Authors: Emanuel Barling and Ashley Brooks

Publisher: Outskirts Press

ISBN: 97801-4327-6664-1

Click Here To Purchase It's Not Your Fault: Weight Gain, Obesity and Food Addiction

Authors Mannie Barling and Ashley Brooks maintain that weight gain is “not your fault” and that by following their 12-step “It’s Not Your Fault” Dieting Rules, you will lose weight.

While neither author is a medical doctor, their battles with obesity and serious health issues led to their search to lose the weight that was complicating their recoveries. They tried the highly-publicized routes of Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, South Beach, NutraSystem, etc.; read innumerable books about diet and exercise; followed the recommendations of experts on the Oprah and Dr. Oz tv programs. They ate healthily, but nothing worked. Their weight continued to increase as did their health issues. They began to wonder if the problem lay in what they ate. Was there something within the food itself?

And so the journey towards the publication of this book began. What Barling and Brooks discovered and educate their readers about are the dangers of MSG (Monosodium Glutamate), HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup), GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) and the importance of purchasing/eating only organic foods. The charts at the back of the book (listing corn allergens and hidden sources of MSG, HFCS usage both in specific ‘fast food’ restaurants and grocery store items) are excellent and worthy of note. As consumers, it is to our benefit that we become aware of what it is that we consume at home and in restaurants. The authors are clear about the importance of such knowledge and passionately advocate change in eating and food purchasing habits. But little was offered that was new in this regard that countless other books haven’t previously addressed.

What was new was their theory that additives have an addictive element causing consumers to crave more food. The authors advocate that food is intentionally altered by food manufacturers through additives with the purpose of creating a chemical dependence in the brain. Result? Increased sales for food manufacturers as consumers eat compulsively and more addictive-additive food is purchased.

The authors became convinced that multi-national corporations control the food industry and that the additives create a physical dependence on the food so that consumers would buy more and more of the product. Motivation for the multinationals? Greed and profitability. Result for the consumer? Weight gain.

While I may lean towards initial support of their theory, it is only a theory. Without detailed studies showing the chemical composition of the specific additives; without clear delineated research connecting the chemical composition with the illness of addiction; without well-respected and published addiction specialists and nutritionists supportive of this theory, the premise of the authors is conjecture. While the References section at the back of the book indicates research, without footnote notation within the body of each chapter, the reader is left wondering and questioning.

This book offers important reminders about the importance of reading food labels, avoiding the ingestion of GMOs and food containing MSG and HFCS. However, it is in need of an editor who would encourage serious reconsideration of the book’s far-too-large and unwieldy format (8 ¼” x 11”), inflated price (U.S. $29.95), the above-noted footnotes issue, and the category listing (Health & Fitness/Acupressure & Acupuncture). Insofar as the premise of the book has nothing to do with acupressure or acupuncture, its present categorical listing is most peculiar.

Once the above issues have been addressed, the book is edited, and research from addictive professionals who would substantiate the authors’ theory that “the dangerous addictive chemicals used by food manufacturers … cause the compulsive/obsessive eating that leads to obesity,” it could make an important contribution to the field of obesity and the well-being of those who struggle with weight issues - not only who carry excess weight, but who carry a sense of guilt as well. But, until such time …

Click Here To Purchase It's Not Your Fault: Weight Gain, Obesity and Food Addiction