Thanks! The keto / low carb diet is recommended by many, especially Dr. Thomas Seyfried PhD (Boston College) for the treatment of all cancers. Dr. Seyfried has shown that cancer can use glucose and / or glutamineI for fuel, but not ketones. Restricting carbs decreases the fuel necessary for cancer growth. I am especially happy to see that carbs can be slightly increased with increased activity. My cancer patient friend struggles some days with this diet. The low feeling from a cancer diagnosis can contribute to food cravings. I suggested that if he overdid the carbs a bit in a meal, to take a walk, on the treadmill if necessary, and walk off the carbs so the cancer cannot use the glucose created from carbs as fuel. It is helpful to know that 1gram of carb produces 4 calories so if a person eats 20g carbs in a meal, then multiply by 4 and go walk off 80 calories - not too hard if a person is reasonably fit. (An under the desk pedaler if one has a desk job can be helpful - the under desk elliptical works better for some)). Since glucose is more quickly absorbed after eating then fatty acids or proteins, do the light exercise shortly after eating to work the carbs (now glucose) off before the cancer can use it. Unfortunately, restricting the glutamine fuel for cancer is still a work in progress - still research needed to safely bloc this pathway. Dr, Seyfried is studying an older drug once used in pediatric cancer called DOM - I'd have to check the video for the exact formula, and this appears to have some glutamine blocking activity. Many cancer patients have greatly reduced their cancer and increased their lifespan with a keto diet - some have cleared it completely (even metastatic disease) and remain on the diet to help prevent recurrence. I'm trying to lower my carbs too - don't want to go through what my friend is going through:(
IMHO trying to restrict glucose to kill cancer cells is bound to fail (cancer can burn fat too by the way).
IP6 and Deuterium Depleted Water are good adjuvant for cancer if you are interested (for your friend). I have two substack articles talking about them.
Depends on the cancer, different types of cancer, in different cells and tissue have a preferred metabolism, which they "stick to it" pretty closely, there is more to it than merely "cutting the carbs", assuring certain cells to function better by shifting their own metabolism and combat the cancer itself.
Such as (correctly) shifting the tryptophan metabolic pathway from the skewed kynurenine towards proper pathway, ensuring that NK cells and others deal with tumor (recent paper about it pretty good too).
Cancer is one of the most complex things, and often paradoxical/contradictory out there. A paradigm shift is needed IMO.
I believe I've read cancer cells can shift their metabolism according to their needs. Interestingly Otto Warburg himself tried to kill them (I don't remember if he tried on different cancer types) by restricting their glucose but was not successful.
I agree that cutting the carbs is not the whole thing, especially insulin decrease, mTOR decrease, deuterium-depleted metabolic water (check Laszlo Boros if you don't already know his work on deuterium depletion).
A complete shift is clearly needed. I am hopeful as I bought recently a mainstream scientific newspaper (in France) and they made a complete article on a "new" theory about cancer cause and how the random genetic mutations theory was completely flawed 🙂
This newspaper is called Epsiloon (double o to represent an 'infinity' sign). It replaces another old french mainstream scientific newspaper called "Science & vie" but which has been bought and corrupted by money since.
I am aware of the work of Seyfried but as I mentioned in an answer to John near this comment, I believe (I stand to be corrected) that, at least a part of cancer could shift their metabolism to fat oxidation if the glucose would be missing (note that even on the ketogenic diet you still have glucose in your blood and that more can be created from glycerol metabolism or from protein, which could be a cause of cachexia?).
I think that scientific debate is good! It is how new things are discovered - unlike the czars of covid who shut down all questioning. There is a section of the paper where Dr. Seyfried gives what he believes is happening with fatty acids. This is over my science background, so more research, debate and time will tell. However, the keto / low carb diet in different forms (Keto, carnivore, plant based, etc) does appear to be a factor for many who have slowed or stopped terminal cancer. For cancer patients in that situation, low carb / keto and supplements, possibly fenbendazole - are their only hope - outside of a miracle. As low carb is generally more healthy anyway, there is no downside except missing out on some sweets.
