A recent conference of the Oasis of Hope Hospital confirmed the close connection between sugar and cancer. Oasis was the first hospital in North America to combine orthodox and alternative healing methods in the treatment of cancer and other serious diseases. They have been in operation for 45 years, during which time they have treated over 300,000 cancer patients. I serve as a medical consultant to them. They now believe that sugar consumption is a key contributor to the proliferation of cancer – perhaps the single most important factor – and that getting sugar consumption under control is of paramount importance for anyone dealing with cancer.

This finding is not a surprise to natural doctors who for decades have been talking about the vital need to control the consumption of sugar. In 1904, Americans each consumed about 4 or 5 pounds of refined sugar every year. Nowadays Americans consume close to that amount of refined sugar every week! Aside from causing an explosion of diabetes and obesity, this massive upsurge in sugar consumption has a direct effect on the proliferation of cancer.

Here is how it works: if you have an abundance of sugar in your body, your system will become acidic. Cancer thrives in an acidic environment, which also causes the body to lose minerals. These things combined make it harder for the body to absorb and hold oxygen, so you also develop tissue hypoxia, or oxygen deficiency, at the cellular level.

Dr. Otto Warburg, a Nobel Laureate, first discovered the intimate connection between sugar and cancer that the Oasis of Hope has recently confirmed. He found that cancer requires an acid base, tissue hypoxia, and cellular fermentation – otherwise it cannot proliferate. He uncovered the role of sugar in this.

Sugar turns the body acidic and de-mineralizes the body, causing tissue hypoxia and cellular fermentation. So all of the conditions for cancer become present when sugar is abundant. When you consider that cancer also feeds directly on sugar, you’ll appreciate why some doctors go so far as to say that "cancer loves sugar".

Of course, our bodies need sugar. Our cells use it as an energy source. The best way to get it is from complex carbohydrates – such as whole grains – that release sugar slowly into the bloodstream. The point is not to demonize sugar as such, but to understand that refined sugars pack a mighty punch – a punch that can knock you right out if you are not careful!

Some small amount of refined sugar may be okay from time to time – no need to be total kill-joys - but the steady diet of it we get from sodas (eight teaspoons per serving), pies, cakes, cookies and candies is beyond what our bodies were designed to tolerate. And just as our nature has the power to heal us if we cooperate with it, we should bear in mind that if we disregard nature, we do so at our own grave risk.

Natural doctors looking at the sugar and cancer connection are very aware of how our habits of living give rise to our health challenges. At the same time, we share an inspiring vision of nature and its capacity to heal us, once we start to cooperate with it.

Sugar and cancer are closely related. You can do an enormous amount of good for yourself if you pay close attention to the kinds of sugar, and the amounts of it, in your diet. In my opinion, along with the right kind of hydration, it may be the most important factor to look at in recovering and assuring your health – no matter what your condition.