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You may already know that consuming too much sugar is not recommended and offers little in the way of nutritional value. But does it cause cancer?

We reached out to Jorge J. Nieva, MD, a medical oncologist with the 喵咪社区 Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of 喵咪社区, for more information on the subject.

Does sugar cause cancer?

If you love sugar, it鈥檚 not time to panic just yet. While Nieva does not give eating sugar a green light, he says that it鈥檚 a myth that eating too much will cause cancer.

Sugar does not cause cancer, Nieva explains. Some cancer patients also believe they must avoid聽carbohydrates聽to aid their treatment聽鈥� this is also a myth.

鈥淭he amount of sugar that鈥檚 in your bloodstream is tightly regulated by your pancreas and that stays in the range of about 80 to 120 milligrams per deciliter, most of the time, regardless of what you eat,鈥� Nieva says. So even if you do indulge in that piece of chocolate cake, your blood sugar levels won鈥檛 change dramatically. (One caveat: If you have diabetes, your diet does have a direct effect on your blood sugar levels, which is why regular monitoring is important.)

This belief is problematic because many cancer patients have trouble with too much weight loss, and they already don鈥檛 consume enough calories in their diet. It鈥檚 dangerous for them聽if they聽restrict their diet, which will only make their weight loss, muscle atrophy and overall weakness worse.

But don鈥檛 break out the rainbow sprinkles.

Sugar isn鈥檛 off the hook completely. While eating more sugar, in and of itself, doesn鈥檛 cause cancer, eating too much of it can make you pack on the pounds. Being obese does increase your risk for certain cancers, including breast cancer, as does being diabetic, which is also more likely if you鈥檙e overweight.

There is that following a Mediterranean diet with plenty of whole grains, fruits and veggies and healthy fats can cut your cancer risk.

How can you cut your risk of cancer?

The best way to reduce your risk of cancer and stay healthy overall is to not smoke, stay active and eat a healthy diet. Treatments are more effective the earlier the cancer is caught, so you should be proactive about getting appropriate screening tests for your age, gender and family history.

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