Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: sugar

  • A look back at insulin

    Shrestha SarafSutton Coldfield, United KingdomSanjay SarafSudarshan RamachandranBirmingham, United Kingdom As we approach the centenary of the isolation, purification, and clinical use of insulin, it is an appropriate moment to reflect on the impact of this hormone on the management of diabetes. Diabetes can be defined as a heterogeneous group of conditions resulting in high blood…

  • Plagues and prejudice

    Anne JacobsonOak Park, Illinois, United States It was a calm, clear January morning on the gritty streets of paradise. Honolulu, the capital of the newly-annexed U.S. territory of Hawaii, was ushering out a century of upheaval that had included the arrival of explorers, missionaries, and deadly diseases such as smallpox and measles; the overthrow of…

  • The tempestuous reign of King Sugar: superfood to health hazard

    John Turner Liverpool, United Kingdom   Sugar Loaf and Victorian Sugar Scissors, ‘Nippers’ c.1850. Islington Education Collection, London “What am I to buy for the sheep-shearing feast? Three pounds of sugar, five pound of currants . . .” – William Shakespeare, The Winter’s Tale, Act IV Scene iii, 36-49 A scarce, expensive luxury sweetener for two thousand…