How the Ketogenic Diet Works
Intermittent Fasting and Cancer Prevention
In few words. Cancer cells are fueled by glucose to activate Warburg effect (energy only through the glycolysis) If you deprive them of glucose, the metabolism should switch to ketone bodies. But cancer cells are metabolically not able to switch to ketone bodies as fuel because they can only survive on glucose. All of other cells can use either glucose or ketone bodies. Lacking this metabolic flexibility, cancer cells go in starvation.
In few words. Cancer cells are fueled by glucose to activate Warburg effect (energy only through the glycolysis) If you deprive them of glucose, the metabolism should switch to ketone bodies. But cancer cells are metabolically not able to switch to ketone bodies as fuel because they can only survive on glucose. All of other cells can use either glucose or ketone bodies. Lacking this metabolic flexibility, cancer cells go in starvation.
Cancer cells use glycolytic pathway more than normal cells. When you decrease the amount of glucose in the diet ( such as ketogenic diets) you would interrupt the growth of cells according to some study results.
Please consider Glutamine pathway always during glucose starvation.
The blood glucose remains at at a reasonable level whether you eat carbohydrate or not so a "ketogenic diet is not going to starve cancer cell.
It is an area that confuses me. I have prostate cancer and 6 years ago I had a PSA of 4.1 and a biopsy showed a Gleeson 3+3 adenocarcinoma. The surgeon advised a radical prostatectomy, but I decided to fast. I drank water and had my advanced synbiotic every day to prevent my gut microflora attacking my gut wall and then had a main meal after 3 days and another 4 days later. I repeated that the next week and at the end of that my PSA had dropped to 2.2. A month later I fasted for another week, but with one main meal after 3 days and 4 days and my PSA dropped to 1.9. I assume that my blood glucose level would have been maintained at healthy levels during that time, but my cancer seems to have been curtailed by the fasting nonetheless. My PSA has crept up to 3.4 over the past 6 years (eating whatever I feel like) and a recent biopsy led the Urologist to declare that there was nothing to worry about and that an MRI every 4 years would suffice. Not sure what the mechanism is but it seems to have some value.
John Ellerman ,thank you ,very interesting case. As you have pointed out the blood sugar was maintained at a healthy level therefore starving the cancer cells of glucose can not have the mechanism of the happy outcome, may it continue for ever.
Ketogenic diet is a high fat, moderate protein but low carb diet. So, to be metabolically active a cancer cell can't utilise ketone bodies as an energy supplient instead of glucose. Hence the ketogenic diet works contrary to Warburg effect and weakens the Cancer cells. Thanks!
Interesting answers that make sense, while it remains controversial to the scientific community. Living with a ketogenic diet, for most, is challenging. However, personally, I function normally when my my fasting blood glucose measures in the 60's, which would make many people, especially Type 1 diabetics, struggle.
Only a clarification: it should not be a high protein diet, because of the risk of gluconeogenesis.
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Medicine