“Good Sugars” vs. “Bad Sugars” Do you know the difference? September 21, 2011
Posted by mygiftofcancer in breast cancer, cancer, health, healthy living, sugar.Tags: breast cancer, cancer, health, healthy foods, honey, sugar
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Can’t seem to stay away from this subject–every time I come across an article making the connection between sugar and cancer, I grab it to share with whoever’s interested. I’ve got quite a collection by now!
Check out this article by Leah Zerbe for Yahoo! Health:
The 4 Best and 3 Worst Sweeteners to Have in Your Kitchen
At this point, it’s common knowledge that high-fructose corn syrup and refined sugar are bad for us. But given all the marketing hype behind different “natural” alternatives, it’s hard to know which ones really are the best sweeteners. Complicating matters, new studies, like one just published in the journal Cancer Research, are finding that fructose, a sugar found in high-fructose corn syrup, agave, honey, and, in small amounts, even in fruit, actually feeds some cancers. But don’t give up apples and oranges, or even honey, based on a single study. “Natural sugars found in fruits and vegetables—things like berries, green apples, grapefruit, kiwi—are needed to feed beneficial microflora in the gut for a healthy immune system,” explains Donna Gates, who led the movement to bring stevia, a natural sweetener, into this country more than a decade ago. “That’s why nature put a little bit of sugar in fruits and vegetables. It keeps the ecosystem alive in us,” she says, adding that the small amounts of fructose in fruits and vegetables are balanced with minerals, vitamins, and other vital nutrients. “Our body reads it differently,” she notes.Fruits and vegetables provide a perfect sugar fix, but when you’re in need of a sweetener to add to iced tea, baked goods, or anything else, make sure you know the difference between the good guys and bad guys of the sweetener world. (Some of the not-so-sweet details could leave you gagging.) (more…)
Vindication! “Is Sugar Toxic?” April 15, 2011
Posted by mygiftofcancer in breast cancer, cancer, faith, healthy living, sugar, traditional herbal medicine.Tags: breast cancer, cancer, faith, herbal medicine, sugar, surgery, traditional herbal medicine, tumor
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This is a very long article from NY Times Magazine, but well worth reading if you’d like to understand Gary Taubes’ connection between sugar and cancer. I, personally, am a believer–as you would already know if you’ve read even a few of my posts. In my personal battle against breast cancer, I read and researched the topic endlessly to try to understand the cause of my cancer, as I didn’t fit the typical picture of most cancer victims: I wasn’t overweight, (more…)
New Research Exposes More Sugar Risks November 25, 2010
Posted by mygiftofcancer in breast cancer, cancer, natural health, sugar.Tags: breast cancer, cancer, digestion, healthy foods, sugar
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Yep! I’m harping on this same old theme again! I still believe my sweet tooth got me into my breast cancer troubles, although the article I’ve included below doesn’t specifically mention cancer. The delightful sweet taste we enjoy when we consume healthy amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables can be perverted by internal and external triggers. If we indulge those desires, i.e. by allowing our sweet tooth to have its way, we can destabilize an otherwise perfectly balanced system. The lack of fiber (which slows down digestion) in soft drinks, fruit drinks & juices, canned fruits, (more…)
It’s Been a While/Mammograms–Just an Option? September 25, 2010
Posted by mygiftofcancer in breast cancer, cancer, health, Mammograms.Tags: biopsy, breast cancer, cancer, health, hormone therapy, mammogram, tumor
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I’m still here! I fully intend to get back to my blogging one of these days–I’ve heard that quite a few bloggers don’t last very long and I understand the challenge it is to keep it up, but I’m going to keep trying. One of these days, I’m even going to finish my personal cancer story, which I’ve titled “Choosing Cancer”. Don’t hold your breath–it may still be a while.
In the meantime, I couldn’t resist the temptation to post the article I just read in the New York Times called, “Mammograms’ Value in Cancer Fight at Issue”. As I’ve written before, I discovered the tumor in my breast myself and wish I’d never done the mammogram as other means of examining (more…)
Experts: One-third of breast cancer is avoidable March 28, 2010
Posted by mygiftofcancer in breast cancer, cancer, health, healthy living, Mammograms.Tags: breast cancer, cancer, exercise, health, healthy foods, healthy living, lung cancer, mammogram, prevent cancer
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By Maria Cheng, AP, Mar 25, 2010
BARCELONA, Spain (AP)–Up to a third of breast cancer cases in Western countries could be avoided if women ate less and exercised more, researchers at a breast cancer conference said Thursday, renewing debate on a sensitive topic.
