What Fuels Cancer Growth?

By Dr. Mercola

The fact that sugar and obesity are linked to an increased risk of cancer is now becoming well-recognized. Obesity has also been linked to an increased risk of death from all causes.

According to research published in 2013, nearly 1 in 5 U.S. deaths is associated with obesity.¹ More recently, researchers published findings from a meta-analysis of 239 studies covering four continents, saying excess body weight is responsible for 1 in 5 of all premature deaths in the U.S. and 1 in 7 in Europe.^2,3,4

On average, carrying excess weight may reduce your life expectancy by about one year, while being moderately obese may result in a three-year reduction in lifespan. Those of normal weight had the longest life expectancy and the lowest risk of dying before the age of 70.

The video above features Thomas Seyfried, Ph.D., who discusses how, as a metabolic disorder involving the dysregulation of respiration, malignant cancer (in this case brain cancer) can be managed by altering your metabolic environment.

That said, this kind of diet (low in net carbs, moderate in high-quality protein and high in healthy fats) will also help normalize your weight and boost your general health for the simple reason that it helps you convert from carb burning mode to fat burning, which helps optimize your mitochondrial function.

How Fasting May Benefit Cancer Patients

Fasting is another strategy that helps reverse obesity and optimize mitochondrial function, and it too can offer hope in the fight against cancer. In fact, one research group is reportedly looking into the possibility of getting intermittent fasting approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an adjunct therapy for cancer patients.^17,18,19

Valter Longo, Ph.D., has published a number of studies on fasting and its impact on cancer. His most recent research, published in the journal Cancer Cell,²⁰ found that fasting during chemotherapy boosts cancer-killing T cell activity, thereby improving the effectiveness of the chemotherapy. As reported by Science Daily:²¹

“[R]odents that received caloric restriction mimetics alone or chemotherapy combined with a fasting-mimicking diet had smaller tumor masses over time than those that received only chemotherapy …

Mice with breast or skin cancers were given a low-sugar, low-protein, high-fat, low-calorie diet and were observed for [six] weeks while receiving doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide or no chemotherapeutic drugs. All of the mice receiving the diet-drug combination saw their tumors shrink to half the volume of the tumors in mice that received chemotherapy alone.”

According to Longo:²² “The biggest factor exposing cancer cells to the T cells is the effect on the enzyme heme oxygenase-1, which is normally at high levels in cancer cells. Fasting reduces oxygenase levels and gives rise to a number of changes that included the increase of tumor-killing cytotoxic T cells.”

What to Eat for Optimal Health and Cancer Prevention

From my perspective, ignoring diet as a cancer prevention tool is foolhardy at best. I’m convinced most cancers are preventable through proper nutrition. Avoiding toxic exposures (such as pesticides) is another important factor, and this is one reason why I recommend eating organic foods, especially grass-fed or pastured meats and animal products, whenever possible.

Make no mistake about it, the FIRST thing you want to do if you want to avoid or treat cancer if you have insulin or leptin resistance is to cut out all forms of sugar/fructose and grain carbs from your diet. This step will optimize the signaling pathways that otherwise might contribute to malignant transformation.

Remember, the foundational aspect that must be addressed is the metabolic mitochondrial defect discussed earlier, and this involves radically reducing the net (non-fiber) carbohydrates in your diet and replacing them with high-quality fats. Moderating your consumption of protein, and being mindful of the quality of the protein, is also important, as excessive protein can also trigger cancer growth. To learn more about this, please see my previous article, “The Very Real Risks of Consuming Too Much Protein“.

So, in summary, for optimal health, you need sufficient amounts of carbohydrates, fats, and protein. However, there are healthy carbs and unhealthy ones. Ditto for fat and protein. From my review of the molecular biology required to optimize mitochondrial function, it may be wise to aim for a diet with the following nutrient ratios:

•Healthy fats, 75 to 85 percent of your total calories. Beneficial monosaturated and saturated fats include olives and olive oil, coconuts and coconut oil, butter made from raw grass-fed organic milk, raw nuts such as macadamia and pecans, seeds like black sesame, black cumin, pumpkin and hemp seeds, avocados, grass-fed meats, lard and tallow, ghee (clarified butter), raw cacao butter, organic pastured egg yolks, animal-based omega-3 fats and small fatty fish like sardines and anchovies.

