Sugar consumption is a very complex issue.
Otto Warburg, who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology in 1931, discovered nearly a century ago that the metabolism of malignant tumours is hugely dependent on glucose consumption.
This is also known as Warburg effect.
Insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), that are released when we eat sugary foods and refined carbohydrates like white flour and white rice products, stimulate inflammation and cell growth.
Higher insulin levels are associated with higher risk of developing BC.
Sugar is also high in calories so eating too much of it causes weight gain and extra body fat and increases the amount of oestrogen.
And as you might know already, obesity is the single biggest preventable cause of cancer after smoking.
The easiest way to cut down on added sugar is to avoid sugary drinks, sweets, biscuits, cakes, cookies, desserts, honey, syrups and chocolate but also on breakfast cereals, jams, chutneys, ready meals, white bread, pastries, white rice, potatoes, alcohol and so on.
Reducing sugar in our diet and consuming carbohydrates with a low glycemic index has a huge potential to lower cancer incidence.
Nutritional information labels are a good indicator when making your choices.
