Ketogenic Diet Shown to Slow Cancer Growth in Mice

A graduate of Southern Methodist University with more than 15 years of software development experience, David W. Kent is the founder of companies Oilpro and Rigzone. Motivated by his own cancer diagnosis, David W. Kent created the blog www.cancercorner.org to share interesting news and perspectives related to cancer research.

Several blog posts on cancercorner.org have touched on the topic of diet, specifically a low-carbohydrate diet, as a potential cancer treatment. While there is no single food that can cure cancer, some research has shown a link between a ketogenic diet and the inhibition of cancer growth. According to Boston College professor Dr. Thomas Seyfried, a “keto” diet, which involves eliminating carbohydrates as a source of energy, can shrink tumors by starving them of glucose.

Dr. Seyfried’s research relies on the belief that cancer is a metabolic disease rather than a genetic one. Dr. Seyfried experimented with mice by putting one group on a standard diet of glucose, one group on a restricted keto diet, and a third group on a restricted keto diet combined with a substance that completely blocks glutamine pathways. The tumors were successfully eliminated in the third group of mice.