These days, just about everyone shrinks in fear when one word is uttered — cancer. While we often hear that cancer may be linked to smoking, asbestos, pollution, pesticides, sun exposure, or red meat, one of the best-kept secrets is that sugar fuels the growth of cancer.

Don’t believe me? Consider a few studies.

Researchers from the State University of New York at Buffalo found that women with high blood sugar levels had a higher risk of developing breast cancer. They also discovered that females with the lowest blood sugar levels at the beginning of the study had about one-third the risk of developing breast cancer compared to those with the highest levels of blood sugar.

More researchers from the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health found that drinking two or more soft drinks per week increased the risk of developing pancreatic cancer nearly twofold, compared to individuals who consumed no or very few sugar-sweetened beverages. Although pancreatic cancer is one of the more rare cancers, it is one of the most lethal, with only 4 percent of those diagnosed still alive five years later. And sugar can only aggravate your condition.

Now for more scary news. Additional scientists from the University of Utah discovered that younger men with the highest intake of sucrose (table sugar) had a 60 percent greater risk for colon cancer than people who ate the least amount. This study also found that those most susceptible to developing this cancer had a low fiber intake, were sedentary, and overweight or obese.

Clearly, we cannot ignore this frightening cancer-sugar connection, and one of my goals is to wake you up to this phenomenon. It just might save your life or that of a loved one.

How Does Sugar Promote Cancer?

While it’s true that the sugar-cancer connection is not as direct as, say, smoking cigarettes and getting lung cancer, the underlying biology is just as insidious. As I’ve explained, recent research reveals that high blood sugar levels are associated with increased risk for several types of cancer. We also know that obesity is linked with hormonal changes that can fuel cancer growth.

Our bodies can detect and destroy most abnormal cells, but if cancerous cells take root, they can easily grow and spread, especially if you “rev them up” by eating lots of sugar.

Bear in mind that all your cells need glucose (blood sugar), but cancer cells are “glucose guzzlers,” contends Keith I. Block, M.D., a renowned integrative cancer-care specialist and medical director of the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment in Skokie, Illinois. “In other words, most cancer cells thrive on a high sugar diet,” explains Dr. Block, author of Life Over Cancer.

However, “if you strangulate the supply of sugar to the tumor, it may actually trigger a form of biological suicide among the malignant cells,” Dr. Block adds.

What’s more, very few cancers can survive without a steady supply of glucose,” he concludes.

There Is Good News!

Indeed, the good news then is that just as excess sugar provides an ideal climate for cancer to grow, when you cut out those toxic sweets and carbs, the lack of sugar offers an unfriendly environment to this foreign invader, so the cancer cells will not thrive.

The bottom line: If you have cancer or are at risk of getting it — because of your sugar habit, family history, lifestyle, etc. — you’d be wise to make a plan to get off sweets and refined carbs now — not next week.

Reprinted with permission of the publisher,
Hay House Inc. www.hayhouse.com.
©2012 by Connie Bennett. All Rights Reserved.

This article was adapted with permission from the book:

Beyond Sugar Shock: The 6-Week Plan to Break Free of Your Sugar Addiction & Get Slimmer, Sexier & Sweeter by Connie Bennett.

For the millions of people who suffer with problems such as low libido, excess weight, overpowering fatigue, and many other unexplained ailments, Beyond Sugar Shock provides a step-by-step, six-week program to gently guide readers to a healthier life. From Connie Bennett, author of the bestseller Sugar Shock!—the book that Mehmet Oz said “spills the beans” on the shocking impact of sugar and simple carbohydrates—comes Beyond Sugar Shock, the first book to provide a simple, practical, mind-body-spirit plan to help readers break free of their sugar or carb addiction.

Click here for more info and/or to order this book on Amazon.

About the Author

A former sugar addict, Connie Bennett, CHHC, CPC, ACC is a sought-after transformational speaker, certified health coach, certified life coach, journalist, host of the Gab with the Gurus Radio Show, and creator of the popular Sugar Freedom Now Course. Connie is author of the bestselling book, Sugar Shock: How Sweets and Simple Carbs Can Derail Your Life—And How You Can Get Back on Track. Visit her blog at SugarShockBlog.com and learn more about her Sugar Freedom Now Course at BreakFreeWithConnie.com