Sugar and Cancer

vm007
vm007 Posts: 241 Member
edited November 25 in Food and Nutrition
Hi,

Opportunity for me to learn more from you all.

I was watching a documentary on Amazon called "Magic pill" which promotes ketogenic diet. As it went on, a woman came on and talked about how she killed her Cancer by doing ketogenic diet and was recommending that everyone can do so by eating keto diet.

Now since I have zero knowledge about this line of work and for me, I use CICO and when I'm feeling fancy I make sure my protein and fiber levels are good.

So what's up with this? They also talked about "flawed" model known as "energy in and energy out".

I understand that some like specific diets but when did CICO become irrelevant when it came to weight loss? I understand CICO needs to be adjusted for nutrition as in if you eat only Carbs it'll be bad because you won't meet your nutrition requirement but for weight loss and gain, why do they keep harping on about this being wrong? Do they know something I don't?

Thanks in advance. I'm here to learn so if I'm wrong I'd be happy to learn but for me CICO has worked wonderfully.
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Replies

  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    Low sugar diets can help with treating some cancers such as brain cancer and some others. There are some cancers that use fats as a fuel very well, and although those are not a majority, you would want to know your cancer before adjusting your diet to treat it. It can also be complementary to more common cancer treatments such as radiation and chemo, and helps reduce cancer cachexia.

    It is thought that limiting or avoiding refined carbohydrates may help with cancer prevention but that is not well researched or proven.

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3267662/

    About all they have shown so far is that the low fat diet of yesteryear does not seem to help prevent CVD or cancer, at least in the types that they looked at.

    https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/2006/02/09/low-fat-diet-not-a-cure-all-womens-health-initiative/

    What *aggravates* me are the people, or groups or documentaries who try to push cancer patients away from "big pharma" to a "one twue way" natural approach to treatment because big pharma just wants to keep them sick, keep them chronically ill, knows that natural remedies work but would never admit that. I see it so often and I heard it so much when I was ill. Eat a plant based diet, it will cure you. Take high doses of vitamin C, it will cure you. Drink mangosteen juice, it will cure you. DON'T use chemo, it's just poison.

    I have no problem with your studies listed. I have no problem if an oncologist suggests, or if a cancer patient on their own decides they want to do a diet in conjuction with treatment. My problem (and I did not watch the documentary, I can only go by what the OP stated) is that in this documentary some person comes out and claims their cancer is cured by a way of eating without any medical treatment. To that I say....show me medical records or it didn't happen. Or that person was misdiagnosed and never had cancer to begin with.

    I agree. I doubt there are many nutritional therapies that cure cancer outright, if any.

    I do see more possibilities in prevention and nutrition. That seems hopeful.
  • YvetteK2015
    YvetteK2015 Posts: 654 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    Low sugar diets can help with treating some cancers such as brain cancer and some others. There are some cancers that use fats as a fuel very well, and although those are not a majority, you would want to know your cancer before adjusting your diet to treat it. It can also be complementary to more common cancer treatments such as radiation and chemo, and helps reduce cancer cachexia.

    It is thought that limiting or avoiding refined carbohydrates may help with cancer prevention but that is not well researched or proven.

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3267662/

    About all they have shown so far is that the low fat diet of yesteryear does not seem to help prevent CVD or cancer, at least in the types that they looked at.

    https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/2006/02/09/low-fat-diet-not-a-cure-all-womens-health-initiative/

    What *aggravates* me are the people, or groups or documentaries who try to push cancer patients away from "big pharma" to a "one twue way" natural approach to treatment because big pharma just wants to keep them sick, keep them chronically ill, knows that natural remedies work but would never admit that. I see it so often and I heard it so much when I was ill. Eat a plant based diet, it will cure you. Take high doses of vitamin C, it will cure you. Drink mangosteen juice, it will cure you. DON'T use chemo, it's just poison.

    I have no problem with your studies listed. I have no problem if an oncologist suggests, or if a cancer patient on their own decides they want to do a diet in conjuction with treatment. My problem (and I did not watch the documentary, I can only go by what the OP stated) is that in this documentary some person comes out and claims their cancer is cured by a way of eating without any medical treatment. To that I say....show me medical records or it didn't happen. Or that person was misdiagnosed and never had cancer to begin with.

    I agree. I doubt there are many nutritional therapies that cure cancer outright, if any.

    I do see more possibilities in prevention and nutrition. That seems hopeful.

    I 100% agree.
  • Djproulx
    Djproulx Posts: 3,084 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    Low sugar diets can help with treating some cancers such as brain cancer and some others. There are some cancers that use fats as a fuel very well, and although those are not a majority, you would want to know your cancer before adjusting your diet to treat it. It can also be complementary to more common cancer treatments such as radiation and chemo, and helps reduce cancer cachexia.

    It is thought that limiting or avoiding refined carbohydrates may help with cancer prevention but that is not well researched or proven.