Thanks JP you inspired me to go back Low carb. Is your Kofi link gone? I offerred you a painting before and it still stands, though at the time I didnt realise your privacy needs.
2 years ago I did a no carb 2 week experiment: I had 2 bleeding warts on my right hand for about 9 months(from jiu jitsu probably) It took a full 10 days to notice anything but after 2 weeks no carbs(no potatoes/rice/pasta/bread) the warts disappeared. Also Ive had dry skin on one knuckle of my right hand for about 20 years that cracks and bleeds in winter and it too healed up pretty much! I replaced the carbs with healthy fats like avocado and salmon etc so maybe the fats helped too. I even cheated twice if I recall and had a massive bag of fries after 7 days. Ive been internittent fasting 16/8 since 2013, not super strict though, stop eating at 8pm but could booze till 12 but still its calorie restriction at least.
Message me on Twitter and I can give you my information, I do recall someone with a different name offering me a paint, but I didn't want to bother the artists on spending time on something for me.
Fats definitely helped, our body need (good) fats to properly function, properly fight infections, fix issues, we actually need fats besides to generate ketones on a low carb diet, what we never need is sugar in excess. Especially if we sit on our asses most of the day (the majority of the planet right now).
What you described sound about right on the effects of a low carb diet + more good fats on the diet, glad it worked for you. I also do IF, and I am not as strict on the low carb as I used to be.
As I wrote, do what it works for you, regardless what anyone says.
I never set out to do KD, just use my glucometer to help control T2D with diet. Turns out the sweet spot for keeping glucose low and being a functional person is... under 20g carbs/day. Effectively, keto.
Unfortunately, I find that when I stick to this for months at a stretch, and am doing well... over time my *fasting* blood glucose numbers creep up. 90s. 100s. 110s. Nothing dangerous, but just not where you want your fasting numbers to be. Poking around for info, I find this is not all that uncommon. It still beats the heck out of having postprandial spikes up to 180+ (yay organ damage!), but I don't think it's entirely healthy either.
Elevated fasting glucose when keto with low fasting insulin levels are not unhealthy. They are an indicator of insulin sensitivity which is what u want.
It’s the elevated glucose combined with elevate insulin combined with overstuffed fat cells and fatty organs from an excessive carb diet that you do not want.
Maybe. I would think it is an indicator of insulin resistance actually-- which is a natural thing for the body to do in the case of low glucose intake. It would ensure the circulating glucose levels never get too *low*. Still bothers me when I wake up at 105 after keeping my all-day-long numbers great for days. I do wonder if it's maybe taking a nosedive overnight, and provoking some cortisol release and dumping glycogen out of the liver. Haven't been able to catch it in action though.
I did keto for 2 years and 3 months. I was sort of grouchy and pissed all the time, is what I found. Now I eat a little og corn and wheat, and I am in a much better mood. Lately I have been calling up local meat producers and ALL of them vaccinate their animals (that I have found so far). It's very hard to find unvaxxed meat, the folks who don't use vaxxes are hesitant to say it. I also wont pay to have meat shipped from far away, that's just crazy and expensive. For now I am sticking to wild game, duck, pheasant, deer etc.
Some people do better on low carb high protein (not exactly keto), others simple do better on (normal) carbohydrate intake with more protein. As I wrote here, you must find and do what works for you, regardless what everyone else says, if you are healthy, everything working fine, that is all that matters.
thought it significant to say, about the grouchiness. I think the natural state of the animal is to be a bit grouchy, and the grains and herb sedatives like hops for instance and tens of others tend to balance it out for increased cooperation. Or not, just guessing based on observation...
Been relatively LCHF for maybe 9 months now, and recently experimented with a strict KD for 4 - 6 weeks to try bring down some ALT / AST readings and NAFLD that was found inadvertently. Worked well, however pretty confident that it unfortunately smashed my total & free T to below the 'minimum' range from a range that was pretty OK only 6 months prior.
Have been back into a 'LCHF' diet 20 / 50 / 30 (carbs / fat / protein) along with adding a few pieces of fruit per day for the last 8 weeks now, so will head back and get bloods done to see how levels are looking.
