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Sugar: Major Factor For Cancer

A major European study has found that women with high blood sugar levels are at an increased risk of developing cancer.

High blood sugar levels can be caused by eating too much sugary food, and also by disease conditions such as diabetes.

The study, which looked at 64,500 people over the course of 13 years, linked high blood sugar with cancers of the pancreas, skin, womb, and urinary tract. High blood sugar was also linked to breast cancer for women under 49.

Women in the top quarter of blood sugar readings had a 26 percent higher chance of developing cancer than those in the bottom quarter.

The research also found evidence that rates of unusually high blood sugar levels increase with advancing age.

Diabetes Care, Vol. 30, No. 3, March 2007: 561-567

BBC News March 21, 2007


Dr. Mercola's Comment:

Most people, physicians certainly included, are absolutely clueless how devastating sugar can be on your health. They just don't understand how something that tastes so good can be so damaging to your health.

That is one of the reasons why the typical American, and I am confident that includes most all doctors, consume 175 pounds of sugar EVERY year.

If you ever questioned how much sugar worsens your risks of developing cancer, this should be eye-opening. This important study shows that high blood sugars can increase your risk of cancer even when there are no signs of life-shortening type 2 diabetes.

This has to do with the amazing hormone insulin. A fasting blood insulin level is one of the most important tests you can have and it is relatively inexpensive. If you are walking around with a high fasting insulin level you are a walking time bomb.

Ideally it should be below 3 or 4. Anything over 10 is a disaster. The higher the number the worse you are. I like to see insulin levels 2 or lower.

There is just no question that if you have cancer or are interested in reducing your risk of developing cancer, one of the most important things you can do is to make sure your fasting insulin levels are normal, ideally below 5.  As I said, this is  a very simple and inexpensive test to perform and should be regularly monitored if you have or are at risk for cancer.

When your blood sugar rises in response to eating carbohydrates, your pancreas releases insulin. Insulin ensures your cells receive blood sugar necessary for life, but high levels of insulin can cause major damage to your body.

The most recognized of these is diabetes. In addition, hypertension, obesity, high levels of cholesterol and other lipids, heart disease, kidney disease, female infertility and neurodegeneration are all caused by eating too many carbohydrates, resulting in high insulin levels.

High insulin levels are also one of the most potent ways that you can increase your rate of aging. Conversely have low insulin levels and you slow down your aging rate.

Another absolutely essential tool for you to actively engage in is to follow a diet appropriate for your nutritional type. What would be a great anti-cancer food for someone might actually increase someone else's risk for cancer. So, if you don't know your nutritional type yet, please sign up for our free mini-course.

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Comment on This Article Community Comments (42)
 
 
Posted On Mar 26, 2007
Since I have abstained from sugar and sweets the past three years, I have never felt better in my life. I do not crave sugary foods at all. The mere sight of them to me now is more nauseating than tempting.

My sugar intake is entirely through whole organic fruits and vegetables, and their unadulterated juices. I actually find some of them, like carrots and parsnips, almost too sweet for my tastes now. I usually mix them with more bland vegetables to dilute their sweetness.

When I tell people they can feel healthier in 2-4 weeks if they would give up the sugary foods, refined carbohydrates, and fast food fare, nine out of ten will claim they never eat sweets, or desserts so I must be mistaken. Then, when they show me their typical "healthy" meal plan, I find it is comprised of processed foods laden with high fructose corn syrup and other such "flavor enhancers". They will claim to eat fast foods 2-3 times a week.…I just grimace and shake my  head in disgust. Some people just choose to keep their heads in the sand…they really don't want to "get it".

If just once they could experience true wellness, they would then finally "get it", and would never again feed that crap to themselves and their loved ones.

 
enzo
Savvy User Savvy User, Joined On 11/2006
enzo  
Replied

Pat Ormsby
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 6/2006
Pat Ormsby  
 
Posted On Mar 27, 2007
The real junkies deny it, because they are so terrified by the fact they are out of control. I agree with you that experiencing true wellness makes it a lot easier to discard the sugar habit. Who would want to go back to that kind of hell? The first stage in dealing with an addiction is in recognizing how much it is harming you. If they never get a chance to experience wellness, they never make it to Stage 1. Bless you for sharing your experiences!


