Contents:
- Medical Video: What Would I Eat If I Had Cancer?
- Sweet foods and cancer
- Cancer patients may eat sweet foods, but ...
- How to reduce sweet foods so as not to overdo it?
Medical Video: What Would I Eat If I Had Cancer?
Sugar is often regarded as a fuel from cancer and makes cancer grow more aggressively. So that many cancer patients are afraid to consume sugar. Then is the assumption correct? Can't cancer patients eat sweet foods? Consider the considerations below.
Sweet foods and cancer
Sweet foods are foods that contain lots of sugar (glucose). Glucose is one of the energy sources needed for body cells so that it can carry out its functions normally. Glucose will be channeled to every cell in your body to improve brain function. All cells in the body need glucose, so do cancer cells in cancer patients.
Cancer cells usually grow and multiply quickly so they need a lot of energy. This means that cancer cells need a lot of glucose. Not only that, cancer cells also need many other nutrients, such as amino acids and fats, not just sugar.
If cancer cells need a lot of glucose, reducing sugar from food consumed can stop the growth of cancer cells. Unfortunately, it's not that simple. All cells in the body also need glucose, and there is no way to order glucose to be distributed only to healthy cells.
Cancer patients may eat sweet foods, but ...
Even though you don't need to worry about sugar which feeds cancer cells, it doesn't mean you are free to eat sweet foods and drinks as much as you like.
Cancer patients may eat sweet foods, but they should not overdo it. Why? Eating too much sugar and for a long time can increase your weight. Being overweight can cause changes in levels of sex hormones or insulin which can increase the risk of developing breast, colon, or uterine cancer. In addition, a study also found that too much sugar intake can increase the risk of certain cancers, such as esophageal cancer.
Sweet foods may be consumed by cancer patients, if the sweetness produced comes from natural sugars, namely those found in foods such as fruit and milk or healthy starchy foods such as wheat and beans.
How to reduce sweet foods so as not to overdo it?
To minimize the rise and fall of rapid blood sugar, combine protein, healthy fat and fiber in the diet of cancer patients. This combination can slow the release of blood sugar in your body and make you full longer.
Read nutritional information on the food or beverage packaging that you buy. Because, sugar is often hidden by other names such as invert sugar, molasses, sucrose, red rice syrup, honey, and maple syrup. If there are too many types of sugar contained in these foods, you need to think again to buy them or switch to buying foods and drinks that are low in sugar.
Although initially reducing eating sugar is difficult. However, you still have to start from now. Take care of your health by looking at everything you consume every day.
