# New medical discovery - Refined fructose sugar supercharges cancer, but \*not\* glucose sugar **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 3, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-medical-discovery-refined-fructose-sugar-supercharges-cancer-but-not-glucose-sugar/548962 "2010-08-03T02:27:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-medical-discovery-refined-fructose-sugar-supercharges-cancer-but-not-glucose-sugar/548962/1 "2010-08-03T02:27:45Z")
[Cancer cells feed on fructose, study finds - Research shows the refined sugar helps cancer cells proliferate](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38528161/ns/health-cancer) The common medical nutritional wisdom that all sugars are the same is apparently not true when it comes to cancer. > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON — 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.” ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-medical-discovery-refined-fructose-sugar-supercharges-cancer-but-not-glucose-sugar/548962/2 "2010-08-03T02:38:40Z")
Short of actually _shooting_ you, is there any way fructose _doesn’t_ contribute to your demise? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-medical-discovery-refined-fructose-sugar-supercharges-cancer-but-not-glucose-sugar/548962/3 "2010-08-03T03:10:31Z")
In the words of Cartman… sweet. ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-medical-discovery-refined-fructose-sugar-supercharges-cancer-but-not-glucose-sugar/548962/4 "2010-08-03T03:59:49Z")
Now that HFCS has been linked to cancer as well as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, strokes, excessive flatulence and spontaneous decapitation, is it likely that the multi-billion-dollar processed food industry will take notice and switch to more healthy, yet expensive, food additives? No, of course not. It’s the children who are wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-medical-discovery-refined-fructose-sugar-supercharges-cancer-but-not-glucose-sugar/548962/5 "2010-08-03T04:02:56Z")
Fructose sucks, pure and simple. Even thirty years ago, Linus Pauling recommended that humans restrict their fructose intake to no more that eight grams a day. This latest research just further vilifies a substance that has already been demonstrated to vastly accelerate the pathogenesis of diabetes, degenerative atherosclerosis, and the aging process in general. [Long-Term Fructose Consumption Accelerates Glycation and Several Age-Related Variables in Male Rats](http://www.ericlevonian.com/Long-Term%20Fructose%20Consumption%20Accelerates%20Glycation%20and%20Several%20Age%20-Related%20Variables%20in%20Rats) [Fructose Intake Increases Hyperlipidemia and Modifies Apolipoprotein Expression in Apolipoprotein AI-CIII-AIV Transgenic Mice](http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/132/5/918) [Sugar and Aging](http://www.ericlevonian.com/Sugar%20and%20Aging) ---
**Author:** ![supergoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@supergoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supergoose)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-medical-discovery-refined-fructose-sugar-supercharges-cancer-but-not-glucose-sugar/548962/6 "2010-08-03T04:09:50Z")
Forgive my ignorance, but do sources of fructose include fruit, honey, etc? Or are we talking processed sugar? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-medical-discovery-refined-fructose-sugar-supercharges-cancer-but-not-glucose-sugar/548962/7 "2010-08-03T04:09:53Z")
> [@fuzzypickles](#): > > Now that HFCS has been linked to cancer as well as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, strokes, excessive flatulence and spontaneous decapitation, is it likely that the multi-billion-dollar processed food industry will take notice and switch to more healthy, yet expensive, food additives? > > No, of course not. It’s the children who are wrong. “\ \ choice \ \ \ free to choose \ \ healthy options \ \.” ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-medical-discovery-refined-fructose-sugar-supercharges-cancer-but-not-glucose-sugar/548962/8 "2010-08-03T04:21:49Z")
> [@supergoose](#): > > Forgive my ignorance, but do sources of fructose include fruit, honey, etc? Or are we talking processed sugar? Yeah, I eat a lot of raw fruit. Is this a problem for me? Roddy ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-medical-discovery-refined-fructose-sugar-supercharges-cancer-but-not-glucose-sugar/548962/9 "2010-08-03T04:25:45Z")
