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September 7, 2023 By Angie N Choi, EdD, Author of Whole New Me: Healing From Cancer in Body, Mind, and Spirit The best diet for fighting cancer should consider an individual’s dietary needs, nutritional deficiencies, cancer treatment, cancer stage, toxins in the body, mental or emotional conditions, spiritual beliefs as appropriate, and support from family and friends. The best diet for fighting cancer will be reflective of many of these aspects of an individual’s constitution, mindset, and life. There really is no one-size-fits-all best diet for cancer just as no two individuals are exactly alike. For example, the dietary approach would be different for a patient in an early stage of cancer without metastasis than a late stage of cancer with cachexia (weakness and wasting of the body). Cancer patients should have a registered dietitian (RD), integrative doctor (MD) or naturopath (ND) on their health care team to determine the best diet to heal from cancer. In general, therapeutic ketogenic diets or low-calorie diets are effective for managing cancer. If survivors have undergone cancer treatment like chemotherapy and have toxicity in their systems, it is important to provide the nutrients that an individual needs and also detoxify the body. Generally fasting is used for detoxification, but fasting may not be appropriate for cancer patients depending on their conditions. However, if an individual is starting chemotherapy, short-term fasting may be a good temporary plan during infusions because it reduces chemotherapy side-effects, immunosuppression, and tumor growth.1,2 For those who cannot or do not want to fast, patients could use detoxification protocols with supplements while also getting nutrients through either a ketogenic or low-calorie diet as opposed to fasting. Conventional doctors or oncologists will likely tell cancer patients that they can eat anything they want (as mine did), but this is not the case for most patients. Cancer patients can use diet as one of the main pillars of treatment in healing from cancer. Unfortunately, nutrition is barely covered in medical education so doctors, though well-intentioned, do not understand the critical role that diet plays in health and disease, and they miss a profound opportunity to help patients help themselves. Cancer patients may work with health care professionals like a registered dietitian, integrative doctor, or naturopath who is well trained in nutrition and dietary plans and keep their oncologists informed. The dietary needs for fighting cancer differ from person to person according to each individual’s constitution. Although there are recommended dietary guidelines from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), these recommendations are not intended to be clinical guidelines for treating chronic diseases.3 What each person needs to eat to fight cancer differs. For example, when I was initially diagnosed with cancer, my diet was mostly carbohydrates and low on protein and fats. Even though the food I was eating was organic (less exposure to chemical toxins), eating this way for years - along with nutritional deficiencies and lack of joy in my life - created an environment that was cancer-friendly. Eating a high-carbohydrate diet not only increased calories that resulted in gaining weight, but also provided cancer cells with their preferred fuel - glucose. I was also eating more food than I could properly digest at meals due to gastrointestinal issues which increased toxicity in my body as undigested food creates toxins.4 Overconsumption of food - more than nutritional deficiencies - tends to be the major cause of chronic diseases like cancer.5 A mental equivalent of undigested food involves dwelling on lower feelings/emotions (fear, anger, hatred, jealousy, worry) repeatedly and not being able to properly ”digest” the thought until it toxifies the mind. We not only consume food, but we must also consume our thoughts. If we overfeed the mind negative (low quality) thoughts, then mental “toxification” occurs. This is why it is important to shift out of negative thinking patterns. Simply taking nine slow and deep abdominal breaths (belly breathing) can be helpful when feeling anxious, but regular practice is more effective to prevent downward mental spirals. Transitioning to a whole food diet, primarily composed of organic vegetables (to reduce toxins), limited amounts of grass-fed, free-range or wild caught animal meat, and limited amounts of fruits and nuts may also positively impact thinking, attention, memory, and cognition.6,7 There is an exquisite balance between gut microbiota and brain function, and food has many effects- both positive and negative – on human gut microbiota. Regular consumption of a diet full of sugar, salt, processed food, cow’s milk, gluten, red meat, fried foods (trans fats), leads to inflammation.4 Eating is so natural to us that we take it for granted and never actually study what food is and why digestion is important. We eat something delicious and never think about what eating does for the body. The reason why we eat food is to unlock energy for the body to use. Every