After many years of lying on dusty bookshelves, in 1972, a book by a British professor surprisingly became the most popular one. It became sold for extremely high prices as well as it was pirated online.
This book along with many other examples turned out to be the most coveted works in the world even though forgotten at the time of their publication, including Nora Roberts’ “Promise Me Tomorrow”, “Stephen King’s Rage”, “Madonna’s Sex”, John Yudkin’s “Pure, White and Deadly”.
Why is this book so significant? It was Robert Lustig, a professor of pediatric endocrinology at the University of California, who gave Yudkin’s work a prophetic significance in his lecture called “Sugar: the Bitter Truth” which you can see in the video below.
He claimed that although he was not aware of that, he was a Yudkin follower. He brought to light the book after a colleague gave him a tip during an interlibrary loan. He admired Yudkin’s ability to foresee the real truth and to give such a prophecy in that book. He claims that everything Yudkin said in 1972 was brought to light by now.
Lustig’s lecture was posted on Youtube in 2009 and got nearly 5 million hits and was regarded as a starting point in the anti-sugar movement, a campaign that signals for sugar to be regarded and treated as a toxin, like tobacco and alcohol, and to be labeled with health instructions and banned for people under the age of 18.
He believes that sugar not only makes people fat and rot their teeth but it causes many chronic diseases such as Alzheimer’s, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. He claims that sugar is also addictive because it hinders our appetites and makes urgent use of it.
Nowadays, Lustig’s message has influenced many diet books not to focus on carbohydrates and fat but on the way how to reduce sugar in everyday meals (bread, juices, sweets) that contain large amounts of sugar. However, the anti-sugar campaign has still not achieved some satisfying results because they are familiar with what happened to Yudkin and how harsh and corrupt is the sugar industry.
The story has its roots in the sixties. At that time, scientists from all over the USA and Europe were trying to find out the reason for so many high levels of heart disease. In the seventies, there were more than 500 deaths from heart disease per 100,000 in England while more than 700 per 100,000 in America. The cause was right there, the high level of fat was the main cause of these diseases.
One nutritionist from the University of Minnesota, called Ancel Keys, gained particular fame. What made him famous was the invention of K-ration, a 12,000 calories diet packed in a little box, used by the troops in the Second World War was claimed to be a primary enemy and everyone that would like to protect himself from heart disease should try a low-fat diet from the Mediterranean.
The food industry did not regard this as a threat but an opportunity to produce brand new profitable products. Following the public enthusiasm for low calories food, the market was soon flushed with low-fat food including yogurts, spreads, snacks, and sweets.
In opposition to this state, appeared John Yudkin, who founded the nutrition department at Queen Elizabeth College as a result of his experiments which did not base the diseases on the door of fat but on the consumption of sugar. He noticed the relationship between the alarming rise of heart disease and higher consumption of sugar. According to him, although the higher consumption of sugar increased the blood levels of fats and thus created a risk for heart disease, it also increased insulin levels, causing type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 Diabetes
He summarized these findings in “Pure, White and Deadly”, published in 1972, wondering whether there is a relationship between fat and heart disease. He pointed out that the use of butter for centuries has not provided such treat as sugar treated people’s lives up until 1850. He also claims that if any other substance had similar effects to sugar, it would be probably banned now.
This was a completely opposite attitude from the one that the food industry had. When inventing the low-fat products, the food industry needed a substance to change the cardboard taste and they chose sugar. Although low-fat, the new products were loaded with sugar, and Yudkin’s discovery was a real treat to the profitable business. So, the food industry tried to destroy Yudkin’s fame and finding. Ancel Keys was the greatest vocal critic.
Keys did not promote Yudkin even before his book appeared and for that reason, he published an article where he characterized Yudkin’s work as comparatively light and insubstantial. Lustig described Yudkin as a person who was always mentally calm and composure, unlike Keys who went to that point of character assassination.
Yudkin’s attitudes were depicted as emotional assertions by the British Sugar Bureau and his book was specified as a science fiction one by the World Sugar Organization. Yudkin’s appeal was returned with a mealy-mouthed denial, claiming that his views and findings were something they do not agree and they express their disagreement in terms of that.
