We spend billions of dollars on cancer research, and the medical industry has made technological advancements in detection and treatment. Still, cancer remains the second most common cause of preventable deaths in the United States.
If you look at cancer treatment centers in the U.S., you will notice that along with chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, staff will encourage and offer patients sugary snacks and meal replacements. This is in an effort to help them maintain some weight. But, sugar and processed ingredients feed cancer.
Detriments of sugar
For people diagnosed with cancer, it is crucial to avoid high amounts of carbohydrates. Traditional oncological doctors seem to view this as a non-factor. If you want to give a body a fighting chance against cancer, then sugar must be eliminated.
Let’s take a look at how sugar feeds cancer.
Cancer cells vs. healthy cells
What makes a cancer cell different?
Based on the work of Otto Warburg, Thomas Seyfried, and many others, we know that cancer cells are metabolically damaged. Metabolically damaged in that their energy-producing structures, mitochondria, operate inefficiently.
This creates their preference for glucose as a fuel source, relatively low-yield production of ATP, and excessive production of oxidative species. In contrast, normal healthy cells are able to exhibit metabolic flexibility where they can burn multiple sources of fuel, produce more ATP, and have relatively lower levels of oxidative species.
The mitochondria factor
For a long time, we focused on the nuclear genome for the cause of diseases, which is why science believed that diseases are hereditary. With the increase in chronic disease over the last 100 years, the nuclear genome doesn’t always make sense. Changes in the nuclear genome occur over thousands if not hundreds of thousands of years.
It turns out epigenetic changes occur much more rapidly in the mitochondrial genome, and science is just discovering this concept. The healthier your mitochondria are, the healthier you will be. This is a byproduct of efficient energy production.
As we look deeper into many of the chronic diseases that are so common today, we are beginning to understand that the mitochondria play a much larger role than we ever considered.
Energy production from glucose
Cells need energy to perform normal functions including responding to their environment, absorbing nutrients, exporting toxins, growing, replicating, etc. This energy Is produced through a process called respiration.
There are two types of respiration: aerobic and anaerobic.
Normal, healthy cells in most cases will use aerobic respiration which occurs in the mitochondria. This process involves breaking glucose down into pyruvate in the cytosol, transporting it to the mitochondria, and forming ATP in the presence of oxygen. When cells have enough oxygen, this is the method of energy production. The byproducts of this process are 36 molecules of ATP and carbon dioxide, which is released through breathing.
When there is a lack of oxygen, anaerobic respiration takes place. This occurs in the cytosol of the cell where glucose is broken down into pyruvate and directly converted into ATP and lactic acid. This process never reaches the mitochondria and only generates 2 molecules of ATP.
While anaerobic respiration produces a tiny fraction of the energy (2 ATP versus 36 ATP), it actually generates ATP at almost 100 times the rate. We know that rapidly dividing tissues, such as healing wounds or cancer, tend to take advantage of anaerobic respiration for quick energy production.
While anaerobic respiration provides energy faster, there may be other factors that make this method of energy production beneficial for growing cancer cells.
Cancer cell energy production
A healthy cell with enough oxygen should perform both glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation for the production of energy. Healthy cells can also utilize ketone bodies converted from fatty acids to produce ATP through aerobic respiration.
However, cancer cells undergo glycolysis utilizing glucose even when oxygen is present. This is how sugar feeds cancer. Scientists believe this is due to damaged mitochondrial structures within cancer cells that inhibit the cells’ ability to undergo aerobic respiration. Glucose enters the cell and is converted into pyruvate within the cytosol but cannot enter the mitochondria to undergo aerobic respiration.
The growing cancer cells upregulate glucose transport proteins on their surfaces to take in as much glucose as possible. Lactic acid accumulates in cancer cells as a byproduct of anaerobic respiration. It becomes readily available in the blood. Thus, sugar feeds cancer growth rather than remaining neutral.
