Large amounts of dietary sugar, more commonly found in a Western diet, might increase the risk of developing cancer, University of Texas researchers studied mice that were genetically predisposed to cancer of the breast and found those who were fed more sugar had larger tumors in comparison to those receiving less sugar or just starch.
The authors of the study conducted four separate studies in which mice were randomized into diet groups and fed one of four different diets.
The authors of the study said they had been careful to expose the mice to the equivalent of standard dosages of sugar for what humans consume.
Adult males are allotted 9 teaspoons of added sugar daily. If you drink just a single can of soda, you passed the limit as nearly 10 teaspoons of sugar are contained in a can of 12 ounces
At six months old, 30% of the lab mice that were on a starch diet had tumors, whereas between 50% and 58% of those on the diets that were sucrose enriching had mammary tumors.
This study showed as well that the amount of lung metastases was higher in the mice that were eating sucrose or fructose enriched diets versus the mice on a controlled diet.
Research previously linked a diet that was Western-style to a higher risk of cancer, which agrees with the recent findings that are published in Nature an online journal, suggesting a higher majority of cancer deaths across the globe are due avoidable lifestyle choices.
In this particular case, the choices that are unhealthy are a poor diet and specifically related to the amount of sugar. It is not that easy since not all sugars are from the same source and Glucose for example is a vital nutrient that is used by the body to create energy.
