Cavemen Didn't Die From This....

Good Evening Everyone!

      Humans have been hunter-gatherers for over 99% of our time here on earth and have only used agriculture for less than 1% of our history!  There are still uncivilized hunter-gatherer societies here on earth and for them just like our cavemen predecessors, cancer is a very rare cause of death.  Diet is one of the main differences between those societies and ours.  The hunter-gatherer diet consists of fat, meat and occasional roots, berries & other sources of carbohydrates.  This is a large difference from our Western diet which is based mainly on easily digestible carbohydrates derived from grains as a staple food.
      Since our western diet is made up of mainly refined carbohydrates, we as a result have consistent high body sugar content.  This provides an environment which is proving to be a breading ground for cancer cells/tumors and it  happens is a couple ways:    First, is that cancer cells use glucose (sugar) as a fuel for a process called anaerobic glycolysis to produce ATP (energy for the cell to survive).  So as a result, high carbohydrate/sugar diets are great for growing/multiplying cancer cells/tumors.  Second, is that anaerobic glycolysis (cancer cell's process for energy production) produces high levels of lactic acid and hydrogen ions.  High levels of these two compounds help tumors to become more aggressive to invade and metastasize to other areas of the body.   Translation:  A diet rich in consistent sugar/carbs = a greater chance of developing an aggressive cancer in your body  (read that sentence again if you need to!)
      I've spoke about the harmful effects of sugar in the past, but this week's blog should help to drive home another possible serious side effect of having a diet that is overloaded in refined carbohydrates/sugars.  So, do yourself a favor and reduce your sugar/carb intake and give cancer/tumors less of a chance for developing or advancing in your body.

Yours in Health,

Dr. Jeff

Resource:
Is There a role for Carbohydrate Restriction in the Treatment and Prevention of Cancer,  Nutrition and Metabolism, October 2011; 8(75).
            



Any medical information provided in Doctor Jeff's Blog is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her health professional. Any information provided is not meant to diagnose, treat or manage any specific disease/condition.Doctor Jeff's Blog respects the confidentiality of individual patients and site visitors. All clinical anecdotes are compliant with HIPAA regulations.