Cancer thrives on glucose… and glutamine!

Let’s start with carbs…

• Cancer cells are greedy, sucking up more glucose than normal cells.

• Glucose is then converted to lactate which the cell can use to create the building blocks for new cancer cells.

• When glucose is in short supply, this “biomass synthesis” is slowed.

• Most normal cells adapt: they increase their use of fats for fuel

• The brain can’t use fats but evolution created a solution: Ketones

• When carb intake is low, the liver converts fats to energy molecules called ketones.

• Tumor cells suffer because they are not as fuel flexible as normal cells.

The glucose/insulin connection…

·       Carbohydrates spike blood sugar levels which in turn causes a spike in insulin secretion.

·       Insulin's job is to move glucose from the blood into cells. 

·       Unfortunately, cancer cells have more insulin receptors than normal cells.

·       Insulin is also an anabolic hormone, stimulating the “grow! grow! grow!” signals in cancer cells.

But what about glutamine…

·       Glutamine is an amino acid that is critical to the health of our immune system and the maintenance of muscle mass.

·       Given its importance, our bodies have developed a network of systems to ensure a smooth and steady supply.

1.    Getting it through dietary intake

2.    Recycling used parts within the cell

3.    Making new glutamine from other amino acids

4.    Extracting it from the microenvironment of the cell

5.    Borrowing it from neighboring cells

·       But cancer cells hijack these activities and turn them into factories to ensure a steady supply of glutamine.

·       Cancer cells ferment this glucose, yielding succinate, once again supplying the needed substrates for cancer cell growth and proliferation.

To sum it up: By controlling the flow of nutrients, you can put the brakes on (but not stop) the cancer cell’s access to the nutrients that it needs.