Sugar feeds cancer, and that’s big news for health enthusiasts.
Sugar is one of those foods we have a hard time living without. It plays such an important role in our diet, despite the fact that it’s unhealthy. It’s in the fruit we eat, the juice and soda we drink, and the desserts we snack on even though we know they’re bad for us. But do you have any idea how bad sugar is for your health? It can do so much more than just cause weight gain! According to science, it may play a central role in your cancer risk…
Sugar Feeds Cancer? What You Need to Know…
For decades, scientists have believed that cancer is the result of mutations of your body’s DNA. If the DNA gets mutated, the cells housing that DNA changes. Cellular proliferation gets out of control, leading to excessive growth–the formation of tumors. There are a number of genetic risk factors involved in cancer, but what if that’s not the ONLY thing that can play a role in cancer?
Some scientists believe that alternated energy production in the body can cause cancer as much as genetic damage or mutations. Way back in the 1920s, a physician named Otto Warburg found that cancer cells prefer an oxygen-free environment in order to grow. With a healthy body that produces energy using oxygen, cancer could not grow. Only in an oxygen-free environment can they flourish.
Thomas Seyfriend, a professor at Boston College, has used Dr. Warburg’s discoveries as the foundation for his theory that metabolic aberrations can cause or support the growth of malignant cells in your body. Particularly, if there is anything the body can ferment (such as sugar), it increases the risk of cancer. By eliminating these fermentable nutrients, it may be possible to reduce cancer risk.
READ MORE: Link Between Refined Soy and Cancer, Inflammation
You see, a lot of the mutations and energy pathways linked to cancer play a role in cell metabolism and mitochondrial function (the production of cellular energy). So, if these changes in metabolic function can increase your risk of cancer, it’s vital to be aware of this fact.
Does eating sugar increase your risk of cancer? According to many experts, it will not. While cancer cells absorb more glucose than regular cells, simply consuming sugar will not cause your cancer cells to grow faster. That being said, eating a lot of sugar promotes acidity in the body, and cancer cells thrive in an acidic pH balance. Not only that, but studies have proven that consuming a lot of sugar could increase your risk of certain types of cancer, such as cancer of the esophagus.
Even if sugar isn’t a major risk factor in cancer, it’s still vital to be aware that eating a lot of sugar can have negative effects on your body–both in the long and short term. Not only will it increase the nutrients that can be fermented in your body (leading to the oxygen-free environment in which cancer cells can thrive), but it can lead to obesity and other metabolic problems. All of these things come together to have a negative effect on your body.
Is it worth cutting sugar from your diet? Absolutely! Even if you only cut sugar for a few weeks or months, you’ll see the difference almost immediately. The weight loss can be sustained thanks to the fact that you are changing the way your body produces energy, leading to more effective fat burning and weight management over the long term!
