The Pleasure Trap: Mastering the Hidden Force that Undermines Health & Happiness

by Douglas J. Lisle, Alan Goldhamer

A wake-up call to even the most health conscious Americans, this book challenges conventional wisdom about sickness and unhappiness in today's contemporary culture and offers ground-breaking solutions for achieving change.
Inspired by stunning original research, comprehensive clinical studies, and their successes with thousands of patients, the authors construct a new paradigm for the psychology of health that offers fresh hope for anyone stuck in a self-destructive cycle. Learn unique insights into the factors that make us susceptible to dietary and lifestyle excesses; then discover how to restore the biological processes designed by nature to keep us running at maximum efficiency and vitality.
This book can change your life.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Psychology, Nutrition, Self Help, Food, Science

225 pages, Paperback

Published March 30, 2006

Reviews

[Elyse Walters · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know this book 'well' -[I saw DebbieCat reading this now]- I read it when it first came out -- I know both doctors. I've a lot of history with 'the history' of this clinic -- the fasting/healing program --- (I went to a similar fasting clinic for 30 days in Dessert Hot Springs --ate 'no' food --the first year of my marriage -- another time when I was sick -- long story --but it 'did' work -- I was well for about another 10 years until all the problems started to return --

Interesting that this book came into my space 'today' of all days..(when I saw a rheumatologist for autoimmune disorders)
...I recently called this clinic a few weeks ago -- and looked through my book again --'considering going and the high price to boot' -- It would be a last resort --
I prefer to work with doctors here where I live --
but for people who 'need' this program --its 'not' crazy -- but should be under doctors care.

Its radical to 'not' eat for a few weeks -- The body needs to 'rest' during that time...when not eating of course. Its also not easy!
I lost about 20 lbs in a month when I did it years ago - weight I didn't have to lose. The weight came back -- (weight loss was not the purpose) -- I was healing my colon -- (not letting food pass was a fast way for it to heal) ---

I take 'all' these type of books with a grain of salt --
Quality of living --free choice counts for something too!!!!!!! (Fun Counts)!!

[Yitka · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed by this book. The idea behind it was very compelling to me - how pleasure (in-the-moment gratification, triggering dopamine release) differs from happiness (longer-lasting sense of well-being and progress toward positive goals, triggering serotonin release). I'm fascinated by humans' common propensity toward self-destructive and addictive behavior, and the analogies that can be drawn between addiction to cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, etc. and addiction to sugar and processed foods. There were some unexpected and surprisingly thought-provoking sections on the history of humanity, and the ways that different innovations (agricultural developments, the light bulb, etc.) throughout time have affected the way humans live - both for better, and for worse. Unfortunately, the writing itself was a little meandering at times, sometimes repetitive, and often felt like a poorly executed college student's essay, rather than a highly researched, articulately written, and tightly edited book. While there were some studies cited in footnotes, a lot of the book made broad conjectures without really backing them up. Many of the biological reasons given for our behavior seemed mostly based on assumptions that weren't 100% thought out or based on well-rounded examination...all interesting ideas, but not necessarily presented in the most convincing way. The final chapter on fasting was interesting in terms of its reference to patient success/testimonials, but it seemed random and out of place - like it should have been its own book, rather than a part of this one. Overall, not a bad read, but not exactly a must-read either.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book after watching Forks Over Knives and reading The China Study, so did not read it to be persuaded to adopt a plant-strong lifestyle. What I took away from this book is the psychology behind the poor choices most Americans today make concerning food and exercise, and how to avoid those pleasure traps on the road toward health and wellness. Lisle argues that the motivational triad that suited our ancestors so well does not work at all in today's society, and we must force ourselves to go against our natural instincts. The tips and tools offered are nothing new, but I did walk away with a greater understanding of the power of our natural instincts in our daily lives. I didn't at all understand the purpose of including the chapter about water-only fasting. I really think Lisle could have left that out completely. It was interested, don't get me wrong, but seemed superfluous.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been on and off a vegan diet for 20 years. This book got remotivated and back on track

[Kelsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm about 1/3 into this. It's shallow and very disappointing. I'll update when done, but already I can confidently say I don't recommend this unless you get it from a library and are *completely* new to basic concepts of survival of the fittest, reward mechanisms, etc.

Edit: I've finished it and my review is unchanged. Not a good book.

