31 books
—
9 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “The Pleasure Trap: Mastering the Hidden Force That Undermines Health and Happiness” as Want to Read:
The Pleasure Trap: Mastering the Hidden Force That Undermines Health and Happiness
by
The authors offer unique insights into the factors that make us susceptible to dietary and lifestyle excesses, and present ways to restore the biological processes designed by nature to keep us running at maximum efficiency and vitality. A wake-up call to even the most health conscious people, The Pleasure Trap boldly challenges conventional wisdom about sickness and unhap
...more
Paperback, 225 pages
Published
March 1st 2006
by Healthy Living Publications
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
The Pleasure Trap,
please sign up.
Be the first to ask a question about The Pleasure Trap
Community Reviews
(showing 1-30)
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 ...more
Interesting that this ...more
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
...more
I've been on and off a vegan diet for 20 years. This book got remotivated and back on track
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 -- mic ...more
* 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 -- mic ...more
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
...more
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., givi
...more
Read book over again when ever I need inspiration. A important book to read if your starting a plant based diet.
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 proc
...more
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 ...more
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 ...more
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 conclusio
...more
Mar 01, 2012
Pragati
rated it
it was ok
Recommends it for:
Plant-Based Eaters ...
Recommended to Pragati by:
Lindsay Nixon
.. 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!!
Good stuff, but somehow the flow of the book was all over the place. This book wouldn't have converted me to whole food plant based diet. I don't think it was even clear in that meassage. But as i am a convert already I had fun with bits and pieces of it and esp. the chapter on benefits of prolonged only water fasting. I may try that some day.
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.
Edit: I've finished it and my review is unchanged. Not a good book.
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.
I read this because of the Forks over Knives movie. It takes the Whole foods diet a step further in understanding. I was especially interested in the Fasting chapter. I liked the fact that it was written from a psychology perspective.
This book is a bit alarmist in parts. The middle chapters were the most helpful in their information and presentation. If a person has no background in eating healthy, this might be a good read. Much for me was repetitive.
I haven't decided how I feel about the last couple chapters yet.
Otherwise, I would very much recommend this to anyone interested in learning more about why we eat the way we do, and how to successfully break out of the pleasure trap / fountain of guilt that is food in America.
Otherwise, I would very much recommend this to anyone interested in learning more about why we eat the way we do, and how to successfully break out of the pleasure trap / fountain of guilt that is food in America.
Important information about the hidden forces of food choices. I read this important book after hearing the engaging author speak at True North Healing Center. Since then I have shared this book with many people who may appreciate insights into food choices.
Good insight into human behavior from a scientific and evolutionary standpoint as it related to food, hunger, and health. The e-book version unfortunately cuts-off a few words here and there which is sometimes annoying but not enogh so to detract from the overall message.
Discusses the psychological aspects and the core reasons for our addictions to food and chemicals. It helps us understand why it's hard for some of us to change our eating habits.
I ended up skimming through parts of this book but I don't regret reading it. It has information that I haven't read before about health and wellness.
There are some really interesting concepts to be explored in this book, even if you don't agree with everything they say. I enjoyed the unique perspectives.
This was an interesting book; eye opening; study on the pleasure traps in our society; I enjoyed it a lot!
Shows us why we can't resist some foods, and the biological mechanism behind
present the dangerous aspect of social pressure
present the dangerous aspect of social pressure
The Pleasure Trap is tooted as one of the "must-reads" by many vegans. It's a book that uses psychology and evolution concepts to explain why the modern humans are fat, stressed and unhappy, then proceed to offer solutions to resolve these prevalent issues.
The first half of the book dives deep into the concept which the authors define as the "motivational triad", which will continually be used through the reset of the book to explain everything. For those who have seen documentaries like "Forks ...more
The first half of the book dives deep into the concept which the authors define as the "motivational triad", which will continually be used through the reset of the book to explain everything. For those who have seen documentaries like "Forks ...more
“The Pleasure Trap” goes to the heart of the dangerous intersection of our modern society and our human biology.
With our evolutionary biology, we are physically designed to thrive on unprocessed foods, and to heal ourselves through rest and fasting, rather than medication.
In our modern society, we are sabotaging our health with high-fat animal products, refined sweeteners and refined carbohydrates, and relying on drugs and medical procedures to clean up the mess, with very limited success.
This i ...more
With our evolutionary biology, we are physically designed to thrive on unprocessed foods, and to heal ourselves through rest and fasting, rather than medication.
In our modern society, we are sabotaging our health with high-fat animal products, refined sweeteners and refined carbohydrates, and relying on drugs and medical procedures to clean up the mess, with very limited success.
