John Yudkin
Encyclopedia
John Yudkin was a British physiologist and scientist. He was raised in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 in a Jewish family that had fled the Russian pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...

s of 1905. His father died when John was seven years old. His mother had to bring up five sons in very difficult circumstances. In 1933 he married Milly Himmelweit, who had fled from Germany. They had three sons and their marriage lasted 60 years.

He wrote his PhD under the guidance of Marjory Stephenson
Marjory Stephenson
Marjory Stephenson, MBE, FRS was a British biochemist. She was one of the first two women elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1945....

, a bacteriologist. He was very interested in science of nutrition. But to work in this field of research, he had to become a medical doctor (physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

). In 1938 he undertook research into vitamin A
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is a vitamin that is needed by the retina of the eye in the form of a specific metabolite, the light-absorbing molecule retinal, that is necessary for both low-light and color vision...

 and riboflavin
Riboflavin
Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2 or additive E101, is an easily absorbed micronutrient with a key role in maintaining health in humans and animals. It is the central component of the cofactors FAD and FMN, and is therefore required by all flavoproteins. As such, vitamin B2 is required for a...

 at the Dunn Nutrition Laboratory. He examined the link between sugar and various degenerative illnesses. During World War II he served as a military physician in West Africa and was busy with further studies.

In 1945 he was appointed Professor of Physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...

 at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

. With his help the Bachelor's degree and Master's degree in nutrition were established at the College and the University. He advised the government of the young state of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 on nutrition matters and was an energetic governor of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...

.

Since 1957 he showed that the consumption of sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...

 and refined sweeteners is closely associated with coronary heart disease
Coronary heart disease
Coronary artery disease is the end result of the accumulation of atheromatous plaques within the walls of the coronary arteries that supply the myocardium with oxygen and nutrients. It is sometimes also called coronary heart disease...

 and type 2 diabetes. Studies he conducted on sugars and starches indicated that they raised blood triglycerides and insulin
Insulin
Insulin is a hormone central to regulating carbohydrate and fat metabolism in the body. Insulin causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle....

 levels. He became internationally famous with his book Pure, White and Deadly (published in 1972), which was also published in German, and in a Swedish translation Rent, vitt, livsfarligt.

He is lauded by Dr. Robert H. Lustig
Robert H. Lustig
Robert H. Lustig, MD is Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, at the University of California, San Francisco . He is nationally recognized in the field of neuroendocrinology, with an emphasis on the regulation of energy balance by the central nervous system. He has a special interest in childhood...

 in his UCTV lecture, "Sugar: The Bitter Truth", which may be viewed on YouTube.

John Yudkin was Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics in the University of London from 1954 to 1971 and later became Emeritus Professor. Born in 1910 he proceeded from Christ's College, Cambridge, to the London Hospital and later did research work in the Biochemical Laboratory and the Nutritional Laboratory at Cambridge, where he was also Director of Medical Studies at Christ's College. His degrees include M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

, M.D.
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...

 (Cantab), B.Sc.
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...

 (Lond.), M.R.C.P.
Membership of the Royal College of Physicians
Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians is a postgraduate medical diploma. The examinations are run by the Federation of the Medical Royal Colleges of the United Kingdom – the Royal College of Physicians of London, the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, and the Royal College...

, and F.R.I.C.  From 1945 to 1954 he was Professor of Physiology at Queen Elizabeth College, University of London. He has published many articles on biochemistry and nutrition.

John Yudkin was an early advocate of low carbohydrate diets later to be popularised by Robert Atkins
Robert Atkins (nutritionist)
Robert Coleman Atkins, MD was an American physician and cardiologist, best known for the Atkins Nutritional Approach , a popular but controversial way of dieting that entails close control of carbohydrate consumption, emphasizing protein and fat intake, including saturated fat in addition to...

 in the USA.

Publications

  • John Yudkin: Medicine and medical education in the new China, 1958
  • John Yudkin, G.M. Chappell: The Slimmer's Cook Book. Penguin Handbooks, 1963.
  • John Yudkin: Pure, White and Deadly. Davis-Poynter Ltd, 1972.
  • John Yudkin: The New Facts About the Sugar You Eat As a Cause of Heart Disease, Diabetes, and Other Killers. Peter H. Wyden
    Peter H. Wyden
    Peter H. Wyden , American journalist and writer.Born in Berlin to a Jewish family, he left Nazi Germany and went to the United States.He was father of Senator Ron Wyden.-Works :...

    , Publishing 1972
  • John Yudkin: Sweet and Dangerous, New York: Bantam Books, 1972
  • John Yudkin: The Penguin Encyclopaedia of Nutrition. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books; New York: Viking Penguin, 1985.
  • John Yudkin: This Slimming Business, 1970.
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