Scientists have discovered a sugar compound from deep-sea bacteria that can destroy cancer cells in a dramatic way. This natural substance, produced by microbes living in the ocean, causes cancer cells to undergo a fiery form of cell death, essentially making them self-destruct. In lab tests and in mice with liver cancer, the compound not only stopped tumors from growing, but also activated the immune system to fight back. This finding could pave the way for entirely new cancer treatments based on sugars from marine organisms.
As in, it technically affects all your cells, it just happens to affect cancer cells a lot more. In this case, because they try to absorb extra sugars in many cases.
Cancer cells often times lose their ability to perform oxidative phosphorylation. This means they can only rely on glycolysis as a sole source of ATP… This makes them EXCESSIVELY glucose hungry.
It’s called the warburg effect. I’d have to read up on it and brush up on biochem, but that’s the basic principle.
Essentially, cancer should soak up all the harmful sugar before it hits normal cells. This makes it even safer in theory than traditional chemo like methotrexate and such
Because they try to absorb extra sugars in many cases.
I have absolutely no medical knowledge besides a first aid course. Does that mean that, by not eating any sugars, I could starve cancer cells? So like during keto (I did that years ago before the boom) I actually could have starved a lot of cancer cells?
Yes, certain cancer therapy benefits from a zero sugar, low but high quality carb diet. You’ll slow the cancer a lot, and can help prevent it from coming back like that. You’ll still need something to kill it though, because your body still produces and needs sugars.
And some are unaffected because they’re part of something that can already make or requires sugars, like brain or liver cancers.
I imagine this will be similar to chemotherapy.
As in, it technically affects all your cells, it just happens to affect cancer cells a lot more. In this case, because they try to absorb extra sugars in many cases.
Cancer cells often times lose their ability to perform oxidative phosphorylation. This means they can only rely on glycolysis as a sole source of ATP… This makes them EXCESSIVELY glucose hungry.
It’s called the warburg effect. I’d have to read up on it and brush up on biochem, but that’s the basic principle.
Essentially, cancer should soak up all the harmful sugar before it hits normal cells. This makes it even safer in theory than traditional chemo like methotrexate and such
As I said in another comment, does that mean they can’t get energy from ketone bodies?
I have absolutely no medical knowledge besides a first aid course. Does that mean that, by not eating any sugars, I could starve cancer cells? So like during keto (I did that years ago before the boom) I actually could have starved a lot of cancer cells?
Yes, certain cancer therapy benefits from a zero sugar, low but high quality carb diet. You’ll slow the cancer a lot, and can help prevent it from coming back like that. You’ll still need something to kill it though, because your body still produces and needs sugars.
And some are unaffected because they’re part of something that can already make or requires sugars, like brain or liver cancers.