by winston » Mon Apr 23, 2012 7:54 pm
Cancer
The old adage, "Feed a fever, starve a cold," has long been debunked. Whether you have a fever or a cold, your body needs high quality nutrients.
But starving -- or rather, fasting -- might actually be a great cancer-fighting tool.
A few years ago, I told you about encouraging research from the University of Southern California.
With animal studies, USC researchers showed that a two-day fast before chemotherapy reduced common chemo side effects.
As researcher Valter Longo explained to HealthDay News, healthy cells have a "shield mode" that naturally protects them from stressors, such as starvation.
So when fasting energizes shield mode, the shielding effect also protects cells from the harsh chemo assault.
More recently, Longo and his colleagues confirmed their animal research with human case studies. They found that most cancer patients who fast before chemo significantly reduce side effects such as nausea and fatigue.
But this method of protecting healthy cells raised a troubling question: Were cancer cells also protected?
The USC team returned to animal testing. Over several years, they studied a variety of fasting regimens with different types of cancers and chemotherapy drugs.
They found that fasting actually sensitizes cancer cells. So not only were healthy cells protected, but cancer cells became more vulnerable and chemo was more effective.
How wonderful is that? Less pain and suffering. Increased chance of survival.
Further human research is in the works. But for now, short-term fasting appears to be a huge double-win for cancer patients.
Source: HSI
It's all about "how much you made when you were right" & "how little you lost when you were wrong"