Food Junkies

The Truth About Food Addiction

By: Vera Tarman, Phil Werdell

Narrated by: Lisa Bunting

Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

2016 Voice Arts Award Finalist

A fact-filled guide to coping with compulsive overeating problems by an experienced addiction doctor who draws on many patients' stories of recovery.

Overeating, binge eating, obesity, anorexia, and bulimia: Food Junkies tackles the complex, poorly understood issue of food addiction from the perspectives of a medical researcher and dozens of survivors. What exactly is food addiction? Is it possible to draw a hard line between indulging cravings for "comfort food" and engaging in substance abuse? For people struggling with food addictions, recognizing their condition - to say nothing of gaining support and advice - remains a frustrating battle.

Built around the experiences of people suffering and recovering from food addictions, Food Junkies offers practical information grounded in medical science, while putting a face to the problems of food addiction. It is meant to be a knowledgeable and friendly guide on the road to food serenity.

©2014 Vera Tarman with Philip Werdell (P)2016 Post Hypnotic Press Inc.

parallels are strong between food and alcohol

Food addiction creates a situation where many who suffer, find themselves alone and without good advice. In Food Junkies: The Truth About Food Addiction by Vera Tarman and Philip Werdell, they provide not only practical advice, but a host of narratives where those that suffer from food addiction can gain the confidence to break the cycle of addiction. The central tenet of the book is that to combat overeating, one must treat overeating as an addiction and the book works to validate that, often opposed, contention. While addictions in alcohol, drugs, and other substances sometimes remain often as problems others have, all of us eat food. This book provides solace and a talking center for what seems an obvious issue, but is not talked about much. If overeating is a genetic disorder, then there would be great value in parent talking to child and child talking to parent in a way that’s meaningful.

Those who are food addicts, or at least overeat, will recognize many parts of the book will resonate with them from digging food out of the trash after throwing it away to the denial that comes with the disorder. The narratives clear, telling a story, making an important point, but some go beyond what one might initially expect is a book of clinical explication. From the introduction, the authors make clear there are three audiences: the clinician, the patient, and the layperson interested in the subject and speaks clearly to all of them. The parallels are strong between food and alcohol addiction and the analogies and metaphors vivid. The only small idiosyncrasies about the book came from the editing, from time to time a veteran clinician will recognize some points that aren’t quite right such as hearing “pharmakinetics” instead of “pharmacokinetics.”

While it may seem an odd companion, The Bitter Taste of Dying: A Memoir by Jason Smith, narrated by Paul Costanzo, provides a strong narrative “next read,” I feel to this book about overeating and addiction. While The Truth About Food Addiction goes over the stages of early, middle, late, and final in the food addiction circuit, as one would expect of a clinical narrative, the book also goes very dark, it goes to the places the textbooks won’t – to stories of failure, rape, hopelessness, and death. These are more than stories of success and failure, these narratives are the real sadness many would be uncomfortable sharing, but the important real solutions that come from this candid and important discussion.

About the narrator
Lisa Bunting is a veteran narrator providing both the gravitas and clarity that the book needs. She is an easy listen and provides the narrative strength to capture both the emotion and teaching that come from this book. It seems a very good match between content and speaker. Her voice is assuring, while not being pushy, as many readers are looking for encouragement, but a firm hand to help guide them. Her voice lends that hand.

Audiobook was provided for review by the publisher.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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No Easy Fixes Here

An interesting and engaging book and perspective. After hearing it, I realize that being addicted to food is a spectrum. self awareness of where we fall in this spectrum is essential to healing. Dr. Tarman makes a compelling case for abstinence from trigger foods, not a popular stance to take. Great book, glad to have read it.

Thoughtful and Provocative Examination of Addictio

If you could sum up Food Junkies in three words, what would they be?

Thoughtful
Comprehensive
Honest

What did you like best about this story?

It examines a disease which has been long misunderstood, shamed and ignored with honesty, clarity and careful consideration of research as well as the authors' personal and professional experience.

What three words best describe Lisa Bunting’s voice?

Clear
Direct
Neutral

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. Since I relate to this topic I had to listen and digest it in small parts over time.

