You’ve started increasing your vegetable intake, your eating sprouts and you might even be juicing. Now what? Now it’s time to look at the other foods and beverages your consuming. You have probably heard over the years that sugar feeds cancer. Its not just sugar from candy and sodas. We have to also look out for the everyday foods that create a sharp rise in the level of glucose in our blood. These foods are categorized as foods with a high glycemic index. According to an article posted by Harvard Health Publishing, glycemic index “is a value assigned to foods based on how slowly or how quickly those foods cause increases in blood glucose levels.” These sharp rises create a cascade events in our bodies. First, insulin is released so the glucose can be used in our cells. When our body releases insulin it also releases insulin like growth factor (IGF).² Both of these hormones have been linked to causing increased inflammation within the body, cell growth and cell proliferation.^2,3 If you are really interested in the science behind this, check out Brahmkhatri et al (2015). In short, insulin and IGF are important for cell growth and proliferation which is normally tightly regulated. However, with cancer, IGF and IGF receptors may be overexpressed leading to deregulation of normal, protective pathways. It is believed this pathway contributes to growth and metastasis of cancer cells. ³

Have you noticed over the last couple of years the increased number of “seed breads” (as my daughter calls them) lining the grocery store shelves? Have you ever wondered why the rise in popularity of these, sprouted grains and sourdoughs? Surprise! It has to do, in part, with glycemic index. Servan-Schreiber writes about the importance of having varied grains in bread to slow the absorption of the sugars from the wheat. Additionally, he touches on the increased glycemic index of common baker’s yeast as compared to sourdough (p. 69). We tried to eat sprouted grains, but seed bread won out for our family. Ultimately, if you are going to eat bread, sprouted and 12 grain breads have the least impact on blood glucose levels. This is believed to be caused by the lower amount of starch content and increased vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and antioxidants.⁴

One last tip to keep from having sharp spikes in sugar levels throughout the day, avoid snacking on sweets between meals.² I probably struggle the most with this one. I found Servan-Schreiber’s suggestion of eating dark chocolate to help curb this craving. He suggests eating greater than 70% cocoa. On any given day, you can find an 80% dark chocolate bar sitting in my desk drawer. Eating this high cocoa content provides your body with numerous antioxidants, proanthocyanidins and polyphenols which slow the growth of cancer and decrease blood vessel formation to feed cancer cells.

Snacks to Squash Your Between Meal Cravings:

• Dark Chocolate greater than 70% cocoa
• A cup of Green Tea
• Green Juice
• Kombucha
• A handful of mixed nuts (Brazil nuts, Walnuts, Almonds, Cashews, etc.)
• A cup of mixed berries
• An apple
• Homemade frozen juice popsicle

References: 

1.https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/glycemic-index-and-glycemic-load-for-100-foods as accessed on 6/20/21. "Glycemic Index for 60+ Foods: Measuring Carbohydrate Effects Can Help Glucose Management" 

2.  Servan-Schreiber D. Anti Cancer a New Way of Life. Penguin Books, 2009

3. Varsha P. Brahmkhatri, Chinmayi Prasanna, and Hanudatta S. Atreya. Insulin-Like Growth Factor System in Cancer: Novel Targeted Therapies. BioMed Research International 2015:538019 (24). 

4. Mofidi A., Ferraro ZM, Stewart KA, Tulk HMF, Robinson LE, Duncan AM, and Graham TE. The Acute Impact of Ingestion of Sourdough and Whole-Grain Breads on Blood Glucose, Insulin and Incretins in Overweight and Obese Men. Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism 2012;2012:184710.

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