Hi all,

I have been doing a lot of research and I am thinking about shifting from calorie counting and tackling Atkins. In my research today, I came across this article that details an Atkins type diet to helping combat forms of cancer. I don't know if the article is truth but a lot of what it talked about was interesting food for though. Just thought I would share:

http://www.examiner.com/article/low-...abolic-disease

The jury is not in yet, since none of the serious studies have published results yet. It is an interesting theory but is supported by what is called anecdotal evidence, one or two people who report results with no blind study evidence.

I do object to the scare tactics in the article, when he says that chemotherapy is prescribed only to make money by avaricious doctors and has horrific side effects. I am a cancer survivor who has had chemo and I have had no recurrence of my cancer which occurred 21 years ago, and the treatment itself although not the most fun thing I ever did, was not horrific--I was nauseous once but never threw up, although I took a lot of naps. My doctors at least were not in it for the money (although they were control freaks who needed 'to beat cancer'). What worries me about this diet-based cure is that it is one of hundreds that have appeared as a 'miracle cure for cancer'--and everyone I knew who went on one (and I knew many from being in cancer support groups) simply died.

Still the theory is interesting, although in his study his people are on a low-calorie, high fat diet which he says included 50 g of carbs a day--it is hard to imagine such a combination. This is not the Atkins diet. For me that would not put me in ketosis and would be low protein as well. But the information about high-sugar intake being carcinogenic is supported by good studies. I am going to watch for the results of the studies in progress at the moment, hopefully with an open mind--they will be reported when complete on an objective source like the Science Daily website.

Dr Thomas Seyfried is a serious researcher who has done some promising work on cancer and ketogenic diets. He has a book, Cancer as Metabolic Disease (it's a text for other scientists, thus it's pricey). Basically his approach is not just very low carb / ketogenic, but also low calorie (which contributes to higher ketone production and has other metabolic implications). It's not for the casual dabbler in Atkins, but could prove therapeutically helpful for some types of cancer.

I too am a cancer survivor, and my belief that cancer feeds best on sugar is one of the primary motivators for me staying low carb for life.

I will look into this, although I can't see how a diet that is both ketogenic and low-calorie is easy to do. It must be almost entirely protein and difficult to maintain in the long run. However, since my issue is true physiological addiction to sugar, I tend to believe sugar and other high-glycemic foods are things I can have none of. I proved it in September while on a trip and started eating bread, quickly followed by sugar, after years and years of abstinence. Sugar for many reasons seems to be the root of all evil.