Did you know that one of the most loved ingredients in our food, sugar, is also food for the life-threatening disease, cancer?
Did you know that your favorite ingredient sugar is as harmful as its sweet taste?
Yes. You heard it right.
Sugar feeds cancer cells. You must have always heard that sugar is bad for health, but you never knew that it is bad to this extent – did you?
Billions of money are spent on research for cancer treatment but it looks like the same treatment with a new version. We are making mistakes pre and post-treatment by feeding the patient with food that is loaded with sugar. If one wants complete recovery from cancer, then sugar must be completely removed from the patient’s diet.
So, you know sugar is bad for your health. Let’s see how bad it is. The sugar which we eat moves through our blood vessels and reaches the cells. But excess sugar damages our blood vessels by increasing the inflammation in them.

You may have come across the word ‘inflammation’ many times, and you probably also know that it points to something wrong or undesirable. Let’s understand what exactly it is. We need sugar for energy but when it is in excess, our cell stops consuming it and those sugar molecules remain in the blood. As the blood moves throughout the body, so also does the sugar. Since sugar is sticky in nature, it sticks to the blood vessels which get inflamed (damaged) when this happens, as that’s not the right place for sugar.
In the meantime, however, other nutrients which have to go to the organs through blood also stick to the sugar which is already present in the bloodstream, and all these together decrease the blood flow to the organ. This lack of oxygen, nutrients, and blood supply to an organ makes it inflamed. Chronic inflammation leads to organ damage.
Let’s see how some of our organs/body parts are impacted by excess sugar:

Brain:-
Every organ has certain pathways that help in its proper functioning. Similarly, the pathways in the brain get disturbed when there is decreased blood flow because of the increased intake of sugary, refined, and processed foods. Thus, increasing the risk of depression, anxiety, and many other disorders that are seen in almost every 3rd person.
Skin:-
Protein is very important for building the tissues of the skin. These tissues get damaged when there is a high amount of sugar intake. The protein uptakes sugar molecules as part of their structure which leads to structural damage of the skin and leads to inflammation resulting in early aging, acne, wrinkles, and other skin issues, etc.
Heart:-
You may have heard of inflammation of the arteries which leads to a heart attack, blockages, etc. High intake of sugary food and refined foods is one of the reasons for increasing inflammation in the arteries which, consequently, increases the risk of heart attacks.
Kidney:-
The kidneys are organs that help filter waste from our bodies. So, there’s damage rendered to our kidneys when they get overloaded by excess sugar and affects their functioning.
Joints:-
The joints get inflamed due to the highly inflammatory cytokines that are stimulated by excess sugar consumption leading to joint pain, arthritis, etc.
Now you know where we are coming from?
If there is chronic inflammation in any part of the body, it may further lead to cancer, if it is not addressed in time.
When we talk of cancer cells, you must be wondering how they are different from normal cells.
Let’s understand the difference between a normal cell and a cancer cell.
Cancer cells are not some ‘other’ cells that have invaded the body from outside. In fact, they are the normal healthy cells in our body that become cancerous due to high inflammation and various reasons. They are normal cells which are damaged metabolically characterized by irregular structure, irregular mitochondria, inefficient energy production, the nucleus becomes large and dark, growth of the cell is out of control, they do not mature or communicate, are invisible to immune cells, they do not require oxygen to survive, they are glucose lovers and do not prefer any other source for fuel, energy production is low – only 2 ATP are produced which is <5% of the glucose consumption, and they grow in the acidic environment.
On the other hand, the normal cells are regular in shape and size, their growth is in control and systematic, cells mature and communicate, they are visible to the immune cells with ID, they require oxygen for survival and very less amount of oxygen for fuel, they prefer fat ketones and glucose for fuel, energy production is very high 95% of fuel consumed, and produces 36 units of ATP, the environment in which cell grows is alkaline.
One more important thing: It doesn’t always mean that your organs are in danger only if you have diabetes. Even a non-diabetic person can be affected by high sugars in the body, and will not get to know until s/he has reached a critical health condition like cancer, heart attack, kidney failure, etc.
So, to all those folks who have a sweet tooth, shun your habit of having a piece of cake, chocolate, or sweets to have fruits instead. Eating fruits will give you a good amount of fiber, vitamins, antioxidants, etc. This is just the tip of the iceberg. We can list out the numerous benefits of having fruit, and the harmful impact of having artificial sweets or sugar.
Be wise, make the right choice.
Author
Dt. Anjali Khandale (MSc-Nutrition & Dietetics)
Dt. Anjali is a consultant dietitian for MyDietGuru who has volunteered to help us disseminate the message of healthy living through an appropriate diet.
She has 2 years of experience (~ 1 year as a Consultant Nutritionist and Dietitian at Aarogyaahar) during which she has counseled/handled about 100 clients (covering all lifestyle diseases).
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