Advantages of glycolysis for cancer
Typically, glycolysis in cancer cells is a byproduct of damaged mitochondria. However, it is possible that cancer cells may adapt to use glycolysis for its growth-enhancing characteristics. Glycolysis produces energy more rapidly than aerobic respiration, and it promotes an environment in which cancer cells can rapidly divide.
Excess lactic acid produced by cancer cells actually shuts off the body’s anticancer immune response by deactivating anti-tumor immune cells. The immune system cannot attack the cancer cells as a result. Rapid cell growth needs considerable amounts of raw materials to make new cells. One of the primary atoms necessary to form new cells is carbon. Carbon atoms link together as the backbone of new cell structures.
Metabolized glucose produces a 6-carbon chain. While aerobic respiration excretes this carbon through the breath via carbon dioxide, glycolysis retains it. Scientists believe this helps fuel more rapid division of cancer cells.
How sugar feeds cancer growth
Cancer cells have an impaired ability to produce energy. Their damaged mitochondrial structures ensure they perform glycolysis rather than aerobic respiration. As a result, they must upregulate glucose intake in order to support rapid division and growth.
At the same time, glycolysis favors cancer growth in several ways. This is why a ketogenic diet has been heavily investigated for being able to limit cancer growth by cutting off its primary fuel supply. In addition to this, there are other mechanisms by which sugar feeds cancer growth.
White blood cells
White blood cells are a powerful force against foreign invaders in our bodies including cancer cells. In order to operate at their full capacity, they require high amounts of vitamin C. Unlike other animals, humans are not able to produce Vitamin C endogenously. Instead, we must get it from food and transport it to our cells for use. We have internal antioxidant systems that help us to recycle Vitamin C to get the most use out of it. This is a function of glutathione.
In the 1970’s Dr. John Ely discovered what is referred to as the Glucose-Ascorbate-Antagonism (GAA) Theory. Both glucose and Vitamin C are similar in structure and rely upon insulin in order to enter the cells via the Glut-1 receptor on the cell membrane. Unfortunately, glucose has a higher affinity for this receptor which means it is absorbed more readily than vitamin C.
Scientists think that having high levels of blood sugar actually inhibits Vitamin C from entering the white blood cells, which drastically reduces immunity and therefore the ability to fight off cancer. So, while sugar feeds cancer, it also inhibits the immune system from acting upon cancer cells.
Phagocytic index
In order for white blood cells to destroy foreign pathogens within the body, they do so by engulfing them and essentially breaking them down into benign byproducts. This process is called phagocytosis. The measure of how well a white blood cell is able to perform this function is called the phagocytic index.
Our immune system needs a high phagocytic index in order to target cancer cells. Because of the relationship explained above between glucose and vitamin C, high levels of sugar circulating in the blood are thought to lower the phagocytic index of white blood cells, impairing their ability to fight cancer. Research has found that a blood sugar level of 120 reduces the phagocytic index by 75%.
Sugar feeds cancer via AMP-K
AMP-K stands for Adenosine Monophosphate-activated protein kinase. When ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) is broken down for energy within cells, phosphate groups are removed to form ADP and AMP (Adenosine Diphosphate and Adenosine Monophosphate, respectively).
When the ratio of AMP to ATP is increased, it is a sign that energy is getting low and AMP-K signals the upregulation of ATP production. In this manner, AMP-K is an energy regulating molecule.
It has also been shown that upregulation of AMP-K diverts glucose away from cancer cells and towards the body’s healthy tissues. In fact, it is suggested that activation of AMP-K helps to reverse the glycolytic preference of cancer cells, giving them an energetic disadvantage.
Luckily, AMP-K activity can be upregulated by intense exercise, carbohydrate restriction, and intermittent fasting.
There are a number of peripheral benefits of AMP-K activation that are centered around key physiological pathways that are also associated with cancer growth. These include mTOR, the p53 gene, and COX-2 enzymes.
Sugar feeds cancer via insulin HMP shunt
In addition to Vitamin C’s importance for proper phagocytic functioning of white blood cells, it is also critical for stimulation of the hexose monophosphate (HMP) pathway.
