60 Minutes' 2012 report linked sugar to heart disease and cancer

60 Minutes Rewind The chances are good that sugar is a bigger part of your daily diet than you may realize, which is why our story tonight is so important. New research coming out of some of America's most respected institutions is starting to find that sugar, the way many people are eating it today, is a toxin and could be a driving force behind some of this country's leading killers, including heart disease. As a result of these findings, an anti-sugar campaign has sprung up, led by Dr. Robert Lustig, a California endocrinologist who believes the consumption of added sugars has plunged America into a public health crisis. Is sugar toxic? I believe it is. Do you ever worry that that's just sounds a little bit over the top? Sure. All the time. But it's the truth. Dr. Robert Lustig is a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of California, San Francisco, and a pioneer in what is becoming a war against sugar. Deep breaths. Motivated by his own patients, too many sick and obese children, Dr. Lustig has concluded that sugar, more than any other substance, is to blame. What are all these various diseases that you say are linked to sugar? Obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease itself. Lustig says the American lifestyle is killing us. And most of it, you say, is preventable. 75% of it is preventable.