[Ryan Vrana · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author's central thesis is a useful one: 'pleasure;- in-the-moment gratification differs from 'happiness'- a sense of well being and progressing toward goals. Focusing on pleasure can come to the detriment of happiness. The author gets way off base in specific advice and reasoning though. It is apparently assumed the reader is not a drug/ sex/ gambling addict, so the focus is on bad diets. Nutrition science is far from having a definitive answer as to what the perfect diet is, but I was pretty turned off by the author's confidence that animal products are the primary cause of preventable disease. In the next chapter he talks about animals having an innate sense of the amount they need to maintain their weight with 2000 calories given as an example. He said if they consumed 1980 they'd eventually starve to death, or 2020 they'd become unbelievably obese over time. I had to stop reading at that point.

[Isaac Samuel Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book highlighting some profundities that I think are objectively true. Very insightful and well-written. I highly recommend this book.

[Robin Tierney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Makes important biological processes clear. Examples of points made:
* Nature designed pleasure circuitry and biochemicals to help us survive, thrive and reproduce. Corporations and legitimized drug dealers have used science to hijack the brain's pleasure pathways.
* The controlled exploitation of animals in agriculture had a high price: The major killers of humanity since 8500 BC have not been starvation, warfare, accidents or large predators. The major threats to human life since 8500 BC -- microorganisms and viruses such as smallpox, influenza, tuberculosis, malaria, plague, measles and cholera -- have been literally invisible These infectious agents which we may refer to as "micropredators," all have something of importance in comment: each evolved from a disease in domesticated animals that then adapted to, and infected, human societies.
For example, many more Native Americans died as a result of European animal-based diseases than were ever killed in armed combat.
* Beyond infectious diseases were a new class of diseases. For the first time in history, people began to suffer the effects from a previously unimaginable problem: getting too much. The diseases of kings. Primarily animal flesh and organs, eggs and dairy.

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I concur with most previous reviewers. I also was introduced to the author Doug Lisle by watching "Forks Over Knives." It helped me understand why so many of us (including me) have so much difficulty restraining our self-destructive appetites, and gave me some helpful ideas about how to restructure my environment and retrain my palate. I have become a convert to following a plant-based diet, but this book did not persuade me to follow the extreme dietary prohibitions Lisle recommends (i.e., giving up coffee, salt, all dairy, all alcohol, etc.), nor do I believe that water-only fasting is a particularly helpful or healthy exercise.

[Pragati · Rating 2 out of 5]

.. I liked it but I thought it was incredibly dry! The way the book is written made me want to skip over sections ... maybe its because of my chosen profession, maybe its because I'd already read some of the books discussed in detail within the text of this one. I wish it was a little more captivating ... I'd recommend it to someone new to a plant-based diet, but will probably not go back to it for reference as I do with most other books I've read on the subject!! Only 2 stars in my opinion!!

[ضحى الحداد · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard so many things about this book, and it is forworded by my ultimate hero Dr. John Mcdougall so I had to read the heck out of this book
So the premise basically is that we live in an artificial world that it is fooling out pleasure seeking mechanism which makes us fall prey to the "Pleasure Trap ", so basically what we have to do is to adopt a natural food diet so that we can have the ultimate health and not depend so much on modern medicine as the body is able to heal itself just fine
so many interesting information I got from this book specially the part of water fasting ( which they dedicated two whole chapters for it ), it was a nice book and glad that I finally read it
I did have a minor issue with the writing style as sometimes I felt it's all over the place just to prove one point which confused me at times, if you like Dough Lisle style of speaking you will enjoy this book because I think he wrote the majority of it

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I would rate chapters 1-3 and 14 at four or five stars. The rest of the book I would probably rate as only two stars. The evolutionary psychology surrounding the motivational triad and the relationship and differences between pleasure and happiness was very insightful to me. I was also intrigued by the titular "pleasure traps"-- the powerful idea of how our modern society is inundated with substances (such as drugs, highly palatable fatty, salty, and sugary processed foods, etc) and products/behaviors (gambling, pornography, video games, social media, etc) that hijack our brains natural instincts to seek pleasure and avoid pain with the least amount of effort possible in order to provide a powerful and temporary pleasurable chemical experience for our brains while actually causing terrible long-term consequences for our health, happiness, relationships, etc. I think this book does a pretty good job accurately depicting our modern world as being filled with deceptive landmines that are very alluring and seductive to our natural instincts but are actually incredibly harmful. I think it also does a decent job presenting just how hard it is to overcome these natural instincts and the tempting traps that surround us and lay hold on better health and happiness.

Unfortunately, overall this book did not enjoy a quality of writing on par with the quality of a few of its really great ideas. Some passages came across to me as pseudoscientific harping on processed and animal food products and on the medical establishment without backing their arguments with adequate evidence for me to agree with their conclusions. There were several times as I read through the book that I found myself wishing the authors would shut up and simply present the science and let me reach my own conclusions. I don't want to read watered-down opinions about science. It felt like the authors didn't trust me as a reader to be able to wrap my head around the actual data, so they just substituted it with their watered down interpretation/explanation of data they say is there without presenting it, which I found dissatisfying.

