Nicole Avena Ph.D.

About

Dr. Nicole Avena is an Associate Professor of Neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, and a Visiting Professor of Health Psychology at Princeton University. She is a research neuroscientist and expert in the fields of nutrition, diet and addiction, with a special focus on nutrition during early life and pregnancy, and women’s health. She has done groundbreaking work developing models to characterize food addiction and the dangers of excess sugar intake. Her research achievements have been honored by awards from several groups including the New York Academy of Sciences, the American Psychological Association, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

In addition to over 100 peer-reviewed scholarly publications, Dr. Avena has written several popular books, including Why Diets Fail: Because You’re Addicted to Sugar, What to Eat When You’re Pregnant, What to Feed Your Baby and Toddler and What to Eat When You Want to Get Pregnant. Her latest book, Sugarless, covers the latest science on sugar addiction and how to overcome it. She frequently appears as a science expert in the media, including regular appearances on Good Day NY, The Doctors, and the former Dr. Oz Show as well as many news programs. Her work has been featured in Time Magazine, Bloomberg Business Week, The New York Times, and many other periodicals. Dr. Avena is a member of the Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau. She has the #2 most watched TED-ED Health talk, How Sugar Affects Your Brain, with over 17 million views and counting.

You can find her on social media @drnicoleavena IG, Facebook, LinkedIn.

Books by Nicole Avena Ph.D.

Recent Posts

How to Manage Stress When Cutting Out Sugar

Struggling to cut out sugar because you’re too stressed? Here are techniques you can use that will help manage both your stress and sugar cravings.

Will Intermittent Fasting Help Fight My Sugar Dependence?

Sustainable changes are necessary to fight excessive sugar intake. Is intermittent fasting a change you should make?

How to Curb Cravings and Put an End to Your Sugar Dependence

If you’re constantly craving sugar, you’ve come to the right place! Let’s talk about how you can kick sugar cravings to the curb for good.

School Lunches Without All the Added Sugar

Packing lunch is a great way to provide your children with essential nutrients that support growth and development. However, added sugars can make this challenging.

The Difference Between Sugar and Added Sugar

Sugar and added sugar are not the same. But what is this difference and how is it relevant to our health?

How Excessive Sugar Intake Can Harm Your Health

Excessive sugar intake can be detrimental.

Why Aren't We Talking About Infertility?

One in five women is unable to get pregnant within the first full year of trying. But why?

Eating Healthy Can Help With Fertility: Here's How to Start

For some of us, a little motivation is all we need to make changes, but for many others, changing habits and adopting new behaviors isn’t so easy.

Perfectionism and Self-Criticism

You want to lose weight. Did you ever think that your mindset and coping style, which for some can be displayed as perfectionism or self-criticism, could be important to succeed?

Can Supplements Really Improve Your Cognitive Functioning?

In many ways, brain health is somewhat out of our control, due to genetics or age-related changes that we can’t do much about. But can dietary supplements make a difference?