Can Paleo Diet help for Cancer?

Why Paleo helps treat Cancer

The Paleo diet is a low glycemic index diet, which helps reduce blood glucose levels. Following a low-glycemic index diet like the Paleo lowers the body’s insulin levels, which helps inhibit the development of cancer cells by lowering the production of the IGF-1 hormone that promotes cancer development.

Low insulin levels also increase the levels of the IGFBP-3, a hormone that suppresses tumor growth, preventing the development of cancer.

Furthermore, given that cancer cells require a large amount of glucose to grow and multiply, the ketogenic Paleo diet minimizes the body’s production of glucose.

This produces a metabolic shift in the body, resulting in the production of ketones instead of glucose. However, unlike glucose, ketones can’t be metabolized and used for nutrition by cancer cells. Thus, cancer cells end up starving and dying.

The Paleo diet also helps treat or prevent cancer by preventing inflammation in the body. It advises people to avoid eating inflammatory foods like sugar, dairy, and legumes to prevent DNA damage that might cause tumor growth.

In addition, the Paleo diet advises people to eat a lot of fruits and non-starchy vegetables. These foods contain antioxidants and phytochemicals, which help kill cancer cells.

How Paleo diet works for Cancer

A low glycemic diet can help treat cancer by reducing a person’s blood glucose, which leads to a reduction in insulin levels. The decrease in the body’s insulin levels lowers the levels of Bioactive Insulin-Like Growth Factor (IGF-1) that promote the growth of cancerous cells.

IGF-1, also called somatomedin C, can promote cancer development by inhibiting the death of cells or apoptosis and stimulating cell proliferation. Therefore, by lowering IGF-1 levels, the diet lowers the chances of cell growth which may lead to cancer.

By lowering insulin levels, the diet also helps increase levels of another insulin hormone, insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3). IGFBP-3 helps increase cell sensitivity to retinoic acid, which inhibits the growth of tumors. 

Some studies support the hypothesis that insulin-like growth factors are involved in cancer cell development. For instance, a review titled “IGF System in Cancer” explores whether higher levels of Insulin-like Growth Factors (IGF) increases one’s risk of cancer.

It indicates that many studies report that having higher levels of IGF may increase the risk of developing certain types of breast, colorectal, and ovarian cancer. However, there are many factors that contribute to increased levels of IGF. Studies are still looking at different ways to inhibit the production of IGF to prevent tumor development.

Accordingly, the Paleo diet works to reduce IGF levels by restricting all kinds of processed foods, refined carbs, sugar, and soft drinks with a high glycemic index that promote tumor growth, decreasing the chances of developing cancer.

The diet also works to treat or prevent cancer by encouraging people to avoid foods that may trigger inflammation in the body. This prevents DNA damage that can impact cell development, causing it to multiply uncontrollably.

It restricts trans fats, vegetable oils, and other unhealthy foods that can increase the level of glucose in the body, which may promote the development of cancer cells. 

The Ketogenic Paleolithic diet

Furthermore, because cancer cells feed on glucose, the ketogenic Paleolithic diet works more effectively on preventing or reducing the risk of cancer by eliminating carbohydrates from the diet.

This depletes the body’s carbohydrate reserves within a few days.  As a result, the liver becomes unable to produce enough glucose, depriving cancer cells of their source of nutrition.

In the absence of glucose, the body is forced to look for an alternative source of energy to survive. Fat becomes the only substitute available, so the body starts burning it for energy.

This produces a metabolic shift in the body known as “ketosis” in which the liver starts producing ketones from fat instead of glucose from carbs.

Ketones are a great source of energy and nutrition for the body’s normal cells in the absence of glucose. In addition, cancer cells lack a specific enzyme that allows them to metabolize ketones and use them as fuel to survive.

As a result, cancer cells starve and eventually die. And, if at the very least, the cancer cells survive, they can no longer multiply.

