A Low Carbohydrate, High Protein Diet Slows Tumor Growth and Prevents Cancer Initiation

That Paleo Guy: Low carbohydrate diets slow tumor growth and preve...:

For those quickly scanning this, the punch line is that a low carbohydrate, high protein diet was found to not only slow the development of murine and human cancers in a mouse model, but also prevent the initiation of a form of breast cancer. The mechanism by which these results might have occurred is underpinned by the following;

• Most cancer cells rely more on glycolysis (energy production via carbohydrate) thanoxidative phosphorylation (where energy can be produced via fatty acid metabolism) to meet their energy needs;
• Because glycolysis is a relatively inefficient means by which cells can produce energy (compared to oxidative phosphrylation), most cancer cells requires higher levels of glucose compared to normal cells to keep dividing and survive;
• If one thereby starves these cells of their primary fuel source (glucose), then these cancerous cells are unable to proliferate and survive.