… This article is simply quotes (of my choice) from “Pure White & Deadly” by John Yudkin – How Sugar is Killing Us and What we Can Do to Stop It” (1972). John Yudkin (1910 – 1995) was a British physiologist and nutritionist and was one of the first scientists to claim that “sugar was a major cause of obesity and heart disease.” Reading this book changed my life and thanks to Robert Lustig, MD who wrote the introduction to the 2012 edition and for his (now) record breaking “Sugar – The Bitter Truth” video (2009) and as they say “the rest is history”
Quotes on Sugar
From the Introduction “Prophecy and Propaganda” by Dr Robert Lustig
- Yudkin foresaw what a problem sugar was 36 years earlier, and at a much lower dose (ie, before the advent of high-fructose corn syrup and the 2 litre bottle) was a true revelation (Page xiv)
- Yudkin correctly fingered the sugar and food industries for what they were, and still are. Those who don’t understand history are condemned to repeat it – especially in the face of persistent propaganda. And this book is history. (Pg xv)
What’s So different About Sugar ? (Chapter 1)
- If only a small fraction of what is already known about the effects of sugar were to be revealed in relation to any other material used as a food additive, that material would promptly be banned. (Pg 3)
- I (John Yudkin) hope that when you have read this book I shall have convinced you that sugar is really dangerous.” (Pg 4)
- … neither you nor your children need to take any sugar at all, or foods or drinks made with it, in order to enjoy a completely healthy & highly nutritious diet” (Pg 5)
I eat it because I like it (Chapter 2)
- But it does matter that your diet is now very likely to be different from … the diet most suitable for you as a member of the species Homo sapiens (Pg 6)
- And sugar also resembles alcohol and tobacco craving, and for which there is nevertheless no physiological need (Pg 15)
- Much of what I have to say in this book is based on the proposition that satisfying our palates is no longer a guarantee that we are satisfying our nutritional needs. (Pg 17)
The Quotes Continue …
Is Brown sugar better than White Sugar (Chapter 5)
- I strongly believe that it is better not to eat sugar at all (Pg 31)
- You should also remember that it is white refined sugar that is used by the manufacturers of all the common soft drinks, ice cream, confectionery, chocolate, and sweet cakes and biscuits. (Pg 31)
Who eats sugar, and how much? (chapter 8)
- People look at me quite incredulously when I tell them that there are now many parts of the world where the average person – man, woman, and child – is eating more than 100 pounds of sugar a year – 2 pounds or more a week. (Pg 41) (1972)
- In 1981 nearly Pounds Sterling 100 million was spent on advertising sugar-rich foods: Pounds Sterling 52 million of this was spent on advertising chocolate and confectionery (Pg 55)
Sugar Calories make you thin – so they say (Chapter 10)
- What with the high prevalence of obesity, there is no acceptable reason for recommending that sugar intake should not be reduced … (Pg 70)
- It (sugar) is after all the only food that supplies nothing whatever in the way of nutrients (Pg 70)
- Sometimes, in order to reduce their weight to acceptable levels, people also need to restrict starchy foods, and so adopt a strict low-carbohydrate diet. (Pg 70)
- I have never really understood why so many doctors in the American medical and nutritional establishments have frowned upon a diet that tells you in effect to reduce only, or chiefly, those foods that give you the calories you don’t need while giving you little of the nutrients you do need (Pg 71)
Sugar & Disease …
Can You prove it (Chapter 12)
- What I am hoping to show is that eating a lot of sugar is another environmental factor (or cause) in producing heart disease. I do not propose to show that sugar is the one and only factor … (Pg 79 )
Too much blood sugar – or too little (Chapter 15)
- There are several reasons why I believe that eating too much sugar is one cause of diabetes – mostly Type 2 diabetes, but possibly Type 1 too. (Pg 119)
- The name “sugar diabetes” of course refers to the fact that sugar (glucose) is found in the urine of affected persons. But people also take the name to refer to dietary sugar as a cause of the disease … (Pg 120)
- As well as producing an increase in the size of the liver, sugar in the diet also results in enlargement of the kidneys (Pg 124)
- … loss of excess weight and increased physical activity both of which reduce the risk of developing coronary disease, result in a fall in insulin levels. (Pg 132)
- As for sugar, the most relevant fact is that every one of the abnormalities seen in coronary heart disease and in diabetes can be produced by the inclusion of sugar in the diet (Pg 132)
A host of Diseases (Chapter 17)
- … the liver has the task of detoxifying several of the harmful materials that may be present in the food or produced during metabolism. For all these reasons the liver is one of the first organs to be affected by undesirable items in the diet. (Pg 152)
- The cancers that seem most likely to be related to sugar consumption are cancer of the large intestine in men and in women, and cancer of the breast in women (Pg 154)
- … a very mixed collection of diseases, to be sure – cancer, dental caries, short and long sight, dermatitis, and gout, as well as coronary disease, diabetes and various digestive conditions… (Pg 159)
In Closing …
How does sugar produce its effects (Chapter 19)
- Avoid sugar, I say, and you are less likely to become fat, run into nutritional deficiency, have a heart attack, get diabetes or dental decay or a duodenal ulcer, and perhaps you also reduce your chances of getting gout, dermatitis and some forms of cancer, and in general increase your life span (Page 167)
In the closing Chapter 21 “Attack is the best Defense” is the simply powerful quote ~ “The only food that contains nothing but calories is sugar … (Pg 212)
If you have not read this book, I hope these quotes encourage you to want to read this enlightening history and more. This book is a really good way to start a New Beginning … Good health and best wishes ~ Liz
“There is no physiological requirement for sugar : all humans nutritional needs can be met in full without having to take a single spoon of … sugar”
Links & References:
- Dr John Yudkin – Christ’s College University of Cambridge
- Sugar vs Cholesterol : John Yudkin vs Ancel Keys
- More information on Dr Robert Lustig through his blog https://robertlustig.com/blog/
A 1 minute video about Dr John Yudkin : a warning that went ignored
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