> [@supergoose](#): > > Forgive my ignorance, but do sources of fructose include fruit, honey, etc? Or are we talking processed sugar? Wiki on [fructose](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructose) > [@](#): > > Fructose is a white solid that dissolves in water – it is the most water-soluble of all the sugars.[3] Honey, tree fruits, berries, melons, and some root vegetables contain significant amounts of molecular fructose, usually in combination with glucose, stored in the form of sucrose. About 240,000 tonnes of crystalline fructose are produced annually.[4] > > Fructose is a component of sucrose. Sucrose is a disaccharide derived from the condensation of glucose and fructose. Fructose is derived from the digestion of table sugar (sucrose). > > Crystalline fructose and high-fructose corn syrup are often confused as the same product. Crystalline fructose, which is often produced from a fructose-enriched corn syrup, is indeed the monosaccharide. High-fructose corn syrup, however, refers to a family of mixtures of varying amounts of fructose and glucose. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-medical-discovery-refined-fructose-sugar-supercharges-cancer-but-not-glucose-sugar/548962/10 "2010-08-03T04:29:55Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > > [@supergoose](#): > > > > Forgive my ignorance, but do sources of fructose include fruit, honey, etc? Or are we talking processed sugar? > > Yeah, I eat a lot of raw fruit. Is this a problem for me? > Roddy It doesn’t say anything abut fructose \*predisposing \*you to cancer, only if you get it cancer uses it (but not glucose) to proliferate. The issue is that you will never know you have it until way too late. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-medical-discovery-refined-fructose-sugar-supercharges-cancer-but-not-glucose-sugar/548962/11 "2010-08-03T04:33:42Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > > [@supergoose](#): > > > > Forgive my ignorance, but do sources of fructose include fruit, honey, etc? Or are we talking processed sugar? > > Yeah, I eat a lot of raw fruit. Is this a problem for me? Very possibly. I’ve read that autopsies done on fruitarians (a peculiar brand of veganism whose adherents eat raw fruit almost exclusively) have demonstrated a considerable amount of liver damage in these individuals. All ingested fructose is converted to glucose before it is utilized, and this conversion takes place entirely in the liver. ---
**Author:** ![supergoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@supergoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supergoose)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-medical-discovery-refined-fructose-sugar-supercharges-cancer-but-not-glucose-sugar/548962/12 "2010-08-03T04:47:11Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Wiki on [fructose](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructose) > > > [@](#): > > > > Fructose is a white solid that dissolves in water – it is the most water-soluble of all the sugars.[3] Honey, tree fruits, berries, melons, and some root vegetables contain significant amounts of molecular fructose, usually in combination with glucose, stored in the form of sucrose. About 240,000 tonnes of crystalline fructose are produced annually.[4] > > > > Fructose is a component of sucrose. Sucrose is a disaccharide derived from the condensation of glucose and fructose. Fructose is derived from the digestion of table sugar (sucrose). > > > > Crystalline fructose and high-fructose corn syrup are often confused as the same product. Crystalline fructose, which is often produced from a fructose-enriched corn syrup, is indeed the monosaccharide. High-fructose corn syrup, however, refers to a family of mixtures of varying amounts of fructose and glucose. Thank you. What root vegetables are they referring to? ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-medical-discovery-refined-fructose-sugar-supercharges-cancer-but-not-glucose-sugar/548962/13 "2010-08-03T05:53:33Z")
Ouch - given that diabetics were urged to use fructose, and people who wanted to avoid regular table sugar! I tend to use my morning tablespoon of raisins as my only fruit other than I do use lime and lemon juices as souring agents a lot [I think I manage to use about 2 teaspoons of citrus a day to spike my water or brighten a recipe up.] I don’t think I will go out of my way to avoid real fruit but I have already cut HFCS out of my diet and can avoid any other use of fructose. [HFCS is a migraine trigger for me] ---
