Can Intermittent Fasting Kill Cancer?
I am speaking from personal experience, having survived stage 3 Cancer of the large intestine.
Oct-31-2002 I was diagnosed and told by the Dr's that I had an apple sized tumor in my large transverse intestine, which had perforated the wall of the intestine and was about to metastasize, they gave me a 50% chance of surviving, Surgery was scheduled in 2 weeks (Nov-15). Chemo therapy would be scheduled after I recovered. The Dr's also told me these were the ONLY treatments for the cancer.
Something deep inside me felt otherwise. I knew in my heart that I could beat this thing. I felt a strong inspiration to start fasting.
I immediately went home and started a 24 hour fast (once a week) from solid foods but continued to drink lemon water and herb tea. I continued to fast the next week intermittently only eating a small dinner consisting of all vegetables and herbs. At the end of the first week I did another 24 hour fast from all solid foods continuing to stay hydrated drinking water and herb teas. The 2nd week I started back on the 1 meal a day fasting regimen for 5 days. The final 2 days I fasted for 48 hours as I had to have the entire intestinal tract completely cleaned out for the surgery.
After the surgery I was informed that the tumor had shrunk down to the size of a strawberry!!
I started studying the effects of fasting on the human mind and body. As a fitness trainer I have always advised eating a low starchy carb high protein/fat Keto diet along with Intermittent Fasting for health benefits. So I adopted a similar program after my surgery to continue making progress along with Intermittent Fasting for 19-21 hours of the day with no solid food (drinking herb teas and lemon water) then eating 1 meal a day during a small 4 hour window, this is known as The Warrior Fast. Its pretty extreme and might not be for you but its what I did.
This diet strategy strongly resembles the now famous Ketogenic diet. The main difference for me was that I did not eat very much meat at all, zero pork, beef. I used eggs, plant protein, fish (salmon) and some Whey protein powders for my protein source. Heavy on the vegetables, zero starchy carbs ie potatoes, rice, pasta etc. very little fruit. Juicing vegetables to detox the chemo out of my system and keep my liver functioning at a high level became the norm.
Heres what happens to the body during a fasting period. See the arrows up or down depicting increase or decrease.
Here is an explanation of Autophagy which I found extremely interesting.
Research Studies
The first scientific paper reporting that CR (Calorie Restriction) inhibited the growth of tumors transplanted into mice was published by Carlo Moreschi way back in 1909 (1). Since then, a large body of work has established that CR reduces the progression of tumors in various animal models. Additional research in both rodents and monkeys have shown that when CR was started by 12 months of age, lifespan was increased and incidence of spontaneous cancers was reduced by 50% (7). Although most cancer cells do seem to be sensitive to CR, there are some cells that carry mutations that make them resistant to CR. This suggests that the efficacy of CR may be limited to certain cancers (8). Human studies have to date been limited; however, there are some interesting outcomes related to cancer risk reduction and reducing treatment-related side effects.
Simply eating less has these benefits, intermittent fasting produces even greater benefits much faster. So right here we have 1-Living Longer and 2 Lower incidence of Cancer just from eating LESS food!! Who doesnt want that!?
Risk Reduction and Tumor Regression
In 2014, Longo and colleagues found that fasting caused “old” immune cells to terminate in mice, which were replaced by stem cells as soon as the subjects started eating. They concluded that a 3-day fast could reset to a stronger immune system (9). They also showed that a 48-hour fasting period in mice slowed the growth and spread of 5 out of the 8 cancers studied. They demonstrated that the combining of fasting cycles with chemotherapy was more effective than chemotherapy alone in all cancers studied (6). Although these were all animal studies, and it is unknown if humans would have the same benefit; however, several active clinical trials are researching the effect of low calorie diet or fasting and their effects on cancer.
A 2007 study (n=16) showed that alternate-day fasting, in which one day calories stayed at 400 for women and 600 for men, and the other day was unregulated, reduced blood levels of glucose, insulin and IGF-1 with a long-term risk reduction of chronic diseases including cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (10). Two calorie restriction studies, one that included women at moderately increased risk of breast cancer (n = 19) and the other that included newly diagnosed pancreatic cancer patients (n = 19) showed a decrease in serum markers (IGF, stearoyl-CoA desaturase, fatty acid desaturase, and aldolase C), possibly related to cancer risk and prognosis (11, 12).
I am speaking from personal experience, having survived stage 3 Cancer of the large intestine.
Oct-31-2002 I was diagnosed and told by the Dr's that I had an apple sized tumor in my large transverse intestine, which had perforated the wall of the intestine and was about to metastasize, they gave me a 50% chance of surviving, Surgery was scheduled in 2 weeks (Nov-15). Chemo therapy would be scheduled after I recovered. The Dr's also told me these were the ONLY treatments for the cancer.
