Should sugar be eliminated from diet in a cancer patient?

Posted by sharida12 @sharida12, May 3, 2023

I’ve been diagnosed with cholangio carcinoma, and I’m trying to find out about what diet I should follow. I heard sugar is not good for cancer patients. Please help.

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@gisellef

Hi. Try and make sure that you eat more protein (good quality) than usual. Even an extra protein drink can help. Speak to a dietitian about this as it’s really important to keep as much of your body weight and muscle mass. If you can exercise at all that might help too.

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Thanks for your reply, really appreciated. I'm in contact with a dietician that AstraZenica has given me. She says the same thing, I do exercises everyday and try to eat as much protein as possible. Today, I am going to GNC to look for a high energy, whey protein powder to make my smoothies with.

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Sounds good. Another idea would be to try and make sure you eat some healthy snacks several times a day. Eg a handful of nuts and yogurt or some veggies and turkey slices or cheese…even a hard boiled egg and some celery or carrots several times a day. The exercise will do you a mountain of good. Best of luck.

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I keep reading non medical comments about sugar fueling cancer but can find no studies to confirm that. I do find studies about a direct link to obesity and cancer. Can anyone point me to the scientific evidence?

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@slmoore0626

I keep reading non medical comments about sugar fueling cancer but can find no studies to confirm that. I do find studies about a direct link to obesity and cancer. Can anyone point me to the scientific evidence?

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I recently read a study saying sugar does not contribute to recurrence. I will try to find it when I have time.

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@slmoore0626

I keep reading non medical comments about sugar fueling cancer but can find no studies to confirm that. I do find studies about a direct link to obesity and cancer. Can anyone point me to the scientific evidence?

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There seems to be a lot of misinformation about the sugar issue. Thank you!

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@slmoore0626

There seems to be a lot of misinformation about the sugar issue. Thank you!

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I have tea and sorbet every day and am 9 years out. These is one anecdotal case 🙂 I'll try to find the study. It was very convincing.

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@slmoore0626

I keep reading non medical comments about sugar fueling cancer but can find no studies to confirm that. I do find studies about a direct link to obesity and cancer. Can anyone point me to the scientific evidence?

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Hi @slmoore0626, I moved your question to this existing discussion about the sugar and cancer where I and other members have shared useful resources.

- Should sugar be eliminated from diet in a cancer patient? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/should-sugar-be-eliminated-from-diet-in-a-cancer-patient/

To find studies on the topic, you may wish to use the PubMed database. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

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@slmoore0626

I keep reading non medical comments about sugar fueling cancer but can find no studies to confirm that. I do find studies about a direct link to obesity and cancer. Can anyone point me to the scientific evidence?

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My oncologist said there was a study linking sugar consumption, but it had few participants, & has not been able to be reproduced.

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@sm22

I do believe sugar causes inflammation which does affect cancer. That is just my non-medical opinion. I’ve also found it interesting that they use “radioactive glucose” in the body during a PET scan which shows where the cancer is /where the glucose is being used in the body.

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My oncologist specifically told me that people make that erroneous connection. The PET scan uptake is similar to an insulin/sugar reaction.

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I see a information on the NIH/Pub Med indicating that Glucose and Glutamine are the fuel for cancer cells and that therapeutic ketogenic states combined with low blood glucose creates a state that starves cancer. That cancer is not oxygen dependent.

They point to "metabolic therapy" which is not widely practiced in the United States today (not sure why this is the case if this holds any promise whatsoever given the cancer statistics) but involves glutamine suppression in intervals while in a ketogenic state. I for one would welcome this approach to improve chemotherapy and radiation effectiveness and perhaps lower dosing requirements based on a combinati0n of these approaches.

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