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Should sugar be eliminated from diet in a cancer patient?
Cancer | Last Active: Mar 5 9:56am | Replies (49)Comment receiving replies
There are many myths that circulate about sugar and cancer. It's important to get the facts. This article by Mayo Clinic experts helps debunk common myths, including the facts about PET scans and the use of radioactive tracer — typically a form of glucose.
- Cancer causes: Popular myths about the causes of cancer https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cancer/in-depth/cancer-causes/art-20044714
EXCERPT
"Myth: People who have cancer shouldn't eat sugar, since it can cause cancer to grow faster.
Fact: More research is needed to understand the relationship between sugar in the diet and cancer. All kinds of cells, including cancer cells, depend on blood sugar (glucose) for energy. But giving more sugar to cancer cells doesn't make them grow faster. Likewise, depriving cancer cells of sugar doesn't make them grow more slowly.
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.
There is some evidence that consuming large amounts of sugar is associated with an increased risk of certain cancers, including esophageal cancer. Eating too much sugar can also lead to weight gain and increase the risk of obesity and diabetes, which may increase the risk of cancer."
Replies to "There are many myths that circulate about sugar and cancer. It's important to get the facts...."
We don’t have clear evidence about many things but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t act sensibly when it comes to a food that most doctors find problematic for general health reasons. Human research studies are highly problematic in terms of drawing very complete conclusions as there are so many variables that we can and cannot identify and hold constant. Whatever is good for your immune system will help your body deal with mistakes that the body makes (ie cells that replicate out of control. This process occurs all the time but mostly when bodies function properly they eliminate these mistakes without need for treatment. What we can do for ourselves is to eat healthy foods, exercise, manage stress etc etc I don’t think anyone can argue against that.
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Thank you for providing me with this information, I for one am very pleased to hear that this is a myth. I have often stressed about my sweet tooth and believing that it’s going to make cancer worse, I realize that moderation is important but depression is a powerful disease and I often give in to my cravings. I’m going for a uterine biopsy tomorrow and I’m very nervous so I’m not abstaining from my sweets very well, this was most helpful, 🙂