The HMP pathway produces NADPH which is used by white blood cells to make superoxide and reactive oxygen species that are used to destroy pathogens. This HMP shunt also produces ribose and deoxyribose which provide important raw materials for the formation of new white blood cell RNA/DNA.
When the immune system is under attack it needs to quickly produce new immune cells. If blood sugar is high enough to turn off the HMP shunt it will reduce the quantity of RNA/DNA and the amount of new immune cells formed.
Sugar feeds cancer via mTOR
Sugar feeds cancer another way by activating biological growth pathways in the body, namely mTOR. mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) is a physiological pathway that regulates cell growth and replication. We know that cancer tissues have an elevated expression of mTOR signaling that may contribute to rapid cell growth in cancer.
Upregulation of AMP-K through the strategies listed in the previous section has actually been shown to inhibit this mechanism of cancer growth.
While mTOR is necessary for a healthy body, having a chronically activated mTOR pathway is what contributes to cancer development. Consequently, one of the primary activators of the mTOR pathway is insulin. Naturally, chronic sugar consumption will leave insulin levels high which will contribute to constantly elevated mTOR.
This is yet another way to lower dietary glucose, fasting, and a ketogenic diet may be able to help the body combat cancer. By combining these techniques, blood sugar becomes stable, insulin drops, and these growth pathways become less of a contributing factor towards cancer growth.
Sugar feeds cancer via the p53 gene
The p53 gene is responsible for controlling tumor development by responding to damaged DNA sequences and regulating gene expression in cancerous tissues.
If the DNA is able to be repaired, the p53 gene will allow the cell to go back into its normal cycle of growth and reproduction. If the DNA cannot be repaired, then p53 signals for cellular apoptosis (programmed cell death) (14). It has been found that the p53 gene is inactivated in a large proportion of cancers, making it a pharmacological target in cancer treatment.
Yet another benefit of AMP-K activation is that it actually improves p53 expression and prevents it from becoming inactive in the first place (16). This occurs because AMP-K phosphorylates p53 and, in turn, makes it more stable.
Among many others, high blood sugar is recognized as a contributing factor for inactive or mutation of p53 genes as well. This may be due to hyperglycemia inhibiting the absorption of zinc, which is supposed to bind to p53 to activate it.
Sugar feeds cancer via COX-2 enzymes
COX-2 is an abbreviated version of Cyclooxygenase-2. COX-2 is a pro-inflammatory enzyme that is elevated in many cancers and is thought to contribute to the aggressiveness of tumors (17).
The COX-2 enzyme is yet another pharmacological target that many cancer therapies attempt to take advantage of. Rightfully so, lowering this inflammatory enzyme may have a powerful potential in a holistic approach to healing cancer. While more research is needed in the area, activation of AMP-K has also been associated with COX-2 inhibition.
Reduce sugar
Of course, we understand by now that sugar feeds cancer and so it is imperative a cancer patient removes sugar and insulinogenic carbohydrate sources be removed from their diet. Insulin is a significant promoter of cancer cell growth, and it must be limited.
This means relying on healthy fats as the primary source of calories and only moderate amounts of clean protein. Overconsumption of protein can become gluconeogenic, meaning the body begins to convert proteins into glucose.
Cancer cells have an abnormally high number of insulin receptors and extremely upregulated glucose metabolism. This means that cancer cells steal the sugar that should be going to your healthy cells. Ketones provide an interesting shift in the opposite direction.
Ketogenic diet
While removing sugars and carbs is a great first step, it can be equally as important to implement a ketogenic diet. This is where you train your healthy cells to burn ketones, made from fat, as energy instead of glucose.
This is important because, as I just mentioned, aggressive cancer cells will essentially steal glucose away from healthy cells. This feeds the cancer cells while leaving your healthy cells in a weakened state, lose-lose.
