Want to defeat your cancer? Eat less!

By David Liu davidl at foodconsumer dot org

A new study suggests that restricting intake of glucose the most common dietary sugar can not only extend human lifespan, but help defeat cancer and other diseases like heart disease.

The study found that reduced exposure of healthy lung cells and precancerous cells to glucose extends the life of healthy cells and speed the death of precancerous cells, reducing cancer's spread and growth rate.

The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and published in the online edition of The Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.

Caloric restriction has been found to extend lifespan in low animals like fruit flies, mice and worms.  But the current study of human cells is the first of its kind, according to a press release by the University.

For the study, Trygve Tollefsbol, Ph.D., D.O., a professor in the Department of Biology and colleagues exposed healthy human lung cells and precancerous human lung cells to the normal level of glucose and reduced level of glucose for weeks.

It was observed that restricted glucose levels led the healthy lung cells to grow longer compared to the normal level and cause deaths of precancerous cells.
 
The researchers found the restricted glucose level has an effect on two genes. One is telomerase, the longer it is, the longer a person can live and another gene is p16, which encodes a well known anti-cancer protein.

Telomerase has been linked to caloric restriction in previous studies.