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3267662/

    About all they have shown so far is that the low fat diet of yesteryear does not seem to help prevent CVD or cancer, at least in the types that they looked at.

    https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/2006/02/09/low-fat-diet-not-a-cure-all-womens-health-initiative/

    What *aggravates* me are the people, or groups or documentaries who try to push cancer patients away from "big pharma" to a "one twue way" natural approach to treatment because big pharma just wants to keep them sick, keep them chronically ill, knows that natural remedies work but would never admit that. I see it so often and I heard it so much when I was ill. Eat a plant based diet, it will cure you. Take high doses of vitamin C, it will cure you. Drink mangosteen juice, it will cure you. DON'T use chemo, it's just poison.

    I have no problem with your studies listed. I have no problem if an oncologist suggests, or if a cancer patient on their own decides they want to do a diet in conjuction with treatment. My problem (and I did not watch the documentary, I can only go by what the OP stated) is that in this documentary some person comes out and claims their cancer is cured by a way of eating without any medical treatment. To that I say....show me medical records or it didn't happen. Or that person was misdiagnosed and never had cancer to begin with.

    I agree. I doubt there are many nutritional therapies that cure cancer outright, if any.

    I do see more possibilities in prevention and nutrition. That seems hopeful.

    ^^ I agree. I'm no health expert, but the work of Dr Valter Longo of USC is very interesting to me. His studies on aging, nutrition and disease among various long lived populations led him to propose a largely vegan & fish based diet, that when supplemented with periodic fasting (twice annually) seems to reduce risks for various diseases, including cancer.

    Weight loss and weight management are only one facet of his suggested approach to healthy longevity. His clinical studies of mice that showed how fasting for several days prior to and during chemotherapy provided dramatic improvements in treatment effectiveness and survival rates were fascinating to me.
  • orangegato
    orangegato Posts: 6,572 Member
    I know a couple of people w/ cancer who ate a ketogenic diet in addition to their chemo and it didn't help. Not only did their cancer recur or progress, but when they lost a ton of weight they didn't seem to have the energy to handle their chemo as well as others.
  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
    kpsyche wrote: »
    psuLemon wrote: »
    In all reality, sugars rarely convert to fat.

    If you are not exercising then sugars are almost always converted to fat (triglicerides). Even if you are exercising excess sugars are converted to fat more easily then to anything else so this is what happens.

    No. If you are consuming more than you burn sugar can be turned into fat. Exercise just means you can consume more.
  • johnslater461
    johnslater461 Posts: 449 Member
    kpsyche wrote: »
    psuLemon wrote: »
    In all reality, sugars rarely convert to fat.

    If you are not exercising then sugars are almost always converted to fat (triglicerides). Even if you are exercising excess sugars are converted to fat more easily then to anything else so this is what happens.


    Nope

    https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/74/6/707/4737384
  • fb47
    fb47 Posts: 1,058 Member
    Everything these days causes cancer, just eat anything in moderation and you'll be fine. I don't lose sleep because I ate something with sugar or meat or whatever new fad cancer is out there.
  • 100_PROOF_
    100_PROOF_ Posts: 1,168 Member
    OhCaroleM wrote: »
    I suggest you watch a video on YouTube by Dr. Robert Ludwig. He talks about a condition called "Metabolic Syndrome" that is somewhat of a vicious cycle where basically body insulin gets out of balance and the body processes blood sugar into fat, with much of it going to the liver. The body gets somewhat dependent the cycle and when sugar intake is reduced (as with dieting) the body signals the brain and increases appetite. So people eat more and it sabbotages diets. It's a very difficult cycle to break hence many people experience yoyo dieting.

    My understanding is that someone experiencing the syndrome may have the best success by VERY gradual weight loss.

    Dr. Ludwig paints a pretty bleak picture, but there are many people here on MFP that have overcome, many success stories to motivate you. :)

    This is not factual
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    Low sugar diets can help with treating some cancers such as brain cancer and some others. There are some cancers that use fats as a fuel very well, and although those are not a majority, you would want to know your cancer before adjusting your diet to treat it. It can also be complementary to more common cancer treatments such as radiation and chemo, and helps reduce cancer cachexia.

    It is thought that limiting or avoiding refined carbohydrates may help with cancer prevention but that is not well researched or proven.

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3267662/

    About all they have shown so far is that the low fat diet of yesteryear does not seem to help prevent CVD or cancer, at least in the types that they looked at.

    https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/2006/02/09/low-fat-diet-not-a-cure-all-womens-health-initiative/

    What *aggravates* me are the people, or groups or documentaries who try to push cancer patients away from "big pharma" to a "one twue way" natural approach to treatment because big pharma just wants to keep them sick, keep them chronically ill, knows that natural remedies work but would never admit that. I see it so often and I heard it so much when I was ill. Eat a plant based diet, it will cure you. Take high doses of vitamin C, it will cure you. Drink mangosteen juice, it will cure you. DON'T use chemo, it's just poison.

