There is a lot of confusion about sugar. Sugar is an important part of what makes up our daily diet, but what is the consensus between sugar and cancer? Can eating more sugar cause cancer? How does the sugar we consume through food and drink affect our health? This article will unravel these answers step by step. Sugar is an essential nutrient that is absorbed by the body and immediately converted into carbohydrates for energy. They are mainly categorized into monosaccharides and disaccharides. Monosaccharides – glucose, molecular formula for the Cā single molecular chain, the body can be directly absorbed and then converted into the body’s needs. Disaccharide – edible sugar, such as white sugar, brown sugar and sugar converted in food. Molecular formula for Cāā, the human body can not be directly absorbed, must be converted into monosaccharides by the pancreatic protease and then absorbed and utilized by the body. Glucose – the fuel of life In the Internet search “sugar and cancer”, we will find that sugar is the favorite food of white death and cancer. But the idea that sugar is responsible for initiating and driving cancer growth is an oversimplification of some complex biochemical processes. Let’s start by actually understanding sugar. Sugar comes in many different forms, the simplest class being single molecules such as glucose and fructose. These simple sugar molecules can be linked together in pairs or as longer molecules to make up carbohydrates, which are our body’s main source of energy. When talking about sugar, most people first think of sucrose, a sugar that can dissolve in water and has a sweet taste, consisting of crystals of glucose and fructose. As the sugar chain increases, the sweetness decreases and becomes less soluble in water, these sugars become polysaccharides, such as starch. It is well known that the main component of foods such as potatoes and rice is starch, which is able to be broken down into simple sugars in the body to provide energy. Our body is made up of every living cell that helps us to whistle, think, produce sight, hearing etc. Cells need some form of substance for energy, and that energy supply starts with glucose. Glucose provides the basic fuel for every cell to produce power. If we ingest glucose drinks directly, they are absorbed directly into our bloodstream for cellular utilization. If we consume polysaccharides, such as starchy pasta, pizza and rice, enzymes in our saliva and digestive juices break them down into glucose for energy. Sugar and Cancer Cancer cells usually grow rapidly, which requires a lot of energy, meaning they need a lot of glucose for energy. Cancer cells also require large amounts of other nutrients, such as amino acids and fats. Some people think that since the tumor growth process depends on sugar for energy, removing sugar from our food will stop the development of cancer. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as one might think. All of our healthy cells need glucose, and there is no way to cut off the supply of sugar only to cancer cells. There is no evidence that following a “sugar-free” diet reduces the risk of cancer or increases a cancer patient’s chances of survival. On the contrary, severely restricting carbohydrate intake may be detrimental to health. For cancer patients, since some treatments may result in weight loss, restricting nutritional intake may hinder recovery and jeopardize life. Although there is no evidence that cutting out carbohydrates from our diet helps treat cancer, there is important research that shows that understanding abnormalities in the energy metabolism of cancer cells holds promise for finding new treatments. Back in the 1950s, a scientist named Otto Warburg discovered that cancer cells utilize a different chemical process than normal cells to convert glucose into energy. Healthy cells utilize a series of reactions in the mitochondria to ultimately produce energy. But Otto found that cancer cells were able to bypass certain steps to produce energy quickly enough to meet demand. This shortcutting of energy production could be a “weak point” for cancer cells, providing researchers with new ways to bypass normal cellular metabolism and target interferences with the energy supply of cancer cells. Second, when faced with a lack of other nutrients, such as amino acids, the cancer cells’ abnormal processes also make them unable to adapt. These approaches are still experimental, and the safety of these treatments is not yet known. What is certain, however, is that cancer patients’ means of starving cancer cells by restricting their diets are ineffective and dangerous. Sugar doesn’t cause cancer, so why worry? Sugar does not directly cause cancer, so why encourage people to reduce the amount of sugar in their diets? This is because there is an indirect relationship between the development of cancer and sugar. Over time, large amounts of sugar can lead to weight gain, and strong evidence suggests that being overweight followed by obesity can increase the risk of 13 different types of cancer. In fact, obesity is the most preventable cancer trigger other than smoking. We need to be concerned about the intake of added sugars rather than focusing solely on the amount of natural sugars in fruit, milk or healthy starchy foods. The sugar in most sugary drinks exceeds the maximum daily intake of sugar for humans taken at one time. This extra energy will promote weight gain, which is not good for your health. Foods that clearly contain excess sugar include candies, sugary chocolates, cakes and cookies. In addition, instant cereals, sweetened yogurt, pasta sauces and other foods that people often consume also contain alarming amounts of sugar. People should read the Nutrition Facts information labels carefully before buying these foods to help choose foods that are low in sugar. The story about sugar and cancer is a complicated one; on the one hand, sugar itself does not induce cancer, and there is currently no method of treating cancer by specifically blocking the sugar supply to cancer cells in a way that does not damage normal cells. There is no evidence that low-carbohydrate diets can cure cancer; rather, it is especially important for cancer patients to get enough energy. However, excessive sugar intake does cause problems such as obesity, which indirectly increases cancer risk. Although not eating sugar will not stop the development of cancer, we need to lower our sugar intake appropriately for health reasons.