Sweet foods have a bad rap. Many people feel guilty for ordering off the dessert menu or digging in the pantry for a cookie. According to one survey of 2,000 Americans, Americans feel guilty about a third of everything they eat.
Would it make you feel better to know that doctors and dietitians love sweet treats too? “I’m a dietitian and I eat dessert every single day,” registered dietitian Mackenzie Burgess, RDN, previously told Parade.
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Burgess shared how having a daily sweet treat helped keep her overall diet more balanced because restricting foods completely can backfire, making us want them more and leading to overindulging.
Perhaps you’ve heard that eating sugary foods increases the risk of cancer. If that’s true, does that mean every time you eat something sweet, you’re putting your body at risk? According to the oncologists we talked to, the connection isn’t so straightforward.
Here, three oncologists explain the connection between sugar and cancer risk. Plus, they share what they like to eat when a sweet craving hits.
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Does Sugar Cause Cancer?
Parade talked to three oncologists about the connection between sugary foods and cancer risk. All three said it’s a misconception that sugary food creates cancer in the body. “Eating sugar does not directly ‘feed’ tumors in the way that is often suggested. Indeed, ghg cancer cells often metabolize glucose more rapidly than normal cells, but this doesn’t mean that eating sugar directly fuels tumor growth,” says Dr. Nathan Handley, MD, the director of the Integrative Cancer Recovery Program at Jefferson Health’s Marcus Institute of Integrative Health.
The connection between sugar and cancer risk is indirect. Dr. Handley explains that the relationship between sugar and cancer is real, but it’s often misunderstood. What’s really going on: Foods and drinks high in added sugar contribute to caloric intake and promote obesity. “Obesity is a known cause of at least 13 types of cancer,” Dr. Handley says. This is why, he notes, a high sugar intake indirectly increases the risk of cancer.
Dr. Dillon Cason, MD, a hematologist-oncologist at Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute, part of Jefferson Health, explains that when a person is obese, it is in a state of chronic inflammation that can make it easier for cancer cells to grow.
Dr. Tingting Tan, MD, PhD, an oncologist at City of Hope Newport Beach in California, agrees. “A diet high in added sugars doesn’t directly cause cancer, but regularly consuming sugary foods and beverages can contribute to weight gain and obesity, which are associated with an increased risk of several types of cancer. It’s important to remember that cancer develops through a complex interaction of genetics, environmental exposures and lifestyle factors,” she says.
“Beyond the obesity pathway, there is also evidence that diets high in added sugars influence levels of insulin and related hormones in ways that may independently increase cancer risk, Dr. Handley says.
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The Sugary Source Oncologists Avoid
All three oncologists say that the greatest concern when it comes to sugar consumption isn’t a food at all: It’s sugar-sweetened drinks like soda, fruit juice, energy drinks, flavored coffee drinks and sweetened iced tea.
“These are the single largest source of added sugar in the American diet and have been most consistently linked to cancer risk in population studies,” Dr. Handley says. “A can of soda is about 10 teaspoons of sugar with no fiber and no fullness, so it spikes blood sugar and adds calories you don’t notice. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network Survivorship guidelines recommend limiting refined sugar to less than six teaspoons per day. So, one can of soda can already put you well over this limit. If you change one thing, it would be dropping the sugar-sweetened beverages.”
Dr. Cason adds to this, saying that there is no specific sweet food that has the highest risk, but those with high-fructose corn syrup and other highly processed sugars are the most concerning. Soda is one example of this.
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The Sweet Food Oncologists Love
What food do oncologists eat when a craving for something sweet hits? All three that we talked to had the same answer: fruit. Unlike foods with added sugar, fruit—which contains natural sugar—is associated with a reduced cancer risk.
According to a 2023 meta-analysis published in World Journal of Gastroenterology that took into account more than 1 million people, those who ate fruits such as citrus, apples, watermelon and kiwi regularly had a 9% lower risk of colorectal cancer than those who didn’t eat fruit regularly. Additionally, a 2025 meta-analysis published in the Journal of Cancer Prevention found a link between eating citrus fruits regularly and a lower risk of lung cancer.
