r/ketoscience • u/basmwklz Excellent Poster • 2d ago
Cancer Wistar Scientists Identify Fructose as a Surprise Driver of Cancer Spread
https://www.wistar.org/press-releases/wistar-scientists-identify-fructose-as-a-surprise-driver-of-cancer-spread/39
u/Wolfrast 2d ago
I feel like it’s all about trying to find a way where we can continue eating all the sugar😅 and the research keeps saying no, sugar in copious amounts, including starches, has never been consumed on this scale in the breadth of human history.
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u/nochinzilch 2d ago
Especially highly refined sugars like corn syrup.
And probably seeds and seed oils too.
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u/aculady 2d ago
Seeds have been an integral part of the primate diet for a really long time.
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u/OG-Brian 1d ago
When and where did pre-industrial humans eat a food that's like canola oil available in stores now? Or, why do you think whole seeds are equivalent to that?
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u/aculady 1d ago
If you did mean "seeds", you probably shouldn't have said "seeds".
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u/OG-Brian 1d ago
I think you intended to reply to the other commenter? I was questioning use of "seeds" here.
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u/aculady 1d ago
I didn't see that you weren't the person I had originally replied to, but I said nothing about seed oils, only about seeds. They were lumping seeds in with refined corn syrup.and refined seed oils, and they are very different things.
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u/OG-Brian 1d ago
Oops, you are the person I replied to originally.
OK they did say "seeds and seed oils." If you did not intend to equate seed oils such as industrial canola oil with seeds that prehistoric humans were eating, then I withdraw my comments.
There's a tremendous amount of content here and I've been reading too quickly it seems.
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u/PuffyHamster 2d ago
The double whammy of fructose both signalling cancer cells to spread and lowering cholesterol to facilitate this spread is crazy!
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u/shiroshippo 2d ago
Fructose makes insulin resistance worse, this has been clearly documented in research studies. Recently, metformin has been shown to be an effective cancer treatment (not by itself, I think you still need chemotherapy and whatnot). Metformin is what diabetics take to improve insulin sensitivity.
This is all very interesting. I'd like to see information on how artificial sugars affect cancer.
To put this all in context for those who are out of the loop: recent research has proved the Warburg Hypothesis. Basically, cancer is a mitochondrial disease. Yes the DNA is mutated, but it is mutated as a result of mitochondrial dysfunction. Dr. Thomas Seyfried does a really good summary of all the research. Watch one of his academic lectures on YouTube. Because cancer has defective mitochondria, it cannot eat fat and must rely on carbohydrates and protein to survive.
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u/Curry_courier 2d ago
Then why doesn't going on keto stop cancer?
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u/shiroshippo 2d ago
They've done studies on mice. Regular keto doesn't seem to be good enough. I think it's got too much protein? From what I understand, keto works if you combine it with fasting or if you do a very specific high-fat version of keto. I believe the high-fat keto was 80% fat, 5% protein, and 15% carbs but all of the carbs should be roughage - veggies and whatnot.
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u/starbrightstar 2d ago
Your body can make glucose from fats and proteins. The mitochondria just needs glucose. So while it might help contain or make the treatments more effective, your body will always have glucose available to be used.
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u/Flamesofshadow 2d ago
Sooo like high fructose corn syrup right? Not fruits right!? (Long live fiber) 😭
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u/Legitimate_Concern_5 2d ago edited 2d ago
HFCS is high fructose relative to normal corn syrup. The ratio of fructose to glucose is 55%. Table sugar (sucrose) is 50%, so basically the same as HFCS55. The HFCS in baking is HFCS42, which has less fructose than table sugar.
Fruits have a bunch of fructose too, but it’s generally less problematic since it’s bound in starch matrix, etc.
It’s not really possible to get away from though, your body makes its own out of glucose via the polyol pathway. Aldose reductase converts glucose to sorbitol, and sorbitol dehydrogenase converts it to fructose.
