A growing number of cases are emerging of people who are recovering from cancer thanks in part to lifestyle changes including the adoption of a low carb/high fat diet.
Meanwhile the work of some scientists is pointing to the possibility that starving body cells of sugar may have the potential to limit the growth of cancer.
Certainly, new breakthroughs are needed.
The incidence of cancer has increased steadily since World War II. In the UK, one in every two men and one in every three women will develop cancer in their lifetime.
Despite all the hype and the huge expenditure on research, there has been relatively little success in finding ways to combat the disease. One exception is leukemia in children, where the rate of complete recovery is relatively high.
The chances of recovering from a cancer that has spread remain limited.
There are three main ways of treating cancer, namely surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Of these, surgery is the least harmful. It can be life-saving if a tumour is causing secondary complications such as blocking the intestine.
With chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the risks of collateral damage are high and therefore the person involved may suffer poor health as a direct result of the treatment.
Nevertheless, the fact remains that these methods focus on symptoms and there is widespread failure to attempt to identify the primary causes and take steps to tackle these effectively.
Because of this, even if a tumour is removed, the strong possibility remains that another one will develop.
There are, however, a few progressive researchers who are convinced that cancer is a metabolic disease, which means that a fundamental change has occurred in the normal functioning of the body.
The outstanding German biochemist, Otto Warburg, who was awarded a Nobel Prize, discovered that cancer cells develop from normal healthy ones have to produce their energy by a process of fermentation without any need for a supply of oxygen.
As a consequence, the cancer cells are mainly dependent on a source of sugar to make the fermentation work effectively. This opens up the possibility that starving the cancer cells of sugar could inhibit their growth.
This aspect is being actively researched now and promising results are emerging. In addition, there are numerous examples of individuals who have successfully overcome cancer by making changes to lifestyle that include an LCHF diet.
One particularly good case history is from Dr Tanya Malpass, who made an excellent recovery from a brain tumour. Her story is told on Verner Wheelock’s blog at: http://vernerwheelock.com/275-dr-tanya-malpass-frcp-another-recovery-from-cancer-by-changing-diet/