Surviving Disease – One Cancer Diet Option Along With Weight Loss

According to the CDC, just by being overweight or obese, you are at risk for 13 types of cancers which make up about 40% (684,000 people) of all cancers diagnosed in the US each year. 

1. Adenocarcinoma of the esophagus.
2. Breast (post-menopause).
3. Colon and rectum.
4. Uterus.
5. Gallbladder.
6. Upper stomach.
7. Kidneys.
8. Liver.
9. Ovaries.
10. Pancreas.
11. Thyroid.
12. Meningioma (brain cancer).
13. Multiple myeloma.

Being overweight or having obesity doesn’t mean that someone will definitely get cancer. But it does mean that they are more likely to get cancer than if they kept a healthy weight.

In health care, we use a tool called the BMI (Body Mass Index) calculated by height and weight to determine if you are overweight (BMI of 25 to 29.9) or obese (BMI of > 30). 

Being overweight and obese causes changes in the body including long-lasting inflammation, much higher than normal levels of insulin, insulin-like growth factor, insulin resistance and sex hormones. These changes may lead to cancer. The longer you are overweight and the more overweight you are, both increase your risk. Adding to the risk is the SAD (Sad American Diet) compounded with a lack of regular exercise. 

When talking about cancer, for most people, diet is the elephant in the room. The slow weight gain has always been there, in the shadows, quietly taking a toll on our health. We crave a diet that makes us feel good, not a diet that fuels our bodies and makes us healthy. People think that “healthy eating” means giving up the pleasure foods we crave. In part that is true, however, 

I am not saying that you can never have a cheeseburger, donut or taco. Moderation is the key. 

When you fight something like cancer, you have to address the elephant, DIET, you have to ask the hard questions and figure out what you need to do.

When my sister was diagnosed with ovarian cancer (June 2022), my sister and I needed to understand cancer and how best to fight it beyond conventional treatments with surgery and chemotherapy. 

We knew her weight was an issue as was her exposure to baby powder for years. We could not take back the exposure to baby powder but she could work on her weight. My husband and I  read hundreds of research publications and watched videos regarding cancer, specifically ovarian cancer.  My sister listened to her doctor’s advice, stopped drinking her cans of colas (sugar sweetened drinks), and stayed away from caffeine and alcohol. Though she never drank the last two except occasionally.  

She believed she was eating healthy but It was what she did not know which could have been holding her back.  She thought she was eating healthy to fight her cancer.

She followed her treatment plan, having multiple paracentesis for ascites (cancer cells irritate the abdomen causing fluid to accumulate), she started her chemotherapy for several months hoping to decrease the tumor size and any metastasis. She had her surgery (referred to as “debulking”) and her tumor marker dropped but continued to show activity. She had thought that between the chemo and surgery, she would be cured. Her doctor decided to extend her chemo for an additional 2 rounds before surgery, hoping she would respond completely, but that did not happen and her numbers started to slowly rise yet again. 

We had several conversations about the Keto diet showing up in research as a possible adjunct therapy (that is a therapy that “aids” conventional treatment). While mostly only mouse studies were reported, and there was limited human research, we thought it would not hurt to give it a try. We knew it would not “cure” her cancer but perhaps it could help put her cancer at a disadvantage. 

My sister’s oncologist had told her once that “cancer loves sugar”, but what I did not know was that she was eating a relatively high carbohydrate diet. When I told her that carbs become sugar. She was shocked. She had no idea, she was not aware of this. Given more time to think about what I had told her about why a keto diet might help, she asked me about the diet and was willing to give it a try (this is now May of 2023).  

If you remember, I told you in the last blog that cancer cells are different from regular cells. In a high blood sugar environment, cancer will take up as much glucose as possible to replicate as quickly as they can and that insulin (secreted when glucose is present) will also reduce the cancer cell death. People with “metabolic syndrome”; something that often happens with obesity and it is also called “insulin resistance”. This diagnosis is common in people with cancer and is associated with higher cancer recurrence rates and decreased survival. That tells me that you have to fix your insulin resistance as part of your treatment.  

It makes sense that eating a low carbohydrate Ketogenic diet which denies cancer easy access to glucose, reduces stored glucose (in fatty liver stores) and can help achieve weight loss is a key to her treatment being successful. I have had many patients who did not change their lifestyles when it came to their diet and exercise when dealing with their chronic disease; none survived. 

I am sure that many people ask, “ What is the Ketogenic Diet”, and why would it work? The diet is pretty straightforward; although many people believe it is unlimited steak, bacon and fatty meals. This is not far from the truth, however, includes (just to name a few things): fatty fish, lean meats, eggs, bacon, avocado, avocado oil / olive oils, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, bok choy, broccolini, spices, some butter, lemon. None of these are bad for you. It is gluten-free. No wheat or high carb grains. Instead, we use almond and coconut flour and ground pork rinds (instead of bread crumbs). Surprisingly, it works and the food can taste great. 

It has made a difference in my autoimmune disease which used to cost over $5,000 a month for medications!  My results are as good or better than I had on the medication. I do feel that it is the reduced glutens but I will talk more about autoimmune disease and diet at a later time if people are interested.

