Sugar: Major factor for cancer

Dr. Joseph Mercola

A major European study has found that women with high blood sugar levels are at an increased risk of developing cancer. High blood sugar levels can be caused by eating too much sugary food, and also by disease conditions such as diabetes, BBC reported.
   The study, which looked at 64,500 people over the course of 13 years, linked high blood sugar with cancers of the pancreas, skin, womb, and urinary tract. High blood sugar was also linked to breast cancer for women under 49. Women in the top quarter of blood sugar readings had a 26 per cent higher chance of developing cancer than those in the bottom quarter. The research also found evidence that rates of unusually high blood sugar levels increase with advancing age.
   Most people, physicians certainly included, are absolutely clueless how devastating sugar can be on your health. They just don't understand how something that tastes so good can be so damaging to your health.
   That is one of the reasons why the typical American, and I am confident that includes almost all doctors, consume 175 pounds of sugar EVERY year.
   If you ever questioned how much sugar worsens your risks of developing cancer, this should be an eye-opener. This important study shows that high blood sugars can increase your risk of cancer even when there are no signs of life-shortening type 2 diabetes.
   This has to do with the amazing hormone insulin. A fasting blood insulin level is one of the most important tests you can have and it is relatively inexpensive. If you are walking around with a high fasting insulin level you are a walking time bomb.
   Ideally it should be below 3 or 4. Anything over 10 is a disaster. The higher the number the worse you are. I like to see insulin levels 2 or lower.
   There is just no question that if you have cancer or are interested in reducing your risk of developing cancer, one of the most important things you can do is to make sure your fasting insulin levels are normal, ideally below 5. As I said, this is a very simple and inexpensive test to perform and should be regularly monitored if you have or are at risk for cancer.
   When your blood sugar rises in response to eating carbohydrates, your pancreas releases insulin. Insulin ensures your cells receive blood sugar necessary for life, but high levels of insulin can cause major damage to your body.
   The most recognized of these is diabetes. In addition, hypertension, obesity, high levels of cholesterol and other lipids, heart disease, kidney disease, female infertility and neurodegeneration are all caused by eating too many carbohydrates, resulting in high insulin levels.
   High insulin levels are also one of the most potent ways that you can increase your rate of aging. Conversely have low insulin levels and you slow down your aging rate.
   Another absolutely essential tool for you to actively engage in is to follow a diet appropriate for your metabolic type. What would be a great anti-cancer food for someone might actually increase someone else's risk for cancer.
   Too many carbs are bad - period. However, while you are right Duane that all carbs break down to glucose, sugar is worse because it is 1 molecule glucose + 1 molecule fructose = 1 molecule sucrose (table sugar). The fructose in sugar is as bad as the fructose in HFCS because it is produced by chemical and enzymatic means. It makes me laugh that the food industry claims that because HFCS is 50/50 fructose/glucose, that it is no more harmful than sugar. Right on the nose bozos because yes - they are equally harmful poisons!
   Potatoes can raise blood glucose faster than table sugar (but this is lowered by eating fat with it). But the issue with table sugar is that because it is half fructose it doesn't raise blood sugar as much as potato, but nobody is measuring blood fructose. So while everybody focuses on blood glucose, the evil fructose is marauding through your body, wreaking unmeasurable metabolic havoc. The elephant isn't sitting quietly unnoticed in the living room- it has broken all the furniture, messed on your carpet and eaten the budgie.
   It is truly amazing how many products have added sugar in it, including milk and yogurt. The reason for this is that the people making the products think that if they DON"T do that, people won't buy the products since people go for the sweet stuff. Of course they do - many people are addicted to sugar! Sad but true.
   It is so important to read the labels of the products we buy and make sure that they don't have added REFINED sugar in them. Always make sure you read the labels of the products you purchase. Be a wise, educated consumer. This is the only way to truly live healthy.

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Importance of institutionalising CSR

Zakir Khan & Tahiya Mahbub

Its 9:00 am in Dhaka. Workers, businessmen, bankers are all heading towards office. At Tejgaon, driving down in the Lexus LX 470, Karim enters his sweater factory with shipments going to Netherlands, United Kingdom, and the United States. At Motijheel, Mishal, stepping down from his BMW 7 series, enters his office on the top floor of a twenty-storied tower - an information technology firm manned by 400 persons.
   What do these two characters have in common? They are a part of the elite in society, affluent, with a company turnover of millions of dollars or more. However, the important questions is: how are they not only impacting themselves, through their financial achievement, but also externally - the society and the environment. Gone are the days in which success is measured through pure financial terms, where individual and company financial statements determine how successful a company or an individual is. There is a movement going across the world to understand and appreciate the need for social responsibility and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Experiences such as that of Marks and Spencer and Lloyds Bank of England have shown that practising CSR not only helps society at large, it actually increases the company profits.
   Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a means of achieving social justice and helping Bangladesh fulfill the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The importance of CSR in the context of development of a nation is being stressed in nations worldwide- including USA, India, and the UK. CSR emphasises that organizations should not only make decisions taking into financial considerations- but also long term social and environmental consequences of the decisions they make. As coined by the World Council for Sustainable Development, "Corporate social responsibility is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large." This is a holistic approach- which allows us to view corporations as a partner in the community.
   The important question is how does giving, to the needy, actually account for a return on investment (ROI). Businessmen are often concerned by the 'bottom line', return on investment. CSR is a means of enhancing brand image - and with a rise in ethical consumerism, buyers internationally are rejecting products that are non-ethical (simply put, produced by companies that are not responsible socially). If we take the row over Tesco and garments exports from Bangladesh, and the increase in sales experienced by Marks and Spencer, we can better understand and appreciate the importance of CSR and maintaining a CSR portfolio. Buyers now are willing to 'pay that little bit more' for products from companies that treat their employees fair, and fulfill their responsibility towards the environment and society.
   This movement is slowly penetrating Bangladeshi society as well. As highlighted by Nobel Laureate Dr. Prof. Mohammad Yunus at the ITU World Information Society Award in May,
   "We need to re-conceptualise the business world to make sure it contributes to the creation of a humane society, not aggravate the problems around us. We need to recognize two types of businesses, not one, and offer equal opportunities to both. These two types of businesses are: One which is already known, business to make money that is conventional business, the principle of whom is to maximize profit. And the other new kind, business to do good to people, or social business."
   EktiBangladesh is a project that is calling for the support of corporations, individuals, industrialists, professionals to discuss and understand the importance of CSR, and also actively be involved in CSR activities- both through policy reform, and through work for society. Through this movement, CSR in corporations will not only be highlighted but the importance of social business in the context of Bangladesh will be promoted. EktiBangladesh views CSR in the context of Bangladesh at two levels: levels of policy and practice of corporate rules and regulations, and level of philanthropic work for society. It is working to bring everyone to a common platform for the greater good of the population.

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