Why does a High Fat/Low Carbohydrate diet fight cancer?

Cancer cells love sugar.  Their primary source of food and energy is glucose.  In fact, they love glucose so much that they create tremendous networks of blood vessels around them so that they can get more and more glucose.  While most professionals will not go so far as to say that sugar causes cancer, there is a growing interest in the idea that eliminating sugar can stop the growth of cancer.

In an article  written for the National Brain Tumor Foundation,  Jeanne M. Wallace, PH.D., C.N.C. states,

 “There is a relationship between sugar and cancer cells. In fact, cancer cells can gobble 10–15 times more sugar than normal brain cells. Additionally, a high sugar intake may increase inflammation and suppress immune function. If you’re like most Americans, your diet contains nearly 150 pounds of sugar per year! One very important thing you can do is to try to reduce the amount of refined sugar and carbohydrates in your diet”.

She further states,

A study in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition (April 1995) reported decreased tumor glucose uptake and clinical improvement among brain tumor patients on a high fat diet. Seizure control may also improve on a higher fat intake.

She goes on to say that one should be picky about what fats they eat such as avoiding trans fats like margarine and then she starts to differ a bit, with the diet we are on, encouraging only fish oils and omega 3 fats.  But, scientists and medical professionals are beginning to agree that the old belief of letting cancer patients eat large amounts of carbohydrates and low-fat is not the formula for killing cancer.  Some doctors are looking at a Ketogenic (or low carb, high fat) diet as the answer.  The diet we follow is a modified ketoenic diet since true ketogenic diets have little or no carbohydrates and severely restrict calorie intake.

Cancer loves sugar and hates fat

Basically, a low carb/high fat diet starves cancer cells of sugar and poisons cancer cells. with ketones (from fat).  Our bodies can adapt from getting our energy from glucose, to getting energy from ketones, but cancer cells can not. That is one reason to disbelieve the idea that cancer cells have mutated into something stronger and more resistant than healthy cells.  They are just different and when fighting any foe, finding cancer’s weakness is the key to obliterating it.

One response to “Why does a High Fat/Low Carbohydrate diet fight cancer?

  1. Nice post. That’s exactly why I am on the Paleo diet.



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