New Research: Overeating Could Feed Cancer Tumors

(NaturalNews) A host of religious and spiritual traditions, as well as many natural health advocates, have long advocated periods of fasting. And in recent decades, scientists have found that calorie restriction appears to increase life span and may slow down aging. Now new research just published in the online issue of the journal Nature suggests restricting calories could help fight some cancers.Scientists at the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, have pinpointed aArticles Related to This Article: &bullThe mineral selenium proves itself as powerful anti-cancer medicine&bullCancer is not a Disease It's a Survival Mechanism (Book Excerpt)&bullNew research shows vitamin D slashes risk of cancers by 77 percentcancer industry refuses to support cancer prevention NaturalNews Store Specials: &bullRaw organic Vanilla powder at 40off &bullSunWarrior Ormus Greens at 20off (3-pack) &bullRevolutionary new Hurom Slow Juicer at the lowest price on the 'net FREE shipping! &bullCertified Organic Nutiva Hemp Seeds at a huge discount (FREE bottle of hemp oil) See more at the NN store... (NaturalNewsA host of religious and spiritual traditionsas well as many natural health advocateshave long advocated periods of fastingAnd in recent decadesscientists have found that calorie restriction appears to increase life span and may slow down agingNow new research just published in the online issue of the journal Nature suggests restricting calories could help fight some cancers.Scientists at the Whitehead Institute in CambridgeMassachusettshave pinpointed a cellular pathway that could explain why some cancerous tumors respond to dietary restrictionBy studying human prostatebreastbrainand colon cancer cell lines in micethe researchers discovered that when this pathway (identified as PI3Kis permanently "turned onthrough a mutationcancer tumors grow and spread no matter how much food is consumedBut when the PI3K pathway operates normallya 60 percent restriction of dietary calories results in far smallerweaker tumors.In a statement to mediathe researchers noted the link between food consumption and cancer growth has long been knownFor examplein the early 20th Centuryscientists found there was a correlation between a restricted diet and a decrease in some tumorssize and incidence."Our findings indicate that each tumor cell bears a signature that determines whether or not that cell will be affected by dietary restriction,Nada Kalaanyfirst author of the paper and a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Whitehead scientist David Sabatinisaid in the press statement"We think that mutations in the PI3K pathway are a major determinant of the sensitivity of tumors to dietary restriction."DrSabatini added that the results of DrKalaany's research could lead to cancer treatments tailored specifically to the characteristics of an individual person's cancer tumor cellsHe also pointed out in a media statement that the relationship between too much food and an increase in tumors was intriguing"We already know that the United States has an epidemic of obesity and that obesity is probably the biggest contributor to cancer in the U.S.even more so than smokingDoes this research have anything to do with that correlation between obesity and cancerthat if we make animals really obesethat this pathway is also involved in determining their sensitivity to cancerAnswering that question is the next step,he stated.An earlier study by Swedish researchers published in theJournal of the American Medical Association found that caloric restriction in early life greatly reduced the risk of invasive breast cancer in womenIn addition to possibly helping fight cancercalorie restriction was shown in recent research by the Salk Institute to improve the memory of elderly adults.For more information:http://www.wi.mit.edu/news/archives...http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/conten...http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2...ShareyahooBuzzArticleHeadline "New ResearchOvereating Could Feed Cancer Tumors";yahooBuzzArticleCategory "health";yahooBuzzArticleType "text";yahooBuzzArticleId window.location.href;digg_topic 'HEALTH';About the authorSherry Baker is a widely published writer whose work has appeared in NewsweekHealththe Atlanta Journal and ConstitutionYoga JournalOptometryAtlantaArthritis Today Natural Healing NewsletterOMNI UCLA's "Healthy YearsnewsletterMount Sinai School of Medicine's "Focus on Health Agingnewsletterthe Cleveland Clinic's "Men's Health Advisornewsletter and many others. Get articles like this delivered to you FREE in our popular email newsletter

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