Sugar Has 56 Names: A Shopper's Guide

by Robert H. Lustig

In the newest edition of The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the U.S. government has – for the very first time – limited the amount of sugar that it is safe for us to consume. Yet  sugar hides behind many names on ingredient lists, making it sometimes impossible to discover. Although "evaporated cane juice" might be easy enough to puzzle out – what about “diastatic malt” or “panocha?” In Sugar Has 56 Names, Robert H. Lustig, MD, bestselling author of Fat Chance and The Fat Chance Cookbook, provides a list of ingredient names that food manufacturers use to disguise sugar content as well as a rundown of common grocery store items and their total sugar content. Concise and direct, Sugar Has 56 Names is an essential tool for smart shopping.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Nutrition, Cookbooks

208 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 3, 2013

About the author

Robert H. Lustig, M.D., is an internationally renowned pediatric endocrinologist who has spent the past sixteen yers treating childhood obesity and studying the effects of sugar on the central nervous system, metabolism, and disease. He is the director of the Weight Assessment for Teen and Child Health Program at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital; a member of the UCSF Center for Obesity Assessment, Study, and Treatment; as well as a member of the Obesity Task Force of the Endocrine Society.

Reviews

[Assad · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars because it teaches you the right way to approach a nutriton label and also explains how broken the current practicies around the nutrition labels are to the detriment of consumers. Also teaches you how to read and interpret the labels to your benefit and most importantly the 56 different names companies use to label sugar.

This book helpedme think more critically when i read nutrition labels and make better choices about what I buy at the grocery store.

It is on the short side. Like other reviewers have said i wish it had more content.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I was already aware of the harmful effects of sugar. this book has good data on other sugar types and labeling information that serves useful when your out grocery shopping. It's always good to be aware.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful

My only complaint is that the book is not longer. This book serves as a great introduction on the harmful effects of sugar on our bodies.

[Abbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

80% of this book is a useless list of foods and their sugar content. Even if I was going to look through the food list the brands are American and I live in Canada. Explaining how to interpret a nutrition label was discussed in the first 20% of the book and is really all that is necessary.

[Nicole M. Guichard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative

I enjoyed the book and learned a lot. The last part of the book was surprising. Wow how interesting. Thanks Dr. Lustig. Finally someone telling truth.

[Ashley Carroll · Rating 3 out of 5]

Truly is a shoppers guide.