Harmful fats that contribute to disease are primarily trans fats and highly refined polyunsaturated omega-6 vegetable oils (PUFAs). Remember, glucose is an inherently “dirty” fuel as it generates far more ROS than fat burning does. But to burn fat, your cells must be healthy and normal. Cancer cells lack the metabolic flexibility to burn fat and this why a diet high in healthy fats appears to be such an effective anti-cancer strategy.

When you switch from burning glucose as your primary fuel to burning fat for fuel, cancer cells must struggle to stay alive, as most of their mitochondria are dysfunctional and can’t use oxygen to burn fuel. At the same time, healthy cells are given an ideal and preferred fuel, which lowers oxidative damage and optimizes mitochondrial function. The sum effect is that healthy cells begin to thrive while cancer cells are “starved” to death.

•Carbohydrates, 8 to 15 percent of your daily calories. Aim for twice as many fiber carbs as non-fiber (net) carbs. This means if your total carbs is 10 percent of your daily calories, at least half of that should be fiber. Fiber has a number of other health benefits, including weight management and a lower risk for certain cancers.²³

I personally believe that most would benefit from reducing net carbs (not just fructose) to less than 100 grams (g) per day, and keeping your total fructose intake to a maximum of 25 g per day from all sources. If you are insulin resistant, you’d do well to make your upper fructose limit 15 g per day.

Cancer patients would likely be best served by even stricter limits. By reducing the amount of net carbs you eat, you will accomplish four things that will result in lowered inflammation and reduced stimulation of cancer growth. You will:

•Lower your serum glucose level

•Reduce your mTOR level

•Reduce your insulin level

•Lower insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1, a potent hormone that acts on your pituitary gland to induce metabolic and endocrine effects, including cell growth and replication. Elevated IGF-1 levels are associated with breast and other cancers).

I typically keep my net carbs around 50 to 60 g per day While this may sound awfully complicated, the easiest way to dramatically cut down on your sugar and fructose consumption is to switch to real foods, as the vast majority of added sugar and fructose you end up with comes from processed fare.

Excellent sources of high-fiber carbs that you can eat plenty of include chia seeds, berries, raw nuts, cauliflower, root vegetables and tubers such as onions and sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and psyllium seed husk.

•Protein, 7 to 10 percent of your total calories. Quality is important, so look for high-quality grass-fed or pastured meats and animal products. As a general rule, I recommend limiting your protein to 0.5 g of protein per pound of lean body mass, which for most people amounts to 40 to 70 g of protein a day.

(To estimate your protein requirements, first, determine your lean body mass. Subtract your percent body fat from 100. For example, if you have 20 percent body fat, then you have 80 percent lean body mass. Just multiply that percentage by your current weight to get your lean body mass in pounds or kilos.)

Again, the reason for limiting protein is because excessive amounts have a stimulating effect on the mTOR pathway, which plays an important role in many diseases, including cancer. When you reduce protein to what your body needs for cell repair and maintenance, mTOR remains inhibited, which helps minimize your chances of cancer growth.

Sources and References

• ¹ American Journal of Public Health April 5, 2013
• ² The Lancet July 13, 2016 [Epub ahead of print]
• ³ Scientific American July 14, 2016
• ⁴ Eurekalert July 13, 2016
• ⁵ Credit-Suisse October 22, 2013
• ⁶ Medicinenet.com, Why Does Obesity Causes Diabetes?
• ⁷ Lancet Oncology November 26, 2014 [Epub ahead of print]
• ⁸ Cancer Research January 1, 2016: 76; 24
• ^9, 10 Health Day July 14, 2016
• ¹¹ Medicinenet.com July 11, 2016
• ¹² RDmag.com July 2016
• ¹³ WebMD July 13, 2016
• ¹⁴ CDC Diabetes Report 2014
• ¹⁵ Diabetologia November 2014; 57(11): 2261-2269
• ¹⁶ American Institute for Cancer Research Volume 25, Summer 2008
• ¹⁷ Fightaging.com June 19, 2015
• ¹⁸ Health Impact News, Study: Intermittent Fasting and Ketogenic Diet Effective in Cancer Therapy
• ¹⁹ Cancer and Metastasis Reviews March 2014; 33(1); 217-229
• ²⁰ Cancer Cell June 7, 2016; 15(10): 2136-2146
• ^21, 22 Science Daily July 11, 2016
• ²³ Epoch Times May 12, 2016

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