The Sweet Lie
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Bibliography

This bibliography contains all peer-reviewed studies, clinical research, and authoritative sources cited in The Sweet Lie. Each reference includes authors, publication details, and links to the original source where available.

Sugar Addiction & Brain Effects

  1. 1 National Confectioners Association. Halloween Candy Statistics and Consumption Data. Industry reports; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dietary intake data.
  2. 2 Sheiham A, James WP. Diet and Dental Caries: The Pivotal Role of Free Sugars Reemphasized. Journal of Dental Research. 2015;94(10):1341-1347.
  3. 3 American Diabetes Association. Postprandial Blood Glucose and Insulin Response. Diabetes Care. Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes.
  4. 4 Ludwig DS. The Glycemic Index: Physiological Mechanisms Relating to Obesity, Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease. JAMA. 2002;287(18):2414-2423.
  5. 5 Jensen T, Abdelmalek MF, Sullivan S, et al. Fructose and sugar: A major mediator of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Journal of Hepatology. 2018;68(5):1063-1075.
  6. 7 Johnson RK, Appel LJ, Brands M, et al.; American Heart Association. Dietary Sugars Intake and Cardiovascular Health: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2009;120(11):1011-1020.
  7. 8 Avena NM, Rada P, Hoebel BG. Evidence for sugar addiction: Behavioral and neurochemical effects of intermittent, excessive sugar intake. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 2008;32(1):20-39.
  8. 9 Rada P, Avena NM, Hoebel BG. Daily bingeing on sugar repeatedly releases dopamine in the accumbens shell. Neuroscience. 2005;134(3):737-744.
  9. 10 Avena NM, Rada P, Hoebel BG. Sugar and Fat Bingeing Have Notable Differences in Addictive-like Behavior. Journal of Nutrition. 2009;139(3):623-628.
  10. 11 Colantuoni C, Schwenker J, McCarthy J, et al. Excessive sugar intake alters binding to dopamine and mu-opioid receptors in the brain. NeuroReport. 2001;12(16):3549-3552.
  11. 13 Ng SW, Slining MM, Popkin BM. Use of caloric and noncaloric sweeteners in US consumer packaged foods, 2005-2009. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 2012;112(11):1828-1834.
  12. 14 UCSF SugarScience. Hidden in Plain Sight: 61 Names for Sugar. University of California San Francisco.
  13. 15 Moss M. Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us. Random House. 2013. ISBN: 978-1400069804.
  14. 17 USDA Economic Research Service. Sugar and Sweeteners Yearbook Tables: U.S. Per Capita Caloric Sweeteners Estimated Deliveries for Domestic Food and Beverage Use. United States Department of Agriculture.

Metabolic Health & Disease

  1. 18 Araújo J, Cai J, Stevens J. Prevalence of Optimal Metabolic Health in American Adults: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009-2016. Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders. 2019;17(1):46-52.
  2. 20-21 Softic S, Cohen DE, Kahn CR. Role of Dietary Fructose and Hepatic De Novo Lipogenesis in Fatty Liver Disease. Digestive Diseases and Sciences. 2016;61(5):1282-1293.
  3. 23 Todoric J, Di Caro G, Reber S, et al. Fructose stimulated de novo lipogenesis is promoted by inflammation. Nature Metabolism. 2020;2:1034-1045.
  4. 25 Younossi ZM, Koenig AB, Abdelatif D, et al. Global epidemiology of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease—Meta-analytic assessment of prevalence, incidence, and outcomes. Hepatology. 2016;64(1):73-84.
  5. 28 American Diabetes Association. Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes Mellitus. Diabetes Care. 2014;37(Supplement 1):S81-S90.
  6. 30 Tabák AG, Herder C, Rathmann W, Brunner EJ, Kivimäki M. Prediabetes: a high-risk state for diabetes development. The Lancet. 2012;379(9833):2279-2290.
  7. 31 Malik VS, Popkin BM, Bray GA, et al. Sugar-sweetened beverages, obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular disease risk. Circulation. 2010;121(11):1356-1364.

