It’s dinnertime. Do you know where your sugar is coming from?
Most likely everywhere. Sure, it’s in ice cream and cookies and apple pie, but what scared Eve O. Schaub was the secret world of sugar- the sugar she found lurking in bacon, crackers, salad dressing, pasta sauce, chicken broth and baby food.
With her eyes opened to the insidiousness of sugar by the work of obesity expert Dr. Robert Lustig and others, Eve challenged her husband and two school-age daughters to join her in a search for meals that would contain absolutely no added sugar– for an entire year.
Along the way, Eve became a sugar sleuth who uncovered the real costs of our sugar-heavy American diet- including diabetes, obesity, heart disease and cancer. The stories, tips and recipes she shares from her family’s year of no sugar throw fresh light on questionable nutritional advice we’ve been following for years and show that it is possible to eat at restaurants, go grocery shopping, and do everything a normal family needs and wants to do- with less and even no added sugar.
Year of No Sugar is what the conversation about “kicking the sugar addiction” looks like for a real American family- a roller coaster of unexpected discoveries and challenges.
- Release Date: April 8, 2014 – Published by Sourcebooks, Inc.
- Facebook Page: Year Of No Sugar
Eve O. Schaub
can yyou help me to reduce my obesity
Apologies for my super delayed response. But here it is: The number one thing I recommend to people to try first is to give up drinking sugar- no soda, no sweetened teas or sports drinks, and no smoothies or juice. Sugary beverages account for a huge percentage of added sugar intake, so start with this and see how it goes.
My question is what brand of milk did you use ? an is Ezekiel bread a good option to use for this diet?
Any brand of milk is fine as long as it without any additives, ie: chcolate milk. Yes, it has lactose- milk sugar- but this is not fructose, which is the part of sugar we are overloading on, and the one we need to worry about. For breads, you just have to read the ingredients to be sure- I haven’t checked all their breads but Ezekiel Sprouted Whole Grain Bread is fine, and even their Cinnamon Raisin has no added sugar, which is kind of amazing!
I listened to The Year of No Sugar in the car and enjoyed it greatly. It was with pleasure I found your second book. Thanks for being a real person, genuine and vulnerable. You have become a “friend” in that same odd way that books are friends. Blessings to you and your family.
I just want to know can I get the book for free online or from any place
Well, you can find it at many libraries, however if that isn’t doable you can certainly read the blog which I posted throughout our Year of No Sugar. The format is different but a lot of the same info is there.
Currently well into reading your book–love it–curious to why you have Stevia listed as an added sweetner to avoid on your resource list? Looking on the internet it seems to have no fructose in it. Thanks!
Hi Kelsi- You’re correct that Stevia has no fructose in it- we made the decision to stay away from any sweeteners about which there was any substantive controversy, and Stevia is definitely a bit controversial. In 1999 the EU banned Stevia’s use in food, and the US only allows certain types of Stevia extracts to be used in drinks or supplements. Apparently there is some concern about cancer-causing properties. Controversy is the same reason, by the way, that we decided to stay away from sugar alcohols, which are most often used on products advertising as “no sugar.” Sugar alcohols have been associated with everything from gastric distress to cancer. (Speaking of which, sugar alcohols are combined with Stevia in Coke’s “no sugar’ sweetener Truvia.)
Did you read her thoughts on stevia? I’m not stopping it but it’s interesting
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Hi, I am an 18 year old girl who in the last 6 months have under gone 4 surgeries. Each one has left me with a little quirk or new problem. I have always been a relatively healthy eater, and have read your book quite a few times. However, with my last surgery I developed a seizure disorder which seems to be triggered by any rise or fall of my blood sugar levels. This is typically caused by foods like ice cream, pasta, bread, cookies or the like.
I know it’s a lot to ask but I was curious if you had any helpful hints for a no sugar newbie?
Thank you so much!
Hi Riley! I’m SO sorry you’ve had to undergo such a difficult time- but I am hopeful you’re now on the other side of it and can spend time healing and re-cooperating. I’m so very glad you’ve enjoyed reading the book and the stories of our family… I am happy to offer whatever advice I can on trying to steer clear of fructose!! The lawyer in my head insists that I point out that I’m neither a doctor nor a nutritionist, and advise you to consult with them before doing anything different, etcetera etcetera- I can tell you what I have found works well for me and I will hope you may find it helpful.
In fact, you’re timing is impeccable because I’m at work right now on a project that addresses this very question more thoroughly, but for now I’ll just offer three quick places to start:
Firstly, I’d recommend not drinking sugar at all, which means not only avoiding soda, sweet teas, sports drinks and such, but also juices and even smoothies. Stick with water, milk, and unsweetened coffee or tea- (try using whole milk or cream to sweeten these last two via the lactose.)
Second, cook as often as possible, using whole “real” foods and avoiding as much as possible the packages, boxes and bags of convenience which dominate pretty much every supermarket. (Three-quarters of the items for sale in our supermarkets these days contain added sugar- in foods that aren’t even sweet, for reasons that have everything to do with cost savings and shelf-life, but nothing to do with our health.)
Thirdly, it is terribly important to not feel hungry and/or deprived- because that’s a recipe for throwing our hands up, saying oh forget it, and eating a sleeve of cookies. I have found that the best way to feel truly satisfied is to be sure we are getting enough protein and fat- foods that will trigger the release of leptin in our brains to tell us we feel full, and give us a consistent, long-lived source of energy throughout our day. So, for example, I make oatmeal with full fat milk, I have toast with a bit of meat or cheese on top, and if I need a snack I like to have full-fat peanut butter on a cracker. So you see each simple carbohydrate has a source of fat and protein to accompany it.
Personally, the longer I have been on a no/low added sugar way of eating, the better I find my body feels, without the energy highs and lows that used to interrupt my life on an almost daily basis. Sure,I still have sugar occasionally, but honestly, my body feels the best when, for sweetness, I stick to a beautiful ripe peach or plum.
A long answer to an excellent question!- I hope it is helpful, and I wish you all the best in your ongoing recovery 🙂
Thank you so much! That is very helpful. With all this being so new it is nice to be able to reach out to others!
Thanks, Eve O Schaub, for your delightful books. I had listened to “The Year of No Sugar” on cd and was happy to find your second book, “The Year of No Clutter”. Thank you for opening up yourself, your family and even your Hell room to reveal your weaknesses and how you navigate through to better the lives of yourself and your family. None of us is perfect, and you demonstrate that growth is through the persistent trying. You allow your readers the freedom to learn to be less critical of themselves and to embrace the blessings that come, even though we may fall a little short of our original plan.
This is the perfect reader comment- I love it and you have made my day. Thank you!
Dear Eve, Bob and I were delighted to have met you and Steve at Land’s End last week. Year of No Sugar arrived today and it’s terrific! You clearly have had much more fun with writing than I have! (See http://www.jeanneschinto.com) I’m no fan of sugar and haven’t been for years. But I haven’t done a thing about convincing others to shun it, too. You have! Brava! Hope we meet again someday. In the meantime, all best to you and Steve. Jeanne
Hi Jeanne! I’m delighted to hear you are enjoying it! And I’m sorry we didn’t talk more about your writing as we spect all our time enthralled by Bob’s latest book- but I was so happy to see on your site your many endeavors- and that we share an affinity for Milton Avery! (We saw an amazing exhibition a few years ago about his time spent in Vermont.) It was a pleasure to meet you both and I look forward to staying in touch. 🙂