bodily function, from breathing to biochemical reactions, requires energy and we get that energy through eating. In order to release the energy potential in food, we must digest it down to simple molecules in the digestive tract so it can be absorbed and metabolized (converted into energy). We cannot extract energy from food in its natural form; it must be broken down (digested) which begins in the mouth and ends with elimination. The body has built in barriers like the gastrointestinal barrier that keeps microbes out but also prevents macromolecules from the food we eat getting into the bloodstream undigested.4 When undigested food enters the bloodstream (intestinal permeability), it leads to chronic systemic inflammation. This imbalance disrupts the communication between the gut and the brain and damages the blood-brain barrier which may lead to other illnesses such as autoimmune diseases.4 Nutritional deficiencies are also important to assess when determining the best diet to fight cancer. If the body lacks adequate amounts of essential nutrients like vitamins and minerals, many important physiological functions get impaired. Deficiencies can impair immune systems, growth and development, cognition, energy levels, bone health, digestion, cardiovascular health, and hormonal balance. Individuals with nutritional deficiencies are prone to increased risk for chronic diseases like cancer as well.8 Nutritional deficiencies may result from insufficient intake (through food), poor absorption, or increased need due to illness or chronic diseases. For example, if an individual is low in B vitamins, energy levels and nerve function may be impaired. If a cancer patient has a vitamin D deficiency, the immune system may be weakened and unable to destroy cancer cells. Low levels of vitamin D are associated with cancer, autoimmune diseases, high blood-pressure, and infectious diseases.9 Many deficiencies are addressed through dietary supplements, but food should be the first remedy rather than supplements for nutritional deficiencies. Food has more nutrients than supplements and is easier to absorb. Supplement intake may be higher than needed, and some supplements may also counteract cancer treatment. Viewing food as medicine or nourishment rather than comfort or pleasure is an important concept to embrace for cancer patients. How cancer unfolds in each patient is complex and diversified and affects the whole person (body, mind, and soul) not just an organ. There are multiple factors to consider for each patient, and dietary therapies should take these variables into account. The state of each patient’s body and mind differs and may change, so diets should be adapted to shifting conditions in each individual. The diversity of cancer patients’ diseases, cancer stages, body constitutions, energy levels, treatments, responses to treatment, and other factors create complex conditions that require a whole person approach. Instead of just eating isolated foods that fight cancer or specific diets for cancer, dietary therapies must be contextualized by the mind/body system of the patient. Also, as survivors start healing and move into remission or no evidence of disease status, some may change their diets again at a less critical phase. The best diet to fight cancer is not one that we set and forget. We must adapt diets to dynamic health and life conditions. Health and disease reflect long-term dietary, behavioral and psycho-emotional patterns of energy flow. As the proverb says, it’s not what we do one day but what we do every day that matters. References 1Sun L, Li YJ, Yang X, Gao L, Yi C. Effect of fasting therapy in chemotherapy-protection and tumorsuppression: A systematic review. Transl Cancer Res. 2017 Apr 1;6(2):354-65. 2Lee C, Raffaghello L, Brandhorst S, Safdie FM, Bianchi G, Martin-Montalvo A, Pistoia V, et al. Fasting cycles retard growth of tumors and sensitize a range of cancer cell types to chemotherapy. Sci Trans Med. 2012 Mar 7;4(124):124ra27. 3Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025. United States Department of Agriculture. https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/202012/Dietary_Guidelines_for_Americans_2020-2025.pdf 4Riccio P, Rossano R. Undigested food and gut microbiota may cooperate in the pathogenesis of neuroinflammatory diseases: A matter of barriers and a proposal on the origin of organ specificity. Nutrients. 2019 Nov 9;11(11):2714. 5Lentjes MAH. The balance between food and dietary supplements in the general population. Proc Nutr Soc. 2019 Feb;78(1):97-109. 6Ahmad F, Hasan H, Abdelhady S, Fakih W, Osman N, Shaito A, Kobeissy F. Healthy meal, happy brain: How diet affects brain functioning. Front Young Minds [Internet]. 2021;9:1-9. 7Lairon D. Nutritional quality and safety of organic food. A review. Agron Sustain Dev. 2010 Mar;30:33-41. 8Da Li, Q., Li, H., Li, F.J. et al. Nutrition deficiency increases the risk of stomach cancer mortality. BMC Cancer 12, 315 (2012). 9Holick MF, Chen TC. Vitamin D deficiency: A worldwide problem with health consequences. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008;87(4):1080S-1086S.

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