Sweet is not so sweet

As today is Valentine’s Day, the thoughts of “sweet for my sweet” came rushing forth, as it does for everyone in love. However, for many years, I remember hearing that sugar is pro-inflammatory.

That has been a mantra running through my head every time I ate something that was obviously loaded with sugar. And several months ago, I spoke with Robert Lustig, MD, (of “Sugar: The Bitter Truth”) when he discussed how sugar “feeds” cancer cells, which was also highlighted in his CBS interview on “60 Minutes” last year.

Now we hear about the process of glycosylation, where sugar molecules are attached to proteins. This has long been of interest to scientists, particularly because certain sugar molecules are present in very high numbers in cancer cells. It now turns out that these sugar molecules are not only present but actually aid the growth of the malignant cells.

Scientists stress that this is basic science and they are still a long way from the results to actually developing a treatment or using them for diagnostic purposes. The results are still a cause for optimism, though.

This is one part of how science will proceed in the battle against cancer. However, given the significance of this, what does that say about sugar’s role in the cause and development of cancer?

We already know that sugar molecules play an important role in almost all of the processes taking place in the body. One of the ways in which sugar molecules affect us is through glycosylation, a process where sugar molecules are attached to proteins. We know that proteins are the building bricks of the body, whilst sugar molecules affect the proteins and, therefore, play a significant role in the human organism. A flaw in a chain of sugar molecules can lead to protein malfunctioning and disease.

For 30 years, scientists all over the world have worked on using biomarkers for diagnostics and outcomes-prediction, but now the group of researchers realizes that sugar actually causes the cancer cells to grow and the cancer to spread more aggressively.

Sugar is present in all of our foods and usually under different forms (and names), so you might not realize how much of it that you are ingesting. Names like “modified corn starch,” “cane syrup,” “high fructose corn syrup” (the most popular of the “bad guys”), “invert sugar,” “malt syrup” and many, many more. Remember that ingredients listed on a package are listed in the order of most- to least-contained in the food.

So, next time you buy a cup of yogurt with “fruit” in it, take a look at the ingredients and look at the sweeteners (real and artificial). And then think about the inflammatory process going on in your body. Not such a sweet deal after all……

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Source: Blog by Jeffrey Anshel, OD, FAAO