TY - JOUR AB - This book covers the history, science, trade, industry, ramifications, cover-ups and the danger we do not know we are in as a population as a result of sugar. The author delves into Americans’ history with sugar: its uses as a preservative, as an additive in cigarettes, the contemporary overuse of high-fructose corn syrup. He clarifies the arguments against sugar, corrects misconceptions about the relationship between sugar and weight loss and provides the perspective necessary to make informed decisions about sugar as individuals and as a society. In science as in the courts, fairness requires that we hear the argument for the defence before we convict. The author argues the point that sugar is the principal cause of obesity, diabetes, coronary heart disease and many other common non-communicable diseases. This differs from the prevailing view in the public health communities that obesity and non-communicable diseases are multi-factorial, with refined sugar playing a role among other things such as excess calorie intake, physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol and various lifestyle factors. This book is a polemic, not a balanced scientific review. The author makes a compelling case against sugar, but as he acknowledges, the evidence is insufficient to definitely convict. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could eliminate obesity, diabetes, cancer and most chronic diseases by simply removing one component of our diet? When something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. This book is very engaging and informative, but a bit dense at some parts. To a general audience that has little basis for evaluating its claims, this book could be misleading. Yet for readers who are willing to take this book with a pinch of salt, it does contain some interesting history. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/about_us/legal/notices) TI - The Case Against Sugar JF - Journal of Public Health DO - 10.1093/pubmed/fdy024 DA - 2018-02-07 UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/oxford-university-press/the-case-against-sugar-y5wSZ35XtX SP - 1 EP - 448 VL - Advance Article IS - 2 DP - DeepDyve ER -