STEVE JOBS, CANCER AND VEGETARIANISM
Original article written by Robert Su, M.D.
On October 5, 2011, Mr. Steve Jobs, 56, former CEO of Apple, Inc. passed away.
On September 9, 2011, I published an article, entitled, “Cancer and High-Carb Diet Forums.” I wrote it for alerting every one of the ill impacts of high carbohydrate diet on the health.
In the article, I mentioned that readers of this website as well as my Facebook asked me if I would write to Steve Jobs with advice for him on his terminal pancreatic cancer.
I did, but did not hear from him or anyone around him. When I was writing Steve Jobs with advice, someone warned me that Steve Jobs was a vegetarian. This person even bet that Steve Jobs would not accept any advice such as mine against his vegetarianism.
A news report on his death mentioned that Steve Jobs was a Buddhist. Buddhist’s vegetarianism is based on its core principle “against killing.” And, I highly admire that.
However, I often warn others who are vegetarians about the health hazards of vegetarian diet without modification.
Although I cannot determine if Steve Jobs was a victim of vegetarian diet, I suspect that it might likely be the case, because vegetarian diet commonly uses carbohydrates as its staple foods.
I posted a comment on the Wall Street Journal upon Steve Jobs’ passing, “I am saddened by the untimely loss of Steve Jobs, who made a great change in modern technology.
I am even more disappointed with the fact that modern medicine has failed to recognize the strong link of dietary carbohydrates to the development and proliferation of most, if not all, cancers.
Interestingly and yet importantly, we have realized many types of cancer cells are depending on glucose for their survival and metastasis.
The use of glucose derivatives tagged tracer for detecting cancers with PET scan is a proof for the close link between glucose and cancer.
The most serious mistake that modern medicine has made is the failure of recognizing the positive relationship between the amount of dietary carbohydrates and the level of blood glucose.
I wholeheartedly hope many more colleagues in the medical academic and clinical fields will wake up to this important approach for cancer prevention and treatment –carbohydrate restriction.”
Dr. Pinna says:
This concept: That blood sugar in the form of glucose results in the growth of cancer cells, is highly controversial.
However, it is very logical given the evidence before us.
Glucose is the primary source of energy for all cells. Of course, cancer cells are normal cells turned irrepressible and they need energy as do all cells. Glucose is the obvious source of that energy.
Vegetarianism is a diet that provides more glucose than a diet based on meat. Many animals live on a pure meat diet. Humans can survive with either diet.
Dr. Su’s position is that we evolved as meat eaters and it is a mistake (which encourages cancer to grow) when we base our diet on vegetables, which are, essentially, carbohydrates or glucose in disguise.
