Pure, White and Deadly: How Sugar Is Killing Us and What We Can Do to Stop It

I don't want to be too harsh but I ended up having to skim the last 50% of the book. It was first written in 1972 and there really has been a lot of progress since then. The author basically says himself that nothing is definitive and there is no hard proof of what he is saying. Not exactly helpful. Much more up to date research has happened since. This was a slog if I'm honest which is why I had to skim the last half of the book.

I bought this book some time ago, but now having read it I wished I had read it earlier. As a result of having read this book, even before I had completed it, I have tried to cut out all sugar from my diet and I am now reaping the benefits. And, as I will detail below so is my husband and a friend who have joined me in my dietary change.John Yudkin way back in 1972, when this book was first published, lifted the lid on the harmful effects of sugar on the body and at the same time of the lengths various components of the sugar industry went to, to discredit his work. Following publication Yudkin continued his work and updated his book in 1986 to include the results his further research. This 2012 edition is this 1986 book re-published with an introduction by Robert Lustig, a Professor in Pediatrics and an expert in obesity.Lustig tells us that Yudkin was a pioneer in his field, a lone voice in the dark that few wanted to listen to. When Yudkin published the light was shining on those scientists who were chanting the mantra that heart disease is caused by fat. As Lustig explains, later studies have shown that it is carbohydrates that are linked to heart disease and that sugar is implicated as the carbohydrate that is the primary driver not just in heart disease, but diabetes, obesity, hypertension and fat problems. Yudkin also linked sugar to dental caries, gout, duodenal and peptic ulcers, autoimmune disease and cancer, in particular that of the large intestine and breast.Yudkin explains that the human body has not had sufficient time to evolve a tolerance of and a mechanism for beneficially assimilating sugar into our bodies. Refined sugar first became available to the general public around 300 years ago with the development of the sugar cane plantations in the Caribbean. Since WW2 and the extensive use of corn syrup and high fructose syrup, the presence of sugar in our diet is little short of a phenomenal proportion, to the point that even if you try to avoid eating sugar by cutting out obvious culprits such as cakes and chocolate, you will find that your intake is still quite high. Sugar is in virtually all food that has been processed in some way. And processed food is so attractive because it is often a time saving way of eating. It is not surprising then that heart disease, diabetes, obesity and certain types of cancer are on the increase.The sugar industry remains as strong and vibrant as ever, with plans to increase its production, viz. I read in a recent edition of the National Geographic that a 250,000 acres sugar cane plantation is being created in Ethiopia by diverting the Awash River!But really what we should be doing on mass is to turn our diets back so that they are sugar free. I believe that in time, possibly in my lifetime, that sugar will come to be regarded in the same way that tobacco is. I myself now regard it as a poison to be avoided if at all possible. Don't get me wrong I have been a devotee all of my life and I now see that many walks in the country have been undertaken because of the reward of a cream tea or a piece of cake at the end of it. There is no doubt about it sugar is addictive.Ok, so these are the sustained benefits that my husband and I have experienced within forty eight hours of quitting sugar: deeper and sustained through the night sleep, needing less sleep by about 30-60 minutes per night, a reduction to the frequency and intensity of hot flushes to almost nil per day, (obviously my husband has not experienced this benefit!) and loss of weight - I've lost my onset middle age mid-tyre spread. My friend in addition to all of the above, has experienced the cessation of aching finger joints and a reduction to the size of a benign breast cyst and a cessation of aching in this area.Everybody should read this book - it will change your life for the better.I can't recommend this book enough. Come on join the anti-sugar army!

A lot of true in this book title. Almost 3 years ago my Mum passed away on heart failure and diabetes. With Mum wasn't just the sugar it was in general a poor diet all together. Home-made delicious cakes, home-made cooked meals with lots of fat and meat, smoking, etc. Anyway as I want to give up table sugar for more than one reason, I was looking for a book about sugar, written by a doctor, and not by any ordinary person. Here I am buying this one and I am glad that I bought it. It is easy to read and says exactly what I have been reading on-line for a long, long time. Our body doesn't need this crap because it’s cleaver enough to produce its own sugar, energy, from the food that we are eating.I needed to have a book like this handy to make made deal with occasionally sugar cravings which I am getting for more than one reason like: thinking about that choco ice-cream (usually a good quality one, without mono and diglice.in ) especially when my hormones are playing, seeing my husband eating his ice cream on weekend after lunch (while seating on the sofa watching TV), etc. Almost 5 years ago I started to workout. In the last 3 years I started to look after what I am eating and although I dropped the consummation of sugar from cakes and CO. from twice a week to ones a week and sometimes just 2-3 times in 4 weeks, I still wanted to know more about the reaction of our body to sugar. I read a lot on-line and now I know that the home-made banana ice-cream gives me the sugar that I want but the healthier one, fructose and will also satisfy my ice cream cravings.I have more than one reason to give up table sugar for good: I have more or less my Mum genes, my blood sugar is normal without eating in the morning so why the need of extra sugar??, I am on perimenopause and anyone knows that with this the risk of diseases is rising, I am taking my sugar from the carbs that I am eating, and not to say that the banana ice cream is very delicious and I am kind of addicted to it. In addition to this I am taking my sugar just from veg and fruits. I am not eating honey because it is also sugar (with some benefits, but still sugar).If you, like me and other reviewers here are interested in your own health and want to give up table sugar, this book is for you too. For me is good to have it handy because next time when I will think about buying that Choco ice cream I will reach for the book instead for the clothes to put them on and go out to buy ice cream.5 Stars.