The FastDay Forum

http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/c ... 5-8-75.pdf

full title "Is there a role for carbohydrate restriction in the
treatment and prevention of cancer?"

Short answer - yes...

" first, contrary to normal cells, most malignant cells depend on steady glucose availability inthe blood for their energy and biomass generating demands and are not able to metabolize significant amounts of fatty acids or ketone bodies due to mitochondrial dysfunction. Second, high insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 levels resulting from chronic ingestion of CHO-rich Western diet meals, can directly promote tumor cell proliferation via the insulin/IGF1 signaling pathway. Third, ketone bodies that are elevated when insulin and blood glucose levels are low, have been found to negatively affect proliferation of different malignant cells in vitro or not to be usable by tumor cells for metabolic demands, and a multitude of mouse models have shown antitumorigenic properties of very low CHO ketogenic diets"

[carorees]

I think the protein and cancer link might also come down to glucose too. (Excess protein --> glucose).

That all makes very good sense (to a non-scientist like me, happy to jump to conclusions!) So cut down glucose by restricting carb intake and excess protein intake and you cut the risk of cancer and/or its speed of growth.

Does intermittent fasting act as an equally powerful brake? The suggestion that malignant cells need 'steady glucose availability' implies that if you break that availability by a period of fasting you might damage malignant cells as effectively as continuous restriction?

[carorees]

Does intermittent fasting act as an equally powerful brake? The suggestion that malignant cells need 'steady glucose availability' implies that if you break that availability by a period of fasting you might damage malignant cells as effectively as continuous restriction?

Exactly! Also supports fasting all day and avoiding carbs on fast days.

How wonderful to consistently have my questions answered before I've even asked them!! Thank you very much.

[carorees]

@Marlathome: Oh? You didn't know that fasting not only improves brain function but gives you prescience too?

Watch Dr Valter Longo here:

The gist: fasting has a powerful effect against cancer cells. Seems Dr Longo is answering our questions too before we ask them! But this is probably rather more extreme fasting than we namby-pamby 5:2ers are doing...

A week or so ago, in search of information about the best way for a normal-weight person to obtain the health benefits of fasting, I ran a search for Valter Longo. The vast majority of returns concerned his work with the use of fasting in the treatment of cancer, many of them links to scientific papers. Here's one:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2815756/

Thanks Natasha. I've been looking for more recent information about Dr Longo's results. Here are a couple of pages:

http://www.cancer.gov/ncicancerbulletin/071012/page5
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 172308.htm

The first report mentions a product 'Chemolieve' that has been developed specifically for use in the ongoing clinical trials that combine Longo's fasting regime with chemotherapy. They found that most people would refuse the recommended 'water-only' fast and devised this product to make fasting more acceptable.

It would be interesting to know what they have put in Chemolieve. For obvious reasons they don't say, but the website page is here. It says they are also planning 'a line of nutritional products based on its proprietary formulas aimed at preventing cancer and other age-related diseases and at extending the healthy life span'.

It's nice that this work is being done, but it will be a shame if the knowhow is locked into a proprietary product (and a very expensive one, I am sure!)

I suspect the main ingredients are fat, salts and vitamins.
I wonder whether any oncologists will advocate the product here in the uk. If you are lucky enough to be thinking rationally prior to chemo you could always adjust your own diet accordingly. I think many chemo patients end up fasting unintentionally, especially if the drugs are nausea inducing/emitics eg cisplatin

Fats, salts and vitamins: how hard can it be?!

Re UK oncologists: yes, I wonder. I guess oncology is a rapidly changing area of medicine so you would think they would be open to new ideas? Dr Longo says that patients should not try this on their own (you may remember he said the same to Dr MM in the Horizon programme). But if your oncologist don't get it, you are then a bit stuck, unless you can persuade her/him.

. . .But if your oncologist don't get it, you are then a bit stuck, unless you can persuade her/him.

I suppose if you weren't severely underweight, you could decide on your own to fast after reading through the available literature. As I recall, the recommendation in most cases was to fast for two days prior to chemo and one day after.

In an interview here published 3 April 2012 Dr Valter Longo says:

Question: What is the optimal amount of caloric restriction, and duration of that restriction, to achieve cancer preventative changes in humans?

Longo: I don’t think severe calorie restriction is appropriate since, in addition to many beneficial effects, it also causes severe weight loss. I believe that for now, a high micronourishment, mostly plant-based diet with some fish that allows a BMI of 21–23 and low waist circumference is the ideal diet. Brief periods of fasting followed by refeeding to remain at a steady weight may also be recommended.

It's not explained what his idea of 'brief periods of fasting' is, but I would think it is not too far away from 5:2...

I'm so glad that at last there is research going into diet and cancer patients. It is long overdue.

It's not explained what his idea of 'brief periods of fasting' is, but I would think it is not too far away from 5:2...

IIRC, in the Horizon presentation he was the researcher who fasted for 3 to 4 days every few months (he said something like "it's difficult, I'm Italian, I like to eat"), although it wasn't clear if that was a regular practice for him.