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MRI Shows Cancer Cells Thrive on Processed Sugar
by Amanda Froelich
True Activist
Want to improve your health? Change your diet! This message is slowly permeating mainstream society, but has yet to convince fast-food lovers and sugary-treat fanatics. Largely unaware of food consequences, many still dive into high-fat, high-sugar food options without a second thought; but a recent study affirming that Cancer cells grow and thrive on processed sugar may change that.
Nature Medicine recently confirmed that processed sugar is one of the primary driving forces behind the growth and spread of Cancer tumors. The results were so conclusive, in fact, that future Cancer screening may rely on scanning the body for accumulated sugar for signs of the disease.
The University College London (UCL) in the U.K. made this discovery after experimenting with a new Cancer detection method that involves utilizing a unique form of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The scientists sensitized a MRI scanner to look specifically for glucose in the body, and it revealed that cancer tumors – which have been shown to feed off sugar – light up brightly as they contain high amounts of sugar.
Explained by a recent UCL announcement, “The new technique, called ‘glucose chemical exchange saturation transfer’ (glucoCEST), is based on the fact that tumors consume much more glucose (a type of sugar) than normal, healthy tissues in order to sustain their growth.” On the update given by the university, it was noted that tumors appear as “bright images” on the scanner.
When traditionally scanning for Cancer, the use of low-dose radiation injections are used to identify the presence of tumors. This makes sense, as radiation is another known cause of cancer, but such an injection is not optimal due to its potential side effects. However, this method works because the things that trigger and promote Cancer to develop and spread can also be used by doctors to detect it inside the body. And sugar can now officially be added to that list.
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Source: http://www.riseearth.com/2014/04/mri-shows-cancer-cells-thrive-on.html
