The diabetes-cancer connection

A large global study involving about 900,000 people from around the world has uncovered a growing cancer menace that most of us are unaware of.

And you’ll be shocked at how easy it is to avoid, if you know how…

The meta-analysis performed by Chinese researchers shows that having pre-diabetes, an elevated blood sugar condition that precedes type 2 diabetes, makes you 15 percent more likely to develop cancer (especially these five).

This study analyzed the findings of other studies that looked at people with elevated levels of sugar in the blood. In total, 16 studies were incorporated into this analysis that examined this phenomenon around the world, including countries such as Asia, the United States, Europe and Africa.

And for all of these people, the findings were definitive…

Elevated blood sugar can lead to cancer

The scientists point out that the increase in cancer in people with pre-diabetes may be caused by the fact that having continual high blood sugar leads to a state of what’s called “chronic oxidative stress” in the body.

That means that a harmful substance known as free radicals accumulates and causes damage to cells and cell membranes. In addition, elevated blood sugar can lead to an excess level of advanced glycated end products — these are toxic substances known to cause cancer (and premature aging).

But that’s just part of the problem…

If your blood sugar is chronically elevated, your pancreas works overtime, desperately trying to secrete the hormone insulin that is supposed to stimulate cells to take sugar out of your blood. This leads to insulin resistance. And when the cells resist insulin’s life-saving effects over and over, the increased work by the pancreas can allow cancer cells to grow and divide more rapidly.

But ultimately the scariest thing about this phenomenon is that in the U.S. alone, 86 million of us, aged 20 and older have prediabetes. In 2010 that number was closer to 79 million. So as this number rises, you can bet the number of Americans diagnosed with cancer in the coming years will too.

How to avoid insulin resistance and cancer 

There are several things you can do to lower your blood sugar risk and avoid the five worst cancers tied to insulin resistance. But let’s start with what will have the quickest effect…

You’ve probably already heard that low-carb diets can work wonders for prediabetes, diabetes and other blood sugar problems. But did you know they work fast? Researchers from the University of Michigan found that eating three low-carb meals within a 24-hour period can lower your post-meal insulin resistance by a whopping 30 percent.

Make sure you get enough vitamin B3. It’s a naturally occurring vitamin that not only lowers blood sugar levels but prevents some of the most undesirable diabetes side effects, like peripheral nerve damage and fatty liver disease.

Consider a diet change to beat diabetes forever. Both the paleo diet and the Mediterranean diet are rich in foods that do not promote blood sugar spikes. If you’re eating the standard American diet, you’re missing the vital nutrients from fruits and vegetables that are beneficial, and eating too many of the foods that cause your blood sugar to rise and fall continuously, increasing your risk for insulin resistance.

If you’re not sure if you have prediabetes, check to see if you have these 15+ signs of pre-diabetes now, and make the changes that can help you avoid diabetes and cancer.

Editor’s note: Are you feeling unusually tired? You may think this is normal aging, but the problem could be your master hormone. When it’s not working, your risk of age-related diseases skyrockets. To reset what many call “the trigger for all disease” and live better, longer, click here to discover The Insulin Factor: How to Repair Your Body’s Master Controller and Conquer Chronic Disease!

Carl Lowe

By Carl Lowe

has written about health, fitness and nutrition for a wide range of publications including Prevention Magazine, Self Magazine and Time-Life Books. The author of more than a dozen books, he has been gluten-free since 2007.

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