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Sugar- why and how to cut back

by : Dr. Martha H. Howard, MD

Why do these two brilliant cancer research “rock stars”? refuse to eat refined sugar and high fructose corn syrup -  now such  huge components of the American daily diet?

Craig B. Thompson, M.D., President of Memorial Sloan-Kettering CancerCenter in New YorkHe has done ground-breaking research on a link between insulin “signaling”? andcancer.

Lewis Cantley, Ph.D, director of the Cancer Center at Beth IsraelDeaconess Medical Center at Harvard Medical School, another topresearcher on the insulin-cancer connection.

And why does Dr. Cantley say “Sugar scares me.”?

A recent New York Times article by Gary Taubes reports the history of, and some of the latest research on the connection betweenincreased consumption of refined sugar and high fructose corn syrup and thedramatic increase of obesity, diabetes, insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome inthe United States. His article also describes research by Dr. Thompson and Dr.Cantley, that makes an even scarier connection between these two refined,processed sweeteners and “the big C”?””cancer””the reason why the two researchersnow do not eat sugar or high fructose corn syrup.

In his impressive nine-page article, Taubes carefully documents the following process:

Large amounts of refined sugar-50% fructose and 50% glucose and corn syrup-55% fructose and 45% glucose””are mainly processed by the liver, and are turnedinto fat.

This process causes high levels of insulin to be released to process the sugars, andeventually leads to insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome””a combination ofhigh blood sugar, high levels of fats (cholesterol and triglycerides) in the blood, highblood pressure, and abdominal fat. This combination is a source of diabetes, heartdisease, and strokes.

The high levels of insulin also trigger an insulin related growth factor””and this isthe cancer connection–which increases tumor growth.

Now that we have strong evidence that sugar is an even bigger player that we thought in allthe metabolic diseases that involve high levels of sugar and fats in the blood, and inaddition, is a contributor to cancer (some people still say the jury is out but I will go with thebrilliant Harvard/Sloan Kettering researchers on this one) what do we do?

Here are my “Great Eight”? recommendations:

Stop drinking sodas and fruit juice””this kind of sudden, high sugar content, liquid“hit”? of sugars is just what makes your liver turn it all into fat, and raises yourinsulin levels, creating insulin resistance. Eat whole fruits instead.

Drink mostly water. Artificially sweetened sodas and juices are not a solution””aspartame, the most common sugar substitute in them, has been shown to be aneurotoxin. (See Russell Blaylock, M.D.’s Excitotoxins:The Taste That Kills. Dr.Blaylock is a board certified neurosurgeon.

Stop eating candy, cookies and baked goods except on rare occasions. If you do eatthem, do it as a dessert right after a meal. You will not have such a sharp rise inblood sugar.

Eat a diet that is primarily whole, unprocessed, organic foods.

Get regular exercise. It lowers blood sugar levels. A combination of aerobic andresistance exercise is good.

Learn about “glycemic index”? and “glycemic load”? of foods. These lists, widelyavailable on the internet, show how much different foods will raise your bloodsugar. High, sudden raises in blood sugar are what triggers off high production ofinsulin, and then insulin resistance. Eat mostly foods that are low to moderate onthe glycemic index list.

Refined sugar, corn syrup, and corn sugars (dextrose, maltodextrin, etc.) are allchemically refined, and are increasingly being identified as allergens. They may bea reason why other foods are increasingly allergenic. This is another good reasonnot to consume them.

Bottom line, if you really want to solve the problem, go with the “rock star scientist”?solution””do not consume refined sugar or high fructose corn syrup at all.