Year of No Sugar

March 1, 2014
A Vermont blogger mom's delightfully readable account of how she and her family survived a yearlong sugar-free diet--and lived to tell the tale. After Schaub watched a video of a professor of medicine that claimed sugar was "a poison" and suggested that American culture "was the modern-day equivalent of an opium den," she was both horrified and intrigued. She knew that eating sugar in excess was unhealthy. But Schaub had no idea that sugar--and, specifically, its main ingredient, fructose--was at the heart of a worldwide obesity epidemic that was affecting infants as well as children and adults. Determined to help her family kick the sugar habit (or at least moderate it), the author challenged her husband and two young daughters to live without sugar for one year. What she and her family didn't realize was that going truly sugarless would mean more than just giving up desserts. They quickly discovered that everything--from bread to soups to salad dressings--contained trace amounts of sugar, but Schaub and her family worked around the problem. They created recipes (a few of which the author shares) for meals made from whole foods and treats sweetened with fruits or dextrose, a sugar which contains no fructose. Over time, the author found that her family's hyperfondness for sugar gradually faded and that she herself no longer enjoyed confections as much. In fact, she developed powerful, and unpleasant, sugar headaches that left her feeling irritable and lethargic. The most telling result of this experiment revealed itself in her children's pattern of attendance. During the family's year of no sugar, the girls' illness-related absences from school dropped by 75 percent. Sugar may have become the cultural shortcut "to better taste, to more convenience and to ever-higher food industry profits," but as Schaub suggests, the path to health and happiness is best traveled conscientiously rather than quickly. A funny, intelligent and informative memoir.

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April 15, 2014
This blog-turned-book details Schaub's one-year challenge of eating meals containing no added sugar. After watching a YouTube video called "Sugar: The Bitter Truth," writer Schaub decided that she, her husband, and their two daughters would eschew all forms of added fructose, which the video convinced her is a poison, for 12 months. The author makes a few exceptions--one dessert a month containing sugar is allowed; each family member can choose one item that deviates from the plan (wine, diet soda, or jam); and the kids had autonomy outside of the house to decide whether or not to have sugar. The year began on shaky ground as the clan discovered that added sugar is in nearly everything: bread, tomato sauce, crackers, salad dressing, and Worcestershire sauce are just a few examples. Dining in restaurants and traveling proved tricky but not impossible, and after growing tired of confections sweetened with bananas, coconut, and dates, Schaub discovered dextrose and began baking with it. VERDICT Schaub's writing is witty and humorous and she makes the science behind the dangers of sugar accessible to the lay reader.--Pauline Baughman, Multnomah Cty. Lib., Portland, OR

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2014
A confirmed sugar addict since childhood, Schaub was shocked to discover the role of sugar in an array of illnesses and the fact that sugar (mostly high fructose corn syrup) is an ingredient in nearly every American food product. She challenged her family (husband and two young daughters) to join her in a year of abstention from added sugar (everything from table sugar to molasses to fruit juice) and chronicled their trials and triumphs. Inspired by the research of Dr. Robert Lustig (Fat Chance), Schaub learned the connection between overconsumption of sugar and cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. Her own research identified sugar in most school and restaurant meals and in surprising places on the store shelves, including sauces, dressings, soups, and breads. She debunks questionable nutritional advice, pokes fun at her own past experiments with health fads, and recalls the particular challenges of sweets-laden Halloween and Christmas. At the end of the year, the family was healthier, and they had accumulated a store of ideas and recipes (included in the book) to counter the craving for something sweet.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)