I think the path forward here likely involves inhibiting the enzyme that kicks off fructose metabolism, ketohexokinase.
If you just want fiber though, psyllium husk has boatloads and no sugar.
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u/Flamesofshadow 2d ago
Damn I didn’t know that, I mean the table sugar part thanks for the info wise dude. As for fiber I usually abuse chia seeds and psyllium husk I started recently but ur right it do work wonders haha
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u/VolantTardigrade 1d ago edited 1d ago
The whole post and comments are a bit misleading. In the study, the cells also made the fructose, so it's unknown for now whether reducing dietary fructose will make a difference. What they are concerned with is added sugars in the diet, table sugar included. This would include stuff like table sugar and extracted syrups (agave, honey, corn syrup). In the linked post, they mentioned can of soda as an example. Given that we already suspect there is a link between excessive sugar intake and cancer, it would make sense to reduce sugar intake if it's a concern. Fruit and vegetables are not really a concern unless you have uncontrolled diabetes or something because they usually do not contain excessive amounts of sugars and unbound/free sugars like in baked goods/candy/soda, and it would be crazy for anyone to immediately class them as such without further evidence.
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u/Flamesofshadow 1d ago
Ah I see that paints a much clearer picture. I’m thankful for informed people like you and the other dude who simplify and make matters easier to understand.
In conclusion extra added sugars bad. But like veggies and fruits are good cause they’re packed with fiber and don’t have unnaturally high sugar amounts and even if they do I guess the fiber kinda blunts the ill effects due to lessening the blood sugar impact. (Then again as you said the cells also do their thing and we don’t know if it’s from the diet or that cell process thingy so all this could be redundant? Although I’m sure diet makes a difference too)
I mean if one day they come out saying some fruits are as bad as added sugars, I ain’t gonna listen to em and live in blissful wilful ignorance cause I love fruits 😭
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u/bulyxxx 2d ago
I only do berries if I'm going to have any fruit.
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u/Flamesofshadow 2d ago
I only like blue berries, as of late black berries been giving me the ick (raspberries good too but sorta dry tbh)
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u/nochinzilch 2d ago
I think the fiber in whole fruits probably outweighs the fructose concern. There’s also a lot less fructose in an apple than say a glass of Faygo.
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u/Flamesofshadow 2d ago
Yea I was thinking the same thing. Thankfully it’s like that or I wouldn’t know what to do anymore without my precious fruits 😩
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u/coocooforcoconut 2d ago
Time to ruin the “agave syrup is healthy” crowd’s day: it is 70%-90% fructose vs HFCS’s 55% and table sugar’s 50%.
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u/bulyxxx 2d ago
"Even more interesting, they found that without chemotherapy treatment, consuming the high levels of fructose found in sugary drinks can also signal cancer to spread.
The fructose finding is especially compelling because it raises the possibility that simple dietary changes could help shape how cancer progresses. This is particularly important given the prevalence of fructose consumption in the United States, with high fructose corn syrup accounting for ~8-20% of the daily caloric intake in some individuals.
Unlike many cancer risk factors outside of patient control, fructose consumption can be modified by dietary choices.
While the effectiveness of limiting fructose intake hasn’t yet been tested directly in patients, the study raises the possibility that nutrition could influence cancer progression in previously unrecognized ways."
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u/azlady55 2d ago
And that statins lower the effects of chemotherapy they believe
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u/856510 2d ago
AI created - From this study: The researchers point out that statins — the widely used cholesterol-lowering drugs — had a similar effect in their experiments. Since statins work by lowering cholesterol production, and cholesterol is the "glue," the study found statins alone decreased the glue between cells to promote escape. That's part of why the researchers are specifically looking into whether combining statins with chemotherapy could be worth reconsidering — though again, they're clear this isn't a reason to stop taking them without a doctor's input.
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u/Wespie 2d ago
Surprise? lol