Diet and lifestyle have been associated with the risk of getting cancer. But little is known about diets and progressing cancer. Diet regimens that have had positive effects on cancer in clinical studies include the ketogenic diet and controlled amino acid therapy, which is based on the ketogenic diet. The ketogenic diet causes the body to switch from glucose to fat metabolism. As cancer cells thrive best on glucose, the ketogenic diet creates a hostile environment for cancer cells. This environment may halt the growth of tumors. Diet therapy cannot replace conventional treatment. But as current cancer treatments do not cure lung cancer for most patients, it may be beneficial for lung cancer patients to follow the ketogenic diet.
The Ketogenic Diet
Dr. R.M. Wilders developed the ketogenic diet as a treatment of epileptic seizures in the 1920s. The diet restricts the dietary intake of carbohydrates to 10 to 15 g a day and the intake of protein to 1 gram per kilogram body weight a day. The remaining calories come from fat. Because of the diet’s severe restrictions, it normally requires professional supervision. While the diet was originally intended as an anti-seizure diet, researchers have subsequently discovered its potential as a cancer diet.
The Ketogenic Diet and Cancer Cell Metabolism
Cancer cells are normal cells that undergo a metabolic shift toward building protein and fat. This building process requires a large amount of glucose. Cancer cells use only a small fraction of the glucose to stay alive and the rest for building new cells. Most cancer cells cannot use fat or ketone bodies as a source of energy. According to M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas, leukemia cells may be an exception. Unlike most cancer cells, they can metabolize fat. However, the ketogenic diet provides a hostile environment for those cancer cells that depend exclusively on glucose. While restricting glucose may not kill cancer cells, as they need very little glucose to stay alive, it may prevent them from building more cancer cells.
Coconut Oil
Ketogenic diet regimens used to prevent tumor growth typically include a large percentage of coconut oil as a source of fat. Most of the fats we consume contain long-chain fatty acids. Long-chain fats cannot enter the bloodstream directly. They first convert into a water-soluble fat molecules. These molecules then enter the bloodstream via the lymphatic system. Unlike most other sources of fat, coconut oil contains medium-chain fatty acids. Medium-chain fats can enter the bloodstream directly and are easier for cells to metabolize. Because medium-chain fats are easier to metabolize than long-chain fats, a ketogenic diet high in medium-chain fats decreases the chance that the body converts protein into glucose, which cancer cells could use as a source of energy.
Controlled Amino Acid Therapy
A.P. John Institute for Cancer Research prescribes a lung cancer diet that is based on the ketogenic diet, but that includes an amino acid formula as well as citric acid, fructose and vinegar. Cancer cells require the amino acids serine, glycine, aspartic acid and glutamic acid to synthesize DNA, produce new blood vessels and replicate its proteins. The amino acid formula replaces most of the patient’s daily intake of protein but leaves out the amino acids that cancer cells require for growth. The daily diet includes citric acid, fructose and vinegar because these compounds can help block enzymes that cancer cells need to metabolize glucose. All of the diet's food items are low in vitamin B-6, as cancer cells need this vitamin to build the amino acids that they need.
Lung Cancer
There are two types of lung cancer: Non-small cell lung cancer and Small cell lung cancer. Eighty percent of all cases of lung cancer are cases of non-small cell lung cancer, according to 2010 information from PubMed Health. Small lung cancer is the most aggressive form of cancer. It is faster growing and spreads more quickly that non-small lung cancer. Lung cancer is the hardest cancer to treat. There are very few cases in which current treatment, including surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, actually cures the cancer. The ketogenic diet and controlled amino acid therapy may offer some hope to patients with lung cancer -- including advanced lung cancer.
References
- Natural Physiques: History of the Ketogenic Diet
- "Epilepsy Currents"; The Ketogenic Diet: Stoking the Powerhouse of the Cell; Jong M Rho and Michael A Rogawski; March 2007
- Johns Hopkins Hospital: The Ketogenic Diet Center
- Würzburg Hospital: Information on a Ketogenic (Low Carbohydrate / High Fat + protein) Diet for Cancer Patients
- "British Journal of Cancer"; A Comparison of Long-Chain Triglycerides and Medium-Chain Triglycerides on Weight Loss and Tumour Size in a Cachexia Model; M.J. Tisdale, et al.; November 1988
- "Journal of the American Dietetic Association"; Implementing a Ketogenic Diet Based on Medium-Chain Triglyceride Oil in Pediatric Patients with Cancer; L.C. Nebeling, et al.; June 1995
- M.D. Andersen Cancer Center: Researchers Find Leukemia Cells Metabolize Fat to Avoid Cell Death
- National Cancer Institute: Small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment
- PubMed Health: Lung Cancer
- A.P. John Institute for Cancer Research: Integrative Therapy