**Author:** ![GSV\_Consolation\_of\_Dreams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f1d935/32.png) [@GSV\_Consolation\_of\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GSV_Consolation_of_Dreams)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-medical-discovery-refined-fructose-sugar-supercharges-cancer-but-not-glucose-sugar/548962/14 "2010-08-03T06:37:59Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > > [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > > > Yeah, I eat a lot of raw fruit. Is this a problem for me? > > Very possibly. I’ve read that autopsies done on fruitarians (a peculiar brand of veganism whose adherents eat raw fruit almost exclusively) have demonstrated a considerable amount of liver damage in these individuals. All ingested fructose is converted to glucose before it is utilized, and this conversion takes place entirely in the liver. I’m not a fruitarian. But I do use quite a lot of honey, in my lemon tea mostly. Would I be better off using table sugar instead? ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-medical-discovery-refined-fructose-sugar-supercharges-cancer-but-not-glucose-sugar/548962/15 "2010-08-03T07:12:52Z")
It really wouldn’t make any difference. Sucrose and honey both provide about the same amount of fructose on a per weight basis. If you’re concerned about your fructose intake, a more viable solution would be to use glucose (dextrose) as a sweetener. Unfortunately, you can’t find it in a supermarket (except in the form of corn syrup) and it’s hard to find even in health food stores. You’ll most likely have to buy it online or from a brewing supply house. I buy it in 50-pound bags from [from an online supplier](http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/dextrose50lb.aspx?gclid=CJ2D8frtoJ4CFSFRagodkXmklg) and store it in a sealed plastic bucket. ---
**Author:** ![Todderbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Todderbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Todderbob)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-medical-discovery-refined-fructose-sugar-supercharges-cancer-but-not-glucose-sugar/548962/16 "2010-08-03T07:15:14Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > Short of actually _shooting_ you, is there any way fructose _doesn’t_ contribute to your demise? Uhm, the twinky defense… Apparently it can shoot you. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-medical-discovery-refined-fructose-sugar-supercharges-cancer-but-not-glucose-sugar/548962/17 "2010-08-03T07:39:40Z")
But the article fails to say if the cancer cells were fed in a petrie dish or did they mean fed via human intake? The two don’t always produce the same results. Sometimes they do, but not always. So I think you really have to look at the data carefully before you can say. It may be true, but you can’t tell from that article. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-medical-discovery-refined-fructose-sugar-supercharges-cancer-but-not-glucose-sugar/548962/18 "2010-08-03T08:31:06Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > But the article fails to say if the cancer cells were fed in a petrie dish or did they mean fed via human intake? No, keep reading. It says near the end of the article that it was an in vitro culture. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-medical-discovery-refined-fructose-sugar-supercharges-cancer-but-not-glucose-sugar/548962/19 "2010-08-03T08:38:06Z")
[Abstract](http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/70/15/6368.abstract) > [@](#): > > Carbohydrate metabolism via glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle is pivotal for cancer growth, and increased refined carbohydrate consumption adversely affects cancer survival. Traditionally, glucose and fructose have been considered as interchangeable monosaccharide substrates that are similarly metabolized, and little attention has been given to sugars other than glucose. However, fructose intake has increased dramatically in recent decades and cellular uptake of glucose and fructose uses distinct transporters. Here, we report that fructose provides an alternative substrate to induce pancreatic cancer cell proliferation. Importantly, fructose and glucose metabolism are quite different; in comparison with glucose, fructose induces thiamine-dependent transketolase flux and is preferentially metabolized via the nonoxidative pentose phosphate pathway to synthesize nucleic acids and increase uric acid production. These findings show that cancer cells can readily metabolize fructose to increase proliferation. 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. Cancer Res; 70(15); 6368–76. ©2010 AACR. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-medical-discovery-refined-fructose-sugar-supercharges-cancer-but-not-glucose-sugar/548962/20 "2010-08-03T13:35:57Z")
> [@astro](#): > > [Abstract](http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/70/15/6368.abstract) > > > [@](#): > > > > Carbohydrate metabolism via glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle is pivotal for cancer growth, and increased refined carbohydrate consumption adversely affects cancer survival. It’s pivotal for normal cells as well. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-medical-discovery-refined-fructose-sugar-supercharges-cancer-but-not-glucose-sugar/548962.md?page=2)