Diabetes Drug
May Help Treat
Breast CancerIn a new study,
researchers treated
certain types of breast
cancer cells in the lab
with metformin, a
medication used to
help lower the blood
sugar levels of people
with type 2 diabetes.
With less sugar to
feed on, these cells
developed a sugar
“addiction,” which
made them work
harder to break down
the sugar. That extra
effort in turn made
the cancer more vul-
nerable to treatment
with anticancer drugs.
Researchers found
that when metformin
was combined with
a cancer treatment,
the cancer cells’
growth slowed by
76 percent. This new
approach is particu-
larly promising for
treating triple-negative
breast cancer, an ag-
gressive form of the
disease that doesn’t
respond well to exist-
ing treatments.THE RISK OF NOT
TRYING NEW FOODSThere’s actually a scientific term for the
fear of tasting unfamiliar dishes: food
neophobia. It’s not just the name that can
be scary. A study from Finland and Estonia
found that people with this trait eat lower-
quality diets overall and have an increased
risk of type 2 diabetes—regardless of their
age, sex, or weight. To add more variety
to your diet, you’ll need to be persistent.
“An individual may need to try a new food
10 to 15 times before getting accustomed to
it,” says study coauthor Heikki Sarin.Photograph by The VoorhesReader’s Digest
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52 april 2020 | rd.com