Ivor Cummings has given talks where he links advanced insulin intolerance to an increase in cancer rates (video starts at relevant moment):
Sugar and cancer
do have a complicated relationship, as described by Cancer Research UK here:
http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2017/05/15/sugar-and-cancer-what-you-need-to-know/
-though it's far more complicated than "Sugar feeds cancer". But there's also the psychology element to take into consideration, too: a patient adopting a diet, cutting something out or making a significant change that they are able to maintain feels significantly more in control of their bodies and - potentially - their health, which leads to a more optimistic outlook. Even if cutting out sugar ultimately makes little to no difference physically, it still promotes a sense of control and empowerment which is essential to patients, whether terminal or otherwise.
I find the video to be profoundly annoying right from the introduction: "87% of us describe ourselves as healthy" - but she doesn't bother to point out how that statistic is contradicted by rising diabetes and cancer rates, eg.
Further when a programme says things like "diet advice based on insufficient evidence" and
doesn't even pause to glance at the "Eats loads of carbs!" advice given to diabetics in the UK and Ireland and the Eatwell plate (you could argue time; I argue laziness and agenda) there's something sniffy going on.
The way the presenter is pushing on the basics of scientific process is also annoying. Maybe she's trying to get that clearly laid out for her non-science-fluent viewers, but it's wasting time and she only challenges Ivor in that way. She also constantly prevents Ivor from responding to the points raised by the other fellow by asking him another question, which then gets challenged by Other Doctor and then Ivor is again denied the chance to answer by being given another question.
I have sympathy for "Calories that count" coming from a doctor who primarily works with cancer patients; there comes a point when
any nutrition entering the body - no matter what it is - becomes absolutely vital for life, every meal, every bite, every calorie. But it's not appropriate to base advice to the general population on that moment of extremity or to let that be the footnote of the over-all piece without challenge and explanation.
Current affairs doing pop-science for the mainstream. It was only ever going to be something of a train wreck, but it's reassuring to see Ivor continuing to accept these invitations and keep trying to get the message out there: carbs = trouble.