Cancer Loves Sugar

I’ve known for a while that sugar fuels cancer growth but I read an article today that targets fructose as cancer’s particular favorite. 

The journal Cancer Research published a study conducted by UCLA that demonstrated that pancreatic cancer cells favor fructose as a fuel source over other forms of sugar, like glucose.  The UCLA study found that while cancer uses sugar in general as fuel, fructose drives cancer cells to divide, thereby multiplying themselves.  

The main source of fructose in the American diet is in the form of high-fructose corn syrup which is found is sodas, sports drinks, candy, snack foods, bread, and cereal  to name a few.  On average, Americans consume 70 grams of fructose per day, much more than is recommended by health organizations. 

Fructose is also found in fruit but in smaller amounts.  For example, a high sugar fruit such as a banana has 7.28 grams of fructose per serving while a low sugar fruit like a peach has 2.36  grams.   Author and physician Joseph Mercola, MD recommends less than 20 grams of fructose per day with a limit of 15 grams from fruit.