As a family physician, cancer seems rampant in my clinic lately.
Cancer comes in waves and almost seems like it follows infectious patterns, though that may be a stretch. One thing I know is true, nutrition plays a huge role in the ability to fight cancer. Proper Nutrition is huge when one considers every repair and defense mechanism in our body comes from the foods when ingest.
I’ve always taught my cancer patients that sugar feeds cancer. Lot’s of research indicates that high consumption of sugar (especially processed sugar, starches, sweets, sodas, alcohols etc.) suppresses immune function, raises insulin, and retards response to infection or abnormal cell growth. In my medical opinion eating carbohydrates causes cancer….especially in excess over years.
I consistently recommend my cancer patients to eliminate processed sugar from their diets. Fruit is the sweetest thing I recommend, and even that should be limited to 2-3 to 1 (Veggies to fruit). No fruit Juice.
The following article reinforces my point.
http://www.carbwire.com/2011/07/12/high-carb-diets-linked-to-cancer
W. Curtis, MD
I went to the original article. The authors of the article were advocating a high protein, low carbohydrate diet. I don’t understand the high protein aspect of this recommendation. Wouldn’t any excess protein be turned into glucose via gluconeogenesis? Wouldn’t this just defeat the purpose of eating a low carbohydrate diet? I think people are still afraid to recommend fat. I would think a high fat, moderate protein, low carb diet would be better for controlling blood sugar levels.
Yes, they were advocating a proportionally higher protein intake. You are correct about protein and ability to convert to glucose which can be an issue for some…mainly very brittle diabetics in my experience. I agree with you that higher proportions of fat are important. The real question is what ratios are best? The answer is likely multi-factoral based on your age, gender, genetics, activity level, etc. etc. I’ve got an upcoming post I’m putting together exploring the debate over various low carb approaches. Keep an eye out for that post. I hope it helps answer your question in more detail.