Cardiovascular & Vascular Health

  1. 34 Nieuwdorp M, van Haeften TW, Gouverneur MC, et al. Loss of endothelial glycocalyx during acute hyperglycemia coincides with endothelial dysfunction and coagulation activation in vivo. Diabetes. 2006;55(2):480-486.
  2. 36-37 Tarbell JM, Cancel LM. The glycocalyx and its significance in human medicine. Journal of Internal Medicine. 2016;280(1):97-113.
  3. 40 Ovadia P. Stay Off My Operating Table: A Heart Surgeon's Metabolic Health Guide to Lose Weight, Prevent Disease, and Feel Your Best Every Day. 2021. ISBN: 978-1737818205.
  4. 40a Liu D, Fernandez BO, Hamilton A, et al. UVA irradiation of human skin vasodilates arterial vasculature and lowers blood pressure independently of nitric oxide synthase. Journal of Investigative Dermatology. 2014;134(7):1839-1846.
  5. 40b Pollack GH. The Fourth Phase of Water: Beyond Solid, Liquid, and Vapor. Ebner & Sons Publishers. 2013. ISBN: 978-0962689543.

Mental Health & Cognitive Effects

  1. 44 Dobersek U, Wy G, Adkins J, et al. Meat and mental health: A meta-analysis of meat consumption, depression, and anxiety. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. 2021;63(19):3556-3573.
  2. 45 Xiong JH, Wang L, Huang HL, et al. Association of sugar consumption with risk of depression and anxiety: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Nutrition. 2024;11:1472612.
  3. 48 Chong CP, Shahar S, Haron H, Din NC. Habitual sugar intake and cognitive impairment among multi-ethnic Malaysian older adults. Clinical Interventions in Aging. 2019;14:1331-1342.
  4. 51 Reichelt AC, Killcross S, Hambly LD, Morris MJ, Westbrook RF. Impact of adolescent sucrose access on cognitive control, recognition memory, and parvalbumin immunoreactivity. Learning & Memory. 2015;22(4):215-224.
  5. 53-54 de la Monte SM, Wands JR. Alzheimer's Disease Is Type 3 Diabetes—Evidence Reviewed. Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology. 2008;2(6):1101-1113.
  6. 55 St-Onge MP, Roberts A, Shechter A, Choudhury AR. Fiber and Saturated Fat Are Associated with Sleep Arousals and Slow Wave Sleep. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. 2016;12(1):19-24.

Additional Health Effects

  1. 60 Sheiham A. Dietary effects on dental diseases. Public Health Nutrition. 2001;4(2B):569-591.
  2. 64 Larsson SC, Bergkvist L, Wolk A. Consumption of sugar and sugar-sweetened foods and the risk of pancreatic cancer in a prospective study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2006;84(5):1171-1176.
  3. 66 Salmon AHJ, Satchell SC. Endothelial glycocalyx dysfunction in disease: albuminuria and increased microvascular permeability. Journal of Pathology. 2012;226(4):562-574.
  4. 70 Sanchez A, Reeser JL, Lau HS, et al. Role of sugars in human neutrophilic phagocytosis. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1973;26(11):1180-1184.
  5. 73 Semchyshyn HM. Fructation in vivo: detrimental and protective effects of fructose. BioMed Research International. 2013;2013:343914.

Cognitive Function & Brain Health

  1. 76 Pase MP, Himali JJ, Jacques PF, et al. Sugary beverage intake and preclinical Alzheimer's disease in the community. Alzheimer's & Dementia. 2017;13(9):955-964.
  2. 77 Hsu TM, Konanur VR, Taing L, et al. Effects of sucrose and high fructose corn syrup consumption on spatial memory function and hippocampal neuroinflammation in adolescent rats. Hippocampus. 2015;25(2):227-239.
  3. 78 Yin F, Sancheti H, Patil I, Cadenas E. Energy metabolism and inflammation in brain aging and Alzheimer's disease. Free Radical Biology and Medicine. 2016;100:108-122.
  4. 79 Arnold SE, Arvanitakis Z, Macauley-Rambach SL, et al. Brain insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer disease: concepts and conundrums. Nature Reviews Neurology. 2018;14(3):168-181.
  5. 80 Miller AA, Spencer SJ. Obesity and neuroinflammation: A pathway to cognitive impairment. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. 2014;42:10-21.

