Cancer cells slurp up fructose, US study finds

[I Have A Dream]

Study shows fructose used differently from glucose

* Findings challenge common wisdom about sugars

WASHINGTON Aug 2 (Reuters) - Pancreatic tumor cells use fructose to divide and proliferate, U.S. researchers said on Monday in a study that challenges the common wisdom that all sugars are the same.

Tumor cells fed both glucose and fructose used the two sugars in two different ways, the team at the University of California Los Angeles found.

They said their finding, published in the journal Cancer Research, may help explain other studies that have linked fructose intake with pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest cancer types.

"These findings show that cancer cells can readily metabolize fructose to increase proliferation," Dr. Anthony Heaney of UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center and colleagues wrote.

"They have major significance for cancer patients given dietary refined fructose consumption, and indicate that efforts to reduce refined fructose intake or inhibit fructose-mediated actions may disrupt cancer growth."

Americans take in large amounts of fructose, mainly in high fructose corn syrup, a mix of fructose and glucose that is used in soft drinks, bread and a range of other foods.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/idAFN0210830520100802


There is a post about this in GD, but I thought that people here might be specifically interested in it and might want to discuss it free from snark.

[JanusAscending]

1. I guess that corn syrup (Karo brand)

that we used to use for baby formula, is different from the bad stuff then ? I've wondered about this for a while, but too lazy to do the research! I've often feared that we mothers of my generation have done a lot of the damage to our children....following Dr's. orders !!!

[I Have A Dream]

2. I got this on-line.

High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is any of a group of corn syrups which have undergone enzymatic processing in order to increase their fructose content and are then mixed with pure corn syrup (100% glucose) to reach their final form.

Corn Syrup is a viscous, sweet syrup produced by breaking down (hydrolyzing) cornstarch, either by heating it with a dilute acid or by combining it with enzymes.

Cornstarch, or cornflour, is the starch of the maize grain, commonly known as corn.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_corn_syrup_and_high_fructose_corn_syrup

Therefore, it appears that "high-fructose" corn syrup is much worse in reference to what the original article is discussing.

[Avalux]

3. Don't fret about Karo -

it's made from a natural process of breaking maize down into sucrose. Corn syrup is completely different from HFCS, which is made from a CHEMICAL process to produce fructose, then it's mixed with sucrose to dilute.

My mother fed me Karo too, I researched it awhile ago. ;)

[get the red out]

4. How much proof do we need???????

How many negative reports linking HFCS to various diseases do we need before the stuff is banned? But we get those commercials from the corn industry trying to make anyone who believes the truth about this substance look like fools. I even had a grocery clerk try to argue with me that HFCS was no different than regular sugar, some little college boy probably had a Chemistry class and passed or something. So much evidence turns up almost daily from very credible researchers and institutions that shows this stuff to be poison. I simply cannot believe we are being fed poison in nearly every food item and propagandized to believe it isn’t hurting us. This is simply obscene.