If cancer needs carbs (Glucose/sugar) to grow, why... - Headway

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If cancer needs carbs (Glucose/sugar) to grow, why don't doctors change people's diets when first diagnosed?

Matt2584 profile image
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Matt2584
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RogerCMerriman profile image
RogerCMerriman

Cancer cells are your own cells, thus they don't need different energy sources to your own cells, i.e. Any diet that harms the cancer cell is going to harm all cells.

It's certainly true that some diets can hinder body's ability to fight infection, iron supplements being one.

Matt2584 profile image
Matt2584 in reply to RogerCMerriman

That's right, Iron supplements can, vitamin C supplements being another. Even better than vitamin C supplements would be to ingest food that has vitamin C in it.

I remember seeing my surgeon before I had some surgery once and at that time my swallowing was not good, I coughed and spluttered a lot when eating or drinking. The surgeon asked me to give a cough so I did and just from the cough she said I would wake up from the surgery with a chest infection. I was asking her "What if I don't?" but she was adamant that I would. I told my family this news and my brother suggested I intake a lot of vitamin C before my surgery. So I did, I was eating grapefruits and oranges galore :).

After the surgery, I had no chest infection.

Just shows you that a doctor/surgeon does not know everything about the body and I shall add that some doctors have got a lot to learn.

If I had anything to say to that surgeon for what she told me it would be

"Stick that in yer pipe and smoke it" :).

cat3 profile image
cat3

I just lost a long reply Matt (didn't copy it) so it's out in cyberspace somwhere.

The biggest problem with sugar is that, unless you eat everything fresh, almost everything in the supermarkets, apart from fresh produce, contains sugar AND salt, both of which are problematic for health. Salt is apparently the main culprit in hight blood pressure whereas sugar is the commonest cause of obesity.

So doctors can advise patients against using excessive salt/sugar but, for working families who don't have time to make their own bread, soups, cereals etc., they can't avoid it. Governments have tried to intervene in the past but, when mega food companies threaten to withdraw funding to the particular party in power, the whole issue shuts down immediately. Just another example of corruption in those elected to look after our interests ! :-( xx

Matt2584 profile image
Matt2584 in reply to cat3

I hate writing a long comment, trying to send it and end up losing it entirely without copying first. Very annoying.

You're right that sugar and salt are two of the biggest problems for health. Sugar is probably the worst by far as it is addictive and has also been classed as a poison/addictive drug. Plus also, sugar comes under many names glucose, fructose, syrup... There are more but I can't think of them right now.

My mum was in an ASDA branch and saw a cereal that was deemed as "healthy and was made with spelt. On the ingredients panel 'sugar' had been labeled five times. That in no way is healthy to me.

The table salt that people buy at the shops is actually tiny shards of glass, hence the sharp taste you get if you have too much salt in one go. Sugar and salt could be healthier but when corruption and money take place, the rest of the population suffer. We get Himalayan rock salt which is healthier.

I do believe that the global population should have been eating fresh foods since the world began and stuck to it as the more man-made foods and so on brought into the world does more damage than good. I not many will agree but they don't have to.

Sugar and salt is a problem but I think supermarkets themselves can be a problem. 15%, or so, of a store sells health foods, what does that tell you about the rest of the store? Some of the store would be for clothes and electricals and so on, so what, 40% of the store sells unhealthy processed food or as I prefer to call it "fake" food.

I get the working families which would explain the microwavable meals/on the go foods but this is where people shouldn't really be working. You work to earn money so you can pay to live. Why do human beings pay out of the nose to live on planet earth? That sounds like the most moronic thing I've ever heard. Cat's don't, dog's don't, bengal tiger's don't pay. So why do humans? And they say humans are the intelligent species too, I think they have got that all wrong their.

I like what actor Jeremy Irons once said in an interview, that we should do what the Irish used to do back in the 30s. They would plant their potatoes, dance, be merry and sit around watching their potatoes grow. Really living it up :).

I personally don't think governments should really exist, they just cause problems. They'll do anything to get hold of money and what is money at the end of the day? It is nothing. It is just material. There is no real value to it and yet some people fo absolutemy mental for it.

It is such a sad world we live in today.

cat3 profile image
cat3 in reply to Matt2584

Yes Matt, your ideal world would be paradise, but too late now of course. I've always argued that we, as primitives, became over-evolved and when we learned to use tools and make fire, which led to the cooking of fresh foods, the damage was done.

There's also something pretty weird about being aware of our own mortality, unlike other animals. Intelligence ?.............look where it's got us ! Ha ha. :o xx

sospan profile image
sospan in reply to Matt2584

when my wife was first diagnosed as having type 2 diabetes, she started living and eating healthily. However, what she noticed was he blood sugar levels were going up not down.

