In Middle Eastern countries such as Syria, Iraq, Qatar, Iran, Palestine and Saudi Arabia, sugar consumption, known as the number one enemy of cancer, is quite high. What is surprising at this point is how these areas consume more sugar and get less cancer.

So what kind of secret is hidden behind this?

An average of 198 out of every 100,000 people worldwide are struggling with various types of cancer.

The region with the highest cancer rate in the world is Australia, with 468 people per 100,000. In second place is Ireland with 374 people per 100,000. This list is followed by Hungary with 368 people and the USA with 352 people.

When we look at this rate specifically for Middle Eastern countries, 96 out of every 100,000 people in Saudi Arabia have cancer, while 97 out of every 100,000 people in Yemen are struggling with this disease. This number; It is limited to 107 in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, 104 in Oman and 116 in Kuwait.

So what makes the Middle East unique in this regard?

Fasting for 30 days with the arrival of Ramadan is surprisingly very effective on cancer. This worship, which requires not eating or drinking anything from sunrise to sunset, can also be considered a type of intermittent fasting.

This causes an incredible decrease in the rate of cancer. Because cancer cells have 10 to 50 times more insulin receptors than normal cells and are very greedy for glucose. In short, cancer loves sugar and fasting prevents this sugar intake.

Fasting also stimulates autophagy, which contributes to the recycling of mitochondria and helps recycle damaged and aged proteins.

Cancer disease basically occurs when mitochondria are damaged. When mitochondria are damaged, their own metabolic system struggles to adapt to new ways to provide energy for high levels of glucose. Fasting is also very effective in eliminating these damaged mitochondria, thus reducing the risk of cancer.

Another contribution of fasting is that it creates new immune cells.

While this new cell formation strengthens the immune system, it also allows for an increase in the number of T cells, which are known to kill cancer and viruses. Another contribution of fasting is that it provides a kind of purification from the inflammations that cancer tends to spread and wants to reach.

Fasting is the most powerful anti-inflammatory and therefore reduces the risk of cancer spreading. Additionally, when no food or drink enters our body, the number of antioxidant networks increases. In summary, fasting significantly reduces the risk of cancer.

In addition to fasting, the spices consumed by Middle Eastern people are also very important in terms of cancer.

After all, it should not be dismissed as just spice. For example, turmeric is the number one cancer preventer and the most powerful food to get rid of inflammation. In addition, saffron also contains some phytonutrients and is an enemy of cancer.

Spices such as cardamom, cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon and coriander are among the foods that best fight cancer and tumors. Black cumin, dill, olive oil, sesame and dates are also foods rich in their contents and fight cancer.

Middle Eastern people are generally very fond of spices, and this diet makes them very advantageous when it comes to cancer.

In third place is cigarettes.

As we all know, smoking has a big connection with cancer. About getting cancer; Smokers are 22 times more at risk than non-smokers, and even 25% of cancers are caused by smoking.

1 in 5 people in the world smokes cigarettes, and this rate means 20% of the entire world population. The smoking rate among men in Middle Eastern countries is quite high, but the number of women is surprisingly low.

Considering women, this rate is 2% in Arabia, 3% in Iraq and Kuwait, and 9% in Yemen. For example, in the United Arab Emirates, only 8 out of 1000 women smoke. This number is quite low compared to the world average of 20%. In short, if Middle Eastern women stay away from smoking, it largely protects them against cancer.

When it comes to cigarettes, it is impossible not to mention alcohol.

Alcohol consumption affects the liver; It causes cancer formations in the back of the tongue, upper part of the mouth and larynx. In most parts of the Middle East, alcohol consumption is not allowed and the risk of getting cancer in these parts of the body due to alcohol is quite low.

Western Europe, Northern Europe and North America are regions where alcohol consumption is high and people here; It faces a great risk of liver, larynx and oral cancer.

So, Middle Easterners fast, consume all these beneficial spices, and smoke and drink very little, but why don’t their cancer rates be even lower?

This is because they consume more sugar, and especially high fructose corn syrup, than anywhere else in the world. As we mentioned before, cancer loves sugar and triggers obesity. An average of 30% of Middle Eastern people also suffer from obesity.

Additionally, 80% of these people have very low vitamin D levels. This vitamin is of great importance in protecting against cancer and reducing the risk of this disease. Again, sugar consumption and vitamin D deficiency are proportional to each other. The more sugar there is in the body, the less vitamin D there is.

However, just because they get cancer less often does not mean they are healthier. They may be vulnerable to various diseases due to various factors. For example, the cancer rate in Japan is higher, but life expectancy is much longer.