Changed my life

A few little irritating word mispronunciations but otherwise, an absolute God send of a book. The first time I listened to this book searching for a solution to my food problem, I didn't believe sugar addiction was a real thing. after 2 years of agony and suffering, I listened to it again, I was finally ready to accept the truth. This book has solved the mystery for me and completely changed my life!!

This is the answer to lifelong weight loss

Would you listen to Food Junkies again? Why?

I struggled with my weight and food addiction for a good part of my life. Until, I accepted that I was addicted to foods with sugar and flour. Once I gave up those binge foods, I lost over 100 pounds and live in recovery.

Dr. Vera Tarman is the only MD who really gets me and understands the way out.

What did you like best about this story?

I really appreciated Dr. Tarman's vulnerability in admitting her own struggles with food addiction.

I enjoy the different patient stories throughout the book, I could see myself in each of them.

Which character – as performed by Lisa Bunting – was your favorite?

Harvey was my favorite character. He was able to quit his crystal meth use by substituting sugar for it. He was quoted as saying “food is much worse addiction than crystal meth”. This is very eye opening.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When I realized that I have to radically reconsider how I view certain foods, and come to the understanding that sugar and flour are poison in my body, and could slowly rob me of a life and would eventually kill me

Any additional comments?

To quote Food Junkies "Addiction must be treated as a chronic condition; it has to be treated, managed, and monitored over a lifetime. People who are addicted must learn the tools to keep their urges in check and apply those tools on a continuous basis”.

Exactly the diagnosis that I needed to hear

This is what you need to read when you’ve tried everything to lose weight And you haven’t been successful. Or if you’ve lost weight and continue to gain it back lose it and gain it back again

best food book I ever read

finally an explanation of why people, including myself, are addicted to food and guides on how to overcome it

The REALITY of Food Addiction

What made the experience of listening to Food Junkies the most enjoyable?

Most enjoyable for me were scientific research, the clinician's experience personal and professional, and the stories of people who know what substance use and abuse look like when sugar or grain or fat is the substance of abuse.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Food Junkies?

Touching my heart were many examples: hearing the compassionate care for a man imprisoned by his consumption of food in response to his addiction

Which character – as performed by Lisa Bunting – was your favorite?

Lisa Bunting provided a reading that captured the factual scientific evidence and the painfulness of a heartless disease.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Thank you for sending a light house warning into the seas with so many millions ready to crash on the rocks of food addiction! The simple solution: abstinence from the offending/offensive/triggering substances. This solution has been offered to alcoholics for over 80 years. It is time for food addicts to receive the good news!

Any additional comments?

Thank you Dr. Vera Tarman and Phil Werdell for your truths.

Must Read

For anyone who is a food addict or anyone who loves or cares about a food addict this book is a must read. It had my attention right from the first chapter. I related to many of the characters in the book.

Be careful with this book!

The authors claim that their basic idea is that some people have a chemical dependency on some foods (high in sugar and flour) and that the solution to that is abstinence from these foods. While this makes some sense, I found this book to be confusing and misleading. First they say that emotional eating and eating disorders (including BED) are not the same as food addiction but then they build their cases and points using stories of people who have BED and who have otherwise experienced traumatic events, hence those people also eat to cope with emotions. Some of the studies they cite have been disputed. They keep repeating that the only way to get better is a 12-step program with a rigid food plan and they also push bariatric surgery. Sounds like somebody is trying to make money!

Not just for food addicts.

Though I'm not a food addict myself, I bought this book to learn more about the topic of addiction in general as this interests me.

Thankfully, what I learned from this book helped me to discover (by accident) that I am actually a comfort eater. I am slim and have never had a problem with my weight but this news is still welcome as it highlights a need to focus on acknowledging the feelings I'm uncomfortable with and finding a more positive way to work through them.

Overall it's a fantastic book.
The narrator reads well and has a lovely voice and the book is nicely broken up into scientific research and real life stories about addicts so that you can understand all of this from their point of view.

I recommend, whether you believe you are a food addict or are just interested in nutrition. Everyone can learn something from this book.

A good listen

Very good book. Insight into a food addiction that is starting to be recognised worldwide. Very well narrated.