Giving up sugar to help fight cancer

If you’ve been diagnosed with any type of cancer – or if you have reason to suspect that you might have cancer (from a positive PSA test, for instance) – then there’s a very important nutritional note you should be aware of.

Seventy years ago, Otto Warburg, Ph.D., won the Nobel Prize in medicine when he discovered that cancer cells use glucose (sugar) for growth. All cells have a requirement for glucose, but cancer cells consume as much as 4 to 5 times more glucose than normal, healthy cells. In fact, they’re unable to multiply rapidly without it.

I asked HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., if he could tell us a little more about this process, and here’s what he had to say:

“Nutritionally oriented doctors have known about the refined sugar/cancer association for decades. Dr. Warburg was about as brilliant as they come, right up there with Hans Nieper, M.D., Linus Pauling, Ph.D., and possibly even the incomparable Nikola Tesla (no doctorate just plain super- humanly brilliant). His medical insight was amazing.

“It’s pretty easy to figure that the cells that are dividing (multiplying) the fastest have the highest requirement for energy (to sustain such accelerated growth). Cutting out the source is similar to cutting off the blood supply – though not quite as drastic, it’s certainly a step worth taking.

“Another issue is the fact that refined sugars are not nutrient-dense they contain none of the nutrients necessary for the assimilation of the sugar ingested. Therefore, the body must drain body stores (if any are present) to handle the job, leaving less (or none) for other tasks.

“Obviously giving up sugar isn’t the cure for cancer. But I’d recommend the tactic STRONGLY to anyone with cancer (or, actually, any other illness).”

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute