Hidden Biology of Addiction and Cancer – Bionicoldguy

This is the title of a fascinating book by Dr. Rafael E. Quomo, a professor at the University of California, the San Diego Medical School. The main thesis is that addictive behavior makes us more susceptible to cancer. And addiction is not just a drug abuse such as drugs, alcohol or smoking, but it occurs in many other forms that are common in our modern society. These include addiction to social media or other « screen forms » and thirst for unprocessed foods.

D -Koo shows in detail the ways in which they grow in the risk of cancer through various mechanisms such as weakening our immune system, increase in chronic inflammation, insulting insulin signaling, and disabled repair mechanisms. Fortunately, all this can be improved by changing lifestyle such as reduced screen time, better sleep, better diet and exercise. This list is remarkably similar to the one you would read about lifestyle and aging, so for me it was more motivation to continue working on lifestyle measures that I was already pursuing for healthy aging. I strongly recommend this interesting and well -written book.