Fasting: A Radical New Tool In The Fight Against Cancer
As the second leading cause of death in the USA, cancer has been a topic of study for many scientists and doctors for decades. However, treatment methods have changed very little over the past 30 years, with chemotherapy/radiotherapy combined with surgery being the most standard method. According to American Cancer Society, cancer patients receiving this standard treatment are advised to increase calorie and protein intake, despite there being no clear dietary guidelines for cancer patients. Recent studies on reduced calorie intake challenge this normalized diet routine for a more effective cancer treatment.
There are many types of fasting including Alternate Day Fasting (ADF), 5:2 Fasts, and Calorie Restriction (CR). The main focus of studies on fasting for cancer treatment is CR, which describes a 20-40% reduction in calorie intake from a normal diet. CR targets one of the major risk factors for development of cancer: aging. CR works to delay aging and many studies on animal models demonstrate its role in preventing cancer. In fact, rodents and rhesus monkeys treated with CR showed regression of tumors and reduction of cancer incidence by up to 50%. CR accomplishes this and promotes longevity by reducing oxidative stress and cell division, while also promoting DNA repair and autophagy, lowering the levels of insulin and cholesterol. These effects, overall, allow cells to enter a stress-resistant state, where reduction of cell division allows normal cells to be protected while discouraging the growth of tumor cells.
There are many types of fasting including Alternate Day Fasting (ADF), 5:2 Fasts, and Calorie Restriction (CR). The main focus of studies on fasting for cancer treatment is CR, which describes a 20-40% reduction in calorie intake from a normal diet. CR targets one of the major risk factors for development of cancer: aging. CR works to delay aging and many studies on animal models demonstrate its role in preventing cancer. In fact, rodents and rhesus monkeys treated with CR showed regression of tumors and reduction of cancer incidence by up to 50%. CR accomplishes this and promotes longevity by reducing oxidative stress and cell division, while also promoting DNA repair and autophagy, lowering the levels of insulin and cholesterol. These effects, overall, allow cells to enter a stress-resistant state, where reduction of cell division allows normal cells to be protected while discouraging the growth of tumor cells.
Image Source: silviarita
Despite the positive effects CR delivers for cancer treatment, it is not the most practical considering the difficulty of restricting calorie intake for cancer patients over long periods of time. CR can also negatively affect the immune system and wound healing, which is particularly dangerous for cancer patients. However, other shorter term fasting methods such as Intermittent Fasting, which restrict eating periods to a certain amount of hours in a day, and Fasting Mimicking Diets (FMD), which require no calorie reduction, can induce the same metabolic changes that destroy cancer cells without the side effects and limitations of long-term CR. While these diets cannot be used as the main treatment for cancer, as they are mostly only preventive, they can be used in addition to standard treatments. These diet-based treatments have the capacity to prevent cancer establishment, delay the aging process, and enhance the therapeutic effects of other cancer treatments while remaining inexpensive and accessible for everyone. As the number of aging population grows and other risk factors such as environmental changes and obesity continue to increase in prevalence, effective fasting methods may provide new options for cancer patients all over the world.
Featured Image Source: PDPics
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