Blood Sugar Matters – Article 3 – Cancer

If the last 2 articles were not enough to convince you that blood sugar does matter and is very important, then I hope this one hits you where it hurts. Blood sugar has been linked to the cause of a variety of different cancers. High insulin levels promote and environment that makes it much easier for certain tumor to grow. Research and testing is still being done so it is very hard to make any kind of bold statements regarding blood sugar levels and cancer. However, there is cause for great concern with certain cancers. These are the cancers we are going to be talking about.

Colon and Rectal Cancer In a Harvard University study that involved more than 50,000 middle aged men, those whose diets were most likely to raise blood sugar fast and high were 32 percent more likely to develop colon and rectal cancer over 20 years. The effect is much stronger for heavier men.

Breast Cancer In the Women's Health Study, women who followed a blood sugar-boosting diet were 135 percent more likely to develop breast cancer in seven years than woman whose diets were more blood sugar friendly. Many different studies have shown a huge increase in breast cancer in women that do not follow a blood sugar friendly diet. It was linked to even be a higher percentage to woman who do not exercise frequently.

Endometrial Cancer In the Iowa Women's Health Study, which involved more than 23,000 postmenopausal women, those who didn't have diabetes and followed blood sugar–spiking diets were 46 percent more likely to get this cancer over 15 years. An Italian study that compared women who developed endometrial cancer with a similar group of women who didn't found a 110 percent increase in risk linked to this type of diet.

Prostate Cancer Here we go men, are you ready for this? An Italian study looked at men ages 46-74 who developed prostate cancer and compared their diets to a group of similar men who didn't get the cancer. Those whose diets were most likely to spike blood sugar were 57 percent more likely to have prostate cancer. A similar Canadian study found a 57 percent increase in risk.

Pancreatic Cancer Even the organ that produces insulin may be more prone to cancer if it's constantly bathed in that hormone. A study using data from the Nurses' Health Study over 18 years found that women whose diets raised blood sugar the most were 53 percent more likely to develop pancreatic cancer than women whose diets raised it the least. Women in the first group who were overweight and physically inactive were 157 percent more likely to get the cancer than similar women in the second.

If this information does not make you realize how important blood sugar can be in your life, then I truly hope you find the information that will help you realize it. Blood sugar can be very serious and it should be treated that way. It is very important for training reasons as I pointed out in previous articles, but it is more important for life and living reasons.

This article concludes the Blood Sugar Matters series.