Health and Lifestyle
Intermittent Fasting and Keto Diet for Cancer Prevention and Treatment
Clues from preliminary research worth investigation and follow-ups in cancer research.
Introduction and Context
Cancer is a very complex and multifaceted disease. It is overwhelming, causing millions of death globally. Cancer research, as a multi-disciplinary study, is making relatively slow progress compared to other diseases.
Nevertheless, millions of dollars are spent globally on understanding the nature of this challenging disease, preventing it, and treating the patients. New theories are being developed.
Each idea brings hope to humanity. For example, the National Library of Medicine (PubMed.gov) includes over four million scientific papers related to cancer.
Emerging technology tools and scientific methods contribute to the body of knowledge. I introduced oncology (the study and treatment of tumors) and genetics in this article titled Practical Use of Artificial Intelligence in Oncology & Genetics: Chapter 6: How AI and deep neural networks contribute to cancer & genomics research.
This article provides an overview of the relevant studies mentioning intermittent fasting and ketogenic diets within the cancer prevention and treatment context.
My aim is to create further visibility on the possibilities of using these natural practices that can be confirmed with new studies.
A Brief Review of Ketogenic Diet & Intermittent Fasting Papers for Cancer Research
When I searched PubMed for studies related to the possibilities of the ketogenic diet for cancer research, I found 400 studies. But more interestingly, cancer research pertaining to intermittent fasting produced 8,234 results.
As I have been practicing both intermittent fasting and ketogenic diet for over a decade, I reviewed several outstanding papers related to cancer research. In this post, I highlight a few of them to provide a perspective on the possibilities of these natural practices for future research.
The ketogenic diet has a long history spanning from 500 BC. It has been used as a treatment for epilepsy since the 1920s. Within the last 15 years, research on the ketogenic diet significantly increased.
Fasting as a medical, cultural, and religious practice has taken place for centuries. As a result, research into fasting is prominent too. While the primary research focus of fasting was on metabolic research, there is a tremendous interest in its potential for cancer research.
Both the ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting aim to deal with excess body fat and obesity naturally. There appears to be a strong association between obesity and cancer from the reviewed literature.
According to CHS (Centers for Health Statistics), 42.4% of US adults were obese in 2018. Stats were higher for men showing (43%) and a little lower for women depicting (41.9%). The report highlights that almost half of the US population is obese. A similar situation occurs in many developed countries.
As cited in this paper, “on a worldwide basis, obesity affects more than 110 million children and 640 million adults. When combined with its precursor, overweight and obesity are estimated to affect two billion people worldwide. If current trends continue, the worldwide prevalence of obesity is predicted to reach 18% in men and exceed 21% in women by 2025.”
Metabolic syndrome is one of the root causes of obesity. And obesity is associated with type two diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mentioned that many people died from these diseases, such as 659,041 from heart disease, 599,601 from cancer, 150,005 from stroke, and 87,647 from diabetes.
A paper titled “Obesity and Diabetes: The Increased Risk of Cancer and Cancer-Related Mortality” points out that “obesity and type 2 diabetes are becoming increasingly prevalent worldwide. Both are associated with an increased incidence and mortality from many cancers. The metabolic abnormalities associated with type 2 diabetes develop many years before the onset of diabetes and, therefore, may be contributing to cancer risk before individuals are aware that they are at risk.”
The association between obesity and cancer relates to one of the characteristics of cancer which is growth. Cancer cells continuously grow and spread to various parts of the body and organs.
A paper titled Obesity and cancer — mechanisms underlying tumor progression and recurrence mentions that “Over the past several years, the field of cancer research has directed increased interest towards subsets of obesity-associated tumors, which include mammary, renal, oesophageal, gastrointestinal and reproductive cancers in both men and women. The increased risk of breast cancer that is associated with obesity has been widely reported”.
The key point in this paper is that “the obese setting provides a unique adipose tissue microenvironment with concomitant systemic endocrine alterations that favor both tumor initiation and progression.”
This study, discussing the results of studies concerning the relationship between low-carbohydrate diets and fasting and the course of cancer, points out that “The differences between the metabolism and the physiology of cancer cells and the cells of the human body are assessed and used in most anticancer treatments. These differences encompass, among others, increased glucose metabolism in the changed cells.”
Cancer cells are mainly fed by glucose and amino acids such as glutamine. For example, this paper points out that “Besides fast glucose catabolism, many types of cancers are characterized by elevated glutamine consumption. Medical oncology pursuits to block specific pathways, mainly glycolysis and glutaminolysis, in tumor cells to arrest cancer development.”
