Cancer

Could Sugar Fuel the Growth of Cancer?

Sugar is commonly found in the American diet. An average 12-ounce can of soda has 10 teaspoons of sugar.

Does sugar fuel the growth of cancer? 

Researchers have been studying what sugar does to the body. One type of sugar in particular has provided a possible link from sugar to cancer. That particular sugar is fructose.

Tests using mice show a possible mechanism for how it happens. The findings, published in the journal Cancer Research, support studies that suggest people who consume more sugar have a higher risk of cancer, and particularly breast cancer.

Yet researchers say this sole factor is harder to pin down, since "sugar" is a very broadly used term.

"A lot of patients are told it doesn't matter what you eat after you are diagnosed with cancer. This preliminary animal research suggests that it does matter," said Lorenzo Cohen of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, who worked on the study.

Other studies show sugar-heavy diets may impact heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. 

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