Dietary Interventions & Solutions

  1. 83 Paoli A, Rubini A, Volek JS, Grimaldi KA. Beyond weight loss: a review of the therapeutic uses of very-low-carbohydrate (ketogenic) diets. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2013;67(8):789-796.
  2. 85 Dashti HM, Mathew TC, Hussein T, et al. Long-term effects of a ketogenic diet in obese patients. Experimental & Clinical Cardiology. 2004;9(3):200-205.
  3. 86 MacDonald AJ, Palmer CM. Ketogenic diet as a therapeutic intervention for obsessive-compulsive disorder: a case series of three patients. Frontiers in Nutrition. 2025;12.
  4. 88 Calabrese L, Scolnick B, Zupec-Kania B, et al. Ketogenic diet and ketamine infusion treatment to target chronic persistent eating disorder psychopathology in anorexia nervosa: a pilot study. Eating and Weight Disorders. 2022;27:3751-3757.
  5. 90 Palmer CM. Remission of schizophrenia on a carnivore ketogenic diet: A case report. BJPsych Bulletin. 2024-2025.
  6. 91 Sethi S, Ford JM. The Role of Ketogenic Metabolic Therapy on the Brain in Serious Mental Illness: A Review. Journal of Psychiatry and Brain Science. 2022;7:e220009.
  7. 93 Lennerz BS, Mey JT, Henn OH, Ludwig DS. Behavioral characteristics and self-reported health status among 2029 adults consuming a "carnivore diet." Current Developments in Nutrition. 2021;5(12):nzab133.
  8. 94 Dobersek U, Wy G, Adkins J, et al. Meat and mental health: A meta-analysis of meat consumption, depression, and anxiety. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. 2021;63(19):3556-3573.

Clinical Practice & Metabolic Health

  1. 96 Westman EC, Yancy WS Jr, Mavropoulos JC, Marquart M, McDuffie JR. The effect of a low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet versus a low-glycemic index diet on glycemic control in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Nutrition & Metabolism. 2008;5:36.
  2. 97 Bostock ECS, Kirkby KC, Taylor BV, Hawrelak JA. Consumer Reports of "Keto Flu" Associated With the Ketogenic Diet. Frontiers in Nutrition. 2020;7:20.
  3. 101 Alberti KG, Eckel RH, Grundy SM, et al. Harmonizing the metabolic syndrome: a joint interim statement. Circulation. 2009;120(16):1640-1645.

Dr. Philip Ovadia Sources

  1. 102 US News Health. Dr. Philip C. Ovadia, MD Profile.
  2. 103 Ovadia P. Stay Off My Operating Table: A Heart Surgeon's Metabolic Health Guide. 2021. ISBN: 978-1737818205.
  3. 104 Levels Health. Heart surgeon Dr. Philip Ovadia on using data, not medicine, to improve your health.
  4. 105 Ovadia P. Clinical observations from 3,000+ open-heart surgeries on insulin resistance and heart disease. Stay Off My Operating Table podcast and book.
  5. 106 Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners. "Stay Off My Operating Table" — Philip Ovadia, MD.
  6. 109 Ovadia P. Stay Off My Operating Table: Dietary recommendations and metabolic health philosophy. Multiple podcast interviews and published works.
  7. 113 Ovadia Heart Health. Virtual telemedicine clinic offering metabolic health services worldwide.
  8. 114 I Fix Hearts. Dr. Philip Ovadia's TEDx talk, podcast, and educational resources.
  9. 115 Low Carb USA. Cardiothoracic Surgeon Lost 100 Pounds Cutting Carbs, Now He's Revolutionizing Heart Health.
  10. 116 Ovadia P. Vision for metabolic health-focused medicine: prevention over treatment. Stay Off My Operating Table podcast and various interviews.

Additional Resources

  1. — Taubes G. The Case Against Sugar. Alfred A. Knopf. 2016. ISBN: 978-0307701640.
  2. — Taubes G. Good Calories, Bad Calories. Alfred A. Knopf. 2007. ISBN: 978-1400033461.
  3. — Bikman B. Why We Get Sick: The Hidden Epidemic at the Root of Most Chronic Disease—and How to Fight It. BenBella Books. 2020. ISBN: 978-1950665006.
  4. — Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners. Resources for practitioners and patients.