She had Kelloggs Optivita and Tropicana for breakfast. Just Between the two of them alone, exceeded her daily allowance of sugars

Matt2584 profile image
Matt2584 in reply to sospan

Tell your wife not to eat Kellogg's cereals, they are a disgusting brand.

Plus also, does she look at the ingredients to these things?

I just had a quick look at Optivita. There is quite a high content of sugar in it.

sospan profile image
sospan in reply to Matt2584

She stopped immediately once we discovered the contents were so loaded. The annoying thing is that both Optivita and Tropicanna are marketed as "healthy" foods.

The other thing that people don't realise is that bowl of cereal or glass of juice is actually double (or more) than the recommended portion size. The actual size is a "variety" box

Matt2584 profile image
Matt2584 in reply to sospan

The ingredients for Optivita I was looking at was a 100g box and sugar was 20g which is almost a quarter of the box!

The rest of the ingredients, fiber, salt and, so on, didn't even exceed 10g.

If you go by conspiracy, which I do, those brands would be marketed as a healthy food to attract people into thinking they are eating healthy when they aren't. It is trickery and deceit.

There is more chance of eating a healthy cereal by eating something like porridge.

People concerned about there weight really should look into what they are eating. I try to at the best of times but it can be hard. Not exactly concerned about my weight now but I am concerned about ingesting certain ingredients like the long list of some chemicals that go into our so called "food" and Aspartame which can be found in drinks.

sospan profile image
sospan in reply to Matt2584

I think said before about I really wish we had a heavy hitting food and Foods Standards Agency. One that could not only control but put a levy of foods which are needless bad for you - energy and fizzy drinks (cola, red bull etc.) foods with excessive fat, sugar and salt. Also put a significant levy on "foods" which are superfluous e.g. crisps, chewing gum etc.

We are far too soft on the food companies, retailers and the general public. Years ago we had kids suffering from rickets and scurvy because of poor diet, now we have kids under 10 with dietary diabetes and high cholesterol - how bizarre.

sospan profile image
sospan

Whether it is because I am getting older and becoming more of a "grumpy old man" but I am getting less and less tolerant of people whom when they are given a health scare, continue with very poor lifestyle choices.

Of my many injuries, I have some knee problems. I have always been big (but not fat) and my GP said the more weight I lose the easier it will be for my knees - so I shed 3 1/2 stone.If you have been diagnosed with something serious, the first question should be "what can I do myself, to improve my situation?" and if not, the doctor should be saying that unless you start meeting me half way by changing your lifestyle you won't get treatment.

I admit it sounds very harsh, but we have a crazy situation where for example we have people in the UK whom are overweight through poor and excessive diet develop diabetes and other related health conditions and then receive medication to maintain their health so they can carry on the same bad practice.

cat3 profile image
cat3 in reply to sospan

I couldn't agree more Sos. I smoked all my life 'til I had the wake up call. But even then the hard part (withdrawal) was handled for me. But being attached to a bed with tubes & monitors, then forgetting how to walk stopped me from nipping out for ciggies, though I apparently begged for one day & night for weeks (don't recall it).

But I appreciated being 'fixed' and given a head-start on giving up the habit so I've never touched one since. And I've cut out all alcohol, salty, sugary & fatty foods, and never eat red meat. (I DO allow myself a scrumptious cake every Tuesday though, when I visit my sister-in-law ................ gotta have one little guilty pleasure :o ). xxx

sospan profile image
sospan in reply to cat3

Same here, since my injury followed the advice not to have coffee or beer and only on the rare occasion have them now.

The "cold turkey" is sometimes what has to be done. There was a program down here about a 45 st person whom was bed bound because of the weight but still ate 30+ bags of crisps a day. The question is why are their carers were still buying them when they know it is making the situation worse ?

cat3 profile image
cat3 in reply to sospan

I agree. We occasionally see such programmes where 'loved' ones report that their relative/spouse eats X-amount of chips/burgers/pasties etc., each day, then the emergency service can't get them through the door when their heart gives out.

No one's perfect but there's a massive difference between having the odd treat and eating oneself to death.

Mind you, I've had it easy for most of my life ; I've eaten anything I wanted & still stayed skinny. But after the BI something changed and for the past 5 years I've had to be really strict to keep my weight down. xx

sospan profile image
sospan in reply to cat3

Yep some people are born a Swan others a Hippo :-)

Matt2584 profile image
Matt2584 in reply to cat3

Having the odd treat is fine, I'm not saying that people shouldn't be eating treats/sugar. But what I am saying is that not many people really know what goes into making our so called "foods".

