Scientists Studying Effect of Ketogenic Diet on Brain Cancer

Scientists are tracking the effects of a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet for its potential to starve brain tumors and treat cancer patients.

The ketogenic diet was developed in the 1920s to help people with epilepsy. It works by forcing the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates. Normally, the body converts carbohydrates into glucose. But a low-carbohydrate diet causes the body to convert fat into fatty acids and ketone bodies; the latter acts as a replacement for glucose. High levels of ketone bodies are associated with reduced seizure frequency.

It is theorized that the ketogenic diet could be used to “starve” some forms of cancer. Cancer cells use to glucose to grow, and they’re inefficient at using ketone bodies for energy

Source: Scientists studying effect of ketogenic diet on brain cancer