The Ketogenic Diet and Cancer

Cancer is considered one of the greatest killers in the developed world. Researchers are actively looking for treatments to better the prognosis of the disease. We present herein a dietary modification capable of modifying cancer growth and metabolism, the ketogenic diet (KD). The ketogenic diet is very low in carbohydrates, the main energy substrate for cancerous cells, which lose their ability to utilize alternative fuel sources and mainly use glycolytic fermentation as their main energy source. It has been demonstrated that by severely limiting glucose availability and lowering circulating insulin levels which also lowers IGF-1, TNF, MTR (known growth factors),cancer growth can be slowed down and mean survival time extended, both in animal and human studies, as well as improving the quality of life (QoL). The Ketogenic Diet is proving beneficial to limit malignant tumor growth, however when combined with other therapies such as Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) and Intravenous Vitamin C (IVC) seems to further potentiate this action.

Keywords: Ketogenic Diet, Keto Diet, nutrition, cancer, cancer therapy.