Paleo diet program for Cancer

The Paleo diet is an eating plan that can be followed permanently throughout people’s lives. Hence, this diet does not need to be discontinued or cycled.

There are many ways to follow the Paleo diet. The main idea behind the diet program is to avoid processed foods and focus on eating healthy, whole foods instead.

The diet program is not built around restricting calories or eating specific amounts of food. Rather, it focuses on cutting down on all the grains, dairy products, and processed foods while focusing on a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, healthy oils, and lean meats.

Paleo Diet for Cancer: Food List

- Lean meat: eat lean meats such as beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, and pork. Always go for the meats that are less processed. For example, grass-fed and organic meats are always a better choice.

- Fish and seafood: eat fish such as salmon, shrimp, trout, and shellfish. Always go for the wild-caught fish option if possible.

- Eggs: eat eggs. Always go for the organic option if available.

- Non-starchy vegetables: eat vegetables such as broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cucumbers, onions, carrots, and tomatoes.

- Fruits: eat fruits such as apples, bananas, pears, oranges, cherries, and berries.

- Nuts and seeds: eat nuts and seeds such as almonds, macadamia nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds.

- Healthy fats and oils: add oils such as extra virgin olive oil and avocado oil to your meals. 

- Herbs and Spices: add spices such as garlic, turmeric, and rosemary to your dishes.

Paleo Diet for Cancer: Recommendations to Follow

- Exercise regularly: the diet recommends at least 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity activity each week because their hunter-gatherer ancestors were always moving around. People should also incorporate muscle-strengthening activities into their routine.

Paleo Diet for Cancer: What you should Avoid

The Paleo diet restricts or limits some food types. These foods include:

- Grains: avoid grains such as oats, wheat, barley, and rice. 

- Starchy vegetables: avoid starchy vegetables such as potatoes and corn.

- Legumes: avoid legumes such as beans and lentils.

- Dairy products: avoid dairy products such as milk, yogurt, cheese, and ice cream.

- High-fat and processed meats: avoid high-fat and processed meats such as salami, bologna, pepperoni, hot dogs, ground meat, and ribs

- Sugar and sugar products: avoid sugar and high sugar products such as table sugar, soft drinks, syrup, candy, cakes, cookies, and sports drinks.

- Processed foods: avoid all processed foods such as canned or frozen foods. They are high in sugar, salt, fat, and additives.

- Trans-fats: avoid trans-fat foods such as doughnuts, fast foods, fruit snacks, and baked goods.

- Artificial sweeteners: avoid artificial sweeteners that are mainly found in diet products such as soft drinks and pastries.

- Salty foods: avoid high salt foods such as crackers, chips, pretzels, and soy sauce.

Additional Paleo Diet benefits

The Paleo diet helps improve certain medical conditions and is beneficial for overall health. Besides cancer, the Paleo diet can treat several diseases like heart disease, diabetes,  celiac disease, gout, lupus, Alzheimer’s disease, and Inflammatory Bowel Disease. It also helps with weight loss and benefits the skin. 

A list of the Paleo diet benefits for each of the following conditions is listed below:

- Heart disease: the Paleo diet reduces the risk of heart disease because it incorporates healthy foods that could reduce blood pressure and lipid profiles, such as triglycerides and cholesterol.

- Type 2 diabetes: the Paleo diet is beneficial for diabetes because it reduces sugar and carbohydrate intake.

- Celiac disease: the Paleo diet is beneficial for Celiac disease because it eliminates all the foods that aggravate the disease, including gluten, carbohydrates, sugar, and dairy. The Paleo diet also helps maintain the balance of good gut bacteria, which allows people with Celiac disease to absorb nutrients properly.

- Gout: the Paleo diet is beneficial for gout because it eliminates carbs and sugars. This causes the liver to produce normal levels of uric acid. The lack of carbs and sugars also helps kidneys excrete uric acid properly.