Witch Doctor
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 9/2006
Witch Doctor  
 
Posted On Mar 27, 2007
Don't forget that carbohydrates in the diet metabolize into blood glucose just the same as table sugar.  I see all this discussion about sugar with no mention of the critical fact that carbohydrates in refined flour, rice, corn and in potatoes are ultimately no different, than sugar to the body, and some of these convert to blood glucose even faster than table sugar.

Of course Dr. Atkins taught us this, though the knowledge was already there but not seeing the light of day.

Duane


Cuba
Novice User Novice User Joined On 6/2006
Cuba  
 
Posted On Apr 12, 2007
so for those times you are eating sugar or carbs...no body uses insulin mimickers?
Alpha lipoic acid has been showed to limit the insulin responce to sugar and carbs.(google it)
pretty usefull for those high carb incidents :-) and one of the most powerfull anti-oxidants available to boot.


JoyWAHM
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 3/2007
JoyWAHM  
 
Posted On Apr 12, 2007
I absolutely relate to your comment!

Something I have learned to say to people who try to say "just once", "just special occasions" and "we need comfort foods" to me to try to convince me (and my children) to share some of their sugary junk or to justify themselves as they eat it in front of us, is "Nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels." I used to tell people something to the effect that, well, I'm not sure how comforting it'll be if you were dying of cancer, diabetes or heart disease. But that usually came across as holier than thou, yet if I say nothing my chidlren notice and think I agree or that it is okay. So I've learned to say that simple truth and I teach my children to do so as well, and they are only bewteen 1-6 right now (and they say the same thing when people at church offer them candy and cookies, I'm so proud of them!).

Just as a side note: I do not go around condemning people or what people are eating, or even comment on it, people sometimes just automatically say this, I think in their hearts they can feel that it is bad for them but they need to feel it is as important also but don't.


Shari Lee
Novice User Novice User Joined On 1/2007
Shari Lee  
 
Posted On Apr 12, 2007
How did you get through the "withdrawal" stage of going off sugar?  And, do you look at the sugar content of everything you eat and make sure you are getting only a certain amount per day, or what?

Lee
Orlando, FL


Witch Doctor
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 9/2006
Witch Doctor  
 
Posted On Apr 13, 2007
Shari Lee - good question.  When I went low carb, at times I went for the low carb bars that were sweetened with sugar substitutes (various).  They were death to my diet, as they revved my sweet tooth!  If I had one of those, afterwards all I could think of was eating a Hostess Suzy Q.  The remedy became clear.  Avoisd the center aisles of the grocery store, and shop the periphery - produce, meat, fish, dairy.  After awhile, my appetite normalized, my taste for vegetables returned with a vengeance, and I stopped thinkng about sweets.

I am currently struggling again because I started adding Green & Black (I think)organic unsweetened cocoa powder to my coffee, along with stevia.  Big mistake.  I drink it probably 5 times as fast, and I want MORE!  Those sugar substitutes keep the sweet tooth revving.  No stevia. No stevia. No stevia...No sweeteners.  I have to find something else to add to cocoa to complement it.  Duane

 
 
 
Posted On Mar 26, 2007
1 teaspoon of sugar inhibits the immune system for up to 4 hrs! Then why when you go to cancer institutes or cancer hospital units are they feeding them popsicles, icecream and tons on ensure to get them healthy??
 
I say this from experience!

 
Josh Rubin
Moderator User Moderator User, Joined On 6/2006
Josh Rubin  
Replied

LM36
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 12/2006
LM36  
 
Posted On Mar 26, 2007
I have noticed that since I have been having my sole in the evening I don't even crave the typical after dinner treat.  For those who do not know sole is made from fully saturated Himalayan crystal stones in purified water.  If I do want something sweet then I usually choose dark chocolate (70% or more raw cocoa).    


Witch Doctor
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 9/2006
Witch Doctor  
 
Posted On Mar 27, 2007
LM36 - Can you tell a bit more? Are these rocks from the Himalayas, soaked in water for some amount of time to dissolve the minerals?  Where do you get them, besides from the Himalayas?

Thanks!
Duane


Emery
Novice User Novice User Joined On 4/2007
Emery  
 
Posted On Apr 12, 2007
To Duane:
[ Can you tell a bit more? Are these rocks from the Himalayas, soaked in water for some amount of time to dissolve the minerals?  Where do you get them, besides from the Himalayas?]

I found this: Sole 


sweet melissa
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 2/2007
sweet melissa  
 
Posted On Apr 12, 2007
Duane, I believe LM36 is talking about hymilayien crystal salt. You can buy it in a hand crushed form, witch I use to replace table salt, or in "rockes" uncrushed, for use in salt bathes. Mercole.com sells it and I have also sean the table salt form at my local healthfood store but the bathsalts they carrie always have other ingriednts I don't want so I just purchased some from Mercola.


