Notes
This book gives general information. It isn't medical or dietary advice, and it's no substitute for a professional who knows your situation. NHS guidance is quoted as I found it in September 2026 and applies to England.
I've kept sources out of the chapters where I could so they read easily. Here they are by chapter, with the limits I'm aware of. Unless I say otherwise, I read the published summary of each paper and not the full text. I checked each paper for a retraction or correction notice in September 2026 and found none on the papers cited. Where a chapter isn't listed, it rests on my own reasoning. That includes chapters 1, 12, 14, 15 apart from the studies already described, and 18. You, Claire, Rob, Priya, Margaret and every other example are invented for illustration.
Before you start. The advice on treating low blood sugar is from the NHS page "Low blood sugar, hypoglycaemia". The symptoms of binge eating disorder and the advice to see a GP are from the NHS page "Binge eating disorder, overview". Beat is the UK eating disorder charity.
Chapter 2. That newborn babies show signs of pleasure at a sweet taste is a long-established finding in the study of taste, and I've given it from general knowledge without checking a particular paper. The definition of free sugars and the statement that most adults and children in the UK eat too much of them are from the NHS page "Sugar: the facts". The account of what sweets meant in childhood is mine.
Chapter 3. Westwater, Fletcher and Ziauddeen, "Sugar addiction: the state of the science", European Journal of Nutrition 55, supplement 2, 2016, pages 55 to 69. The summary says they found little evidence to support sugar addiction in humans, and that addiction-like behaviour in animals occurs only with intermittent access. My statements about tolerance and withdrawal are from memory of the full paper. Applying the intermittent access finding to people who ban sugar and then give in is my step and not theirs. Other researchers take the idea of food addiction more seriously than this review does, and the question isn't closed.
Chapter 4. Macht and Mueller, "Immediate effects of chocolate on experimentally induced mood states", Appetite 49, 2007, pages 667 to 674. The first experiment had 48 participants. That the second biscuit gives less than the first is my observation, and it fits well-established research on how the pleasantness of a food falls as you eat it.
Chapter 5. Mantantzis, Schlaghecken, Sünram-Lea and Maylor, "Sugar rush or sugar crash? A meta-analysis of carbohydrate effects on mood", Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 101, 2019, pages 45 to 67. There were 176 comparisons from 31 studies. Thayer, "Energy, tiredness, and tension effects of a sugar snack versus moderate exercise", Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 52, 1987, pages 119 to 125. The snack was what the American paper calls a candy bar. The list of other causes of the afternoon slump is general knowledge and isn't sourced.
Chapter 6. Taylor, Webb and Sheeran, "'I deserve a treat!': justifications for indulgence undermine the translation of intentions into action", British Journal of Social Psychology 53, 2014, pages 501 to 520. The order of the six justifications is the order in the summary, and I don't know that it reflects how common each was. The analysis of the biscuit as a pay deal is mine.
Chapter 7. Wagner, Ahlstrom, Redden, Vickers and Mann, "The myth of comfort food", Health Psychology 33, 2014, pages 1552 to 1557. The moods were induced by film clips in a laboratory, which is a good deal milder than a family row, so extending the result to real upsets is my step. Macht and Mueller as above.
Chapter 8. Neal, Wood, Wu and Kurlander, "The pull of the past: when do habits persist despite conflict with motives?", Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 37, 2011, pages 1428 to 1437. That the stale popcorn was a week old, and that the second setting was a meeting room where people watched music videos, are from my memory of the full paper. Applying a finding about cinema popcorn to evening biscuits is my step.
Chapter 9. The 30 gram figure, the seven cubes, the can of cola, and the advice to limit sugary foods to mealtimes are all from the NHS page "Sugar: the facts". The explanation that teeth are attacked by acid for a while after each sugary snack is standard dental teaching, and I haven't sourced it to a particular page.
Chapter 10. The 150 millilitre limit for juice and smoothies, the advice to drink it with meals, and the suggestion to reduce sugar in hot drinks gradually are from the same NHS page. That many studies in the Mantantzis review used drinks is from my memory of the paper and isn't in the summary.
Chapter 11. Wise, Nattress, Flammer and Beauchamp, "Reduced dietary intake of simple sugars alters perceived sweet taste intensity but not perceived pleasantness", American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 103, 2016, pages 50 to 60. Sixteen people were assigned to the low-sugar diet and thirteen completed the key tests. Two of the four authors worked for a soft drinks and snacks company, which also makes me cautious about it, though the finding isn't one that obviously suits such a company.
Chapter 13. Hunter, Hollands, Couturier and Marteau, "Effect of snack-food proximity on intake in general population samples with higher and lower cognitive resource", Appetite 121, 2018, pages 337 to 347. The figures were 57.7 against 70.7 per cent in the second study and 53.8 against 63.3 per cent in the first. Taylor and Oliver, "Acute effects of brisk walking on urges to eat chocolate, affect, and responses to a stressor and chocolate cue", Appetite 52, 2009, pages 155 to 160, with 25 participants who had abstained for three days. Oh and Taylor, "Brisk walking reduces ad libitum snacking in regular chocolate eaters during a workplace simulation", Appetite 58, 2012, pages 387 to 392. The averages were 15.6 and 28.8 grams. The participants in both Exeter studies were mostly young. That most urges pass in the time it takes to make tea is my estimate.
Chapter 16. Gollwitzer and Sheeran, "Implementation intentions and goal achievement: a meta-analysis of effects and processes", Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 38, 2006, pages 69 to 119. The rule and its parts haven't been tested together, and what I say to expect is my expectation and not a finding.
Chapter 17. The NHS suggestion of sugar-free drinks as a swap is from "Sugar: the facts". I haven't reviewed the research on sweeteners, on cravings across the menstrual cycle, or on sugar in endurance sport, and the chapter says so where it matters.