Something deep inside me felt otherwise. I knew in my heart that I could beat this thing. I felt a strong inspiration to start fasting.
I immediately went home and started a 24 hour fast (once a week) from solid foods but continued to drink lemon water and herb tea. I continued to fast the next week intermittently only eating a small dinner consisting of all vegetables and herbs. At the end of the first week I did another 24 hour fast from all solid foods continuing to stay hydrated drinking water and herb teas. The 2nd week I started back on the 1 meal a day fasting regimen for 5 days. The final 2 days I fasted for 48 hours as I had to have the entire intestinal tract completely cleaned out for the surgery.
After the surgery I was informed that the tumor had shrunk down to the size of a strawberry!!
I started studying the effects of fasting on the human mind and body. As a fitness trainer I have always advised eating a low starchy carb high protein/fat Keto diet along with Intermittent Fasting for health benefits. So I adopted a similar program after my surgery to continue making progress along with Intermittent Fasting for 19-21 hours of the day with no solid food (drinking herb teas and lemon water) then eating 1 meal a day during a small 4 hour window, this is known as The Warrior Fast. Its pretty extreme and might not be for you but its what I did.
This diet strategy strongly resembles the now famous Ketogenic diet. The main difference for me was that I did not eat very much meat at all, zero pork, beef. I used eggs, plant protein, fish (salmon) and some Whey protein powders for my protein source. Heavy on the vegetables, zero starchy carbs ie potatoes, rice, pasta etc. very little fruit. Juicing vegetables to detox the chemo out of my system and keep my liver functioning at a high level became the norm.
Heres what happens to the body during a fasting period. See the arrows up or down depicting increase or decrease.
The first scientific paper reporting that CR (Calorie Restriction) inhibited the growth of tumors transplanted into mice was published by Carlo Moreschi way back in 1909 (1). Since then, a large body of work has established that CR reduces the progression of tumors in various animal models. Additional research in both rodents and monkeys have shown that when CR was started by 12 months of age, lifespan was increased and incidence of spontaneous cancers was reduced by 50% (7). Although most cancer cells do seem to be sensitive to CR, there are some cells that carry mutations that make them resistant to CR. This suggests that the efficacy of CR may be limited to certain cancers (8). Human studies have to date been limited; however, there are some interesting outcomes related to cancer risk reduction and reducing treatment-related side effects.
Simply eating less has these benefits, intermittent fasting produces even greater benefits much faster. So right here we have 1-Living Longer and 2 Lower incidence of Cancer just from eating LESS food!! Who doesnt want that!?
Risk Reduction and Tumor Regression
In 2014, Longo and colleagues found that fasting caused “old” immune cells to terminate in mice, which were replaced by stem cells as soon as the subjects started eating. They concluded that a 3-day fast could reset to a stronger immune system (9). They also showed that a 48-hour fasting period in mice slowed the growth and spread of 5 out of the 8 cancers studied. They demonstrated that the combining of fasting cycles with chemotherapy was more effective than chemotherapy alone in all cancers studied (6). Although these were all animal studies, and it is unknown if humans would have the same benefit; however, several active clinical trials are researching the effect of low calorie diet or fasting and their effects on cancer.
A 2007 study (n=16) showed that alternate-day fasting, in which one day calories stayed at 400 for women and 600 for men, and the other day was unregulated, reduced blood levels of glucose, insulin and IGF-1 with a long-term risk reduction of chronic diseases including cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (10). Two calorie restriction studies, one that included women at moderately increased risk of breast cancer (n = 19) and the other that included newly diagnosed pancreatic cancer patients (n = 19) showed a decrease in serum markers (IGF, stearoyl-CoA desaturase, fatty acid desaturase, and aldolase C), possibly related to cancer risk and prognosis (11, 12).
Another study analyzed data from the Women’s Healthy Eating and Living study and found that breast cancer survivors who fasted for at least 13 hours overnight had a 36% decrease in the risk of recurrence and were 21% less likely to experience breast cancer related mortality (13). The proposed mechanism for this finding is thought to be related to better glycemic control resulting in protection against carcinogenesis. Each 2-hour increase in nightly fasting was linked to progressively lower hemoglobin A1C levels. This research is particularly interesting because it is a dietary strategy that most people could implement, giving cancer patients hope instead of gloomy survival statistics.
Mar to August 31-2003 was the dreaded 6 months of chemotherapy, the worst 6 months of my life. Incredible nausea, vomiting, the whole 9. Through Intermittent Fasting , Ketogenic eating, weight training, MMA, a positive go getter attitude and the Grace of God, I was able to not only survive but to thrive gaining muscle, strength while losing body fat at the same time. learn more here.
Get Stronger Faster!
Chad Hilliard
Personal Training
Group Fitness
Maximus MMA Fitness
St George Utah
707-234-8388
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