Witch Doctor
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 9/2006
Witch Doctor  
 
Posted On Apr 13, 2007
Emery & sweet melissa (alphabetical order) - thank you both.  LM36 and sweet melissa - please consider looking at Emery's link, and see what you think.  Still, it is salt, which I use regularly, and so I believe it may normalize your cravings, LM36 - especially if you are otherwise deficient in something that is in the Himalayan salt.  I believe Recall that Dr. Joel Wallach (derided in the link) taught us that our cravings are due to some mineral deficiency.

(They deride Wallach of "Dead Doctors Don't Lie" fame for criticizing fluoride in toothpaste but selling one with sodium fluoride.  I believe there is an explanation for this, as the source of fluoride is important.  What the hell is stannous fluoride anyway?  I believe he considers fuoride an important nutrient, but the unnatural form is toxic.  Haven't heard his tapes in a long time, though.)

 
 
 
Posted On Apr 12, 2007
Sugar feeds the invaders in the body - read on:

A diet rich in sugars and sugar-forming foods cultivate the growth of parasites, viruses and bacteria. This affects our metabolism and stimulates the nervous system causing it to be "over charged".
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2004/06/23/drugs-oral-health.aspx

Another article, which was the cover story, was about parasites and how they cannot only control the behavior of their hosts, but also entire ecosystems.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2000/07/30/milk.aspx

Sugar cravings can also be a symptom for parasite and worm infestation as well as candida overgrowth. These types of invaders feed on sugar and actually set up a craving that demands satisfaction. And the cravings they set up are very very strong.
http://www.mkprojects.com/pf_guidetohealthyeatingandliving.htm

Many parasite cleanses are available, drnatura.com Colonix is rated number one on many natural health sites, and it has been working for me.

Ask WHAT is the CAUSE of non-stop sugar cravings.

Hope this helps someone seeking answers.


 
helpingheart
Savvy User Savvy User, Joined On 6/2006
helpingheart  
Replied

Witch Doctor
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 9/2006
Witch Doctor  
 
Posted On Apr 13, 2007
If someone craves sugar, they may be mineral deficient, as minerals are found in fruit. Or one may be addicted to blood sugar swings.  Or, one may have yeast overgrowth.  The yeast will punish the body, in a vague way, if they need a sugar fix.  They dump aldehydes into the system as they degenerate when they don't have enough sugar left.  With experience, you learn that a can of Coca Cola relieves these blahs.  You feel good again.  IF YOU CRAVE SUGAR CONSIDER THAT IT IS TRILLIONS OF LITTLE HUNGRY INVADERS THAT ARE CRAVING  SUGAR AND THEY NOW CONTROL THE APPETITE OF THEIR HOST.  Duane


healthstar
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 3/2007
healthstar  
 
Posted On Apr 15, 2007
Great comments! Thanks =)

 
 
 
Posted On Mar 27, 2007
Related to CathyVM's point: We are missing half the diet question.  Dr. Mercola led us down the sugar path, by implication, but all (with a few exceptions) carbohydrates raise blood glucose.

So our discussion should not be so narrow.  All refined carbs are the real culprits.  In my response to Enzo below, I point out that some refined grain products have been shown to raise blood glucose faster than table sugar!

Think outside the box (of sugar).

Duane

 
Witch Doctor
Apprentice User Apprentice User, Joined On 9/2006
Witch Doctor  
Replied

Witch Doctor
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 9/2006
Witch Doctor  
 
Posted On Mar 27, 2007
Cathy -
 
I just throw a point out there, and hope others improve on it or refute it.

I thank you.

Duane

 
 
 
Posted On Mar 26, 2007
I agree that keeping your blood sugar levels under control is important.  However, many people would die if they kept there fasting blood sugar below 5.  5 what?  Would not a range of 60 to 80 as recorded on most home blood glucose machines be appropriate.  At least for those in the U.S.A. 

mmc88121

 
mmc88121
Moderator User Moderator User, Joined On 11/2006
mmc88121  
Replied

Pat Ormsby
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 6/2006
Pat Ormsby  
 
Posted On Mar 27, 2007
He said "fasting insulin levels." I'm sure you know what that is. (I misread stuff too.)

 
 
 
 
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