Scientists have now shown that increased sugar uptake actually causes cancer, not simply that cancer cells have an increased appetite for sugar; while a second study shows sugar also damages the immune system and causes premature ageing by reducing telomere length.
First scientists Yasuhito Onodera, Jin Min Nam and Mina J Bissell report in the Journal of Clinical Investigation (2014, Jan 2, 124(1), 367 - 384), that increased sugar uptake actually promotes cancer via two pathways - EPAC/RAP1 and O-GicNAc.
They showed that the theory that 'increased glycolysis was a result of cancer' was actually wrong and that increased glycolysis (caused by the use of glucose as a fuel) actually caused cancer to form.
Their finding seems to end the debate about the dangers of sugar - although why it was still going on is a surprise. There have been repeated studies against sugar, (for example, research from Johns Hopkins that restricting sugar in patients increases survival with colon cancer.
Go to: Sugar restriction increase survival in Colorectal Cancer
in the UK there is repeated concern from patients that the NHS dieticians put out booklets advising people having chemotherapy to eat cheeseburgers and drink milky, sugary tea; while the Charity MacMillan has just said that it’s OK for cancer patients to consume sugar and cows’ milk; and the Royal Marsden Cancer Centre has just bought out a 'cook book' featuring lashings of cream and sugar!
Sugar damages your immune system - causes premature ageing
If that wasn’t enough, research published in the American Journal of Public Health suggests drinking a daily fizzy soft drink ages your immune cells to the same levels as cigarette smoking!
The finding comes after researchers studied the telomeres in DNA of human immune cells. DNA is rather like a shoe lace. At the ends of a shoe lace are pieces of plastic which stop it unravelling. Instead, DNA has telomeres. As you age, they slowly get shorter (in cancer patients they become shorter very quickly). Already there is extensive research showing that fish oils prevent telomere degradation, and can even help extend them in the case of cancer.
This research showed the damage caused by sugar. Researchers analysed data from 5,309 adults in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2000/2001.
Time Magazine quotes research author Doctor Elissa Epel: “Shorter telomeres have been linked to health detriments like shorter lifespans and more stress, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer...”
Her team found that sugar affects DNA metabolism and people who drank sugary soft drinks tended to have shorter telomeres: Drinking just one 8 oz can a day equalled 1.9 years of additional ageing while drinking 20 oz a day was linked to 4.6 more years of ageing. This is equivalent to the effects of smoking on telomere length.
Go to: 20 links between sugar and cancer
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Readers of this article also read:
For an article about the benefits to cancer patients of Calorie Restriction and Fasting Click here
For an article on a restricted sugar diet with cancer
The Rainbow Diet (Click Here)
The Ketogenic Diet (Click Here)