Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

If The Case Against Sugar were a criminal case, it would be a case for the prosecution, Taubes writes. Like a skilled attorney, he puts on the stand a litany of expert witnesses, including doctors and scientists and their centuries of research on the relationship between sugar consumption and chronic Western diseases, such as diabetes, insulin resistance, and even gout. Taubes also debunks the arguments that sugar is harmless, by carefully laying out the history behind sugar and how it evolved, thanks to technology, marketing, and (bad) science. But he acknowledges there's still reasonable doubt on whether the evidence "would stand up in a court of law and allow governments to regulate sugar, as they already do tobacco and alcohol." Taubes argues that the lack of scientific research on the effects of sugar fuels that uncertainty. Although Taubes is unable to build an airtight case against sugar as a culprit that warrants government regulation, he presents a convincing argument that makes one think seriously about limiting the amount of sugar we consume. VERDICT Narrator Mike Chamberlain's steady voice helps drive the point home without getting in the way of the information. ["This accessible book will be of particular interest to historians and health-conscious readers": LJ 10/15/16 review of the Knopf hc.]-Gladys Alcedo, Wallingford, CT © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

The award-winning journalist once again takes up the cudgel in defense of health.In his latest book, Taubes (Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It, 2010, etc.) makes the provocative contention that sugar, rather than fat, is the primary cause of obesity and a major culprit in a spectrum of chronic diseases. While it is now recognized that a drastic increase in the consumption of sugar and refined starches correlates to a dramatic rise of obesity in populations that adopt a Western diet, the author argues that nutritionists have yet to pinpoint its significance. He points out that obesity is a marker for the overconsumption of carbohydrates responsible for the onset of Type 2 diabetes. The problem, he writes, is not the number but the kind of calories consumednor is it necessarily a diet high in saturated fats. Taubes compares sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup to toxinsthat do their damage over years and decades, and perhaps even from generation to generation. Furthermore, diabetics and obese people are more likely to have fatty liver disease as well as other degenerative diseases due to elevated carbohydrate intake. For this reason, Taubes is dismissive of advice (from Michael Pollan, among others) that urges an across-the-board reduction in the total amount of calories we consume. The author buttresses his provocative contention with population studies showing the increase of chronic disease in populations that subsist on a Western diet. An example is the increase since 1960 of chronic disease among the indigenous population of a New Zealand protectorate that substituted a carbohydrate-rich diet for the saturated fats they formerly consumed. Taubes makes a convincing, well-documented case against the modern carbohydrate-rich diet. Limiting their intake is an important factor in longevity, not merely as a matter of weight control. An important book that meritsand will likely receivebroad circulation and discussion. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Choice
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.

Taubes, an investigative science and health journalist, serves as a forceful "prosecutor" in The Case against Sugar, alleging this nutrient to be responsible for the current epidemics of diabetes and obesity. The work helpfully begins with an introduction to the most recognized sweeteners (glucose, fructose, and, when these two are combined, sucrose). It then follows sugar's introduction into the Western world. As sugar became more available, its mass consumption increased and supplier profits swelled. But, over the centuries, there has been a noticeable correspondence between growing levels of sugar consumption and increasing Western health issues such as hypertension, diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, heart disease, gout, and perhaps extending into dementia. Compelling arguments suggest that sugar, especially high-fructose forms, may be responsible for long-term health effects that have led to the increasing emergence of debilitating afflictions. This work's engrossing details emphasize the need for a shift in nutritional research to the lasting consequences of the temptingly sweet, but possibly toxic, sugar addiction. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers. --Rita A. Hoots, Sacramento City College

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

*Starred Review* Taubes takes the topic of his best-seller, Why We Get Fat and What to Do about It (2011), one step further in his latest. Beyond implicating carbohydrates as the enemy in modern diets, Taubes lays out, as his title suggests, the prosecution's argument if sugar alone were to be tried in criminal court, charged for causing the Western World's plagues of diabetes and obesity. Imagined concept aside, Taubes deals in science and fact, and what he relays is staggering. Namely, that the refutable calories in versus calories out theory of weight management has taken responsibility for illness away from sugar for more than a century; that the twentieth-century decision to blame fats and salt for heart disease is an overly assumptive and sadly immovable one; and that modern studies of the manifestation of diabetes and obesity in recently Westernized populations suggest that we're likely to be facing grave new problems moving forward if our sugar use isn't dramatically curbed. Acknowledging that responsible public-health policy and good nutrition science won't always overlap, as well as the difficulty in testing the effects of any single food in our diets, Taubes confidently recommends giving a severe reduction in sugar intake a try. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Taubes' brilliant and accessible science writing has won him many fans, and, on a hot topic like this, demand will be huge.--Bostrom, Annie Copyright 2016 Booklist

Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

The latest offering from health journalist Taubes (Why We Get Fat) prosecutes the case against sugar, in particular sucrose and high fructose corn syrup. His hypothesis is that "sugar is the dietary trigger of obesity and diabetes" and of related illnesses like heart disease. The author traces the history of sugar, delves into its biochemistry, explores false starts in the research into sugar's health effects, and examines current developments in knowledge of chemistry and metabolism to bring home his point. Recognizing that condemning sugar is "the nutritional equivalent of stealing Christmas," Taubes begins with an examination of whether sugar is addictive. (Short answer-yes, and it's in cigarettes!) Fittingly, he ends with a discussion of how little is too much. (Short answer-probably very little.) Reiterating a point he makes throughout about the limits of research, the author concludes that "the evidence against sugar is not definitive, compelling though I may personally find it to be." His study is itself compelling, as well as meticulously explained and researched. Readers will hate to love this book, since it will cause them to thoroughly rethink the place of sugar in their diets. Agent: Kris Dahl, ICM. (Dec.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Taubes (cofounder, Nutrition Science Initiative; Why We Get Fat) delivers another convincing book exploring the negative health issues surrounding sugar consumption. To create this fascinating and illuminating read, the author carefully juxtaposes historical events against the growth of the sugar industry and the limitations and misconceptions of nutritional and medical science. We learn how the sugar industry that supported research shaped the public's view of the ingredient's nutritional value and actively lobbied against any reports that held their product in a negative light. Taubes then turns the focus on how the growth of Western diseases parallels the adoption of sugar into the Western diet. Unfortunately, the author does not offer any plan of action, ending the final chapter with the statement that everyone must decide what is best for themselves. VERDICT This accessible book will be of particular interest to historians and health-conscious readers. Individuals seeking practical help in curtailing sugar in their diets would benefit from books such as Richard Jacoby's Sugar Crush. [See Prepub Alert, 6/13/16.]-Crystal Renfro, Kennesaw State Univ., Marietta, GA © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.