5 ms·

From my research, yes it can. I read a study that said patients who fast during chemotherapy treatments fare better too. The mechanism seems to be that during

From my research, yes it can. I read a study that said patients who fast during chemotherapy treatments fare better too. The mechanism seems to be that during periods of fasting, normal cells "hunker down" and restrict the consumption of nutrients and other materials. Cancer cells don't do this though and continue to consume the nutrients, which are actually chemotherapy drugs in the patients. Fasting therfore increases the absorption of chemo by the cancer cells and reduces the consumption by normal cells keeping the patient healthier. Fasting also enables the body to more completely rid itself of cancerous cells by consuming them in the absence of alternative sources of nutrition. Lots of reasons why fasting is a good thing.

DoreenMichele 7y ago
About 75-80% of the immune cells in your body can be found in the gut. I suspect that one thing fasting does is frees up those cells to do other stuff.
- jacobolus 7y ago
  Are there any studies of the impact of fasting on chronic viral infections, etc.?
  - DoreenMichele 7y ago
    I have no idea. Anecdotally, I've seen people comment on HN and Reddit that fasting helped them with some chronic health issue or other. Here's an HN comment that says he was on antibiotics constantly until he tried fasting: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20279338 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20279338 If you find any such studies, please share. Thanks.
newen 7y ago
Got any links to the research? Would be helpful to me and other readers. Thanks.
- daniel_iversen 7y ago
  I’ve read and heard about it quite a bit recently. Not sure but maybe start here, Valter Longo seems to be doing some interesting stuff: https://valterlongo.com/cancer/ https://valterlongo.com/cancer/
- mindviews 7y ago
  Here's a description of a "press-pulse" protocol that includes fasting, calorie restriction, and ketogenic diet scenarios (main goal seems to be to limit glucose intake as part of the treatment as part of an effort at stressing the energy systems of the cancer cells to cause cell death): https://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12986-017-0178-2 https://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10... Check the references for some other papers on fasting and chemotherapy. Also, here's a related human case study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29651419 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29651419
- anon1m0us 7y ago
  There's a lot of research about it. I posted some above. You can search and find lots. It's all out there.
- ycalu 7y ago
  This article reviews and discusses a lot of the key research related to the use of fasting for chemotherapy. https://longevityy.com/fasting-and-cancer-how-fasting-before-chemotherapy-reduces-side-effects-improves-efficacy/ https://longevityy.com/fasting-and-cancer-how-fasting-before... Papers it discusses include: * Starvation-dependent differential stress resistance protects normal but not cancer cells against high-dose chemotherapy – Lizzia Raffaghello, Valter Longo et al. (2008) https://www.dropbox.com/sh/wmq7q6azyzfsubm/AACoCigKOQYxthruLAuynC_Ya/Cancer/2008_PNAS_LizziaRaffaghello.pdf?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/sh/wmq7q6azyzfsubm/AACoCigKOQYxthruL... * The effects of short-term fasting on tolerance to (neo) adjuvant chemotherapy in HER2-negative breast cancer patients: a randomized pilot study – Stefanie de Groot et al. (2015) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4595051/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4595051/ * Fasting and cancer treatment in humans: A case series report – Valter Longo et al. (2009) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2815756/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2815756/ * Fasting-Mimicking Diet Reduces HO-1 to Promote T Cell-Mediated Tumor Cytotoxicity – Di Biase et al. (2016) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27411588 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27411588 * The effects of short-term fasting on quality of life and tolerance to chemotherapy in patients with breast and ovarian cancer: a randomized cross-over pilot study – Bauersfeld et al (2018) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29699509 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29699509
snowwrestler 7y ago
This information is dangerously wrong. I have asked several oncologists specifically about fasting during chemotherapy and they all recommended strongly against it. Your understanding of how chemotherapy works with cancer and healthy cells seems flawed. Chemo harms all fast-growing cells, healthy or not. That’s why people have terrible tastes, stomach problems, hair and skin problems during chemo; those are all fast-growing cells. They grow fast whether you are fasting or not; but killing them in large numbers (what the chemo does) raises the body’s demand for energy and nutrients just to maintain health. That demand must be met with healthy food and drink. Edit to add: Fasting by a healthy person may reduce their chances of developing cancer; that seems plausible to me. My point is that people undergoing chemotherapy should follow the directions of the doctors. In my experience, those directions are to eat well while receiving treatment.
- anon1m0us 7y ago
  https://bmccancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12885-018-4353-2 https://bmccancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12885-... > Conclusion > [Short Term Fasting] during chemotherapy is well tolerated and appears to improve QOL and fatigue during chemotherapy. https://jeccr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13046-019-1189-9 https://jeccr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13046-019-... > Abundant and convincing preclinical evidence shows that STF can decrease toxicity and simultaneously increase efficacy of a wide variety of chemotherapeutic agents. https://osher.ucsf.edu/patient-care/integrative-medicine-resources/cancer-and-nutrition/faq/cancer-and-fasting-calorie-restriction https://osher.ucsf.edu/patient-care/integrative-medicine-res... > For general cancer prevention, it may be beneficial to add intermittent or short-term fasts in combination with a plant-based cancer prevention diet and >Fasting may also protect patients against the harmful side effects of chemotherapy or radiation therapy. and > They concluded that a 3-day fast could help regenerate a strong immune system > 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%. > Furthermore, it is theorized that cancer cells do not respond to the protective signals generated by fasting, thus leaving them vulnerable to both the immune system and cancer treatment. I feel like this is sufficient to refute your several oncologists' anecdotal opinions which are not supported by the research. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324169.php https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324169.php > There is a growing body of evidence supporting the role of fasting in both cancer treatment and prevention. Lots of links to sources in that article too. You have to be very careful relying on the advice of oncologists. Think about what their motivations are. What are their biases? I dealt with this very personally for a long time and found oncologists to be ... human and suffer from all the same problems as other humans. Their patients are ... dying and they don't want to die. It's a very emotional time for all involved.
DrScump 7y ago
more completely rid itself of cancerous cells by consuming them I don't think that's the mechanism of action.

