Sugar and cancer

My fused glass horse. Sort of pricy but still a fraction of its original cost

interesting sculpture in a Dexter alley

Last night I went to Dexter, where I haven't been in a while. As Dexter was fairly close to my grandparent's place, I visited it a lot as a child even when I was still living in New York. The Dairy Queen and this bakery are still here. In college on, I would bike to Dexter and back either stopping for an apple fritter here or a malt or the nearby Dairy Queen. Isn't a wonder I had cancer? During my marathon days, I would run to Dexter and back, 20 miles for training runs and I usually did the Dexter Ann Arbor half Marathon. Later Josh and his ex-wife moved here. His ex had a puppy boutique across the street from this photo where Naomi worked. But Josh and I have since moved further away so no more Dexter.

Sugar and its closely related high glycemic starches (think potatoes) are the new dietary villains versus fat, which gram for gram has more calories. Sugar consumption in the US (and probably elewhere) especially in the form of 'high fructose cornsyrup" has gone way up leading to increased obesity and diabetes. Also certain cancers are occurring sooner and more frequently than in the past. 

Not long ago (Oct 2018) there was a symposium in NYC hosted by the Cornell Medical School and its associated hospital New York Presbyterian entitled Not so sweet: The hidden Cancer Risk of Sugar and Inflammation.  The premise is as follows: eating sugar increases blood glucose levels which triggers insulin production in the pancreas  An enzymeP13K produces a lipid PIP3 that moves the insulin and glucose to be used in the liver and muscles. However if levels are too high, PIP3 can cause cancer itself. If there is any tiny tumor in the body and if there is a genetic mutation in the PIP3 pathway, the glucose will be driven into the tumor, not the muscle. Tumors take up more sugar than normal cells enabling them to be visualized by PET scans, which use a labelled sugar to visual where the sugar goes. Tumors especially vulnerable to this pathway are uterine, breast, colon, ovarian  and bladder. There are drugs such as metformin used for diabetics that lower glucose levels.

Excess body fat also triggers certain cancers in several ways. First fat cells produce estrogen which feeds hormone dependent cancers such as breast and uterine. But it can also trigger inflammatory processes. Enlarged fat cells outstrip their oxygen supply and die.setting off release of cytokines which lead to more inflammation. Even people who have chronic inflammatory conditions such as H. pylori are much more susceptible to cancer.

What to eat then? Certainly not sugary and starchy stuff. If one is hungry, high fat nuts and cheese will satisfy hunger for longer. We do need the vitamins that are in certain starches and fruits. It is suggested eating only slow glucose starches such as oats and that whole fruit paired with fat such as whole milk yogurt or cheese. Also high fructose corn syrup alters the flora in the gut in ways more conductive to cancer. Colon cancer has suddenly become more common among the young. Could it co-incide with the introduction of high fructose corn syrup?

Do doctors ever tell their patients to lose weight if they don't want cancer. Not mine. When I was diagnosed with cancer 10 years ago, I was overweight. I had broken my arm the year before which could not be set, so I could not exercise at all leading to a big weight gain. . Also for menopause I was taking Prem-pro which I found out later that my body lacks the enzyme to metabolize estrogen leading to high blood levels of estrogen, food initially for breast tumors. My cancer morphed into a non hormone dependent type.

Two and a half years ago, I decided to do something about being fat. Aside from not looking good, there are numerous health risks with being obese. I am most afraid of my cancer returning. Recent events have made that fear more intense. I did drop almost 80 pounds in a year. I have gained about 4 of it back and that will be gone in a month. I still fit into my size 4s though right now they are annoyingly snug.  I didn't eat much sugar but I did have a weakness for carbohydrates such as pasta, bagels, crackers. For a year, I hardly ate any of them. I did eat nuts and cheese even though they have more calories. I did not count calories. Hardest was limiting my wine intake. I allowed myself one glass for social occasions. Now I am back to drinking too much. Need to stop that. I filled up with fruit and vegetables. For protein, I would make a big veggie omelet (I have a garden) though eggs again are some sort of villain. My cholesterol and triglyceride levels are low or normal.. I do eat lean meat occasionally and tofu (estrogen!!!). I have a weakness for expensive chocolate and will eat it hoping its high fat moderates its sugar. I also exercise at least an hour a day if not 90 minutes. In warm months, I will be biking for more than 2 hours so it is easier to be thin in the summer. Still I surprised myself and others that I was able to lose the weight without drugs (unless you count coffee, sometimes if I felt especially hungry between meals, some coffee would satisfy me) or having my stomach stapled (which chunky as I was, I still wasn't considered obese and not a candidate not that I would as in the long run it causes health problems and people gain the weight back). I regularly train with weights to keep my muscle mass high.

Spring is finally here (sort of..tomorrow back to coldness cancelling a hoped for bike ride). One night this week, it was actually 67! and a friend and I were able to sit outside with wine (too much!) In the past 2 weeks I've biked 80 miles. In the wetlands, I hear the peepers. The cranes and vultures are back. The goldfinches are getting their breeding colors. Some people have crocuses in bloom though I must live in a colder zone but I am sure they will come out next week. This winter has been especially tough and I do look forward to being in the sun.

My friend is back in the hospital initially unable to move even when on oxygen. She has influenza A despite having a flu vaccine. Presumably a flu vaccine is considered effective if it protects 60% of those who get it which sounds low to me. I get the shots yearly. I've had the flu only once and that was well before vaccines so I am either lucky or have a strong immune system. When I saw her a few days ago, she finally was able to walk a few feet without collasping. I will help her next week at home when she is released. I will whine (to myself) how long it takes me now to do my 6 mile run versus when I would place high in my age group doing races in the past but not being able to walk because of non-functioning lungs puts things in perspective