Considering this statement, we know that during fasting, glucose and intake of glutamine substantially decrease. So fasting creates a favorable environment for arresting cancer development.
As pointed out in this study (Ketogenic Diets and Cancer: Emerging Evidence), “Use of the keto diet as an adjuvant to cancer therapy began to emerge. In 1922, Braunstein noted that glucose disappeared from the urine of patients with diabetes after they were diagnosed with cancer, suggesting that glucose is recruited to cancerous areas where it is consumed at higher than normal rates.”
In addition, the paper informs that “During that same time, Nobel laureate Otto Warburg found that cancer cells thrive on glycolysis, producing high lactate levels, even in the presence of abundant oxygen. Warburg conducted many in vitro and animal experiments demonstrating this outcome, known as the Warburg effect.”
This paper on Nature Endocrinology informs that “Cancer is driven by incremental changes that accumulate, eventually leading to oncogenic transformation. Although genetic alterations dominate the way cancer biologists think about oncogenesis, growing evidence suggests that systemic factors (for example, insulin, estrogen, and inflammatory cytokines) and their intracellular pathways activate oncogenic signals and contribute to targetable phenotypes. Systemic factors can have a critical role in both tumor initiation and therapeutic responses as increasingly targeted and personalized therapeutic regimens are used to treat patients with cancer.”
This paper, “The emerging role of ketogenic diets in cancer treatment” points out that “Altered glucose metabolism in cancer cells is an almost ubiquitous observation, yet hardly exploited therapeutically. However, in recent years, ketogenic diets have gained growing attention as a nontoxic broad-spectrum approach to target this major metabolic difference between normal and cancer cells. Although much research still needs to be done, new knowledge has been gained about the optimal utilization of ketogenic diets for cancer treatment.”
The key points intermittent fasting and ketogenic diets contribute related to growth factors such as IGF-1, [Insulin-like growth factor-1], (activated by blood glucose), mTOR (raised by protein), and AMKP (by overall calories). To this end, cancer researchers target the PI3K pathway.
For example, this study points out that “Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling is one of the most important intracellular pathways, which can be considered as a master regulator for cancer. Therefore, enormous efforts have been dedicated to the development of drugs targeting PI3K signaling, many of which are currently employed in clinical trial evaluation, and it is becoming increasingly clear that PI3K inhibitors are effective in inhibiting tumor progression.”
As mentioned in this NIH paper, “obesity is second only to tobacco as a preventable cause of cancer in the US. By multifactorial and often additive mechanisms, obesity leads to the development and promotion of 40% of the cancers diagnosed in this country, including post-menopausal breast, endometrial, colorectal, kidney, liver, and pancreatic cancers, among others.”
Another link between obesity and cancer is believed to be chronic inflammation, as pointed out in this paper. We know that fasting and ketogenic diets significantly reduce inflammation. Ketones created during fasting and a keto diet are not only an energy source but also serve as signaling molecules for inflammation.
As mentioned in this story, healthy fats have been demonized for many years due to insufficient scientific evidence, and low-fat diets created bad results contributing to obesity globally. Ketogenic diets focus on healthy fats and have the ability to reduce body fat and have the potential to reduce obesity.
Apart from growth, cancer spreads from where it started to a distant part of the body. It is called metastatic cancer. Many types of cancer it is also called stage four cancer. The process by which cancer cells spread to other parts of the body is called metastasis.
You can learn more about metastasis from this resource.
In this long video, Dr Jason Fung and Dr. William Li provide interesting perspectives on the prevention of cancer from metabolism and lifestyle angles.
Conclusions and Takeaways
Cancer is highly complex, and there is no single approach to its prevention and treatment. Thousands of medical doctors, oncologists, genetics, and other scientists are working on various aspects of this debilitating disease.
The interesting fact about cancer is we all have cancer cells in our bodies. However, they are activated and become malignant for some people yet stay dormant in others.
We know that environment, genetics, and lifestyle have an impact on the manifestation of the disease. Unfortunately, we cannot do much about genetics. However, we can make changes related to the environment and lifestyle, leading to epigenetics. For example, learning about carcinogens (e.g., toxins and cigarette smoke) and taking precautions have saved many lives.
In terms of lifestyle changes, since we know, cancer cells grow with glucose and certain amino acids, fasting and ketogenic diets can contribute to an environment that is hostile to the growth of cancer cells. We also see the association of cancer with obesity and metabolic syndrome.
