Reader\'s Digest - 04.2020

Diabetes Drug

May Help Treat

Breast Cancer

In 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 FOODS

There’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 Voorhes

Reader’s Digest

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WORLD OF

MEDICINE

52 april 2020 | rd.com