There are many people who would like to have a positive impact on their health by changing their diet, but what about this specific ketogenic diet? Does it really help with cancer or is it just another fad?
What is a ketogenic diet?
A ketogenic diet is a very low-carbohydrate, but high-fat diet that changes the body’s energy metabolism. The classic ketogenic diet allows a maximum of four percent carbohydrates or around 20 grams per day. For comparison: it is normally recommended for adults to cover around 50 percent of their total daily energy requirement with carbohydrates. Furthermore, the ketogenic diet allows about six to eight percent protein and almost 90 percent fat.
Noodles, bread, rice, potatoes and sugar are forbidden foods. On the menu instead of these high-sugar carbs are fatty fish, meat sausage eggs and low-carbohydrate vegetables such as zucchini cucumber broccoli. Because fruit contains a lot of fructose it is consumed in small amounts or not at all on the diet plan.
How does the body react when it is not getting any carbohydrates?
The cells in our body can obtain energy the quickest from carbohydrates. Sugar is fuel for life, and it’s also what suffices as brain food. Each day, your brain consumes about 140 grams of glucose to power its activities.
In the ketogenic diet, carbs are to be kept at a minimum. As a result, your body’s glycogen stores in the muscles and liver will normally be used up after only 3 days. In order for cells to continue getting energy from somewhere else other than carbohydrates, metabolism has to change: Your liver increasingly begins breaking down fats into ketone bodies that can then pass on as an alternate source of energy throughout your brain and muscles. Experts call this metabolic state ketosis.
How do you know that the body is in ketosis?
Ketosis can be measured by testing the blood and urine. Ketone test strips in a pharmacy can be used to measure ketones in urine. Lack of carbohydrates becomes noticeable through difficulty concentrating, tiredness, bad breath and constipation. One-sided diet brings body into starvation metabolism which is an emergency situation.
This leads to the body becoming acidic and toxins accumulating. And you can smell it: if the body is in ketosis, breath smells like acetone because of exhaled toxins. The kidneys are also heavily stressed by the diet. Kidney damage, kidney stones and high cholesterol levels are the consequence.
Why do some experts recommend changing diet for cancer?
Some cancer cells have been shown to consume more sugar than healthy cells. Naturally, it makes sense that we should try to avoid sugar in our food – but unfortunately, this is not a straightforward process. There are no scientific studies that prove the connection between a low-sugar diet and tumor growth.
Can a diet fight cancer?
Experts say no, and so far there are no studies that prove the benefits of cancer diets. Extreme variants such as ketogenic diets have not been adequately investigated yet. Patients are generally the ones who want to work towards their own recovery, but a sugar-free diet is difficult to implement and according to studies not quite what they need.
Patients need to know that their diet cannot influence tumor growth. The aim of good nutrition during often debilitating therapy is so the patient feels physically well and maintains a stable weight. Patients with a great nutritional status have better prognosis outcomes.
What can a ketogenic diet do – and what not?
This diet is only used for a few diseases under the supervision of doctors and dietitians. There are rare congenital metabolic disorders that require this extreme, controlled diet to survive. Even in epilepsy, if your body’s metabolism changes enough it can reduce the frequency of seizures.
It is not advised to adopt a low-carbohydrate or even ketogenic diet in cancer. Many patients think that this causes the tumor, but there is no evidence for it. The basis of the advice was withdrawn, and yet it’s not true. Tumor cells can also feed on proteins and fats.
Stay connected
0 Comments