While better treatments, early diagnosis and mammogram screenings have dramatically slowed the disease, experts said the focus should now shift to changing behaviors like diet and physical activity. The comments added to a series of findings that lifestyle changes in areas such as smoking, eating, exercise and sun exposure can have a significant effect on all sorts of cancer rates. (more…)
“Is Eating Sugar Really That Bad for Us?” January 30, 2010
Posted by mygiftofcancer in breast cancer, cancer, sugar.Tags: breast cancer, cancer, chemotherapy, faith, healthy foods, healthy living, positiveness, sugar, surgery
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Those of you who read my blog know that I became personally convinced that my sweet tooth played a major role in my breast cancer. I’ve posted quite a few times on this subject already, but have come to accept that there will be no end to it while we continue to tolerate the way the “food” industry both blatantly and insidiously adds more and more sugar (and all kinds of artificial sweeteners, as well) to more and more food products in order to sell more at the expense of the general public’s health.
It’s hard, but it’s not impossible to drastically reduce your sugar intake. I was really a sugar “junkie” even when I knew how bad it was–though I didn’t yet know the cancer connection. This great article, which I’ve shortened a bit, is quoting experts who know their stuff. Dr. David Servan-Schreiber, the fairly well-known cofounder of Doctors Without Borders, who also diagnosed his own brain cancer about 15 years ago is definitely someone worth listening to. (more…)
Drastically Reducing MRSA Deaths January 6, 2010
Posted by mygiftofcancer in cancer.Tags: drugs, healing, health, hospitals, infections, MRSA, saving money
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With less pressure from pharmaceutical companies, this problem could be greatly controlled. Norway did it. We can, too!
Killer superbug solution discovered in Norway
By Martha Mendoza and Margie Mason, Associated Press, Dec. 31, 2009
OSLO, Norway–Aker University Hospital is a dingy place to heal. The floors are streaked and scratched. A light layer of dust coats the blood pressure monitors. A faint stench of urine and bleach wafts from a pile of soiled bedsheets dropped in a corner.
Look closer, however, at a microscopic level, and this place is pristine. There is no sign of a dangerous and contagious staph infection that killed tens of thousands of patients in the most sophisticated hospitals of Europe, North America and Asia this year, soaring virtually unchecked. (more…)
Good News for Us Older Folks! January 6, 2010
Posted by mygiftofcancer in cancer.Tags: aging, book, learning, memory
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I’ve often heard, but didn’t really believe the saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” Someone has done some research to find out if it’s true of humans and came up with some interesting results–good news! Check out this article:
How to Train the Aging Brain
By Barbara Strauch, NY Times, December 29, 2009
I love reading history, and the shelves in my living room are lined with fat, fact-filled books. There’s “The Hemingses of Monticello,” about the family of Thomas Jefferson’s slave mistress; there’s “House of Cards,” about the fall of Bear Stearns; there’s “Titan,” about John D. Rockefeller Sr.
The problem is, as much as I’ve enjoyed these books, I don’t really remember reading any of them. Certainly I know the main points. But didn’t I, after underlining all those interesting parts, retain anything else? It’s maddening and, sorry to say, not all that unusual for a brain at middle age: I don’t just forget whole books, but movies I just saw, breakfasts I just ate, and the names, oh, the names are awful. Who are you? (more…)
Two Books Celebrate 150th Anniversary December 31, 2009
Posted by mygiftofcancer in cancer.Tags: book, Darwin, Dickens, faith, God
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Dickens vs. Darwin
Sleep Problems and Breast Cancer Connection? December 26, 2009
Posted by mygiftofcancer in breast cancer, cancer, health.Tags: breast cancer, chemotherapy, healthy living, sleep, sugar, tumor
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It looks like I’ll have to give a bit higher percent credit to my sleep problems as a contributing factor to my breast cancer. I’ve assigned a large percent to my sugar addiction in my younger years and chemicals from all sources, but in this latest article, Olivia Judson informs us of the consequences of a little light in the middle of the night: “Exposure to light in the night has been linked to breast cancer; consistent with this, women who are totally blind have a lower incidence of breast cancer than those who can see even a little bit.” Read her whole article below. (more…)
