The role of sugar in the formation, growth and metastasis of cancer cells is a topic that is often has divided the scientific community.
Although the Canadian Cancer Society explicitly states that eating sugar No it makes cancer cells grow faster, other reliable sources disagree and claim just the opposite.
Research published in 2017 provides experimental evidence suggesting the “anti-sugar” team was right all along.
The warburg effect
The so-called Warburg effect describes the way most cancer cells produce energy through aerobic glycolysis, which means they metabolize sugar. Normal tissue has very low glycolytic rates; about 200 times lower than fast-growing cancer cells.
The process is named after Otto Warburg, who was the first to hypothesize that this change in metabolism is the root cause of cancer.
Even though Warburg’s theory received a lot of publicity when it was published and even won him a Nobel Prize, it was later dropped. Most of the current literature sees the change in aerobic glycolysis as a result of the cancer, rather than its cause. But new research puts the Warburg effect at the center of cancer research.
Nine-year research project identified a connection between sugar and cancer
A nine-year joint research project has led to a crucial breakthrough in cancer research. Scientists have clarified how the Warburg effect, a phenomenon in which cancer cells rapidly break down sugars, stimulates tumor growth.
This discovery provides evidence of a positive correlation between sugar and cancerwhich can have a far-reaching impact on tailored diets for cancer patients.
According to one of the researchers, their studies reveal how hyperactive sugar consumption by cancer cells leads to a vicious circle of continuous stimulation of cancer development and growth. Therefore, with this they are able to explain the correlation between the strength of the Warburg effect and tumor aggressiveness.
This link between sugar and cancer has radical consequences. The results provide a basis for future research in this domain, which can now be done with a much more precise and relevant approach.
Sugar and Cancer – The Research
A scientific study published in 2014 confirmed that a higher intake of sugar promotes the development of cancer or oncogenesis.
The research team showed that increased glycolytic activation caused glucose transporter type 3 (GLUT3) overexpression in non-malignant human breast cells.
This resulted in the activation of known oncogenic signaling pathways. When malignant cells received less glucose, this promoted the formation of organized structures that did not grow as rapidly and suppressed oncogenic pathways.
In other words, if the sugar was less available, the cancer cells revert to their precancerous structure. The researchers used a 3D model to show that glucose uptake levels determined whether breast cancer cells formed colonies with malignant or non-malignant behavior.
You may be interested in reading the article about the truth behind sugar, the sweet thief of life. It is a publication with more than 10 articles and many years of research.
These new scientific findings further increase the credibility of approaches that use nutrition to prevent and treat cancer.
The ketogenic diet, which reduces sugars/carbs and focuses on healthy fats and proteins, has been found to be very helpful even in the most aggressive cancer treatment.
How these findings are put into practice in cancer diagnosis
Even if the role of sugar in cancer formation has been discussed previously, Warburg’s findings have been put to use in cancer diagnosis. PET scans use radioactively labeled glucose to detect sugar-starved tumor cells.
Also, in Europe, oncologists (cancer doctors) often use the systemic multistep cancer therapy (SCMT) protocol, which involves injecting glucose into patients to increase blood glucose concentrations.
This causes rapid growth of the tumor, making it easier to attack with chemotherapy and radiation.
Other reasons to minimize sugar intake
- One of the most obvious reasons is that sugar is very calorific, but not very filling. Therefore, people tend to consume too much sugar.
- Sugar suppresses the immune system: If you consume sugary foods and drinks regularly throughout the day, you will be preventing your immune system from working properly.
- Sugar causes inflammation: This causes pain and can lead to diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.
- Sugar can cause cavities.
- Sugar reduces the release of human growth hormone, which speeds up the aging process.
Why is sugar a poison?
For many scientists and doctors, sugar must achieve the enemy status that tobacco hasand some consider that legislation should be established to prevent companies from making money by causing a serious deterioration in the health of the population.
sugar addiction can be called a metabolic syndrome in which obesity is considered its symptoma. People today are focused on losing weight, when in fact they should be addressing the underlying problem of hormonal imbalance caused by high sugar intake.
In addition, a scientific study found that obesity is a major risk factor for cancer.
When there is too much insulin in the blood, which happens when you constantly eat sugary foods, the hormone leptin is blocked. Leptin is the hormone that regulates the amount of fat stored in the body.
When your leptin levels drop, the brain no longer recognizes excess weight and the self-regulation mechanism is affected. So you keep eating until you explode. Fighting cravings becomes just as difficult as trying to suppress the urge to drink when thirsty.
Sugar is an independent primary risk factor for all kinds of diseases. It’s not just about calories and weight gain; it’s about what it does to the physiology of our bodies. That’s why diets work for two months, maybe six, and then people gain back the weight they just lost.
Biochemistry drives our behavior and it’s amazing to see how some people act when they start to lose their sugar. The scenes are not very different from those of addicts looking for a way to obtain their drugs.
World sugar consumption has tripled in the last 50 yearsand obesity is a global problem that affects both the developed and developing worlds.
De Pergola, G., & Silvestris, F. (2013). Obesity as a major risk factor for cancer. Journal of obesity, 2013291546. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/291546