Have you read the new book by Jorge Cruise, The 100?
In the first chapter he talks about how our ancestors were hunter-gatherers and consumed most of their calories from fat, up to 58 percent. Next came protein calories, up to 35 percent, with some groups as much as 80 percent. That didn't leave much room for carbohydrates.
Our modern day diets only have about 15 percent protein. We eat most of our calories in carbohydrates. Unfortunately, they are mostly processed at that with lots of sugar. Our ancestors carbohydrates were made up of high fiber and low carbohydrate seeds, nuts, roots, tubers, and leafy greens.
Our hunter-gatherer ancestors were thin. The diseases of modern civilization were non-existent. They didn't have cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and heart disease. These diseases are costing our health insurance major amounts of money, and are supporting the medical industry.
Farming changed how our ancestors ate.
That brought about the introduction of sugar and grains. With these additions to our diets came the diseases. Obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, gallstones, and cancers.
I personally have had issues with obesity, high blood pressure, and gallstones.
In the book, Jorge Cruise, interviews Gary Taubes. He talked about how a researcher grew cancer cells in a petri dish. Do you know what they said they fed cancer cells to keep them alive? Glucose!! They also give them insulin to keep them alive. So basically, sugar is what grows cancer and keeps it alive! We are not petri dishes, but does the same thing happen in our bodies?
In a previous post, I talked about how our sugar consumption has increased drastically over the last few centuries.
Does that mean we are feeding our bodies foods that will eventually cause them to develop cancer?
That's some scary stuff!!
If we cut out the sugar does that mean we can stop cancer? Could it be that simple? Maybe it is worth trying!
I am certainly not a trained professional, so I am only giving you my understanding of how all this works. I am convinced that sugar is bad for my body. I know I had a friend who had breast cancer and she was told not to eat sugar, that it would keep the cancer going.
Is this reason enough to eliminate sugar from your diet? I think it is going to be easier to cut back after reading about this!
I will be writing more as I read through the book.
This sounds like a great book. I've lost quite a bit of weight, so I am always interested in learning about ways to keep it off.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read enough to figure out what might be different about this book. I will update as I go.
DeleteThis really does sound like a good book. I'm definitely putting it on my "to read" list. Thanks for the information - I think part of the problem with sugar is the foods we find it in. I don't think a teaspoon of sugar in our coffee is going to make us obese, but eating sugar-filled processed foods definitely contributes to our obesity.
ReplyDeleteSo much sugar is "hidden" in foods that we don't expect to find it in. I think it may have some good information for all of us.
DeleteFourteen years ago my wife and I moved to a small farming community population 1800 for 4 years. We met a cattle farmer's wife named Sherry. Shortly after meeting her, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her and her husband flew to Ohio to a cancer treatment center. They were gone six months. She came back cancer free and surgery free. They (cancer center) used a holistic approach to cancer treatment. They did remove all processed sugar from her diet, along with all red meat. Sherry was so excited about her new lifestyle that killed the cancer tumors, that her husband referred to her as a born again dieter. There is a lot of research that has been done on the link between sugar and cancer cells. Sherry was always thin, but she used to eat a lot of prime rib and a lot of pastries. After they returned from the cancer institute her husband would half complain that all she ate was organic broccoli and wild Salmon.
ReplyDeleteI think stories like this proves that we need to eliminate sugar from our diets or at least make extreme cuts in the amount we use. All of those processed products are the problem.
DeleteThanks so much for the info Betty. I am also putting The 100 on my reading list. The more we learn, the better decisions we can make for ourselves. :)
ReplyDeleteI so agree with you Linda!!
DeleteFeeding the cancer cells sugar is very scary! Very sobering thought, that I am putting so much of it into my own body.
ReplyDeleteI know, I have been thinking the same thing!
DeleteInteresting idea. I'm always skeptical though when I read something like sugar causes cancer. Our ancestor did eat sugar, but not necessarily processed sugar. Our ancestors did get cancer, but it wasn't called cancer. I think his primace that our ancestors didn't have heart disease, or diabetes or Alzheimers is wrong. People just didn't have names for things then beyond, confusion and old age. Doing genealogy the things you see listed as cause of death lead me to think he's off the mark there. Old age is often listed as the cause of death, as is tumor of ...whatever which is cancer or was cancer. But, I do think we all could and should eat better. What's that saying, you are what you eat.
ReplyDeleteI have a huge interest in genealogy too! Sugar and flour were used in the 1700's by rich people. But by the mid 1800's it was widely available to all people. So it is highly possible the people during those time frames had cancer that was feed by sugar. The hunter-gatherer ancestors I was referring to would have been previous to the 1700's.
DeleteFound you from I don't like Mondays party!
ReplyDeleteI've been the past week a breadless vegetarian.
I think sugar and especially processed foods are terrible for our diet.
Thanks for stopping by! Congrats on making changes to your diet. Good Luck!! I agree with you about sugar and processed foods.
Deletehmp thought I published my comment.
ReplyDeleteI found you on I don't like Mondays party. I've become this past week a breadless vegetarian. I think sugar and especially processed foods should not be in our diets for reasons such as this.
Sometimes it takes a while for me to get to the comments and publishing them. I have had way too many spammers so I have to take a look at them before I publish them.
DeleteYes, this information was also in my 2 fav books that I tout continually. :) And reminds me of my favorite health quote:
ReplyDelete“People are fed by the food industry, which pays no attention to health, and are treated by the health industry, which pays no attention to food.” ~ Wendell Berry
I like the quote! I have read this part before. I read Good Calories, Bad Calories, a long book, but lots of great info. I have also read Wheat Belly. This books also have some of the information in it.
DeleteI think it is common knowledge amount scientists and oncology doctors that sugar feeds cancer. They are telling their patients to not use it once they get cancer. Maybe now we need to be told not to eat all this sugar before we get cancer.
ReplyDeleteTotal food for thought and I have recently added more high fiber foods to my diet and tried to curb some of my carb eating ways. I have noticed I have more energy and do feel a bit better. Never knew about the cancer connection and will totally keep this in the back of my mind. Thanks Betty for sharing!! :)
ReplyDeleteI really think our diets affect our overall health much more then we ever think about. Sugar is a major culprit. It just tastes so good!
DeleteSuch interesting information! It is so true that we really just need to get back to basics. Easier said than done, but it's the goal. Thanks so much for linking up and sharing this info and opening my eyes a bit.
ReplyDeleteKristin
Great info! I will have to check that book out when I get done with Tosca Reno! Thank you for linking up with us today!
ReplyDelete