A NEW LEASE—on Life! – October 2011

A NEW LEASE—on Life!

By Judit Rajhathy, B.A., RNCP, D.Ac.

Are You Eating Cancer’s Favorite Food?

 

azucarHFCS is high-fructose corn syrup and it is the main ingredient in most soft drinks, fruit juices, sports drinks and many processed foods. Despite research that this particular sugar is indicated in many disease processes many health professionals as well as officials in the corn industry will tell you that fructose is safe.

HFCS was introduced in 1967 as an alternative to sucrose (table sugar) because it was more economical, more stable, had optimal flavor and was easier to use in the processing of foods.  Next time you are in the grocery store check out the labels that grace popular soft drinks along with your favorite fruit juice that you thought was ‘natural’.  Then take a look at ketchup, cereals, and crackers.  On a Relative Sweetness Scale where sucrose (table sugar) is rated at 100, HFCS is rated between120-160, the sweetest of all the sugars.  Much of the time HFCS is hidden in many foods so we are often unaware we are even eating them.

The problem is primarily in the amount of HFCS we consume today.  One hundred years ago the average American consumed 15 grams of fructose a day, mainly in the form of fruit.  Today many Americans consume more than 135 grams per day – at this high level it has become a huge health threat.  In terms of obesity it can mean that just a single can of soda a day can result in an extra 15 pounds to your weight over the course of a year and increase your risk of diabetes by 85%! (mercola.com) 

Fructose Increases Cancer growth

In the complementary health care field it is a firm belief that sugar feeds cancer so all sugar is detrimental to health in general but fructose appears to be the most harmful. In fact this theory was born nearly 80 years ago yet most conventional cancer approaches ignore diet and the need to avoid sugar. I recall a cookbook put out by the Canadian Cancer Society as a fund raiser that was riddled with sugar laden recipes!  

Research published in Cancer Research shows that different sugars are metabolized differently in the body especially when it comes to feeding cancer and causing proliferation and that the cells use fructose for cell division, thereby speeding up the growth and spread of cancer, particularly pancreatic cancer which is the most deadly and rapid killing form of cancer.

If this information is not convincing enough, the work of Dr. Richard Johnson published in his book The Sugar Fix explains how fructose metabolism – and only fructose not glucose – increases uric acid production which in turn, is a huge factor in hypertension, insulin resistance/diabetes, kidney disease and cancer.

What About Fruit?

Fruit in its natural state is abundant with vitamins and minerals that are beneficial to the body. However, keeping total fruit intake to around 15 grams a day is advisable.  Knowing that one slice of pineapple is 4 grams versus a slice of cantaloupe that is only 2.8 grams is valuable information when attempting to maintain a low sugar diet – especially if you tend to gain weight easily.  Better to be safe than sorry.

(Ed. Note: Judit Rajhathy is the author of the Canadian best seller Free to Fly: a journey toward wellness and can be reached at: juditrajhathy.com or 765-4551.)

 


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