The change to my cognitive function since being strict KD (very good), to where I am now is pretty disgusting TBH, its almost so bad if I do confirm my T levels back to normal (nothing else underlying) I'll probably return to the KD diet, at least cycle back and forwards every few months.......
I do have your brain stack ready to go too, just will see how things pan out!
For reference - 37y.o male, fit, healthy and training / racing twice a year in triathlons! (Oly distance next stop!)
Were you symptomatic from the Low T or was it just a measurement that changes.
When insulin levels drop on a KD, the liver produces more Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG) which does as its name implies, binds up sex hormones including testosterone. You can actually measure Insulin sensitivity/resistance by measuring SHBG.
I’ve seen many men in my practice have their T levels drop on KD abut have no symptoms of LowT, so this might be a rebalancing of hormones and the T numbers may need different reference ranges dependent upon the metabolic state.
Not symptomatic at all, perhaps a little lower libido thinking back, but hard to really judge because of other factors (work / training / life etc). Reason for the blood test was just a 6 monthly check that I've implemented to see how everything is going.
Total T went from 520ng/dL to 337ng/dL
SHBG went from 43nmol/L to 60nmol/L
Free T went from 93pg/mL to 43pg/mL
FSH stayed level across the 6 months at '7' where LH halved from 3.5 to 1.9
Fasting insulin went from 6mU/L to 5mU/L
Thanks for sharing your practical experience, I know that total T and free T #'s aren't the be all and end all, so will be interesting to see how things look in the next week or 2.
Do you have any links or further info in regards to the different reference ranges? Be interested to read more (and I know that your one comment will have 100x more information than the Dr i'll see next week will give me......ho hum....really lost faith in our Dr's down here in Aus over the past few years).
I don’t have links, just as u say practical experience and cause effect reasoning. SHBG May act as a T agonist, so even if it binds up some of your T, the SHBG itself may stimulate the T receptors and do the same as T would.
Evolutionarily, if that is a word, I don’t see why having a healthier metabolism would lower your reproductive hormones. Doesn’t make sense, Unless the SHBG enhances T receptor function so less T goes a lot longer.
Dr. Horvitz already raised all the points I could have, in fact the KD/LCHF diet is known to modulate (positively) testosterone levels and production. If you are a runner your entire microbiome and immune system are very different from the majority of other people, including people who exercise at high levels, I think you could do what I wrote in my post, and either add more carbs to fit your metabolic demand yet still stay in mild ketosis (not deep, like most people who are strictly keto do), or carb cycle.
T levels start taking a dive the closer we get to 40 too. These are my two cents, everything else Steven already wrote lol.
It is a feature yes, but one that most modern day people, with garbage tier diets are "mildly" unprepared for, since everyone has improper intake of many of the nutrients you piss away in the first 4-6 weeks.
Th2 is heavily responsible for that too, and so is IgE, does your son have/had problems with bacterial infections or fungal/yeast/mold ?
Both of these can also set off sensitivity and tilt the immune system towards allergic reactions to a myriad of things. I will start looking into Tfh13, it is in my list, but as you can see, my focus from quite a while was Th1, 2 and 17, especially 17.
Thanks! The keto / low carb diet is recommended by many, especially Dr. Thomas Seyfried PhD (Boston College) for the treatment of all cancers. Dr. Seyfried has shown that cancer can use glucose and / or glutamineI for fuel, but not ketones. Restricting carbs decreases the fuel necessary for cancer growth. I am especially happy to see that carbs can be slightly increased with increased activity. My cancer patient friend struggles some days with this diet. The low feeling from a cancer diagnosis can contribute to food cravings. I suggested that if he overdid the carbs a bit in a meal, to take a walk, on the treadmill if necessary, and walk off the carbs so the cancer cannot use the glucose created from carbs as fuel. It is helpful to know that 1gram of carb produces 4 calories so if a person eats 20g carbs in a meal, then multiply by 4 and go walk off 80 calories - not too hard if a person is reasonably fit. (An under the desk pedaler if one has a desk job can be helpful - the under desk elliptical works better for some)). Since glucose is more quickly absorbed after eating then fatty acids or proteins, do the light exercise shortly after eating to work the carbs (now glucose) off before the cancer can use it. Unfortunately, restricting the glutamine fuel for cancer is still a work in progress - still research needed to safely bloc this pathway. Dr, Seyfried is studying an older drug once used in pediatric cancer called DOM - I'd have to check the video for the exact formula, and this appears to have some glutamine blocking activity. Many cancer patients have greatly reduced their cancer and increased their lifespan with a keto diet - some have cleared it completely (even metastatic disease) and remain on the diet to help prevent recurrence. I'm trying to lower my carbs too - don't want to go through what my friend is going through:(
IMHO trying to restrict glucose to kill cancer cells is bound to fail (cancer can burn fat too by the way).