DoreenMichele 7y ago

About 75-80% of the immune cells in your body can be found in the gut. I suspect that one thing fasting does is frees up those cells to do other stuff.

jacobolus 7y ago
Are there any studies of the impact of fasting on chronic viral infections, etc.?
- DoreenMichele 7y ago
  I have no idea. Anecdotally, I've seen people comment on HN and Reddit that fasting helped them with some chronic health issue or other. Here's an HN comment that says he was on antibiotics constantly until he tried fasting: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20279338 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20279338 If you find any such studies, please share. Thanks.

newen 7y ago

Got any links to the research? Would be helpful to me and other readers. Thanks.

daniel_iversen 7y ago
I’ve read and heard about it quite a bit recently. Not sure but maybe start here, Valter Longo seems to be doing some interesting stuff: https://valterlongo.com/cancer/ https://valterlongo.com/cancer/
mindviews 7y ago
Here's a description of a "press-pulse" protocol that includes fasting, calorie restriction, and ketogenic diet scenarios (main goal seems to be to limit glucose intake as part of the treatment as part of an effort at stressing the energy systems of the cancer cells to cause cell death): https://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12986-017-0178-2 https://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10... Check the references for some other papers on fasting and chemotherapy. Also, here's a related human case study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29651419 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29651419
anon1m0us 7y ago
There's a lot of research about it. I posted some above. You can search and find lots. It's all out there.
ycalu 7y ago
This article reviews and discusses a lot of the key research related to the use of fasting for chemotherapy. https://longevityy.com/fasting-and-cancer-how-fasting-before-chemotherapy-reduces-side-effects-improves-efficacy/ https://longevityy.com/fasting-and-cancer-how-fasting-before... Papers it discusses include: * Starvation-dependent differential stress resistance protects normal but not cancer cells against high-dose chemotherapy – Lizzia Raffaghello, Valter Longo et al. (2008) https://www.dropbox.com/sh/wmq7q6azyzfsubm/AACoCigKOQYxthruLAuynC_Ya/Cancer/2008_PNAS_LizziaRaffaghello.pdf?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/sh/wmq7q6azyzfsubm/AACoCigKOQYxthruL... * The effects of short-term fasting on tolerance to (neo) adjuvant chemotherapy in HER2-negative breast cancer patients: a randomized pilot study – Stefanie de Groot et al. (2015) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4595051/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4595051/ * Fasting and cancer treatment in humans: A case series report – Valter Longo et al. (2009) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2815756/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2815756/ * Fasting-Mimicking Diet Reduces HO-1 to Promote T Cell-Mediated Tumor Cytotoxicity – Di Biase et al. (2016) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27411588 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27411588 * The effects of short-term fasting on quality of life and tolerance to chemotherapy in patients with breast and ovarian cancer: a randomized cross-over pilot study – Bauersfeld et al (2018) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29699509 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29699509

snowwrestler 7y ago

This information is dangerously wrong. I have asked several oncologists specifically about fasting during chemotherapy and they all recommended strongly against it. Your understanding of how chemotherapy works with cancer and healthy cells seems flawed. Chemo harms all fast-growing cells, healthy or not. That’s why people have terrible tastes, stomach problems, hair and skin problems during chemo; those are all fast-growing cells. They grow fast whether you are fasting or not; but killing them in large numbers (what the chemo does) raises the body’s demand for energy and nutrients just to maintain health. That demand must be met with healthy food and drink. Edit to add: Fasting by a healthy person may reduce their chances of developing cancer; that seems plausible to me. My point is that people undergoing chemotherapy should follow the directions of the doctors. In my experience, those directions are to eat well while receiving treatment.

anon1m0us 7y ago
https://bmccancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12885-018-4353-2 https://bmccancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12885-... > Conclusion > [Short Term Fasting] during chemotherapy is well tolerated and appears to improve QOL and fatigue during chemotherapy. https://jeccr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13046-019-1189-9 https://jeccr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13046-019-... > Abundant and convincing preclinical evidence shows that STF can decrease toxicity and simultaneously increase efficacy of a wide variety of chemotherapeutic agents. https://osher.ucsf.edu/patient-care/integrative-medicine-resources/cancer-and-nutrition/faq/cancer-and-fasting-calorie-restriction https://osher.ucsf.edu/patient-care/integrative-medicine-res... > For general cancer prevention, it may be beneficial to add intermittent or short-term fasts in combination with a plant-based cancer prevention diet and >Fasting may also protect patients against the harmful side effects of chemotherapy or radiation therapy. and > They concluded that a 3-day fast could help regenerate a strong immune system > 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%. > Furthermore, it is theorized that cancer cells do not respond to the protective signals generated by fasting, thus leaving them vulnerable to both the immune system and cancer treatment. I feel like this is sufficient to refute your several oncologists' anecdotal opinions which are not supported by the research. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324169.php https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324169.php > There is a growing body of evidence supporting the role of fasting in both cancer treatment and prevention. Lots of links to sources in that article too. You have to be very careful relying on the advice of oncologists. Think about what their motivations are. What are their biases? I dealt with this very personally for a long time and found oncologists to be ... human and suffer from all the same problems as other humans. Their patients are ... dying and they don't want to die. It's a very emotional time for all involved.

DrScump 7y ago

more completely rid itself of cancerous cells by consuming them I don't think that's the mechanism of action.