An increasing number of celebrities are being struck by pancreatic Cancer; Patrick Swayze, Luciano Pavarotti, Aretha Franklin, Karl Lagerfield and Steve Jobs, to name a few, were all sadly lost to Pancreatic Cancer.
The main risk factor for pancreatic cancer is, in fact, tobacco use, yet how can such a cancer be on the rise by 1.2% year on year for the last decade when tobacco use has plummeted continually every decade since the 1970s?
From 1990 to 2017, the number of pancreatic cancer cases more than double from 195,000 - 448,000. What's also more troubling is that the best strategy for survival of this Cancer is the Whipple technique first coined by Allen Whipple in 1935, which involves removing the head of the pancreas along with portions of the stomach, the first part of the small intestine, gall bladder and bile duct, the same technique that Steve Jobs refused to have and resisted for the 6-7 years he fought the terminal illness, understandably given the severity of this procedure.
Risk Factors With Your Control
On the assumption that you don't smoke tobacco, we need to understand other risk factors. Unfortunately, second-hand smoke is still a significant factor and increases the risk by over 50%. But the driving cause that is causing pancreatic Cancer to spike in light of plummeting tobacco use us in fact, obesity and, in particular excessive body fat accumulation around the mid-section, which is a well-known and heavily researched fact correlating chronic inflammatory physical state and glucose control issues.
Chronic pancreatitis patients have an 8-fold higher risk of developing pancreatic Cancer to drive the point home about inflammation within the body.
What you eat and drink impacts your pancreatic cancer risk by up to 30-50%. Foods that are processed, particularly meats that contain 'nitrosamines' which may also increase risk.
It is important to note that the confusion around whether meat is good or bad for us is due to inconsistencies within the research. Its accepted that cheap or processed meats, the sort you'll find in a fast food outlet, is unhealthy for us without any debate or question. But studies using high quality and, for example, grass-fed, organic pieces of meat remain less conclusive and inconsistent.
Interestingly nut consumption has been shown to significantly lower the risk of PC, even in light of the fact that many nuts contain phytic acid.
In addition to reducing your consumption of processed foods to avoid nitrosamines, reducing your consumption of processed and or cheap meats, increasing nut consumption and avoiding second-hand smoke at all costs, you can also increase consumption of tomatoes in your diet to help ramp up lycopene as well as carotenoids from other vegetables.
When it comes to supplementation, magnesium has a profound effect on reductions in pancreatic cancer risk. In studies conducted, those who ingest less than 75% of the RDA for magnesium had a shocking 76% greater risk of pancreatic cancer compared to those hitting or exceeding the magnesium RDA. (420mg / day for males and 320mg / day for females).
Magnesium is responsible for over 300 biological reactions, including blood glucose regulation, stress control, improved insulin regulation, adrenal support, heart health, and sleep improvement. Bizarrely this information is not widely shared, not to mention the fact that there is a large variety of magnesium. Fortunately, here at GSquared, we have done the homework for you and sourced the most high-quality blend possible with our Magnesium Glycinate. We prescribe it for those who have weight to lose, given its impact on blood insulin levels or those who have sleep issues, but it's great to know the additional benefits it can bring in the protection of this aggressive Cancer.
Take-Home Points
Magnesium deficiency is a big problem in the western world and can dramatically reduce PC risk.
Dietary adjustment plays a role, too; lycopene from tomatoes, carotenoids from vegetables, nuts are all helpful.
Nitrosamines from processed foods, particularly meat, can increase the risk.
Obesity and particularly mid-section body fat drive up the risk of PC. This is due to the correlation between stomach fat and chronic inflammation, and glucose management issues.
Second-hand tobacco smoke is a significant risk factor.