The other problem I had with this book is that a lot of the content they presented I have found better written and explained elsewhere. If you want to understand the science of diet and disease then How Not to Die by Dr. Michael Greger is way better than this book. If you want to understand the science of how the brain works as it relates to food, appetite, fat regulation, satiety, etc than The Hungry Brain by Stephen Guyenet explains it much better than this book. If you want to understand strategies to help you successfully lose weight than How Not to Diet by Michael Greger, Fat Loss Forever by Layne Norton & Peter Baker, Atomic Habits by James Clear, and Changing for Good by James Prochaska et al. are much more practically helpful than this book.

This book does have some interesting thoughts about the benefits of fasting, but again I personally found the book failing to present adequate evidence to really persuade me to buy into what they are selling about that as well. And that is coming from a reader who already fasts regularly for religious reasons and has a pretty solid appreciation for the benefits derived from fasting based on personal experience.

The handful of really good ideas in this book made it a worthwhile contribution to my personal education about health, fitness, etc. However, I am concerned for readers who read this book and buy into everything the authors are saying without having the additional context I enjoy from having read a bunch of other science-heavy books about health, nutrition, weight loss, fasting, etc. Read on its own, I think this book has some good principles mingled with other information that can give a skewed, incomplete perspective on how things really are. Still, for me, I consider this book worth reading. I would perhaps recommend chapters 1-3 to my friends and family, but would probably also tell them that the rest of the book is probably not worth their time and point them to the other books mentioned above instead.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning about the psychology of the pleasure trap. It helps to understand why people are motivated by certain things, and the compassion we should have for those caught in the pleasure trap.

Harriet Tubman: “If I could have convinced more slaves that they were slaves, I could have freed thousands more.”

The pleasure trap is the super stoking of our pleasure pathways by artificial stimulation that will cause an addictive-like response.

The pleasure trap controls our motivational instincts into a self-destructive motivation as a result of changes in our modern environment versus our ancestors’ environment.

The motivational triad:
Pursuit of pleasure
Avoid pain
Conserve energy

Fast and easy food that is high in caloric density fits the triad perfectly—it’s pleasurable, it’s pain-free, and it’s available with little effort.

People are eating a diet that is super rich and more pleasure stoking for the reason that man’s basic pleasure-seeking system is by nature designed to seek greater calories. The modern food supply is simply man’s ingenious method for concentrating the food supply by removing fiber and adding fats and essentially turning foods into a drug like substance that is hyper-activating the dopamine pathway. The point is that the modern food supply is super normal stimuli in the same way that drugs are supernormal stimuli that the human body was never meant to experience.

The pleasure trap is an unnatural problem. It’s a problem that you were never meant to solve, which is why super intelligent and highly motivated people have problems solving it. [And we have been told that olive oil and chicken breast—mostly fat— were designed for our bodies, which has led people to eat what they think is a healthy diet].

An environment with super stimulating food is not the kind of problem that a regular intelligent person can solve. It’s an unnatural problem that has more to do with essentially the neurochemical processes in motivation, which is what makes the pleasure trap particularly difficult problem to solve.

The reason why people have addictive issues is because they’re fighting against some thing that is going against their instincts. There is no such thing as emotional eating. People overeat super concentrated foods, not broccoli. The reason why people are overweight is because they’re eating foods that are inappropriate for their natural history, i.e. processed foods like oil and coke, etc, and they’re systematically overeating calories.

You’re born to be beautiful—eating the food that we’re created for your body, you will be at just the right weight and shape.

Slender people look like they’re getting away with eating the standard American diet. But they aren’t. They also get cancer and heart disease, etc. They just aren’t overweight.

Most people believe they would suffer on a whole food plant-based diet. This is similar to the cocaine addict imagine living without the drug.

The modern medical path of relieving pain, not healing, is succumbing to the pleasure trap—the patients are happy with a quick fix, and the doctor is happy that they are happy.

25% of Americans will die of cancer.
The success rate in treating breast cancer has not improved in 80 years.

Cancer develops in three stages:
Initiation, promotion, progression. The most critical part of the development of cancer is promotion while the cancer is fed. Colin Campbell discovered that without animal protein, the exposure to carcinogens usually won’t turn into cancer.

When Asian women migrate to the United States and adopt the American diet they experience increased breast cancer rates of up to 500%.

Plants contain much less concentrations of environmental toxins than animals based products. Biological concentration means that animals act as filters of environmental toxins.

