I am writing this review as a former vegetarian-turned pescatarian, to a full-on omnivore, to a "oh no I am eating a meat and potatoes diet and need to re-examine"....vore. Cheese is a divisive subject, and Barnard handles it with tact. Many of us feel that we could never fully give up cheese (what is a life without brie?). That said, I think we owe it to ourselves to take pause with various types of food we eat, to make sure that we are optimizing nutrition and wellness- especially with increasing rates of heart disease and cancer.

In my estimation, fruits and vegetables are some of the only few "safe" foods we can eat (and even that depends on your own unique health conditions- diabetes, gastrointestinal, etc.). Shouldn't we be questioning the meat, bread, eggs, and cheese were brought up with?

Both my husband and I have realized that as we age, our bodies are becoming more sensitive to dairy. And yet, (as the author says), we find that staying away from cheese is the hardest. This book handles scientific research to address issues of caloric content/fat, cheese addiction, and what the cows endure to produce the milk itself for production. All of the medical facts combined with the political information and marketing tactics is very important food for thought.

I had read Barnard's work previously, so I know that in general he recommends adapting a vegan lifestyle. I feel that books like this can help us re-set and remember that dairy is not easily obtained in the high quantities it is today, that the demand yields an inevitably cruel practice of forced-pregnancy upon cows. Even if I choose not to go vegan full-time, that doesn't make the information any less important.

I ate vegan today. Will I tomorrow? Maybe, maybe not. But I'll revisit Barnard's book when I want to tame my dairy-based indulgences.

My one bone to pick is the extreme medical successes. A woman who fought cancer with a vegan diet only MUST include some kind of notification that this result is not typical. YES, there is a medical disclaimer in the beginning, but so many people with chronic health conditions look only to diet as a mechanism of control. Is diet a key factor in health? ABSOLUTELY. Is it the only one? Not by a long shot.

loved it. But, two things...I have done my research and already know cheese is addictive and what it does to the brain. I also know what it does to my middle. And....I am a big fan of Neal Barnard since I participated in a diabetes summit online and heard him speak.

This book is straightforward and easy to read. Cheese has more calories than coke, more salt than potato chips and does ugly things to your waistline. Is cheese fattening? Remember, milk is nature's food for fattening a calf, and that means the cow packs a lot of calories into it. In ch. 1 the process of cheese making is explained and we see how it takes the calories in milk and concentrates them even more. Those calories come from fat. And fat calories are a problem.

" If you were to overindulge a bit on bread, your body still does not want to make fat. Rather, it stores excess glucose as glycogen-molecules that act like spare batteries in your muscles and liver. If you were to keep overeating carbohydrate-rich foods-more than you need for basic energy and more than you can store as glycogen-your body will eventually convert the sugar molecules from that unneeded carbohydrate into fat. But turning sugar into fat is not especially easy for the body to do. The process of turning sugar into fat uses up almost a quarter of its calories. So whole it is possible for your body to turn bread or sugar into fat, it is not easy, and a lot of calories are lost in the process. It is much easier for your body to turn cheese fat or other fats into body fat."

"Fat can slow your metabolism. It gets worse. Not only does fat in foods get stored as body fat. It also packs into your muscle cells, and there, it can interfere with your metabolism."

I could go on awhile with the quotes but I won't. You just need to read this for yourself if you care about your health.

While I knew the downsides of eating diary, I was still having some of it until I began a whole foods plant based diet in Jan. 2017 to reverse type 2 diabetes and reduce inflammation because I have RA. I don't struggle with giving up cheese any longer...but, I really wanted to read this book to have the research available(and there is plenty!) and I am a big admirer of Barnard's work and his organization,( PCRM) Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

There are some great recipes included and I do highly recommend this book for anyone who is health conscious. Some chapters include:
A forward by Marilu Henner (which I loved!)
The Ultimate Processed Food
How Cheese Keep You Hooked
Hidden Hormone Effects
Heart Disease, Diabetes, and the French Paradox
What the Animals Go Through (I had to skim this one...too painful for me)
The Industry Behind the Addiction
A Healthy Diet
All the Flavor, None of the Regrets

A great read I am thrilled to have in my kindle collection. Thank you Netgalley for a digital copy to read and I am happy to offer a 5 plus star review for the research alone.

