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WORRIED ABOUT PANCREATIC CANCER? YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS

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There remains no doubt that pancreatic cancer is one of the more devastating cancers.  Survival times are short and 5 year survival rates are almost unheard of.  Treatment rarely improves outcomes while reducing quality of life.  With all their resources, even Steve Jobs and Patrick Swayze were not able to overcome pancreatic cancer.  For all these reasons and more, prevention remains key.

Many still do not understand that pancreatic cancer is heavily preventable and this is not the first time I have posted on this topic.  There is a very, very strong relationship to the diabetic progression and pancreatic cancer.  That means that merely being on the path to diabetes massively increases your risk for one of the deadliest cancers humans can experience.

I am posting again purely to remind all of the Rantings readers again that living an anti-diabetic lifestyle is NOT just about avoiding diabetes.  A pro-diabetic lifestyle is, ultimately, an early death sentence.  Heart attack, stroke, cancer, kidney failure.  Take your pick.  It likely won’t be diabetes that will kill you, it will be something that diabetes increases your risk for.

Basically, in this particular study, those having been recently diagnosed with diabetes (< 2 years duration) were at an over 500% increased risk of pancreatic cancer.  Whether this indicates that the early stages of pancreatic cancer was actually the cause of the diabetes or whether the progression to diabetes increased the risk of the cancer does not really matter.  Much research supports the later and that lifestyle changes that lower the risk of diabetes also lower the risk of pancreatic cancer.

What are you waiting for?

SIMPLE VITAMIN HELPS PANCREAS

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A little background here.  Personally, I think there is nothing more important to the human physiology as managing the relationship between our cells, glucose, insulin and our pancreas.  There is nothing more crucial to our longevity than this.  Period.

Our pancreas is composed of two main types of endocrine cells.  The alpha cells release a hormone called glucagon.  Glucagon helps us to keep a steady level of glucose in the bloodstream so we don’t do bad things like slip into a hypoglycemic coma.  The other cell is the beta cell that produces insulin.

The beta cells, however, have a problem.  They can only do so much work for so long.  Anything that damages them worsens our ability to manage glucose.  Chronic intakes of poor quality diets will do this.  Some diabetic drugs (the sulfonylureas are notorious for burning out the beta cells of the pancreas!) will also contribute to the death of the beta cells.

In a sick twist, high levels of glucose produce oxidative stress within a cell.  The beta cells of the pancreas, the very cells that we need to produce insulin and protect us from high blood sugar, are poorly protected against oxidative stress and vulnerable to dying off when blood sugar is elevated.

Because of this, anything we can do to protect and support the beta cells is a very good thing.  This particular study finds that Vitamin D, among the seemingly hundreds of other benefits, also supports the health of the beta cell. 

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