Women who consume animal products have been found to have 70% more DDT in their breastmilk than plant eaters.

Stanley Milgram peer pressure experiment.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fascinating. Well . . . I found that it was anyways. He discusses the human motivational triangle and why we do some of the things we do that damage our bodies. He talks about how in caveman times it was okay to follow our instincts because it was a matter of survival. Now, we live in an artificial world (food, drugs etc.) That trick us and we fall in to "pleasure traps." He talks about the cycle of addiction and recovery and how most of our society is addicted to food from a young age. This book may be offensive to some people. There is is one sentence especially I would have gotten made at if I hadn't changed my eating habits recently. He openly laments the fact the americans, are using too much tobacco, alcohol, caffeine, meat, dairy, oil, processed foods, chocolate, and getting too little sleep.

I actually learned a lot though. I learned tons about sleep and the importance of getting enough sleep. I learned how to deal with social situations when it's obvious to people I won't be partaking of certains dishes, and I came away feeling empowered over how to overcome the natural man in me. I wish everyone could read this book with an open mind and humility. Great book!

[lalala Vegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read book over again when ever I need inspiration. A important book to read if your starting a plant based diet.

[Tara Sypien · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of it was very interesting and some was fanatical in my opinion.

[Brittanni Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, I enjoyed this book overall. I think they did a good job describing all the elements of “The Pleasure Trap.” If you want more of an insight into human nature, our wiring, and why we are victims of an industrialized society, this is a good starter book. That being said I had an issue with Chapter 14- The Myths of Moderation. The authors explain that there are two “myth’s of moderation”: the myth of moderate consumption and the myth of moderate change. They basically state that one shouldn’t make moderate changes and consume in moderation. They say that one should not stray from eating healthy whole foods (forever—like the rest of your life...not once) while also stating that you will be more successful if you change everything about your lifestyle at once (diet, exercise, alcohol consumption, sleep, etc...). As a health professional, I think this is a damaging and dangerous approach. I know that I personally do well with making a lot of change at once, but what works for one may not work for another. By recommending only an “all in” approach, this could leave some feeling discouraged (end up giving up) and/or it could lead to disordered eating. As a nutritionist, I was taught that lifestyle changes need to be tailored to each specific client. I have seen great success in clients that have made small changes that eventually lead to substantial changes, AND successful changing of their lifestyle for the long hall. Also...what is life if you don’t eat a fucking chocolate chip cookie every now and then? Not a life I’d want to live..

Also, in regards to the chapter about fasting—I don’t doubt that water fasting can have profound effects on healing the body of certain diseases. I have heard amazing stories and read the case studies from True North, and would love to visit myself someday. That being said, I would never recommend water or juice fasting to my clients UNLESS as a last resort AND ONLY under strict medical supervision. On first read through, I did not see that small 1-2 sentence disclaimer at the end of the chapter. Upon reading it again, I saw the disclaimer about medical supervision and I have upgraded my rating from 3 stars to 4 stars.

Despite my critiques, I did for the most part enjoy this book. I just don’t want anyone waking away from this book thinking that they can’t ever have a piece of cake again in fear of not attaining optimal health. Our mental health is just important as our physical health. 🙃

[Najia Al Umri (najiainwonderland) · Rating 5 out of 5]

ini claim bukunya : In this remarkable book, you will learn how to live in a world where your instincts can no longer be trusted. You won't have to give up enjoyment of life, but instead will merely focus on pleasures that are not destructive.

Point menarik dan paling berkesan dari buku ini :

- 40 days water fasting woooow ini keren banget sih udah ada 5000+ pasien yg ngelakuin dan sembuh dari penyakit adult-onset diabetes, congestive heart failure, angina, atherosclerosis, digestive disorders, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, colitis, chronic constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, asthma, food and environmental allergies, skin problems, fibrocystic breast disease, chronic fatigue, low back pain, chronic headaches, and more.
- Adaptive solution dari tubuh kita salah satunya adalah pas sakit kita jd ga nafsu makan, ternyata itu tuh cara tubuh kita healing diri sendiri, tapi pas kecil seringnya dipaksa makan pas sakit dengan dalih tubuh perlu nutrisi buat sembuh padahal tubuh butuh puasa dari makanan dlu.
- Moderation > yg paling sering jadi nasehat para guru diet adalah moderation in what we eat, tapi ternyata klo kita udah addict sama sebuah substance, moderation is not the solution. klo udah addict ya udah ga akan bisa moderation tapi lgsg ambil radical move aja yaitu nge cut off semua yg bikin addict.

