In my every day average life, it is not in a language I speak. In my opinion, the news release is all very technical and scientifically worded -- basically a snoozefest for the pedestrian reader -- but it's interesting because of the common links found in the function of insulin, hormones, diabetes, obesity and cancer. Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research UCL Branch and the UCL Centre for Diabetes & Endocrinology researchers found the commonality by studying the function of the molecule p110 alpha, the flag-ship molecule of the eight member PI3K family, which is one of the most frequently activated pathways in cancer. According to the researchers, this study yielded information that could affect millions of people with metabolic disorders and cancer. The rest of the news release is found here.

The reason I am mentioning it at all, is the research reminds me of information I found four years ago when I read The Breast Cancer Prevention Diet by Dr. Bob Arnot. Dr. Arnot, NBC News chief medical correspondent, began researching breast cancer prevention after his mother-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer. His book was the first I came across that suggested insulin level was something to pay attention to for women interested in breast cancer prevention, and he outlined the reasons why a low glycemic diet was important for cancer prevention. Dr. Arnot's book includes a great deal of information about nutrition and diet, and I would recommend it to any woman newly-diagnosed with breast cancer and women interested in reducing their breast cancer risks.

As a cancer survivor, I am interested in any information that might aid in my survival. Even if you have not been diagnosed with cancer, or diabetes, or one of the many metabolic diseases that people suffer, it is common sense that maintaining steady insulin levels is important to long-term good health. Without ever knowing or understanding a thing about the molecule p110 alpha, we can benefit by learning about how foods affect our health in helping prevent the onset of many diseases. Sometimes I get the feeling disease, any disease, is the result of a complex falling domino-effect of causes. I am not sure how many dominos we can prevent from collapsing into each other, but I am fairly certain we can make a difference in how fast some of them fall.