In a world of paleo diets, this is a really interesting view of food that we don't normally get to see. As a lifelong vegetarian, not a lot of the facts presented in the book were news to me, but it does inspire me to lean towards veganism. I think this book will help many people, and do a bit to fight against the low-carb, high-fat diet trend.

On the whole, I'm weary of books or diet plans that promise "this ONE food is causing all your problems." That said, it's undeniable that cheese consumption has skyrocketed in the US in the last couple of decades. It's gone from a food to an ingredient that's tossed into every food product and restaurant dish. It seems like the more you eat of it, the more of it you crave. So I thought I'd give the single enemy approach a try this time. Why not? Maybe cheese really is "the problem."

But when I started reading this, it became clear this is in fact a vegan diet plan. The cheese part is just a hook to get readers interested. It's bait and switch, imo. I wouldn't bother with this book unless interested in starting a vegan lifestyle.

If a vegan got a nickel every time they heard, "But I could never give up cheese," we would collectively have a sizable donation to an animal rights charity of our choice!

Dr. Neal Barnard's new book, The Cheese Trap: How Breaking a Surprising Addiction Will Help You Lose Weight, Gain Energy, and Get Healthy, breaks down the many reasons why giving up cheese is a good idea, then gives you plant-based options as an alternative.

When I went vegan in 2009, cheese was the last animal product I stopped eating. Salty, greasy cheese is still something I like eating - I was just at the store yesterday, lamenting the fact that I'd missed the sale on Daiya's cheese pizza by one day. We live in an amazing time - there is a vegan version of nearly everything that is traditionally made with the flesh and fluids of animals.

Barnard breaks it down for readers with a convincing case. Cheese is made from the milk of nonhuman animals - cows, goats, sheep, water buffalo - and it's addicting. This is great for baby animals - because they are the ones who are supposed to be consuming their mothers' milk. It's not so great for the humans who do so instead - especially in the form of cheese, which is full of concentrated fat, and casomorphins that make us addicted!

Through personal stories of change, we're shown the effects of a cheese-heavy diet, which can include weight gain, arthritis, high blood pressure, skin issues, and more; and how a vegan diet can improve or even resolve these health issues.

Barnard also explains how marketing has been used to keep us in a cycle - and how the government is complacent in it. For those who aren't already knowledgeable on the topic, there's basic information on what happens at the dairy farm. There is suffering in every ounce of cheese and if you're going to eat it, you should know how it came to be. I'm glad that the information is in this book.

Lastly, Barnard gives a look at some of the great plant-based cheeses that are now available - including Miyoko's Creamery, Treeline, and Kitehill. Then, Dreena Burton helps with recipes that will help the most-addicted cheeseheads to break their habit. The plan outlined in The Cheese Trap will help readers to take control of their health and break their cheese addiction, while still enjoying foods like lasagna, vegan cheesecake, and pizza.

While I am biased in that I've been vegan for some years now, and am therefore the choir that doesn't need to be preached to, I believe that The Cheese Trap is an accessible book for those who haven't yet made the connection between dairy and the problems it causes. Well-reasoned scientific explanations for that "gotta have it" feeling a slice of cheddar invokes? Explanations about how studies paid for by the dairy industry are not to be trusted? Anecdotal information from those who saw health improvements when they gave up cheese? Facts about factory farming and recipes to get you started?

This book's a winner.

I received an advanced e-copy of this book from Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I found the information in the book to be extremely interesting. I found some very useful statements to change my thinking and give me something to start conversations with my medical care providers.
However there are sections where he goes into such a RANT that I felt he was so biased it took away from my believing in the rest of the information.

I requested this book because I was interested in learning about how to get over my addiction to cheese. It started out well enough by supplying great information about the history of cheese and its production. The nutritional components, or lack thereof, were really eye opening. However, mid-way through the book, the information became less of a guideline on how to nix the cheese addiction and more of a way to follow a vegan diet. Also, reader beware: if you're squeamish at all, I'd skip the parts of the book that detail how animals are treated in the production of milk products. While this book's title draws you in with hopes of gaining insight into breaking a popular American addiction (we're the top consumer of cheese in the world), it's apparent that the author's main goal was to gain some vegan converts.