attend medical school! Moss has crafted a palettable combination of nutrition education, media literacy, and policy regarding food development and consumption. I want to read more about this.
miss_creant's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
5.0
This is a must read for anyone curious about how 2/3 of all Americans are now considered obese. Very informative and well laid out.
swoody788's review against another edition
4.0
Made me simultaneously crave and feel repulsed by processed food. Highly recommend.
rbellefuil26's review against another edition
4.0
Every person should read this book to get a true insight into what their packaged food actually consists of. The majority of the population is living in ignorant bliss, not knowing the true detrimental effects of the food they consume. It made me rethink the foods I put into my mouth and also made me realize how far removed we are from the foods that humans started consuming hundreds of years ago. This pre-packaged, ultra-processed food society we live in now cannot be healthy no matter who you are, that is just a fundamental truth.
jocelynw's review against another edition
5.0
_Hooked_ is a great choice for your non-fiction-reading and popular-science-reading friends, as well as anyone with whom you’ve commiserated about the difficulty of managing one’s eating in the pandemic. Moss synthesizes an enormous body of science on why processed food appeals to us the way it does and takes great advantage of an unusual degree of corporate access to give us an illuminating and empowering look at how processed food companies keep consumers coming back for more.