Sugar doesn’t make cancer grow faster. All cells, including cancer cells, depend on blood sugar (glucose) for energy. But giving more sugar to cancer cells doesn’t speed their growth. Likewise, depriving cancer cells of sugar doesn’t slow their growth.
This misconception may be based in part on a misunderstanding of positron emission tomography (PET) scans, which use a small amount of radioactive tracer — typically a form of glucose. All tissues in your body absorb some of this tracer, but tissues that are using more energy — including cancer cells — absorb greater amounts. For this reason, some people have concluded that cancer cells grow faster on sugar. But this isn’t true.
However, there is some evidence that consuming large amounts of sugar is associated with an increased risk of certain cancers, including esophageal cancer. It can also lead to weight gain and increase the risk of obesity and diabetes, which may increase the risk of cancer.
How Sugar Feeds Cancer Cells
Cancer cells uptake sugar at 10-12 times the rate of healthy cells. The Positron Emission Tomography is one of the most accurate tools for measuring cancer growth. The 1931 Nobel laureate in medicine, German Otto Warburg developed a hypothesis that cancer cells have a different energy metabolism compared to healthy cells. Malignant tumors, according to Warburg, exhibit increased glycolysis in contrast to healthy human cells.
How Sugar Produces Cancer Cells
The 2013-2014 Journal of Clinic Investigation released the results of an in vitro study that analyzed the results of increased sugar uptake and oncogenesis (cancer creation). The results demonstrated that increased glucose uptake had a direct and positive correlation to the early phases of cancer cell production.
Moreover, a 1985 study on sugar and the risk of large bowel cancer found that patients with high intakes of sugar were more predisposed to the development of cancer than patients with lower intakes of sugar. A prospective study published in 2006 found that high consumption of sugar and high-sugar foods were linked to a greater risk of pancreatic cancer, and a different study showed similar results for breast cancer patients.
One of the crucial mechanisms through which cancer is promoted through sugar is through mitochondrial dysfunction. Sugar burns very differently than fat does, which generates free radicals. When free radicals damage the mitochondria of the cell, the nuclear DNA, and cell membrane are also affected, leading to protein impairment.
Cancer is essentially caused by the replication of genetically mutated cells. Mitosis is the means through which cells divide and promote tissue growth. When the process of apoptosis (cell death) begins to break down, cancer occurs.
Obesity and chronic overeating have had a positive correlation and causation to the growth and development of cancer cells. According to the Canadian Cancer Society, being obese can cause changes in hormone levels, such as sex hormones or insulin, which increase the risk of developing breast, colon or uterine cancer.
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Original source: heheartysoul.com
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