SUGAR GOOD OR BAD?????

Yum!
I think this post will open a whole can of gummy worms!
I don't think it's very good for you but I love ice cream and that has sugar in it. Just about everything has sugar in it except stuff that tastes bad! Just kidding about the tastes bad. There are I'm sure conflicting reposts and point of view on this.
Let the fun begin, it's sure to be a sweet (or bittersweet) topic.
-phil
Jennie, what is POS?

I just noticed that my head looks like a blue Hershey's Kiss!

PhillieG said:

Yum!
I think this post will open a whole can of gummy worms!
I don't think it's very good for you but I love ice cream and that has sugar in it. Just about everything has sugar in it except stuff that tastes bad! Just kidding about the tastes bad. There are I'm sure conflicting reposts and point of view on this.
Let the fun begin, it's sure to be a sweet (or bittersweet) topic.
-phil
Jennie, what is POS?

I just noticed that my head looks like a blue Hershey's Kiss!

HA!
I was thinking Point Of Service, the type of insurance I have.
Also know as PS (your version) sometimes!
Now it makes the Hersey Kiss comment even stranger

2bhealed said:

Insulin connection
I agree with Amy that it's about the insulin uptake AND about acidity but it's also about inflammation. I also agree with the hershey kiss, this will open a can of gummy worms...haha! Good one Boy Blue.

This can get sticky.

Refined sugar (along with other foods) messes up one's pH and causes inflammation. Inflammation is a root cause of many diseases--they just manifest in different ways in different people. In some it may be arthritis or diabetes or cancer.

Sugar has NO food value and is hazardous to one's health in many ways, not just about the cancer. When our health is compromised, why eat something that is not conducive to healing.

It's so important when dealing with diseases to eat nutrient dense foods and sugar has zero nutrients.

Why take the chance. Is it worth it? If it's a treat once in a blue moon that's one thing, but when it's an everyday item I think you're asking for trouble.

Just because foods turn into sugar doesn't give us the green light to consume sugar when dealing with cancer. It's the quality of the food....so you can't compare, say a carrot, with a candy bar just because both "turn into sugar" in the body. It's much more complex than that. Carrots are alkalizing and have many nutrients (especially good for colon health) but refined sugar is acidic and has no nutrients. Big difference.

Ho boy, this is gonna be interesting.....

peace, emily

Sugar does have nutritional value
Emily, I think it is stretching things a bit to say that sugar has no "food value". It doesn't provide any vitamins or minerals, but it does provide a source of energy for the body. After all, fats and sugars (glucose) are what drives the metabolism of cells. Without any carbohydrates, the body won't function well.

Sugar is not acidic (i.e. is not an acid) either, nor are carrots basic.

I agree with your general point that it is best to avoid processed sugars since it is better to get carbohydrates from other sources that also provide other nutrients. I have commented numerous times here about avoiding the insulin spike if one has cancer. This means that carbohydrate-rich foods must be balanced with roughage/fiber. Avoid those potatoes!

Jeremy

jscho said:

Sugar does have nutritional value
Emily, I think it is stretching things a bit to say that sugar has no "food value". It doesn't provide any vitamins or minerals, but it does provide a source of energy for the body. After all, fats and sugars (glucose) are what drives the metabolism of cells. Without any carbohydrates, the body won't function well.

Sugar is not acidic (i.e. is not an acid) either, nor are carrots basic.

I agree with your general point that it is best to avoid processed sugars since it is better to get carbohydrates from other sources that also provide other nutrients. I have commented numerous times here about avoiding the insulin spike if one has cancer. This means that carbohydrate-rich foods must be balanced with roughage/fiber. Avoid those potatoes!

Jeremy

Crash and burn
Quick energy sugar spike release insulin and then crash and burn. Whatever.

Sugar is empty calories and I think you're doing this board a large disservice, when many folks on here are dealing with a life-threatening disease, to make out like refined sugar has any kind of value to us.

After one eats certain foods ones urine is either acid or alkaline. After I drink veggie juice my urine tests 6.5-7.5 pH. You and I can go round and round on this. The test strips tell me what I need to know.

Tasty stuff.
Aww, good grief. Sugar is natural, and our bodies know how to deal
with natural substances. It's that high fructose garbage that's causing
the problems, along with all the sugar substitutes.

Our bodies aren't familiar with test-tube creations and remanufactured
substances, but plain ol' sugar?

There are limits, however.... Like everything else in life, moderation
and variety is the key to success!

(pass those M&Ms, willya?)

Sugar ?
Let's get back to the theme here. The original poster said:

"I, on the other hand, feel like this is a fuel for the fire.
Cancer thrives on sugar from what I have read. I don't want to
feed the POS that is making my life difficult. Who is correct?"

By now, everyone knows that cancer cells use "sugar" in an abundance.
That is so, because a cancer cell is a damaged normal cell that can
no longer take on the protein it needs to "hear" what the brain is telling
it to do. The damaged cell wants to survive, and begins using the
fermentation process to continue living; cancer cells revert to
fermentation for their energy supply (like an amoeba). It takes in
glucose, and churns out lactic acid, and it's no longer listening to
the brain's instructions regarding how to grow.

