Over the last fifty years, fructose intake has risen significantly, primarily because high-fructose corn syrup has become a common sweetener used in highly processed foods and beverages. What you consume can be utilized by healthy tissues and transformed into substances that tumors might use.
Recent research has shown that dietary fructose may encourage tumor growth in animal models of various types of cancer. Although fructose itself does not directly feed the tumors, it indirectly promotes tumor growth by producing metabolites in the liver that support cancer development.
Researchers discovered that the liver processes fructose into nutrients that cancer cells can utilize, pointing to a possible new direction for cancer therapy. The concept of combating cancer through dietary adjustments could play a role in cancer management.
Cancer cells exhibit a strong preference for glucose. For years, scientists have understood that cancer cells are particularly drawn to glucose, a simple sugar and the primary carbohydrate energy source for the body. Chemically, fructose is quite similar to glucose. Both are prevalent sugars with identical chemical formulas, yet their metabolic pathways in the body differ. While glucose is metabolized by cells throughout the body, fructose is primarily processed in the small intestine and liver.
With the rise in fructose consumption over the years in the American diet, there has been a noted increase in cancer in people under 50 years of age. The research indicated that elevated fructose intake boosts the levels of circulating lipids in the blood, which are crucial components for the construction of cancer cell membranes.
The study authors suggested that beyond dietary changes, this research might pave the way for therapeutic strategies to inhibit fructose from promoting tumor growth through pharmacological means. Additionally, the findings could lead to novel therapeutic methods that target the metabolism of healthy cells to combat cancer, instead of focusing exclusively on the cancerous cells.
While a direct causal relationship has not been confirmed, it is advised that individuals with cancer consider reducing their fructose intake due to its potential to encourage cancer growth.
To view the original scientific study click below:
Dietary fructose enhances tumour growth indirectly via interorgan lipid transfer