As I was saying before about a cereal that was deemed healthy as it uses spelt has actually got a hidden darkness that a lot of people do not recognise... It is packed with sugar under numerous names.

People can go out to the shops, see this "healthy" cereal and buy it but probably won't read to see what's in it. A few weeks later they wonder why they are putting weight on. Better go see what you're consuming.

Fat doesn't just come from nowhere and neither does diabetes ot tumours.

jayne_h profile image
jayne_h

Interesting points here.

There are some ways to make healthy food and avoid sugar on a budget.

Here's a fast one: porridge cake

2 eggs

2 bananas

4 tablespoons yogurt

Teaspoon cinnamon

Any other spices of your choice (I go for ginger and tumeric)

50 g oats

Mix all the ingredients together in a baking dish. Bake for 25 mins on 180 degrees.

You can add dried fruit, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and nuts if you want to make it more nutritious. Coconut also works.

Nice hot or cold. Perfect for the lunch box! Works as pudding, breakfast, etc.

1 kg of oats is about 79p at tesco. Imperfect bananas are perfect for this recipe and can often be purchased at reduced prices via the supermarket or market.

Matt2584 profile image
Matt2584 in reply to jayne_h

Hi Jayne,

Thanks for the recipe, sounds nice, I shall have to try it out some time :).

I try to cut down on a lot of sugar these days. Sugar is addictive and at one stage I was a bit of a chunk monkey :).

I still see myself as 'porky' but slimming. According to quite a few people I've lost loads of weight. It doesn't help around this time of year though when chocolate is being flung around like bogies from little kids haha.

I got less chocolate than when I was younger but it still seemed like too much. I've got a little left, once that is gone I can start detoxing and concentrate on eating more fruit and veg.

I think next easter I might ask some people to give me fruit rather than chocolate. For me, that is how I see easter anyway, an excuse to eat more chocolate. The whole jesus thing doesn't mean anything to me, I'm not religious.

jayne_h profile image
jayne_h in reply to Matt2584

2 squares of very dark chocolate per day are not so bad for you and bring health benefits. It also stops you wanting to go after more of it if you know you are allowed some. Enjoy the porridge cake and if you want to make it chocolatey, add some very dark cocoa powder.

Matt2584 profile image
Matt2584 in reply to jayne_h

I have heard about dark chocolate being the best for tour health.

I would rather eat a bag of dates now than eat a bag of Galaxy Minstrels or something similar.

Or, if I wanted to make the oat cake chocolatey I can also add some cacao powder or cacao nibs. Cacao is classed as a superfood and is more nutritious than cocoa. Cocoa is the cheaper alternative which is why it is used in nearly all chocolate.

Every morning I have a bowl of oats with cacao powder, with raisins and banana. Yummy :).

jayne_h profile image
jayne_h in reply to Matt2584

Cacao nibs sounds nice. Must try that. I also eat porridge but make mine with cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, raisins and tumeric. Hot and spicy.

Matt2584 profile image
Matt2584 in reply to jayne_h

Ginger and turmeric are very good spices indeed. If I don't have cacao with my porridge, I have turmeric. I have read that black pepper increases the power of the turmeric. I haven't tried porridge with ginger before though or black pepper.

jayne_h profile image
jayne_h in reply to Matt2584

This is why I put black pepper in and there is a trick. Apparently, tumeric releases more efficiently if it is not only combined with black pepper but when it is added to a liquid when the liquid is already hot or boiling. I start cooking the porridge with cinnamon and ginger and a few raisins and pepper. I add tumeric when it is hot.

Also nice is a golden latte. Almond milk, cinnamon, ginger and pepper and when it boils, add tumeric and simmer for a bit. You can have it like that or with a little bit of honey. It really peps you up. I drink it at night instead of cocoa.

You can get tumeric pills with pepper combined. If it's the anti-inflammatory properties you want rather than something to help your digestion (tumeric can be used for that too), take the pill after you have digested a meal.

Matt2584 profile image
Matt2584 in reply to jayne_h

Ah I see, you have your porridge heated up, well, most people do. I don't, I do the quick way and don't bother to heat it :). I might try it out heated up one day though.

I like the sound of the golden latte. I've heard of golden milk, I assume that is the same or similar.

sca2013 profile image
sca2013

Not part of their training. Forgive me in advance for my cynical attitude - Gold standard treatment from their perspective is chemo, radiation and surgery first then when all that has failed you may get some other suggestions. I doubt it though.

Matt2584 profile image
Matt2584 in reply to sca2013

Exactly. It isn't part of their training but maybe it should be.

sca2013 profile image
sca2013 in reply to Matt2584

Agreed

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