There are a few reasons why eating fruit regularly can reduce cancer risk. One is that they contain fiber, which foods with added sugar typically don’t have. The fiber helps blunt the sugar’s impact on blood sugar and insulin. Fiber also produces short-chain fatty acids during digestion, which strengthen the colon lining and encourage cell death in damaged or mutated cells.
Fruit also contains antioxidants, which help prevent and reduce inflammation (a driver of cancer) and may slow tumor progression in specific cancers. Berries are one fruit that are particularly high in antioxidants and a go-to sweet treat for both Dr. Handley and Dr. Cason.
Dr. Tan opts for another type of fruit when she wants something sweet. “During the summer, one of my favorite snacks is a ripe peach with a handful of pistachios. The peach satisfies my sweet tooth naturally, while the pistachios add protein and healthy fats that make the snack more satisfying. It’s simple, delicious and keeps me from reaching for more processed sweets,” she says.
Besides fruit, Dr. Cason and Dr. Handley say they also like eating dark chocolate with a cacao content of 70% or higher when they want something sweet. Similar to fruit, dark chocolate contains antioxidants, specifically flavanols. Research shows that eating dark chocolate regularly may help lower the risk of colon cancer, but more human studies need to be done to prove the connection.
It bears repeating that sugar doesn’t directly cause cancer. Eating a cupcake isn’t creating cancerous cells in your body. What’s more important are overall dietary habits. “Most of us crave something sweet from time to time. I do too. I don’t believe anyone has to give up dessert forever to be healthy,” Dr. Tan says.
Dr. Handley adds to this, saying, “The goal is not to eliminate all sweetness from life. That’s neither realistic nor necessary, and it doesn’t sound particularly pleasant. We want to shift the source of sweetness from processed, added sugars to naturally sweet whole foods,” Dr. Handley says.
Dr. Tan sums it up this way: “Healthy eating isn’t about depriving yourself. It’s about finding a balanced approach that you can enjoy and maintain over the long term.”
If you’re someone who knows you need something sweet every night, keeping fruit and dark chocolate can be a great way to satisfy your craving in a nourishing way. But it’s also okay to have a cookie once in a while too.
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Sources
- We Have the Most “Food Guilt” After Dinners or Snacks. South Florida Reporter.
- Dr. Nathan Handley, MD, director of the Integrative Cancer Recovery Program at Jefferson Health’s Marcus Institute of Integrative Health.
- Sugar, Processed Foods, and Cancer Risk. American Cancer Society.
- Dr. Dillon Cason, MD, hematologist oncologist at Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute, part of Jefferson Health.
- Dr. Tingting Tan, MD, PhD, oncologist at City of Hope Newport Beach in California.
- Survivorship Care for Healthy Living. National Comprehensive Cancer Network Survivorship.
- Wu, Z. Y., Chen, J. L., Li, H., et al. (2023). Different types of fruit intake and colorectal cancer risk: A meta-analysis of observational studies. World Journal of Gastroenterology. 29(17):2679-2700.
- Vahid Ahmadi Tabatabaei, S., Akbar Haghdoost, A., Mohammad Alavi, S., et al. (2023). Fruit and Vegetable Intake in Relation to Lung Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review and Dose-response Meta-analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies. Journal of Cancer Prevention. 30(2):75-88.
- Hu, J., Wang, J., Li, Y., et al. (2023). Use of Dietary Fiber in Reducing the Risk of Several Cancer Types: An Umbrella Review. Nutrients. 15(11):2545.
- Schmidt, S., Qioa, X. and O Bergӧ. (2025). Effects of antioxidants on cancer progression. EMBO Molecular Medicine. 17(8):1896-1901.
- Young Hong, M., Nulton, E., Shelechi, M., et al. (2013). Effects of dark chocolate on azoxymethane-induced colonic aberrant crypt foci.Nutrition and Cancer. 65(5):677-85.
