A new study has found that the ketogenic (keto) diet may be helpful for people with brain tumors, according to Science Daily.
The study, published in Neurology, a medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), found that the keto diet was safe and feasible for people with brain tumors known as astrocytomas.
All the participants of the study had completed radiation treatment and chemotherapy and the keto diet led to changes in the metabolism in their body and brain.
The study was not designed to determine whether the diet could slow down tumor growth or improve survival, per Science Daily.
Study author Dr. Roy Strowd said, “There are not a lot of effective treatments for these types of brain tumors, and survival rates are low, so any new advances are very welcome.”
Dr. Strowd is a neurologist and oncologist at Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C. He is also a member of AAN.
“These cancer cells rely on glucose, or sugar, to divide and grow,” he explained. “Since the ketogenic diet is low in sugar, the body changes what it uses for energy — instead of carbohydrates, it uses what are called ketones. Normal brain cells can survive on ketones, but the theory is that cancer cells cannot use ketones for energy.”
The researchers examined 25 people with brain tumors. The participants were asked to follow a type of keto diet, the modified Atkins diet with intermittent fasting, for eight weeks.
The team wanted to see if people were able to follow the diet with no serious side effects. Of all the participants, 21 completed the study, and 48% followed the diet plan completely, according to their food records.
However, the urine tests showed that 80% of them reached the level where their body was using fats and protein for fuel, rather than carbohydrates.
Plus, most of the participants had no side effects, except two who had some serious side effects during the study.
The researchers saw changes in the metabolism in the body and the brain by the end of the study.
Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels, insulin levels, and fat body mass all decreased. Furthermore, brain scans detected changes in brain metabolites, which showed an increase in concentrations of ketones and metabolic changes in the brain tumor.
Dr. Strowd explained, “Of course more studies are needed to determine whether this diet can prevent the growth of brain tumors and help people live longer, but these results show that the diet can be safe for people with brain tumors and successfully produce changes in the metabolism of the body and the brain.”
However, there was one limitation of the study. The team provided a high amount of contact with participants, which is not feasible in larger studies.
The article was published in Science Daily.
