BC and connection to sugar???

It seems to be controversial.  I've noticed that websites promoting sugar alternatives seem to blame sugar for a vast number of things.  Some might actually be true.  I do have a sweet tooth, and also had IDC that was a small slow growing tumor, with ER/PR in the 90%.  I'm am sure there are those out there who are very good about restricting their sugar that had large, fast growing tumors.  If you get a lot of responses, I really don't know if you could conclude anything for the empirical data.  

As far as sugar and hot flashes...I haven't noticed that before myself.  Now, I'm on Tamoxifen, so even if there is a rise in estrogen, I hope the Tamox. is doing a good job of keeping it blocked in any of the receptors that might need blocking.

If you are up for it, try Googling and see what you come up with.

There is no "relationship" between cancer and sugar. "Sugar" in the form of glucose is what every cell in your body uses for energy, including cancer cells. Cancer cells use glucose faster, since there entire metabolism is faster. That is why tumors glow on PET scans.

Eating lots of sugary foods will not make cancer grow faster, and eating less sugary food will not slow down cancer growth. Only inasmuch as sugar leads to weight gain, which increases fat composition of the body, which in turn fuels estrogen production. 

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cancer-causes/CA00085/NSECTIONGROUP=2 

Linda,

I have no scientific evidence to back up my decisions, but after having the Pet Scan and realizing that cancer cells preferred sugar as their meal of choice, I gave up sugar immediately.  I also gave up most sugar substitutes and all corn syrup.  In general if I have something that has any type of sweetener, it is honey or molasses or maybe cane juice. 

I don't know if it makes a difference, but I'm going to keep it up. 

Good luck with your decisions.

Tracy

Muscle activity also soaks up glucose -- that's why you lie around for about an hour before a PET.  And are advised to not exercise the day before.  Once my neck muscles started cramping during a PET and did they glow on the scan results!!  Cells taking up glucose is a very normal thing.

Linda, I do wish you good luck. Remember it takes at least 2 weeks to break a habit so do not get frustrated. You will be surprised how little you will even want to eat all the sugar once your body adjusts. I just went cold turkey. When I started to feel so much better, that was the motivation I needed to keep going. As I said, weight loss was the good side effect. I never thought of it as a diet and that I was denying myself anything. I just thought of eating for my health. I eat more now than I use to, every couple of hours. I just keep it to small amounts and try to eat more veggies. My favorite lunch is a whole avocado with salsa. Yes I know avocado is high fat, but it is the good kind, and very filling. I do not count calories, I just eat what I want to, as long as it is healthy. We are what we eat. I guess that means I am just not as sweet as  I use to be, but that's the way the cookie crumbles.

Barbe, I agree that high fructose corn syrup is public enemy number one. It is so hard to find food without it. It makes me furious. I love cereal, and try to find high fiber ones because it keeps me regular, but they put that crap in almost all of them. Yes, diabetics have to be careful with all carbs, including fruit, but my point was that fruit does not promote fat cells the way refined sugars do because it takes longer to go through the body, and its energy is used up more slowly. As I said, I use nuts and cinnamon to counterbalance the sugar effects of fruits, although I tend to eat more veggies than fruit. I do believe in the adage of an apple a day and I love to take an apple in the car with me. I always take a couple of cinnamon capsules everyday. If I get hungry when I am out, I eat the apple. This tides me over and I am not ravenously eating anything the minute I walk in the door. It also keeps me from the temptation of getting fast food. I have only had one hamburger since dx, over 2 years ago, and I did not even like it, I was just really hungry and needed something quick. I use to love a McD cheeseburger now and then. Now I cannot even stand the thought of one. The high glucose in the bun is what really turns me off.

Oh, one more thing, Barb, you said you still did not lose weight on a low carb diet. Do you exercise? I have always loved to do sports, but after bc, I added strength training with yoga and free weights. Building muscle mass revs your metabolism. I lift free wts 3 nights a week for an hour just watching TV. Iodine also raises metabolism. If the thyroid is out of whack, it is really hard to lose weight. Check out the info on the iodine thread here. And the other metabolism booster is coconut oil. Believe it or not, it energizes you. It is the only thing I use on my skin. Just do not slather  a lot on before bed. I was doing that for a while and could not get to sleep! Then I read how it raises metabolism, and stopped using much, and I could sleep again with no problem. And finally green tea is a metabolism booster and great for wt loss and an antioxidant to boot. I did not like it at first, but now I love it and drink a whole pot every day, about 5 cups. There are lots of great flavors. I like mandarin orange the best. Of course, do not add any sugar! As I said, these are all new habits you have to get use to, and it takes about 2 weeks to change a habit and develop a new one. I cannot stand missing days of not exercising now. It is such a habit. Just give yourself time. You will gradually feel so much better, and you will not look back.

Linda, here is another little thing that got me thinking that nutrition was a big deal. When I was dx, I was in a total walking fog. I could not eat or sleep, but instinct told me to eat healthy foods. I hated the thought of this thing inside me and I wanted to make sure it did not grow. I started living on oatmeal and salad and I started walking like a crazy woman. I had to wait almost 3 agonizing weeks before surgery, because I had so many tests they wanted to run, my surgeon was going to a conference, etc. Well guess what, my tumor shrunk 2 cm in those 3 weeks! I was so afraid it might grow because they said if it grew 2 cm I  would be stage 2 and need chemo, and I ended up shrinking the damn thing! That was all I needed to convince me that I could affect my own outcome.

What about yeast?

Never had yeast infections, but yes sugar leads to that.  Count me in as someone who the MRI said 3 cm and it was actually 1.5cm.  I think it is HARD to predict actual size - kind of like my sisters ultrasound that said her baby was underweight but in actuality was 9 pounds - 3 pound difference!

Simple sugars really are good to avoid - not good for us in general, but I will say as I have said before if high blood sugar was the culprit - every diabetic would have bc.

I have low blood sugar yet had bc.  

sorry not sure about the yeast comsumption...

I agree with you Aprilgirl....

 I clearly have a genetic link (although not BCRA) to cancer......it is bigger than low sugar to me

but... if sugar intake increases my insulin and increases estrogen and estrogen promotes cancer cells to grow and divide... Makes sense to keep insulin in balance to me to decrease chances of recurrance  or new cancer     i think.....

Coincidentally, I will be attending a scientific conference next week at McGill University where one of the researchers is presenting on "Nutrition and cancer cells...why cancer cells are addicted to sugar".  Pretty catchy title, isn't it.    I'll report back to everyone after the conference...hopefully will be able to clarify the issue

I have not asked my onc about this connection.....

 Yes Please Flamin Nora- bring back your knowledge to us cant wait to hear....