Activation of the PI3K pathway contributes to the development of tumor PI3K, an attractive therapeutic direction in cancer treatment. Inhibition of PI3K signaling is effective in the treatment of several types of cancer.
By considering the metabolic benefits of these natural practices, it will be beneficial to undertake more collaborative research to investigate the possibilities. “Most calorie-restriction and fasting-diet studies have been in younger people, but researchers are beginning to study older adults. A clinical trial conducted by NIA is testing the 5:2 diet in obese people, age 55 to 70, with insulin resistance.”
An open mind, curiosity, and collaboration may bring new possibilities.
Here are two metabolic diseases that supervised fasting could help.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
Here are sample health improvement articles for new readers:
Metabolic Syndrome, Type II Diabetes, Fatty Liver Disease, Heart Disease and Strokes, Liver Cancer, Lungs Health, Pancreas Health, Kidneys Health, Brain Health, Brain Atrophy, Dementia, Depression, NCDs, Infectious Diseases, Cardiovascular Health, Neonatal Disorders, Skin Health, Dental Health, Bone Health, Leaky Gut, Leaky Brain, Brain Fog, Autoimmune Conditions, Chronic Inflammation, Insulin Resistance, Elevated Cortisol, Leptin Resistance, Anabolic Resistance, Cholestrol, High Triglycerides, Metabolic Disorders, and other Major Diseases.
Besides science, technology, spirituality, self-improvement, and health, as nutrients are crucial, I also document promising molecules such as:
Boron, Urolithin, taurine, citrulline malate, biotin, lithium orotate, alpha-lipoic acid, n-acetyl-cysteine, acetyl-l-carnitine, CoQ10, PQQ, NADH, TMG, creatine, choline, digestive enzymes, magnesium, hydrolyzed collagen, nootropics, pure nicotine, activated charcoal, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B1, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, and other nutrients that might help to improve metabolism and mental health.
Disclaimer: Please note that this post does not include health or professional advice. I documented my reviews, observations, experience, and perspectives only to provide information. If you have disease symptoms, please consult your healthcare professionals. Health is the responsibility of individuals.
Sample Health Improvement Articles for New Readers
As a new reader, please check my holistic health and well-being stories reflecting my reviews, observations, and decades of experiments optimizing my hormones and neurotransmitters.
Petechiae, ALS, Metabolic Syndrome, Type II Diabetes, Fatty Liver Disease, Heart Disease, Strokes, Obesity, Liver Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, Autoimmune Disorders, Homocysteine, Lungs Health, Pancreas Health, Kidneys Health, NCDs, Infectious Diseases, Brain Health, Dementia, Depression, Brain Atrophy, Neonatal Disorders, Skin Health, Dental Health, Bone Health, Leaky Gut, Leaky Brain, Brain Fog, Chronic Inflammation, Insulin Resistance, Elevated Cortisol, Leptin Resistance, Anabolic Resistance, Cholesterol, High Triglycerides, Metabolic Disorders, Gastrointestinal Disorders, Thyroid Disorders, Anemia, Dysautonomia, cardiac output, Neuromuscular Dysfunctions, and urinary track disorders.
I also wrote about valuable nutrients. Here are the links for easy access:
Lutein/Zeaxanthin, Phosphatidylserine, Boron, Urolithin, taurine, citrulline malate, biotin, lithium orotate, alpha-lipoic acid, n-acetyl-cysteine, acetyl-l-carnitine, CoQ10, PQQ, NADH, TMG, creatine, choline, digestive enzymes, magnesium, zinc, hydrolyzed collagen, nootropics, pure nicotine, activated charcoal, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B1, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine, Cod Liver Oil, and other nutrients.
More stories like these are on EUPHORIA.
Disclaimer: My posts do not include professional or health advice. I only document my reviews, observations, experience, and perspectives to provide information and create awareness.
References
Promising Effect of a New Ketogenic Diet Regimen in Patients with Advanced Cancer.
The Ketogenic Diet: Evidence for Optimism but High-Quality Research Needed.
Diet and Chemotherapy: The Effects of Fasting and Ketogenic Diet on Cancer Treatment.
Significance of low-carbohydrate diets and fasting in patients with cancer.
Autophagy and intermittent fasting: the connection for cancer therapy?
Fasting and cancer: molecular mechanisms and clinical application.
Fasting and Caloric Restriction in Cancer Prevention and Treatment.
Rationale, Feasibility and Acceptability of Ketogenic Diet for Cancer Treatment.
Ketogenic Diet and Other Dietary Intervention Strategies in the Treatment of Cancer.
Ketogenic diet in the treatment of cancer — Where do we stand?
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