Researchers warn common food ingredient unique to America turbocharges cancer

Eating a specific type of sugar can boost cancers and make them deadlier, according to new research.

Fructose – which is added to thousands of American foods and drinks – has been found to accelerate the growth of certain types of skin, breast and cervical tumors.

The researchers discovered that this type of sugar is converted by the liver into components that tumors need to build and grow new cells.

The faster a tumor grows, the more aggressive the cancer can become: it can take over a person’s body before it can fight back.

Added fructose is sugar extracted from sources such as corn and added to processed foods, usually in the form of high fructose corn syrup.

Some early research has suggested that eating more of these processed sugars could not only accelerate cancer growth but also be a cause of certain types of cancer.

Added fructose is different from fruit fructose, a natural sugar found in fruit that is typically accompanied by fiber and other nutrients that slow its absorption into the blood.

In the US, manufacturers are generally allowed to add fructose to foods without restriction, meaning it is found in large amounts in many different processed foods.

Similarly, developed countries have issued ceilings on the additive. The EU only allows a fraction of sugar in processed foods.

This is creating a food system in the US in which fructose and high-fructose corn syrup are found in sweetened products, such as soda, fruit juice and yogurt, as well as in unexpected products, such as pasta sauce and salad dressing.

Study author Gary Patti, professor of chemistry, genetics and medicine at Washington University in St. Louis, said: ‘One message from this current study is that if you are unlucky enough to get cancer, you probably want to think about avoiding cancer. fructose. Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done.’

That’s because fructose has been added to many of the foods Americans reach for every day.

The average American consumes about 17 teaspoons of added sugar per day – which is more than double the amount the American Heart Association recommends.

According to WashU, it is the sweetener of choice for many manufacturers because it is sweeter than other options, such as glucose.

Dr. Patti said it’s found in “almost everything,” meaning that “unless you’re actively trying to avoid it, it’s probably part of your diet.”

Because this form of sugar has become so common in American diets, researchers decided to investigate its effects on cancer, as older studies had shown that other types of sugar can be used to fuel cancer.

Their study specifically looked at breast and cervical cancer, as well as melanoma.

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in the U.S., affecting approximately 312,000 people annually, according to the NIH. Actress Olivia Munn, 43, was diagnosed with a form of the disease last year and has publicly shared her battle with the disease.

Cervical cancer and melanoma are less common, affecting approximately 11,500 and 100,640 Americans each year.

The research, published in the journal Natureused mice and fish with cancer and tumors grown in a petri dish to find out how cancer might use fructose.

‘We were surprised to see that it had quite a dramatic impact. In some cases, the tumors’ growth rate accelerated twofold or even higher, Patti said, adding, “Eating a lot of fructose was clearly very bad for the progression of these tumors.”

First they fed food containing fructose to animals with tumors.

They saw that although their overall weight remained stable, their tumor size began to swell.

They then looked at the tumors grown in the laboratory, thinking that giving the cells sugar would cause them to grow.

But when the tumors were fed fructose, they grew at the same slow rate as when there was no sugar in the dish at all.

So Dr. Patti and his team realized there had to be an intermediary.

Returning to animal studies, they used a complex technique called metabolomics, which allows researchers to track chemicals, drugs or nutrients as they move through the body. They followed the path of fructose.

Dr. Patti said, “When we think about tumors, we tend to focus on the nutritional components they directly consume. You put something in your body and then you imagine the tumor absorbing it.’

‘But people are complex. What you put into your body can be consumed by healthy tissue and then turned into something else that tumors use.”

It turns out that the fructose in the liver is converted into fats that are key components in the building of new cells. Each time the cancer builds a new cell, the tumor grows, becomes larger, or can spread throughout the body.

This can make it more deadly.

Although the researchers said more research is needed to link the two with certainty, Dr. Patti says cancer patients should consider avoiding fructose when they can.

Dr. Patti and his team hope that understanding how tumor cells use sugar to build up cells can help them find better ways to treat cancer in the future.

He said: ‘It will be exciting to better understand how dietary fructose affects cancer incidence.’