The ketogenic (keto) diet has been popular in recent years among people looking to lose weight and keep fit. But what many people don’t realise is that this low carb, high-fat diet has actually been used for centuries in the treatment of medical maladies, such as epilepsy. More recently, researchers have been investigating its use alongside chemotherapy to improve remission and survival in patients with advanced metastatic cancers.
A recently published study in mice has now shown that the keto diet may also have use in treating tumours. But while the diet appeared to slow the tumour growth in mice with colorectal and pancreatic cancers, it was also shown to accelerate the onset of cachexia – a severe wasting disease thought to cause 30% of all cancer-related deaths.
