In recent years we have witnessed a groundswell of interest in the ketogenic diet. This concept of consuming certain types of high-fat foods (while reducing carbohydrates) to induce a physiological state called ketosis is a form of therapeutic nutrition that has been studied for decades in a variety of conditions. Cancer researchers have become very interested in the potential benefits a ketogenic approach might bring to oncology patients taking certain types of anti-cancer drugs. Why? Because initial experiments conducted in animal models indicate that dietary glucose and fructose, even in relatively moderate amounts, may enhance tumorigenesis. Two leading scientists in this field include Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, PhD and Lewis C. Cantley, PhD. Not only are they assembling a collaborative team to participate in a landmark interventional nutrition study, they are crowdsourcing funds to launch this effort by taking their message directly to the public. This is next-level innovation. Dr. Jeff Bland shares context and his insights in this Food for Thought video.
© 2019 by Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute, a nonprofit educational organization. Used with permission for educational purposes only. All rights reserved.
References
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Weill Cornell Medicine. Can altering diet enhance cancer therapy. https://crowdfunding.cornell.edu/project/14690. Accessed July 17, 2019.
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Jeffrey Bland, PhD, FACN, FACB, CNS has been an internationally recognized leader in the nutritional medicine field for over 30 years. He is founder and president of the Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute, as well as founder and Chairman Emeritus of The Institute for Functional Medicine, the global leader in Functional Medicine education. Dr. Bland is an iconic figure in the natural products industry and held several key positions at Metagenics prior to his retirement from corporate life in 2012. A nutritional biochemist and registered clinical laboratory director, Dr. Bland was formerly Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Puget Sound and Director of Nutritional Research at the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine. Dr. Bland is a respected author of books for both healthcare professionals and consumer audiences. He is also the principal author of over 120 peer-reviewed research publications on nutritional biochemistry.
