QUESTION: In regard to the ketogenic diet, do you often recommend this for cancer patients? Are there particular types of cancer that you are more prone to recommend this for? How so? If someone is moving forward with chemo, would you still recommend this diet?
ANSWER:
Bottom line with ketogenic diet boils down to:
1. I think they (KD) can be very helpful all the way to cancer slowing in most cancers
2. The diet change can be traumatic and in some folks (i.e. those with GB disease) tough to do
a. I try to use whatever resources that resonate with the person
b. We normally have them work with a nutritionist who is a Keto specialist in the beginning which can help with all this
3. During chemo it is important to (if possible) be used to the diet prior to the chemo – but often with added GI support (as we typically do for those on cancer) it is usually tolerated.
In the end if they have very advanced cancer whatever they can eat is where we start.