Comparing Ketogenic diet, intermittent fasting and CancerDialysis!
Author: Sture Hobro
The Ketogenic diet (KD) and Intermittent fasting diet have been studied as adjuvant therapies in cancer treatment. The KD has shown antitumor effects by reducing energy supplies (glucose) to cancer and other effects. This low energy supply during ketogenic conditions to cancer inhibits tumor survival and growth, explaining the ketogenic diet’s therapeutic mechanisms in cancer treatment both on its own but more compelling as an adjuvant treatment.
Intermittent fasting (IF) has also been studied as a potential adjuvant therapy in cancer prevention and therapy shown to have a variety of effects on cancer cell survival and growth both in combination with chemo, radio and immune therapies and on its own. The mechanism from IF includes effects on inflammation and oxidative stress in cancer. IF seems to have at least partly different mechanisms of action compared to KD, even if KD is shown to reduce inflammation and oxidative stress in similar manner as IF.
CancerDialysis (CD) will to some extent mimic intermittent fasting and can only be done during a short period of time (6-8 hours) and will induce strong ketogenic condition during the dialysis and may induce an even greater reduction of energy to the cancer cells than KD can do.
Figure comparison between different types of “ketogenic” treatments and effect on glucose and ketone levels in blood:
KD is applied over a long period of time and ketone levels are increased slowly while glucose levels are decreased moderately.
CD is suggested to be applied once or twice weekly during a treatment period with other cancer therapies. During the 6-8 hour dialysis session, it will rapidly create very strong ketogenic conditions with low glucose levels.
IF especially if applied as 5/2 or 6/1 diet will have a similar frequency as CD. However, the ketogenic conditions will not be particularly strong during IF.
