The Real Danger of Sugar

Connecting sugar and cancer — carefully

Photo by Glen Carrie on Unsplash

Let’s get real, we all know that sugar is absolutely terrible for our bodies.

The problem with hearing about it yet again, is knowing how desensitised to it we are by now.

Our grandmother has been telling us our entire lives that we were killing ourselves with the stuff, but her well-meaning warnings were only adding to the desensitisation.

Sorry Nana, it’s on you.

Constant Warfare

Besides Nana, other factors that have contributed to our lacklustre response in cutting down on sugar has come from other equally well meaning sources.

The health industry.

For years we’ve been warned about the dangers of all kinds of foods.

In the 70’s it was fat.

Every aunty I have (in my massive collection) spent the 1970’s on a never-ending calorie counting diet.

After fat it was salt.

I spent my early 20’s terrified of salt, yet now I cook with fistfuls of it every day while fermenting foods that supposedly come out the other side healthier than ever.

So how is sugar any different? Isn’t it just the latest in a long line of targets?

Taste Targets

Photo by Matt Popovich on Unsplash

Desensitisation

The desensitisation machine is exactly how people are able to discount climate change. It’s a dramatically different topic, but the root causes for ignorance are the same.

“Global warming? You know 30 years ago they were screaming and ranting about Global COOLING. Wake up sheeple!”

Evidence shmevidence. Feelings are my new reality.

So why write this story?

Right now I’m propped up in bed, trying to stay strong as I ride out the next two hours.

Why am I doing that? Because for the next two hours the ice-cream shop down the road from me is offering 50% off all pint sized tubs — and free delivery..

Yep.

This might be one of the most difficult nights of my life, but I‘m kinda sure I can do it.

I’m not really trying to stay strong for my waistline, because that went out the window the second I exited my 20’s.

I’m motivated to do this because of someone that I know who was diagnosed with cancer not too long ago.

A diagnosis like that hitting absolutely anyone in your sphere of influence should have a dramatic effect on the choices that you make.

I consume enormous amounts of sugar every day, and I really should know better.

So now I’m looking into evidence based connections between sugar and cancer, and learning why it’s time to stop eating it.

I invite you to come along on the journey with me.

As far as we know, sugar doesn’t cause most cancer. But it may cause the diseases that cause cancer.

Photo by Leon Ephraïm on Unsplash

I’m going to be leaning pretty heavily on the American Cancer Society for information in this article, so please go and check them out if you’d like more information.

There’s one form of cancer that studies have shown is very likely linked directly with sugar.

The risk of developing cancer of the oesophagus (a tube that connects your throat to your stomach) is thought to be 70% higher for people who consume high levels of sugary drinks.

The rest of the cancers aren’t thought to be directly caused by sugar, but rather the diseases sugar can cause. Such as obesity.

Every one of the cells in your body absorbs blood sugar to stay alive. The trouble is that cancer cells absorb sugar 200 times faster than regular healthy cells.

Tumours consume enormous amounts of sugar to grow, so much of their growth is reliant on an ample supply of sugar.

In spite of this, scientists are reluctant to say that cutting sugar would lower your chances of developing cancer, or that it would slow tumour growth.

It’s difficult to know the line between what statements are just scientists being careful and sticking to the facts, and what statements exist (or don’t exist) because of ‘big sugar.’

One such research scientist is Dr Lewis Cantley PHD. He hasn’t eaten sugar in decades and advises that we do the same.

“I guarantee everybody would be better off if they ate zero sugar."

He see’s sugar as nothing less than an addiction. During the course of his research he has compared it to an addiction to opioids, and says that it’s just as difficult to quit.

The World Health Organisation says that we’re eating 4 times the amount of sugar that we should be eating every day.

Dr Cantley says that sugar causes a dramatic increase in insulin production in the body. High levels of insulin have been linked to people developing cancer.

So breaking that down.

Sugar leads to much higher insulin — much higher insulin can be found in people diagnosed with some cancers.

Sugar causing cancer is, in his opinion,

“quite obvious.”

Photo by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash

What can we do?

Luckily the American Cancer Society gives us recommended ways to help control the wear and tear in our bodies that cause cancer.

Antioxidants — Antioxidants such as Vitamin C and E are thought to protect tissue that’s damaged while the body metabolises food.

End of list

Everything on the American Cancer Society website after antioxidants gets sketchy and difficult to pin down.

Not enough calcium causes cancer, but then so does too much. Ummmm ok, next.

Coffee may help prevent cancer — except that it doesn’t.

What?

Whenever you have a chance, check out their website. It’s full of tips and information, but be careful for the parts that are difficult to understand.

The information gets really dicey once articles start talking about links between cancer and a cause.

Nobody wants to say that anything causes cancer, because they don’t want litigation from someone far richer and more powerful.

Also, studies that haven’t been verified are all over the place. One minute a claim is made, and then in the next sentence it’s disqualified. It’s all a bit much.

Moving forward

Let’s try cutting the sugar together.

There’s a lot more we can be doing to make ourselves healthier, but cutting sugar is an excellent way to get started and a very positive change to make.

Are you with me?

Also, I didn’t buy the ice-cream! Yay! It’s been well over 2 hours.