- Osteoporosis: the Paleo diet is beneficial for osteoporosis because it reduces inflammation in the body by incorporating a variety of fruits and vegetables, healthy oils, and fish that have anti-inflammatory properties. The diet also eliminates gluten because it causes inflammation in the body.

- Alzheimer’s: the Paleo diet is beneficial for Alzheimer’s because it reduces inflammation in the body by incorporating a variety of fruits and vegetables, healthy oils, and fish that have anti-inflammatory properties.

- Lupus: the Paleo diet is beneficial for lupus because it eliminates foods that increase intestinal permeability, which may trigger an unwanted immune response. It particularly encourages lupus patients to avoid gluten because it causes leaky gut. It also eliminates dairy, legumes, processed foods, refined sugars, and vegetable oils because they negatively affect gut health.

- Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): the Paleo diet is beneficial for IBD because it reduces inflammation in the body by incorporating a variety of fruits and vegetables, healthy oils, and fish that have anti-inflammatory properties that can help heal the gut.

- Weight loss: the Paleo diet contributes to weight loss because it eliminates high-fat, high sugar, and processed foods. People on a Paleo diet might also notice an increase in satiety due to the higher intake of proteins and fats. Hence, they will consume smaller portions of food.

- Skin health: the Paleo diet is beneficial for the skin because it restricts foods that cause inflammation. It also incorporates a variety of fruits and vegetables, healthy oils, and fish that have anti-inflammatory properties and help prevent aging and protect the skin.

Paleo Diet for Cancer: precautions

Before starting this diet, make sure you do not have the following conditions as the diet may exacerbate them.

Consult your doctor before following the Paleo diet if you have:

- Kidney problems: the Paleo diet increases the consumption of protein. People with kidney problems need to eat protein in moderation because eating large amounts of proteins can further damage the kidneys.

- Liver and pancreatic problems: the Paleo diet increases the consumption of fats. People with liver and kidney problems need to eat fats in moderation because eating large amounts of fats can further damage both the liver and the pancreas.

- Heart disease: the Paleo diet increases the consumption of meat, which can increase levels of saturated fats, possibly leading to heart disease. Hence, red meat should be consumed in moderation. The diet recommends that people consume lean meat.

- Type I diabetes: the Paleo diet decreases the carbohydrate intake that is normally consumed on a daily basis. To prevent hypoglycemia or low blood sugar, people with type I diabetes should consult their doctors to adjust the doses of their medication.

- Low blood pressure: the Paleo lowers one’s blood pressure because it lowers the levels of cortisol in the body and reduces one’s salt intake. People with low blood pressure should drink lots of water and eat foods with electrolytes to regulate their blood pressure. They should use natural sea salt if they need to add salt to their meals.

Paleo Diet for Cancer: side effects

The Paleo diet is recommended for all individuals. However, it can cause some side effects.

Always consult with a medical or healthcare expert before starting with a diet or treatment.

The following section contains a list of side effects you may experience while on the diet.

- Nutritional deficiencies: the Paleo diet eliminates some food groups from one’s diet. This can lead to nutritional deficiencies. For example, the diet does not incorporate dairy into meals, and this might lead to calcium and vitamin D deficiencies.

- Hypoglycemia: the Paleo diet decreases carbohydrate intake. This can lead to hypoglycemia or low blood sugar because the diet decreases the amount of glucose in the body.

- Low-carb flu: following the Paleo diet decreases carbohydrate intake, and many people report experiencing low-carb flu. The symptoms include headaches, fatigue, weakness, and irritability, but these will go away on their own within a couple of days to several weeks at most.

- Halitosis or bad breath: The Paleo diet increases one’s consumption of protein. This may cause bad breath because increased protein intake causes the gut to produce hydrogen sulfide to digest foods properly but can also cause bad breath.

You can also have bad breath on the Paleo diet if your body has gone into ketosis. While ketones are a great source of energy, they can also contribute to bad breath.