Our entire body needs glucose (sugar), and the rogue cells begin
to multiply and use more than our bodies, draining and sapping our
energy, leaving less and less energy for our body to access.

Sooooo.... trying to kill a cancer cell by starving it of it's food,
will result in starving your entire body. You'll deplete your body's
needed amount faster, because the cancer is using it faster.

By trying to eliminate sugar from your diet to starve cancer cells,
you are, in effect, starving your good cells, -and- helping cancer cells
starve your good cells. Nice job!

Eating more sugar isn't the answer either. Just eat a normal, well
rounded diet like your body was intended to have for survival.
We are carnivorous animals, and we should be eating fish, fowl,
meat, and veggies and fruit. And dark chocolate M&Ms.

As a cancer victim, I try to ignore the vast amounts of "new cures"
that have their start in the leap of logic of those news blips.

"Apricot pits" can kill a cancer cell. It is the cyanide in the pit
that does the killing, and it's done in a test-tube. You ain't gonna'
kill cancer eating crushed apricot pits, or apricots.

Coca-Cola killed the AIDS virus in a test-tube, so will common
bleach. But you're not going to fight AIDS drinking either.

All that said....?

There -are- alternatives to Chemo and radiation that are viable
and safe. Search the forum, and I'm sure you'll see references
and links that can help. (unless someone's deleted the posts)

Good luck; good health. And do not give up.

Shayenne said:

John
What does Traditional Chinese Medicine involve? I am interested in learning what others are doing to live with this, especially since I'm Stage 4, and would love to hear what you're doing, and maybe some websites to go too, that aren't bunk, but real

Hugsss!
~Donna

Info:
This is a bit off-topic, but I do want to answer your question
as best I can:


Traditional Chinese Medicine embraces the concept that the body can
cure itself when all it's components are in balance (working properly).

TCM uses acupuncture and/or herbs to help restore each organ's
ability to provide the proper amount chemicals the body needs to
operate the way it was intended.

One example:
With TCM, anxiety, depression, anger, etc, is treated by helping the liver
work in the manner it should, and getting organs that support the
liver's work, also into usage. Once the liver is working the way
it should, there is no need to continue treatment; the malady is gone.

Western medicine prescribes drugs to replace and control Serotonin
and Melatonin (the chemicals that the brain is being deprived of, that
causes the symptoms of anxiety, depression, etc). The drugs used
most be taken continually, and are toxic to the liver.

Ironically, both Serotonin and Melatonin are manufactured and controlled
primarily by the liver.

TCM gets rid of the cause, while western medicine only gets rid of
the symptoms.

Although the list is endless, there are some things that need a fast response;
TCM is not a "fast acting" science.

If you're suffering from an infection, and it has advanced to the level
of an emergency situation, nothing less than western medicine's anti-viral
or anti-bacterial formulations may suffice.

Although our local doctor of TCM has late term cancer patients referred
to him by local oncologists, I would hesitate giving up surgery, or other
invasive actions, to remove a massive tumor. If the cancer has grown that
large, it will require whatever intervention is necessary, to destroy it before
it destroys you.

The herbs used by my local TCM doc can help the body fight the cancer,
and from I've seen, it does indeed work. It is the reason the local oncologists
are sending him patients.

Our doc's training does not include using herbs for killing cancer cells
exclusively. His belief as he was taught, was to help the body's immune
system battle the cancer.

I had located a number of herbs that are found to actually kill cancer cells
by keeping the cells from getting the protein they need to survive. The herbs
are used in China, Japan, etc. for that purpose. Merck is testing one herb,
in their effort to find the chemical component that's doing the work.

Our Doc is doing his own study on it, but remains with the feeling that
taking only those herbs does not cure cancer, it only does what western
medicine does - kill cancer cells. He feels that just killing off cells will not
prevent cancer from returning, one's immune system must do that job.

I agree of course, but I want to kill the damn things first before they
grow too big. I'll be taking his herbs soon, but I want to do another
6 month round my way. The herbs are inexpensive, and making the
broth is easy. If it's actually working or not, is a good question, and
one I don't have an answer to.

I had a 26% chance at a 5 year survival if I did nothing, and a 28% chance
if I did Chemo or radiation. But by taking herbs, I won't suffer second cancers,
side effects, and neurological problems as I would, if I did western medicine
with it's great 2% advantage.

If I die, it will be because I wasn't in that "20 something percent". I won't
give credit to any of it, and I won't take credit away from any of it.

I really don't know if it matters what we do, but I have 100% more
faith in TCM than I do with the pharmaceutical industry.

http://www.shen-nong.com/eng/exam/diagnosis_tcmdiagnostics.html

http://www.brevardacupuncture.com/

http://www.itmonline.org/arts/cancer.htm

http://alternativehealing.org/chinese_herbs_dictionary.htm

Or just Google "Traditional Chinese Medicine" (for specifics, follow with your ailment).