Most cancer cells cannot utilize ketones as a fuel source. So, by teaching your healthy cells to do so, you help return vitality to your healthy cells while weakening your cancer cells, win-win. You reduce the sugar feeds cancer phenomenon.
Intermittent fasting
In addition to following a ketogenic diet, intermittent fasting is a powerful strategy to quickly reduce insulin and upregulate AMP-K activity. At the same time, intermittent fasting strengthens the immune system to help your white blood cells seek out and destroy cancer cells.
As if those benefits weren’t powerful enough, fasting also upregulates cellular autophagy (breaking down of damaged and abnormal cells) and genetic repair. So, we get rid of bad cells and repair the rest. This benefit becomes more powerful during longer bouts of fasting (24 hours or more).
Finally, intermittent fasting improves your metabolic flexibility to help you get into a deeper state of ketosis at a much quicker rate. At this point, I would say that is a win-win-win-win-win-win… You get what I mean.
Start with a 12-hour fasting window where you consume nothing but water or non-caloric herbal teas for a 12-hours window between dinner and breakfast the next day. Once your body tolerates this well, work up to a longer fast as outlined below.
Other critical ketogenic diet tips
So, we know that sugar feeds cancer, but there are other strategies to boost your success when on a cancer healing journey. In addition to the strategies outlined above, there are a few other ways to ensure you are optimizing your health on a ketogenic diet.
Get regular exercise
Short bursts of intense exercise increase AMP-K and promote metabolic flexibility while increasing the oxygenation of tissues. Be sure to keep it to 15-20 minutes 2-4 times a week, overdoing it can raise cortisol and pull you out of ketosis.
Additionally, get regular low-intensity exercise such as barefoot walking outdoors. This adds the benefit of free electrons from the Earth that are helpful for your electromagnetic frequency, which calms your stress response and improves healing and sense of well-being.
Improve bowel movements
Many people don’t consider this as an important factor but constipation can drive up stress hormones and pull you out of ketosis. Many people experience constipation on a ketogenic diet so it is important to take steps to mitigate this.
Be sure to consume plenty of fibrous vegetables, fermented foods, water, minerals, and never eat in a stressed state. Stress inhibits digestion. If intestinal bacterial overgrowth is an issue, this should absolutely be addressed as another cause of poor digestion. Finally, magnesium supplementation can be a great remedy for constipation while also supporting the body for optimal health overall.
Control protein intake
Eating too much protein can easily stimulate gluconeogenesis which will raise blood sugar and pull you out of ketosis. Most individuals will want to aim for 0.4-0.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight and around 20-30 grams per meal.
This means a 150 lb. individual would only need about 60-75 grams of protein each day. Individuals who are more active and involved in intense weight training or intense athletic endeavors may go up to 0.6-0.7 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight on heavy training days.
Improve your sleep
Mitigating stress is a key aspect of maintaining an optimal state of ketosis and getting good sleep is a paramount aspect of this. Poor sleep is consistently correlated with blood sugar imbalance and increased risk of cancer. A good start is to be in bed no later than 11pm, make sure the room is completely blacked out, and lower the temperature to about 60-65 degrees.
More advanced strategies for optimal sleep include:
- Getting AM sunlight to prime the circadian rhythm
- Avoiding blue light exposure within 4 hours of sleep by investing in a pair of blue-light blocking glasses
- Develop a relaxing routine that you go through every night before bed. This could include prayer, meditation, gratitude journaling, light stretching, or anything that brings you peace and comfort.
Final thoughts
Research is giving us greater insights into how cancer cells behave and what environments enable them to thrive. We can alter our internal environment to favor healthy cells over cancer cells.
We understand how sugar feeds cancer. Therefore, reducing sugar intake, getting the body into a state of ketosis and implementing intermittent fasting can be powerful cancer-fighting strategies. Because cancer cells in general are metabolically inflexible, we are able to take advantage of ketone metabolism as a way of placing cancer cells in a weakened state. This is a powerful strategy for improved overall well-being as well as being complementary to traditional treatments.