IP6 and Deuterium Depleted Water are good adjuvant for cancer if you are interested (for your friend). I have two substack articles talking about them.
Depends on the cancer, different types of cancer, in different cells and tissue have a preferred metabolism, which they "stick to it" pretty closely, there is more to it than merely "cutting the carbs", assuring certain cells to function better by shifting their own metabolism and combat the cancer itself.
Such as (correctly) shifting the tryptophan metabolic pathway from the skewed kynurenine towards proper pathway, ensuring that NK cells and others deal with tumor (recent paper about it pretty good too).
Cancer is one of the most complex things, and often paradoxical/contradictory out there. A paradigm shift is needed IMO.
Here is one of his article.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26826644/
I believe I've read cancer cells can shift their metabolism according to their needs. Interestingly Otto Warburg himself tried to kill them (I don't remember if he tried on different cancer types) by restricting their glucose but was not successful.
I agree that cutting the carbs is not the whole thing, especially insulin decrease, mTOR decrease, deuterium-depleted metabolic water (check Laszlo Boros if you don't already know his work on deuterium depletion).
A complete shift is clearly needed. I am hopeful as I bought recently a mainstream scientific newspaper (in France) and they made a complete article on a "new" theory about cancer cause and how the random genetic mutations theory was completely flawed 🙂
SVP, may I know the name of this mainstream scientific newspaper. Thank you.
Hello Frances,
This newspaper is called Epsiloon (double o to represent an 'infinity' sign). It replaces another old french mainstream scientific newspaper called "Science & vie" but which has been bought and corrupted by money since.
Another media mention the article here: https://www.francetvinfo.fr/replay-radio/le-billet-sciences-du-week-end/et-si-on-avait-enfin-compris-le-cancer_5798738.html
Thank you so much.
There are many videos - this one is more scientific:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KusaU2taxow
This one is more lay person friendly - and more recent:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ebPZP9hBPA&t=4914s
Scientific Paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004220309585
I am aware of the work of Seyfried but as I mentioned in an answer to John near this comment, I believe (I stand to be corrected) that, at least a part of cancer could shift their metabolism to fat oxidation if the glucose would be missing (note that even on the ketogenic diet you still have glucose in your blood and that more can be created from glycerol metabolism or from protein, which could be a cause of cachexia?).
I think that scientific debate is good! It is how new things are discovered - unlike the czars of covid who shut down all questioning. There is a section of the paper where Dr. Seyfried gives what he believes is happening with fatty acids. This is over my science background, so more research, debate and time will tell. However, the keto / low carb diet in different forms (Keto, carnivore, plant based, etc) does appear to be a factor for many who have slowed or stopped terminal cancer. For cancer patients in that situation, low carb / keto and supplements, possibly fenbendazole - are their only hope - outside of a miracle. As low carb is generally more healthy anyway, there is no downside except missing out on some sweets.
Indeed I've heard Fenbendazole could have good anticancer effects 🙂
And I totally share your view about debate and Covid.
https://open.substack.com/pub/leadtheway/p/ip6-inositol-hexaphosphate
https://open.substack.com/pub/leadtheway/p/deuterium-depleted-water
Thanks JP you inspired me to go back Low carb. Is your Kofi link gone? I offerred you a painting before and it still stands, though at the time I didnt realise your privacy needs.
