What science says about Keto Diet / No Carbs Diet For Cancer

Many researches have been done on the keto diet for cancer, and results were quite promising so far. However, much more research is still required before being able to confirm that this diet can help in curing cancer or help in controlling it, especially that there’s lot of uncertainty about it still. 

On one end, we have medical doctors and scientists that support this treatment as a cure for cancer. Many published case studies and testimonials are also available to sustain this claim. Furthermore, there’s evidence that this diet was able to allow greater improvement for cancer patients doing chemo while following the keto diet compared to those on chemo only.
 
However, on the other hand, lot of doctors believe that the keto diet is not effective in curing cancer, and they still require much more evidence before they can approve it. According to them, chemotherapy remains the only effective solution so far, despite all its negative detrimental effects on the body. 

Opinion in favor of following the keto diet for cancer:  

Many medical and cancer research experts believe that a high fat, moderate protein, and low carbohydrate diet such as the keto diet is quite effective in treating cancer. 

This is based on the belief that cancer cells need glucose as a fuel for growth and development. Without it, they can no longer survive and multiply. 

According to these experts, following the keto diet will deplete the carbohydrates reserves in the body. As a result, glucose will not be produced by the liver, and hence not available anymore. 

This will force the body to go find an alternative source of energy to survive instead of glucose. Hence, it will shift to burning fat instead of carbs to produce energy. Within this process, the body will start producing ketones from fat, and these will be used now as an alternative energy source.  

Supporters of the keto diet for cancer believe that normal cells can process these ketones and use them for energy while cancer cells fail to do that as they lack a specific enzyme that allows them to do so. This has been also supported by many researches and studies. 

Accordingly, not being able to find glucose in the body, and lacking the ability to metabolize ketones for energy, cancer cells will end up starving and will eventually die, while the normal body cells remains intact and unharmed. 

For instance, Dr. Thomas Seyfried, a famous cancer researcher, that has over 150 publications and is the author of the well-known book titled “Cancer as a Metabolic Disease: On the Origin, Management, and Prevention of Cancer” has stated that a ketogenic diet beats chemotherapy for almost all cancer types. 

Many studies done on animals back up this theory. One of these is a study that observed brain tumors in mice showed a 65 % size reduction while on a ketogenic diet as compared to no size reduction while on a regular diet. 

There are also plenty of testimonials and case studies published on TV, and interviews done with patients who claimed to have cancer and tried the keto diet. 

Many of these patients confirm that they followed chemotherapy for a long time, alas in vain. At the end, they were sent back home to spend their last days because there was nothing else that can be done to save them. Only then, these patients tried the ketogenic diet and were able to completely heal. 

Opinion against following the keto diet for cancer:  

On the other hand, many experts are against the idea claiming that the ketogenic diet can contribute to curing cancer. It is argued that very few studies exist and there is currently not enough concrete evidence to prove that cancer patients can benefit from this diet.

In addition, it is also argued that low fat diets can contribute to curing some types of cancers such as breast cancer. This is based on a study done in the 1970s, and showed that a high-fat diet increased breast cancer risk. Despite the fact that many studies conducted after gave different results, but some experts still believe this theory suggesting that a high fat diet may be harmful for cancer patients. 

Finally, opponents of the diet believe that the ketogenic diet is not beneficial for cancer patients as it might not allow them to tolerate such high amounts of fat and protein. This could lead to more problems including digestion.

Despite the relatively low success rate of chemotherapy and the fact that it kills normal cells along with the cancerous cells, many medical doctors and scientists believe that chemotherapy remains the preferred method to cure cancer.