Back to metabolism and why ketosis works.

When normal cells do not get enough carbohydrate to convert to glucose it has a way of switching from glucose to fat for fuel (this is in the form of ketones created in the liver). The body is capable of using the ketones to replace the missing glucose. In doing this, fat reserves are used and often weight loss follows unless you are eating too many calories per day. 

Some cancer cells are unable to use ketones. It is believed that eating this diet might be able to slow tumor growth, protect healthy cells from the effects of chemo treatment, help anti-cancer drugs work better, and calm inflammation (which encourages cancer growth).

A ketogenic diet might not only help with the treatment of cancer but also help you change your eating habits after treatment,  to reduce the chance you gain all your weight back which can increase the risk of the cancer returning due to overeating.  

I have come to believe that some patients believe that since they are in remission, they are safe and have essentially “beat cancer”. Not so much. I have seen too many cases of cancer coming back from remission only to be highly resistant to any current treatments as soon as they resumed a “normal lifestyle”– including eating habits. 

 Again, you need to make sure your doctor understands your plan and that you work closely with them. There are people (particularly diabetics) who require supervision with this type of diet.

I will include websites I use. I was surprised at how many resources are out there. 

We use something called a “GKI ” (glucose ketone index) which suggests you can achieve multiple health benefits depending on where you are on the ketosis journey but also lets you know when the index might not be a health benefit depending on your diagnosis.There is a lot of information, as well as a calculator, on this website: 

https://keto-mojo.com/glucose-ketone-index-gki/

The GKI index uses your blood glucose and blood ketones to give you the therapeutic ranges for ketosis and fighting disease. 

For my sister, we are looking for a state of ketosis that will be the most therapeutic for her cancer. According to multiple sites that I have seen, a range of between 1-3 GKI will be highly therapeutic to fight disease. This range treats cancer (still requires more research), epilepsy (since 1920 used for treatment in children), Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, brain injury, polycystic ovarian syndrome and inflammatory disease. 

The diet is based on 70% – 80% fats, 10%- 20% protein and 5% – 10% carbohydrates. Whether you eat 50 grams of carbs a day, or 10 grams, the ratio between fat, protein and carbs never changes. If you are looking to lose weight then it is a bit different.  Fats have 9 calories per gram and protein and carbs have just 4 calories per gram. If you want to lose weight, you will need to most likely decrease overall calories per day.

Just an example: if you want to eat 2000 calories a day; 

70% – 80% fats =       165 grams of fat per day 

10% – 20% protein =  80 grams of protein per day

5% – 10% carbs =      40 grams carbs per day

My sister stays at a 70/20/10 ratio. The protein amount on the ketogenic diet is kept lower when compared with other low-carb high-protein diets. If you are eating too much protein, it can be converted to glucose and prevent ketosis.. 

Weight loss on the ketogenic diet seems, as reported by my sister, to be nearly effortless. My sister tells me that she never has had an easier time losing weight. She has lost 87 pounds and counting, 57 lb weight loss since starting keto in just 5 months. Never before has her weight loss been so easy. I did know that when you burn fat for fuel (as with ketones) it affects the part of your brain that controls hunger. The “hypothalamus” which is a portion of the brain that controls your hunger stimulates cortisol which can create hunger cues.

My sister used to say she was “always hungry”. Since her journey on Keto, she says, “I am rarely hungry”. 

I can not say scientifically if this is true, but I can without any doubt say that my sister has struggled with weight loss her entire life. She admits that, “I did not just love to eat, I lived to eat”. Now, her focus is only on eating to live.  

She is making amazing progress with her weight and that is all that matters in the long run. Being overweight has not helped her, I just hope the weight loss and her determination to fight cancer will persevere. 

There have been articles – which report “muscle wasting” as a side effect of the Keto diet– speaking more to people losing weight due to the disease and not the diet. My sister is now at 167 lb and is having the conversation of how to maintain her weight after she has achieved her “ideal body weight”. Let there be no mistake, my sister understands the cancer is living in her abdominal fat, eating whatever nutrition it can get from her diet, so her losing weight is deliberate. I would do the same thing in her position. Many people think that weight loss with her cancer is due to the disease, but my sister is deliberately losing weight to control the disease. I can not look into the future, but hope tells me she will survive and thrive! 

Recently she went to the VA for her annual blood work. Her cholesterol was elevated. We revisited her diet and found that she was eating more red meat than fish and other sources of good protein. Also, she was not getting enough of the “good” fats which she should be getting. It should take about a month to reverse some of the adverse effects of her current diet. She has incorporated fasting (no food between 6 pm and 7 am each day) as this eliminates glutamine resources for cancer as fuel and is recommended in many healthcare circles.  

There are no answers, nearly enough research or even enough information regarding nutrition and the treatment of cancer, she is living the best life possible right now.

There is one more elephant in the room and that is exercise. That will be next up, exercise (walking) and also sharing some recipes which we love and hope you will too. Please log in. Remember, knowledge is power and it is within your grasp to have it. Love talking with all of you, take care and best always!