2 years ago I did a no carb 2 week experiment: I had 2 bleeding warts on my right hand for about 9 months(from jiu jitsu probably) It took a full 10 days to notice anything but after 2 weeks no carbs(no potatoes/rice/pasta/bread) the warts disappeared. Also Ive had dry skin on one knuckle of my right hand for about 20 years that cracks and bleeds in winter and it too healed up pretty much! I replaced the carbs with healthy fats like avocado and salmon etc so maybe the fats helped too. I even cheated twice if I recall and had a massive bag of fries after 7 days. Ive been internittent fasting 16/8 since 2013, not super strict though, stop eating at 8pm but could booze till 12 but still its calorie restriction at least.
Message me on Twitter and I can give you my information, I do recall someone with a different name offering me a paint, but I didn't want to bother the artists on spending time on something for me.
Fats definitely helped, our body need (good) fats to properly function, properly fight infections, fix issues, we actually need fats besides to generate ketones on a low carb diet, what we never need is sugar in excess. Especially if we sit on our asses most of the day (the majority of the planet right now).
What you described sound about right on the effects of a low carb diet + more good fats on the diet, glad it worked for you. I also do IF, and I am not as strict on the low carb as I used to be.
As I wrote, do what it works for you, regardless what anyone says.
Yay! Thanks for the Mother’s Day wishes! 💗
Steak and eggs you can't go wrong.
Unless the steak is from vaccinated cows.
God that will kill me, pls no.
I never set out to do KD, just use my glucometer to help control T2D with diet. Turns out the sweet spot for keeping glucose low and being a functional person is... under 20g carbs/day. Effectively, keto.
Unfortunately, I find that when I stick to this for months at a stretch, and am doing well... over time my *fasting* blood glucose numbers creep up. 90s. 100s. 110s. Nothing dangerous, but just not where you want your fasting numbers to be. Poking around for info, I find this is not all that uncommon. It still beats the heck out of having postprandial spikes up to 180+ (yay organ damage!), but I don't think it's entirely healthy either.
Is there a simple solution for this?
20 grams of carbs per day is strictly keto, which I am not a fan, 99% of people I often suggest 50g MINIMUM.
Your body is adjusting the drastic cut in carbohydrate intake by releasing glucose to organs and cells have it at the level they need.
Elevated fasting glucose when keto with low fasting insulin levels are not unhealthy. They are an indicator of insulin sensitivity which is what u want.
It’s the elevated glucose combined with elevate insulin combined with overstuffed fat cells and fatty organs from an excessive carb diet that you do not want.
Maybe. I would think it is an indicator of insulin resistance actually-- which is a natural thing for the body to do in the case of low glucose intake. It would ensure the circulating glucose levels never get too *low*. Still bothers me when I wake up at 105 after keeping my all-day-long numbers great for days. I do wonder if it's maybe taking a nosedive overnight, and provoking some cortisol release and dumping glycogen out of the liver. Haven't been able to catch it in action though.
Either way, it is a natural response to your diet and lifestyle and if u feel well overall, that is the best metric.
I did keto for 2 years and 3 months. I was sort of grouchy and pissed all the time, is what I found. Now I eat a little og corn and wheat, and I am in a much better mood. Lately I have been calling up local meat producers and ALL of them vaccinate their animals (that I have found so far). It's very hard to find unvaxxed meat, the folks who don't use vaxxes are hesitant to say it. I also wont pay to have meat shipped from far away, that's just crazy and expensive. For now I am sticking to wild game, duck, pheasant, deer etc.
Some people do better on low carb high protein (not exactly keto), others simple do better on (normal) carbohydrate intake with more protein. As I wrote here, you must find and do what works for you, regardless what everyone else says, if you are healthy, everything working fine, that is all that matters.
thought it significant to say, about the grouchiness. I think the natural state of the animal is to be a bit grouchy, and the grains and herb sedatives like hops for instance and tens of others tend to balance it out for increased cooperation. Or not, just guessing based on observation...
Been relatively LCHF for maybe 9 months now, and recently experimented with a strict KD for 4 - 6 weeks to try bring down some ALT / AST readings and NAFLD that was found inadvertently. Worked well, however pretty confident that it unfortunately smashed my total & free T to below the 'minimum' range from a range that was pretty OK only 6 months prior.