He was not invited to the international conferences and the ones he organized were canceled at the last moment as a result of pressure from his sponsors, like Coca-Cola. His papers about the threat of sugar consumption were not published. He and his department were never invited to the committees that The British Nutrition Foundation, sponsored by Tate & Lyle, organized. Although Queen Elizabeth College promised him to allow Yudkin to use its research facilities when he retired, they went back on the promise. He was only given a small room by his solicitor.
He wrote about his hopelessness in terms of his efforts to do scientific research that would improve people’s health. The results would have helped the people avoid many illnesses but they were misguided by the commercial propaganda that he thought existed only in movies.
This commercial issue did not affect Yudkin but all the other scientists. He himself was discredited and almost every scientist feared such an attack and did even try to write something negative about sugar and its effects on people’s health. On the other hand, the production of low-fat products loaded with sugar flourished.
Yudkin’s critics had an ace up their sleeve, they blamed Yudkin for relying on his works in a scientifically unaccepted manner including observations rather than explanations, of heart and diabetes rates. The author of the bestseller “Sweet Poison”, David Gillespie criticizes him for saying that things are happening but not mentioning the reason.
Lustig points out that Yudkin was aware that he needed some more data that would support his theories, but he created a historically significant book that helps people understand how an idea important for humankind can be destroyed by the force of the dark industry.
The Eighties provided new discoveries that supported Yudkin’s theory. Scientists discovered that fructose and glucose are the main carbohydrates found in sugar. Fructose is metabolized by the liver while glucose by all cells. So, the excessive consumption of fructose burdens the liver and then the liver turns it into fat. This brings about insulin resistance, a condition that is seen as the greatest risk for heart diseases, obesity, diabetes, and many types of cancer.
Michael, Yudkin’s son, a prominent professor at Oxford, states that his father was personally hurt but not embittered by the way they treated him. Contrary, he was a promoter of human health and he strived to help people whose health was damaged because of the financial interest of the food industry.
However, the same problem is present even nowadays. Sugar is present in almost every sphere of our living so buying our children ice cream is similar to buying them poison, but nobody reacts to this.
Yudkin himself was not a wet blanket. He did not ban the use of sugar in his home and he did not deprive his grandchildren of cake and sweets. His psychotherapist recalls that Yudkin was the one that grew up in poverty and wanted to escape being deprived so he wouldn’t like to be deprived of pleasure. Michael added that Yudkin was not a fanatic, he accepted tea or cake when offered somewhere but at home he avoided it. He believed that if he taught people to avoid sugar, they would do it.
Eighteen months ago, Penguin books, republished “Pure, White and Deadly” thanks to Lustig who brought to light what Yudkin strived for. Nowadays, the obesity rates are 10 times greater, and the quantity of sugar we eat has increased more than 30 percent as a result of the hidden sugar in all types of food we eat. The number of people who suffer from diabetes is three times as much.
However, the death rate of heart diseases is lower as a result of the great number of drugs but there the number of people suffering from heart diseases is increasing.
Why Do We Gain Weight Easily than Ever?
The World Health Organization recommends a reduced use of sugar from 22 teaspoons daily to 11 or less. Margaret Chan, the director of this organization emphasizes that the sugar industry has still a strong influence and protects its place on the market.
She points out that it is not just the “Big Tobacco” industry anymore, but there is “Big Food”. “Big Alcohol”, and “Big Soda” must be confronted. The same industries fear to control and protect their work by lobbies, front groups, researchers and promises that additionally confuse the people.
Another leader of a sugar association, Dr. Cooper, claims that the obesity rates in England are a result of many complex factors. According to him, if there is a balanced diet, sugar consumption won’t have any impact on diabetes or any heart diseases.
If you take a look at Lustig’s studies on the Internet, you will see that most of them are sponsored by Coca-Cola. He emphasizes that it is shameful how such a warning is still ignored.
Via Telegraph
