The Sweet Trap: A History of Warnings About Sugar’s Dangers

While today’s headlines about diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome keep sugar in the spotlight, the roots of sugar skepticism stretch back decades, even centuries.

One of the most famous voices in the anti-sugar movement came in the early 1970s with the runaway bestseller Sugar Blues by William Dufty. Dufty’s book was part exposé, part cultural critique, and part personal confession. He told the story of his own struggles with poor health, which he blamed squarely on sugar addiction, and he wove that personal story together with a sweeping history of sugar’s role in slavery, empire, and modern disease. Sugar Blues struck a nerve with the growing countercultural and natural foods movements of the time. For many readers, it was their first real wake-up call that a teaspoon or two of sugar in their tea  or coffee might not be so harmless after all.

Dufty was not the first to sound the alarm. Nearly two decades earlier, British physician T. L. Cleave published The Saccharine Disease (1956), a book that connected sugar consumption with a wide spectrum of modern ailments. Cleave’s central argument was simple but powerful: the human body evolved on unrefined foods, and refined sugar was a recent invader it was poorly equipped to handle. In his view, sugar was directly linked to heart disease, diabetes, dental decay, ulcers, varicose veins, and more. His medical background gave the book weight, and though it never reached the popular heights of Sugar Blues, it became a touchstone for later critics of sugar.

Around the same time, nutritionist John Yudkin in Britain added his voice with Pure, White and Deadly (1972), another pioneering text that laid out the case that sugar was a major cause of obesity and heart disease. Yudkin’s research was controversial and often drowned out by the louder push against dietary fat and cholesterol in the 1970s, but his work has since been vindicated by many modern studies.

American nutritionists also joined the chorus. Adelle Davis, one of the most widely read nutrition writers of the mid-20th century, warned in books like Let’s Eat Right to Keep Fit (1954) that sugar robbed the body of essential vitamins and minerals. Davis was sometimes criticized for overgeneralizations, but her influence on the natural foods movement was enormous. She spoke in a practical, common-sense tone that made nutrition accessible, and her suspicions about sugar helped shape how many readers thought about the “white stuff” lurking in soft drinks and desserts.

Nancy Appleton added another set of arguments with her book Sweet and Dangerous (1977) and later writings such as Lick the Sugar Habit. Appleton compiled an almost dizzying list of ways sugar could harm the body—everything from disrupting the immune system to fueling mood swings. While some of her claims were more speculative than others, her basic message resonated: sugar wasn’t just about cavities and weight gain, it was a systemic problem that touched every organ in the body.

Even earlier, some of the pioneers of the health food movement—people like Sylvester Graham in the 19th century or later Paul Bragg in the early 20th—were warning about sugar’s dangers in moral as well as medical terms. For Graham, sugar was part of the decadent, refined diet that weakened the body and inflamed the passions. Bragg, whose enthusiasm for natural living reached millions through books and radio, warned his audiences that sugar was a thief of vitality, robbing the body of minerals and leaving fatigue in its wake.

Interestingly, many of these same food reformers drew a sharp distinction between refined white sugar and honey. Honey had been valued for centuries as a traditional health food—mentioned in ancient scriptures, used in folk remedies, and often seen as a “natural sweetener” that carried not only energy but trace nutrients, enzymes, and healing properties. While modern science has debated how much healthier honey really is, the symbolic contrast was clear: honey was the sweetener of nature, while refined sugar was the sweetener of industry. For many natural food advocates, choosing honey over sugar was both a nutritional and a philosophical statement.

Not everyone agreed with these critics, of course. In fact, sugar had some very powerful defenders in the mid-20th century, none more prominent than Dr. Frederick Stare, the influential founder of the Nutrition Department at Harvard’s School of Public Health. Stare became infamous among health food advocates for his unwavering defense of sugar and processed foods. He often dismissed sugar critics as alarmists and assured the public that sugar was perfectly safe in moderation. What many readers did not realize was that Stare’s department received significant funding from the food industry, including cereal and sugar interests. This clear conflict of interest cast a shadow over his assurances, and critics argued that his role helped stall broader public recognition of sugar’s risks for years.

Across all these writings, a few themes repeat. First is the idea that sugar is an “empty calorie,” giving quick energy but no nutrients, and worse, depleting the body of essential vitamins and minerals in order to metabolize it. Second is the recognition that sugar is addictive—once you start, you crave more, a fact Dufty dramatized in Sugar Blues when he compared sugar’s grip to that of alcohol or drugs. Third is the link between sugar and modern diseases, from diabetes and obesity to heart conditions, all of which these writers believed were not inevitable but the result of dietary choices.

Today, mainstream medicine largely agrees with at least part of this critique. While not every claim from the early sugar critics has been proven, the broad consensus now acknowledges that excessive sugar intake contributes to obesity, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, and cardiovascular problems. The warnings of Cleave, Yudkin, Dufty, Davis, and Appleton look less like fringe alarmism and more like a prescient understanding of what happens when modern diets drown in added sugar.

Looking back, the story of sugar is a story of sweet temptation and bitter consequences. The authors who warned us—sometimes in fiery prose, sometimes in careful medical language—were united in their message: sugar was not the harmless treat it appeared to be. Whether it was Dufty’s cultural polemic, Cleave’s medical thesis, Appleton’s long list of health effects, or Davis’s practical nutrition advice, they all pushed readers to see sugar not as a simple pleasure but as a serious health risk. Their work paved the way for today’s growing awareness, reminding us that sometimes the most dangerous poisons are the ones that taste the sweetest.

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