
Recently, I heard about someone with breast cancer who starved their body to avoid chemotherapy. Ever since, the guts and I have been wondering: Can you starve cancer by following a certain diet? Or is it only a preventative measure? Because not eating seems.. hard.
So we starting researching and came across this July 2013 Ted Talk by William Li about diet and cancer prevention. That's 200% awesome if you don't have cancer. But what if you already have it?
Researchers already knew, in 1923, that cancer cells use a ton of glucose (the nutrient we get from digesting carbohydrates) - more than regular cells. This is because they grow much faster than normal cells, so they need the extra energy. If you starve your body, even for a few hours, your cells can switch to using fat or protein. But do cancer cells do the same thing?
Research from MIT says yes. Lucky for us, then, in July 2013 some great people at the University of Southampton have found something that cancer cells need for survival that normal cells don't need. More research from July 2013, thanks to the Thomas Jefferson University, resulted in this study about starving cancer cells through manipulating diet.
Have you tried a diet approach to overcoming cancer, or know someone who has? Or do you think it's all a bunch of bunk?

- These guys figured out how to grow mini pancreases.
- It's located behind your stomach, but in front of your spine.
- The pancreas shares a duct with the liver and gallbladder. It's called the Ampulla of Vater & is not anyone's father.
- It also makes hormones that keep blood sugar levels from getting too high or low.
- Pancreases make enzymes to help digest your food: amylases (breaks down carbohydrates), proteases (breaks down protein), and lipases(breaks down fat)!
- A shortage of amylase or lipase can cause diarrhea, because colons hate undigested starch; if you don't have enough protease, this can cause allergic reactions because of partially digested chunks of protein.
- Your pancreas is part of the endocrine system because it releases hormones into the blood (a closed, internal circuit); but it's also part of the exocrine system, because it releases enzymes into the digestive tract, which is considered an external tract, since it begins and ends with the outside world.
Have more interesting facts about the pancreas? Share below!
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