Mind & Matter
Whether food, drugs or ideas, what you consume influences who you become. Learn directly from the best scientists & thinkers alive today about how your mind-body reacts to what you feed it.
The weekly M&M podcast features conversations with the most interesting scientists, thinkers, and technology entrepreneurs alive today.
Not medical advice.
At M&M, we are interested in trying to figure out how things work, not affirming our existing beliefs. We prefer consulting primary rather than secondary sources and independent rather than institutional voices. If we encounter uncomfortable truths or the evidence suggests unfashionable ideas may be valid, so be it.
As the host, my aim is to help you better understand how the body & mind work by curating & synthesizing information in a way that yields science-based insights that you can choose to use or disregard in your own life. Taking ownership of your health starts with taking ownership of your information diet.
I am motivated to connect the dots and distill general principles from what I learn, preferring to ask questions and play devil’s advocate to debating or incessantly pushing my own viewpoint.
My beliefs:
- Taking ownership of your health starts with taking ownership of your information diet.
- All knowledge is provisional and we must work hard to prevent ourselves from becoming attached to our favorite ideas & preferred conclusions.
- Wisdom comes from an iterative, trial-and-error process of learning and unlearning. Letting go of pre-conceived notions can be painful, but pain is information.
Sometimes modern discoveries teach us we must unlearn received wisdom. Other times, modern information overload & historical chauvinism cause us to forget ancient wisdom which stills applies. The framework for learning that I embody is inspired by three Ancient Greek maxims inscribed in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi:
- “Γνῶθι σεαυτόν” (Know thyself)
- “Μηδὲν ἄγαν” (Nothing in excess)
- “Ἐγγύα πάρα δ Ἄτα” (Certainty brings insanity)
Mind & Matter
Cancer Metabolism: Sugar, Fructose, Lipids & Fasting | Gary Patti | Episode 215
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How dietary fructose affects the growth rate of cancer.
About the guest: Gary Patti, PhD is a professor at Washington University in St. Louis, holding appointments in chemistry, medicine, and genetics
Episode Summary: Nick Jikomes talks to Dr. Patti, exploring how cancer cells metabolize sugars like glucose and fructose, focusing on a recent study showing fructose indirectly boosts tumor growth in mice via liver-produced lipids called LPCs. The discussion covers cancer biology basics, Warburg effect, tumor microenvironments, and systemic metabolic impacts of cancer, while also touching on dietary implications, fasting, and the complexities of nutrient use in cancer progression.
Key Takeaways:
- Cancer cells often rely heavily on glucose, excreting it as lactate even when oxygen is available (Warburg effect), but take up more than their mitochondria can handle.
- In a study, high fructose diets accelerated tumor growth in mice by 4x, not because cancer cells use fructose directly, but because the liver converts it to LPCs, which tumors use to build membranes.
- Tumors are not just cancer cells; they recruit healthy cells in their microenvironment, and their metabolic effects ripple across the entire body, altering distant tissues.
- Excessive fructose consumption may worsen tumor growth, but cutting it poses little risk and could benefit cancer patients, pending human studies.
- Fasting may reduce cancer initiation risk in animals, but its effect on existing tumors is less clear and could worsen wasting (cachexia) in late stages.
- The body tightly regulates blood glucose via the liver, so simply cutting dietary glucose won’t starve tumors, highlighting cancer’s metabolic adaptability.
Related episode:
- M&M #200: Dietary Fats & Seed Oils in Inflammation, Colon Cancer
*Not medical advice.
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