Sugar Blues [Mass Market Paperback]

William Dufty (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 17, 1986

It's a prime ingredient in countless substances from cereal to soup, from cola to coffee. Consumed at the rate of one hundred pounds for every American every year, it's as addictive as nicotine -- and as poisonous. It's sugar. And "Sugar Blues", inspired by the crusade of Hollywood legend Gloria Swanson, is the classic, bestselling expose that unmasks our generation's greatest medical killer and shows how a revitalizing, sugar-free diet can not only change lives, but quite possibly save them.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Life & Style (March 17, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446343129
• ISBN-13: 978-0446343121
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.8 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (148 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,932 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #15 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Reference

More About the Author

Eleanora Fagan, who later took the name BILLIE HOLIDAY, was born April 7, 1915, and died when she was just forty-four, on July 17, 1959. Coauthor WILLIAM DUFTY (1916-2002) was a music enthusiast, freelance writer for the New York Post, and Gloria Swanson's last husband.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

455 of 467 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars For Responsible Adults Only! May 28, 2000

By Ken Nanni

Format:Mass Market Paperback

For weeks I walked to and from work, over one hour each way, to help drop through a weight plateau of 199 pounds. No matter what I did, including dieting, I was destined to be a 199-pounder for life! Then, one Sunday evening, I read the first few chapters of a book a friend lent me, "Sugar Blues" by Dufty. My first reaction to the information contained in it was entirely emotional: anger and disgust. Until that moment I had never given sugar a moment's worth of thought. That Sunday evening, I felt my anger so intensely, that I promised myself that I immediately would stop my ingestion of sugar for MORAL reasons. As I read further, I wished that I had known this information years ago. I wished that I had used this information while raising my children. I am saddened that I didn't get to the profound wisdom in this book sooner than I did. But, life is full of important lessons. This book is but lesson number one. And learning this lesson later is better than not learning it at all. While reading "SUGAR BLUES" I was also reading another book on the topic of meats. I decided to give up sugar and meats. That Sunday evening, I switched to a SWEETENER-FREE and meat-free lifestyle. On Thursday of that week I spent time between the fetal position in bed and sprinting to the washroom. I thought I had the flu, but looking back, I now realize I had what I'd describe as, "withdrawl" symptoms. 24 hours later I was feeling better. 7 days later, when I weighed myself, I received the first of many self-fulfiling rewards: I cracked my weight-loss plateau, was finally down to 190 pounds. Three weeks later, I lost another 6 pounds and was down to 184. Seven weeks later I was at 177. 10 weeks later 174. I have had to tighten my belt 5 notches!... I fit into pants that I had not fit into since 1978. As of this last week, I stabilized at a weight plateau of 174 pounds. I have lost a cool 25 pounds. This book made me THINK about the quality of, and effect from, the "foods" I shovelled into my mouth. This book motivated me to read the labels before I bought. It is an absolute MUST HAVE for your home library...a MUST SHOW to friends who you care about...a book that you MUST DOG-EAR and underline, (use over and over again). It might be a good idea for you to think about buying several or more copies of this book in paper back version, (low cost), to either give away or circualte among your friends and relatives. If you do, you just might enhance your life and theirs. Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts about "SUGAR BLUES". By sharing my experience I am hoping that your life will become healthier. All the best in your decision to buy "Sugar Blues". Read more ›

336 of 346 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Try to Quit if You Think It's Not a Drug November 30, 1999

By pat white

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I read Sugar Blues years ago, and became a right-wingist, eliminating all sugar. Over the years, sugar crept back in. Now I'm doing it again because of (1) moodiness, (2) always being bloated, (3) loss of "real appetite". Sugar in EVERYTHING (even soups and vegetables) makes it very hard to stop totally but what I remember most about William Duffy's comments were the similarity to cocaine use when sugar was first introduced -- the first sugar users brought it to parties and it was a great specialty. That hit home.

Try to Quit! It takes almost a full month for the cravings to go away. Anyone who has seen The Insiders and the power that the tobacco industry has, can understand the enormity of trying to attack the sugar industry.

AS a PS, Sugar in everything is an American phenomenon. You won't find sugar in soups, canned vegetables, frozen dinners in Holland and the rest of Europe. WHY is it DONE to us here in America?

Pick up this book and begin to understand how eliminating ONE FOOD ITEM ALONE can change your life.

