AICR
Does sugar feed cancer? It’s one of the questions we get asked often. We prepared this video to provide an evidence-based answer to this frequently asked question.
The bottom line: every cell in our bodies, including cancer cells, uses sugar (glucose) from our bloodstream for fuel.
We get that blood sugar from foods we eat containing carbohydrates, including healthful vegetables, fruits, whole grains and low-fat dairy sources. Some glucose is even produced within our bodies from protein, but there’s no clear evidence that the sugar in your diet preferentially feeds tumors over other cells.
There is a connection between sugar and cancer risk, however, but it’s more indirect than many realize. Eating a lot of high-sugar foods may mean more calories in your diet than you need, which eventually leads to excess body fat. After not smoking, being at a healthy weight is the most important thing you can do to prevent cancer. It is excess body fat that is convincingly linked to greater risk of these 12 types of cancer:
- Breast (post-menopausal)
- Colorectal
- Endometrial
- Esophageal
- Gall Bladder
- Kidney
- Liver
- Mouth/Pharynx/Larynx
- Ovarian
- Pancreatic
- Prostate (advanced)
- Stomach
