Day +413 : Sugar is a cancer feeder?

I am fine today.

After I was diagnosed with Leukaemia, I received many advices through email saying that sugar is a cancer feeder, but no one was able to explain to me exactly how this could be :-( I understand most of them just simply forward the message to me without putting much thought on the subject matter.

A quote from American Institute of Cancer Research (AICR) regarding this phenomenon:

“There’s a lot of scientific and medical information on the Internet, ranging from the rigorously accurate to the intentionally misleading. Unfortunately, much of the stuff that people pass along to friends lies somewhere in between.

That’s why it pays to arm yourself with healthy skepticism about online health information. If you do, it’s easier to spot the hucksters: terms like “scientific breakthrough” and “miracle cure” are, of course, red flags. Often, however, the signs aren’t as clear.”

And particularly on the subject regarding sugar as cancer food, it says :

“The truth, however, is more complex: it’s not that sugar “feeds” cancer, it’s that diets that are very high in sugar and refined carbs can, over time, indirectly raise cancer risk. That’s because routinely elevated levels of blood sugar can raise insulin levels, which may in turn make colon cancer, and perhaps other cancers, more likely. This indirect chain of events is seen most commonly among people who are overweight and sedentary or those who have insulin resistance or diabetes in the family.

Another way that high sugar consumption could increase cancer risk is by leading to weight gain. Lots of sugar equals lots of calories which, over time, equals lots of excess weight. And excess weight is linked to greater risk of several types of cancer.

The e-mail goes on to recommend “natural” forms of sugar instead, which is another misrepresentation. To your body, a sugar molecule is a sugar molecule, no matter if it’s refined (table sugar, corn syrup) or unrefined (molasses, honey, brown sugar). The potential effects on insulin levels and weight are the same.

Again, it’s not sugar that’s the culprit, but too much sugar.

And that, as a general rule, is an important distinction to look for when clicking through your inbox. Does that e-mail demonize (or, for that matter, praise) a specific food, or does it talk about how that food should fit in your overall diet?

When it comes to something as complex and continually changing as the human diet, there are no magic bullets. Individual foods don’t cause cancer, nor can they prevent it. What influences your cancer risk is the overall pattern of choices you make, every day, over the course of your life: what and how much you eat, how and how much you’re physically active.”

You can read the whole article here. I hope the above information will drive you to establish a net of skepticism in dealing with health information :-)

See you next post :-)