Have been back into a 'LCHF' diet 20 / 50 / 30 (carbs / fat / protein) along with adding a few pieces of fruit per day for the last 8 weeks now, so will head back and get bloods done to see how levels are looking.
The change to my cognitive function since being strict KD (very good), to where I am now is pretty disgusting TBH, its almost so bad if I do confirm my T levels back to normal (nothing else underlying) I'll probably return to the KD diet, at least cycle back and forwards every few months.......
I do have your brain stack ready to go too, just will see how things pan out!
For reference - 37y.o male, fit, healthy and training / racing twice a year in triathlons! (Oly distance next stop!)
Appreciate your posts.
Johnny
Were you symptomatic from the Low T or was it just a measurement that changes.
When insulin levels drop on a KD, the liver produces more Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG) which does as its name implies, binds up sex hormones including testosterone. You can actually measure Insulin sensitivity/resistance by measuring SHBG.
I’ve seen many men in my practice have their T levels drop on KD abut have no symptoms of LowT, so this might be a rebalancing of hormones and the T numbers may need different reference ranges dependent upon the metabolic state.
Not symptomatic at all, perhaps a little lower libido thinking back, but hard to really judge because of other factors (work / training / life etc). Reason for the blood test was just a 6 monthly check that I've implemented to see how everything is going.
Total T went from 520ng/dL to 337ng/dL
SHBG went from 43nmol/L to 60nmol/L
Free T went from 93pg/mL to 43pg/mL
FSH stayed level across the 6 months at '7' where LH halved from 3.5 to 1.9
Fasting insulin went from 6mU/L to 5mU/L
Thanks for sharing your practical experience, I know that total T and free T #'s aren't the be all and end all, so will be interesting to see how things look in the next week or 2.
Do you have any links or further info in regards to the different reference ranges? Be interested to read more (and I know that your one comment will have 100x more information than the Dr i'll see next week will give me......ho hum....really lost faith in our Dr's down here in Aus over the past few years).
Thanks!
I don’t have links, just as u say practical experience and cause effect reasoning. SHBG May act as a T agonist, so even if it binds up some of your T, the SHBG itself may stimulate the T receptors and do the same as T would.
Evolutionarily, if that is a word, I don’t see why having a healthier metabolism would lower your reproductive hormones. Doesn’t make sense, Unless the SHBG enhances T receptor function so less T goes a lot longer.
Dr. Horvitz already raised all the points I could have, in fact the KD/LCHF diet is known to modulate (positively) testosterone levels and production. If you are a runner your entire microbiome and immune system are very different from the majority of other people, including people who exercise at high levels, I think you could do what I wrote in my post, and either add more carbs to fit your metabolic demand yet still stay in mild ketosis (not deep, like most people who are strictly keto do), or carb cycle.
T levels start taking a dive the closer we get to 40 too. These are my two cents, everything else Steven already wrote lol.
A low carb diet could be good for folate levels (which could be depleted because of Covid?): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6706084/
By the way, I think the diuretic effect is a feature and not a bug.
It is a feature yes, but one that most modern day people, with garbage tier diets are "mildly" unprepared for, since everyone has improper intake of many of the nutrients you piss away in the first 4-6 weeks.
I am one of those salt people =P
The book Brain Energy is fascinating.
Still in my enormous reading list =(
This is off topic here but wondering if you or any of your readers are familiar with subtype cells
called T follicular helper cell 13, or Tfh13 cells
???
I’m interested in this because my son when exposed to vaxxed people has severe allergic reactions. Anaphylaxis.
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/scientists-discover-immune-cell-subtype-mice-drives-allergic-reactions
Th2 is heavily responsible for that too, and so is IgE, does your son have/had problems with bacterial infections or fungal/yeast/mold ?
Both of these can also set off sensitivity and tilt the immune system towards allergic reactions to a myriad of things. I will start looking into Tfh13, it is in my list, but as you can see, my focus from quite a while was Th1, 2 and 17, especially 17.
I will start researching those types of triggers. Thank you!!!