Another Reason to Avoid Sugar

Of course, we already know too much sugar is bad for us. Not just the sugar in chocolate and sweets but refined foods, such as white rice, pasta, bread etc. There has been evidence of a link between high sugar consumption and cancer for a while, but now researchers from Harvard may have figured out why this is and how to use it against the disease . The following is taken from Patrick Holford's 100% Health newsletter:

"Cancer spreads because cancer cells grow and take over neighbouring healthy cells, largely by cutting off their access to oxygen-carrying blood cells, thus starving them of oxygen. The cancer cells can revert to a simpler mode of survival, running off sugar, without the need for oxygen. Researchers from Harvard Medical School have now found that blocking this ability may be an effective anti-cancer therapy.

Of course, this revelation will be used to develop anti-cancer drugs, but the implication is that a high-sugar diet feeds cancer. The evidence already shows a strong link between sugar consumption and increased cancer risk. This may be the main mechanism behind it".

So many members of my extended family have died from one cancer or another (none of them were particularly young, as my doc pointed out) . You'd think that would be incentive enough to eat more fruit and veg etc. But no. I've eaten hardly any fruit recently. Must try harder. I like to come across the odd article here and there, just to remind me of the benefits of a healthy diet. I know it's ok to splurge every now and then, as long as my diet is mainly good. That's the bit I'm concerned with - the mainly good bit!

Weight: 8st 7.5
Fat: 28% (My weight is going down too fast in relation to the fat%. Must do more resistance work to keep my lean tissue)
Exercise: 305 cals Davina's Power of 3, plus extra free weights on top of that

Food today:

• shredded wheat
• black grapes
• dried fig
• cup of Alpro soya milk
• spinach, cucumber, ham, houmous, red onion, tomatoes, olives (I do have other lunches planned for this week but can't stand wasting food)
• salmon baked in fresh orange, soy sauce, garlic and spring onions, with boiled potatoes, carrots and green beans
• 5 pints of water
• 1 cup of black coffee