Jadi awal2 bukunya itu garing soalnya isinya kaya udah sering dibahas dan mulai seru pas bab 14, seneng sama buku yg ngasih sesuatu yg baru dan bukan ngulang2 dari buku orang lain. Ada banyak bukti journal juga soal proses puasa yg bikin orang2 jadi sembuh dari penyakitnya. Ada juga orang yg ga boleh ngelakuin puasa ini karena sedang konsumsi obat dll.

Favorite lines :
People addicted to powerful substances are slaves. >> ga perlu narkoba atau roko, gula juga bisa bikin kita jadi slaves

Pain is motivating

Fat is not a fate

The most powerful way to restore health is often to do nothing—intelligently. Dr. Alec Burton

[Rich Szabo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was fascinating in its look at the reasons we continue to eat junk food that we know is killing us, also the natural healing power of the body. I think it was a bit repetitive at times, but the main points of the book are incredibly important about the evolution of the human diet and the amazing power of fasting to heal. The author states they had thousands of documented cases of healing through fasting, and yet we got to read about only a few. Recommended, though, because it seems to cover ground that is not often discussed.

[Natalie Park · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been meaning to read this book for years. There is lots of good information but, as I’ve been viewing Drs. Lisle and Goldhamer on YouTube, much of the info is repetitive. Yet, I know the book will become a good reference for my health library.

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of evolutionary folderol to wade through, but some pretty good points in here.

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wir wissen alle, dass Zucker scheiße ist.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quelle découverte! Je n’ai cessé d’apprendre plein de chose sur l’instinct humain… quelle incroyable créature nous sommes!

[Peter Augustinak · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I have read several books on the health topic, this one did not give me any big shocks. Maybe this affected my review a little bit. But if this is gonna be your first book in this area, I think it is a good choice.

Anyway I've still learned something new again and it was the last chapters about the water-only fasting. Very fascinating! And for people who are suffering from some otherwise incurable diseases, it would be something definitely worth to try by my opinion.

But most important is to not get there in the first place and this book can help you with that too :)

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent understanding of why we get trapped in the pleasure principle and how it keeps us from what we know we should do, especially diet-wise....and how to break free!! Love this book (most of it), makes so much sense! Also interesting, happiness and the pleasure principle, working toward goals.

[Joey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good perspective and interesting reading. Looking at impulse (the book would say pleasure seeking, pain avoidance and energy conservation) from an evolutionary perspective does, at least in the short term, help me speak to my cravings. As always seems to be the case with these healthy living books, there is about 80 pages of material spread out over 200 pages, but a lot of these concepts were well worth repeating, to help lay these ideas deep in memory. Was intrigued by the concept of the water fast as well, could have read a whole book on that.

[Allyson Burrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Pleasure Trap: Mastering the Hidden Force that Undermines Health & Happiness" delves into the intricate relationship between our lifestyle choices and overall well-being. Through a nuanced discussion, the book highlights the detrimental impact of modern conveniences like fast food on our health, especially as we age. It advocates for the adoption of fasting and a plant-based diet as strategies to mitigate these negative effects and enhance our quality of life.

This book stands out for its clarity in explaining complex concepts related to health and nutrition. It not only raises awareness about the importance of mindful eating but also provides actionable insights on implementing healthier habits. Given its informative content and practical guidance, I gave it 4 stars because it has the potential of improving my life and health if I heed it. It is slightly different from other books on the subject of health.

[Maura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much of this book is material that your average college-educated newspaper-reading/podcast-listening person is already well aware of.

I did, however appreciate being reminded how most of society is slowly killing themselves with their knives and forks. One analogy was that it's as if we're in a society full of heroin addicts who think their addictions are completely normal and healthy.

I also liked the idea of compiling a weekly menu and shopping from the corresponding grocery list consistently each week. Also, the attention to the fact that many of us who believe we have no time to cook healthy foods could actually afford to hire a cook was nice. Our prioritization of big homes and nice cars over the expense of a cook for healthy foods is worth examining.

[Anna McClaugherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a nutshell, The primary sources of pleasure are food and sexual activity. These activities are biologically expensive and designed to only last a few minutes, not several hours. Modern society has made it easy for us to make these pleasurable activities a trap. We can achieve health by eating a diet ideal for human consumption, emphasizing adequate rest, exercise, and also occasionally fasting. This book has a unique way of using scientific and historical evidence to arrive at these conclusions. Truthfully, I had read most of these ideas before, with the exception of the part on fasting, just never presented in this manner.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book--relating early man's "needs" to our current "desires" and how the food culture has helped us all fall into the "pleasure trap". Interesting references and easy reading--not written like a science manual, but as information for the general public to understand and utilize in our daily living.