This i ...more
I enjoyed the bits of history mixed in with science and psychology. I previously knew the type of diets recommended in this book, but I appreciated the reasoning behind it. We still have primitive nature in our brains and our main goals are to seek pleasure, avoid pain, and conserve energy. These instincts are completely at odds with how we have to behave today to remain healthy. We live in a world of abundance, but our instincts come from a time of very limited supply. This all makes sense, but
...more
Lisle and Goldhamer, a clinical psychologist and a chiropractor, respectively, claim that modern life is “the root of the vast majority of disease, disability, and unhappiness in Western civilization” in their convincing, if dramatic, argument for a back-to-essentials diet. Humans, like all animals, are genetically wired to pursue pleasure, avoid pain, and conserve energy. Life today, however, “has magic buttons that can short-circuit the natural connection between happiness and pleasure-seeking
...more
“You are the prize your ancestors worked so hard to achieve.”
This is an amazing primer in evolutionary history, psychology and the potential for self-healing using the ancient wisdom of eating a whole food, plant based diet. “Too often we make choices with an ancient compass in a world for which if was
not designed” and we have fallen into a life destroying pleasure trap of our own making - i.e., seeking the most pleasure and caloric density for the least amount of effort, thereby becoming overw ...more
This is an amazing primer in evolutionary history, psychology and the potential for self-healing using the ancient wisdom of eating a whole food, plant based diet. “Too often we make choices with an ancient compass in a world for which if was
not designed” and we have fallen into a life destroying pleasure trap of our own making - i.e., seeking the most pleasure and caloric density for the least amount of effort, thereby becoming overw ...more
The first few chapters do a good job of explaining human motivation, and the differences between happiness and pleasure. I liked these chapters, and had the book stayed in this lane, I would have enjoyed the book. However, its quickly changed gears to push Dr. Lisle's agenda. Some of it was was promoting correlation as causation, some of it was misleading, and some of it was just factually incorrect. He goes on for chapters about "truths" but overall I felt the book was poorly cited. Having a de
...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Herbies: Pleasure Trap (Week 4, Q1) | 7 | 31 | Apr 06, 2012 03:40PM | |
| Reading Herbies: Pleasure Trap (Week 2, Q1) | 4 | 31 | Apr 02, 2012 06:42PM | |
| Reading Herbies: Pleasure Trap (Week 4, Q2) | 4 | 25 | Apr 01, 2012 03:26PM | |
| Reading Herbies: Pleasure Trap (Week 3, Q2) | 11 | 33 | Mar 26, 2012 02:11PM | |
| Reading Herbies: Pleasure Trap (Week 1, Q2) | 6 | 63 | Mar 26, 2012 03:00AM | |
| Reading Herbies: Pleasure Trap (Week 2, Q2) | 9 | 36 | Mar 25, 2012 09:32AM | |
| Reading Herbies: Pleasure Trap (Week 3, Q3) | 4 | 25 | Mar 20, 2012 10:22AM |
Nonfiction Deals
-
$14.99 $2.99 -
$9.99 $1.99 -
$5.99 $1.99 -
$5.99 $1.99 -
$11.99 $3.99 -
$9.99 $2.99 -
$9.99 $2.99 -
$5.99 $1.99 -
$7.99 $0.99 -
$9.99 $2.99 -
$9.99 $1.99 -
$17.99 $1.99 -
$12.99 $3.99 -
$15.99 $2.99 -
$11.74 $1.99 -
$9.99 $2.49 -
$6.99 $1.99 -
$6.99 $1.99 -
$14.74 $1.99 -
$12.99 $2.99 -
$12.74 $1.99 -
$13.49 $0.99 -
$9.24 $1.99 -
$2.99 $1.49 -
$9.99 $1.99 -
$9.99 $2.99 -
$5.99 $1.99 -
$18.50 $3.99 -
$16.99 $4.99 -
$15.95 $2.99 -
$9.99 $2.99 -
$12.99 $2.99 -
$11.99 $1.99 -
$5.99 $1.99 -
$4.99 $1.99 -
$11.99 $2.99 -
$18.95 $2.99 -
$13.99 $1.99 -
$8.74 $1.99 -
$9.99 $2.99 -
$19.99 $2.99 -
$11.99 $2.99 -
$5.99 $1.99 -
$8.24 $2.99 -
$9.24 $1.99 -
$11.99 $2.99 -
$11.99 $1.99 -
$7.95 $2.49 -
$12.99 $3.99 -
$4.99 $1.99 -
$7.99 $1.99 -
$11.99 $1.99 -
$9.99 $1.99 -
$9.99 $2.99 -
$9.99 $2.99 -
$17.99 $1.99
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“Our desire for sleep, like our desire for food, obeys a law of satiation. The attempt to circumvent this law will cause impaired mental and physical performance.”
—
1 likes
“Optimal results are not achievable without optimal behavior.”
—
1 likes
More quotes…