124 of 129 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A true health classic! February 3, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I'm sugar-free ever since reading "Sugar Blues." I was sluggish, moody, hungry, etc. I remembered that John Lennon mentioned Dufty's book in an interview once. So I bought it at the local health food store. He starts off with his own sugar hell and redemption and then delves into the whole history of the cane. Very interesting, healthwise and also politically. This is the meat of the book. (The Boston "Tea" Party? More like the rum party.) I like his writing style; he keeps it homespun. (Why did some think this book needs more "hard science"? Isn't it already in there? It's not intended to be in a medical journal [which can't always be trusted!].) When I tell people I'm sugar-free they usually scoff, saying sugar's not that bad for you, why give it up completely. Well, now I wake up clear and I get through the afternoon w/o any flagging of energy. At various times of the day I'll feel some energy racing through my body. (A great feeling; keeps me motivated.) Now I need less food on my plate, and my hypoglycemia has all but disappeared. (Think about THAT one, folks.) Never eat "refined sucrose" again! It can be done! Sky's the limit! Thank you, William Dufty!

55 of 57 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Perils of Refined Sugar and consistent theme: Food Industry and Drug Industry September 5, 2005

By DrD

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I cannot add much more to the positive reviews that indicate how the book clearly identifies the negative affects of sugar (and refined and processed foods, by extension) on the human body. The book delves into the detrimental developmental, mental/psychiatric, and physiological affects that sugar has on the human body. Just a few points that I would like to point out to potential readers of this book:

(1.) Some of the very few negative reviews point out that the book is a one-track, narrowly focused diatribe against refined sugar (The author very clearly makes a distinction between natural carbohydrates and natural sugars as opposed to refined processed sugars and refined carbohydrates which is something that cannot be overlooked). I thoroughly disagree. There is a consistent and very powerful underlying theme throughout the book....the fact that throughout history the food industry and the medical/pharmaceutical industry have monetarily thrived off of each other at the expense of public health and human welfare. (and in my opinion, they knowingly did so and do so). This is not a conspiratorial left-winged angle on the theme of the book that the author pushes on the reader, but rather a theme that is supported throughout the European and American sugar history. The author uses this richly detailed historical backdrop to reinforce not only the perils and hazards of sugar, but to also provide perhaps an explanation (and motive) as to why and how refined sugar has become so pervasive in society. As is often the case, greed and monetary interests provide the very motives for the medical establishment's "looking the other way" in the face of overwhelming evidence pointing to the health hazards of sugar.... The author leverages these historical actions effectively in telling the "story" and providing the facts. Admittedly, some of the facts are wholly anecdotal in nature, but nevertheless they serve the purpose to reinforce the overall theme of the book. At the core, this is the food industry "lobbying" for the pharmaceutical industry's interests, and vise versa. Consider this:

1.Cholesterol free foods, fat free foods-----Cholesterol lowering drugs. Health issues: Good fats (fish oil, Omega 9's)totally eliminated. Absence of these fats induces cardiovascular problems. Cholesterol in and of itself is not damaging to arteries and endothelial function, but the absence healthy fats and statins cause a host of other cardiovascular issues.

2.Polished refined white rice------Vitamin B1 derived from whole grain rice (they initially were able to market B1; there is no money to be made from B1 anymore so they have moved on). The author spends a chapter asking why was it removed in the first place? "How to Complicate Simplicity" all for the sake of money and greed.

3.Refined sugar-------Psychiatry for a host of mental illnesses. Insulin. Allergy industry. All very profitable

4.MSG, food additives--------Psychiatry and pharmaceuticals for a host of neurological disorders

5.Transfatty acids for fat free food-------Cardiovascular and vascular medications to deal with the problems transfatty acids cause. Transfats were substituted for natural fats all in the name of low fat heart healthy foodstuffs! The food and pharmaceutical industries making money for each other.

The pharmaceutical and established medical industry have one motive to look the other way when the perils of refined carbohydrates/sugars are discussed: Money and Greed. These "foods" supply their care industries with patients...."How to complicate simplicity"...

(2.)One must also keep in mind that the book was written originally in 1976. Since then, many of the medical disease states presented in the book have been thoroughly researched, studied, and clinically proven to be caused by refined carbohydrates and sugars. Naysayers are the pharmaceutical industry and the processed food industry. Greed.

(3.)The book in not meant to be a scientific double blind clinical study on the perils of refined sugar, but rather presents the reader with historical and anecdotal facts that point to one conclusion: the damaging effects of refined sugar on the human body and mind.

(4.) Another negative review pointed out that carbohydrates are necessary for proper human metabolic function. The review incorrectly states that the book bears relevance only to people who are insulin resistant or diabetic. The whole point of the book is preventative food medicine. Once you are insulin resistant or diabetic, the damage has been done and is very difficult to reverse. The book points out that the fastest way to do the damage (to the adrenals, insulin receptive cells, pancreas, etc.)is through the consumption of refined sugar. The author (even way back in 1976) was also very clear to provide a distinction between processed refined carbohydrates (focusing on the worst of them, refined sugar) and natural carbohydrates (pure unrefined unpolished brown rice as opposed to processed refined polished white rice, for example). Natural carbs are an essential part of a well balanced diet. Read more ›