    I have no problem with your studies listed. I have no problem if an oncologist suggests, or if a cancer patient on their own decides they want to do a diet in conjuction with treatment. My problem (and I did not watch the documentary, I can only go by what the OP stated) is that in this documentary some person comes out and claims their cancer is cured by a way of eating without any medical treatment. To that I say....show me medical records or it didn't happen. Or that person was misdiagnosed and never had cancer to begin with.

    To be fair, spontaneous remission is a real thing and affects somewhere between 5-25% of patients depending on the particulars of the variety of cancer.
  • fb47
    fb47 Posts: 1,058 Member
    edited April 2018
    100_PROOF_ wrote: »
    OhCaroleM wrote: »
    I suggest you watch a video on YouTube by Dr. Robert Ludwig. He talks about a condition called "Metabolic Syndrome" that is somewhat of a vicious cycle where basically body insulin gets out of balance and the body processes blood sugar into fat, with much of it going to the liver. The body gets somewhat dependent the cycle and when sugar intake is reduced (as with dieting) the body signals the brain and increases appetite. So people eat more and it sabbotages diets. It's a very difficult cycle to break hence many people experience yoyo dieting.

    My understanding is that someone experiencing the syndrome may have the best success by VERY gradual weight loss.

    Dr. Ludwig paints a pretty bleak picture, but there are many people here on MFP that have overcome, many success stories to motivate you. :)

    This is not factual

    People put too much faith in doctors, but little do they realize that they also can be snake oil salesman disguised as doctors (Dr. Oz comes in mind).
  • YvetteK2015
    YvetteK2015 Posts: 654 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    Low sugar diets can help with treating some cancers such as brain cancer and some others. There are some cancers that use fats as a fuel very well, and although those are not a majority, you would want to know your cancer before adjusting your diet to treat it. It can also be complementary to more common cancer treatments such as radiation and chemo, and helps reduce cancer cachexia.

    It is thought that limiting or avoiding refined carbohydrates may help with cancer prevention but that is not well researched or proven.

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3267662/

    About all they have shown so far is that the low fat diet of yesteryear does not seem to help prevent CVD or cancer, at least in the types that they looked at.

    https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/2006/02/09/low-fat-diet-not-a-cure-all-womens-health-initiative/

    What *aggravates* me are the people, or groups or documentaries who try to push cancer patients away from "big pharma" to a "one twue way" natural approach to treatment because big pharma just wants to keep them sick, keep them chronically ill, knows that natural remedies work but would never admit that. I see it so often and I heard it so much when I was ill. Eat a plant based diet, it will cure you. Take high doses of vitamin C, it will cure you. Drink mangosteen juice, it will cure you. DON'T use chemo, it's just poison.

    I have no problem with your studies listed. I have no problem if an oncologist suggests, or if a cancer patient on their own decides they want to do a diet in conjuction with treatment. My problem (and I did not watch the documentary, I can only go by what the OP stated) is that in this documentary some person comes out and claims their cancer is cured by a way of eating without any medical treatment. To that I say....show me medical records or it didn't happen. Or that person was misdiagnosed and never had cancer to begin with.

    To be fair, spontaneous remission is a real thing and affects somewhere between 5-25% of patients depending on the particulars of the variety of cancer.

    Show me proof it was because of the diet they followed, or because they had high dose IV vitamin C. I never said anything about not believing in spontaneous remission. In fact, that is one reason there is a push back in stopping mammograms at 40 and starting them around age 50. Some in the community believe that some very early breast tumors may actually resolve themselves, therefore we are doing too much and being too aggressive with some women early on. So this is a debated topic right now.

    That's not the same thing as saying "Do X,Y,Z natural things and you will no longer have cancer". That is pushing desperate people away from seeking out pharmaceutical treatment. I know people who actively do this. I see it all the time. I see people who who actively promote homeopathy over traditional doctors to "cure" cancer. That is my beef here.

    I had a chemo regimen where it flowed throw me for 96 hours straight. The bag was attached to me for 4 days...just pumping through me the whole time. I would never assume that type of chemo was right for EVERY cancer and I would never preach it. Free speech and all, but it's crappy that others would assume that a "natural" approach is the right way for every cancer patient to go, and forgo traditional treatment and they will go into remission. That is my beef.

    Sorry if that was long winded lol. I get passionate sometimes.

    I'm saying that as it's spontaneous, it's almost certainly NOT the diet they followed or any of the other woo.

    But humans identify patterns, and the last thing they changed before the spontaneous remission was XXX. find enough people who did XXX before spontaneous remission, and start selling XXX as a cure. In a population of billions, there's going to be enough(a few hundreds) who did XXX just before remission.

    And ultimately the woo peddlers aren't selling a cure, they're selling hope. And especially if you've got inoperable, untreatable, etc condition, you'll pay just about any price for hope.

    But that's not usually the case though. It's not usually the case of those who have had spontaneous remission that I see peddling the "cures". It's usually those who have never had cancer who are the snake oil sales men who target the truly desperate, like you said those who are terminal and inoperable. And to me that is despicable.
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