John Yudkin
 John Yudkin  (physiologist, nutritionist) | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 8 August 1910 |
| Died | 12 July 1995 (Age 84) |
| Nationality | British |
| Exposed | sugar |
A UK nutritionist who was a pioneer in warning about the dangers of sugar consumption. | |
John Yudkin was a UK nutritionist who since at least 1957 warned about the dangers of sugar. His 1972 book, Pure, White and Deadly was widely read and followed by a gradual shift in opinion, but during his lifetime his work was widely ignored by the food industry.
Career
Yudkin wrote several books recommending low-carbohydrate diets for weight loss, including This Slimming Business (1958). He gained an international reputation for his book Pure, White and Deadly (1972), which warned that the consumption of sugar (sucrose, which consists of fructose and glucose) is dangerous to health, an argument he had made since at least 1957.[1][2] Specifically, he wrote that sugar consumption was a factor in the development of conditions such as dental caries, obesity, diabetes, and heart attack.
The efforts of the food industry to discredit the case against sugar were largely successful, and by the time of Yudkin’s death in 1995 his warnings were, for the most part, no longer being taken seriously.
