Cancer; Depression; and Keto

As I’ve read through blogs lately, the past couple of months or so, it seems to me that a lot of folks in the blogging circle I travel around are struggling to cope with some serious health issues themselves, or have loved ones who are. Health issues are so frightening! It’s like your own body is betraying you! I pray for each one of you when I read about what’s going on with you.

There is no magic wand I can wave that would take away illness – boy how I wish there was! And I know no one really wants to get comments on their own blogs that are nosy in “have you tried this or done that?” Health care is personal. It can be hard to draw the line between those who are well-meaning and just want to help, and wanting to keep your own treatment private. I get it. I do.

So in trying to find that fine line between wanting to help, and respect people’s privacy, I thought I’d put together a post of my own, sharing some articles I’ve read about cancer, depression, and the Ketogenic diet. I feel like I would be a really crappy friend if I knew of something that might help in some way, and didn’t say anything. There is a lot of encouraging news coming out now about using diet as a part of treatment. While there is nothing that works 100% for everyone, this diet seems to help a lot of people with a lot of things, so I wanted to pass information about it along.

I’ll just leave this stuff out on the table here, and if anything looks interesting, help yourself!

Be well.

❤ *hugs* ~Vanessa

*~*UPDATE*~* Please be sure to check out the comments! I’ve been leaving links to updates there (it’s just easier to do it that way) and others may have left links there also. There also may be information that’s not diet specific! For instance, I found an article that’s tech related in terms of treating cognitive issues. How cool, right? Thanks!

Long-term effects of a ketogenic diet in obese patients
”Beneficial changes in the brain energy profile have been observed in subjects who are on a ketogenic diet (28). This is a significant observation because cerebral hypometabolism is a characteristic feature of those who suffer from depression or mania (28)”

Taken to its logical conclusion, these facts suggest that a ketogenic diet would be a fantastically effective treatment for depression.
Conclusion: dietary carbohydrates are the major cause of clinical depression, and a ketogenic diet presents itself as an ideal treatment.

From Low Carb for Health: Carbohydrate Intake and Depression

Fighting Cancer By Putting Tumor Cells On A Diet : Shots – Health News : NPR

10 Graphs That Show the Power of a Ketogenic Diet

9 thoughts on “Cancer; Depression; and Keto”

Vanessence says:

August 6, 2016 at 3:23 PM

Gut bacteria spotted eating brain chemicals for the first time | New Scientist

GABA acts by inhibiting signals from nerve cells, calming down the activity of the brain, so it’s surprising to learn that a gut bacterium needs it to grow and reproduce. Having abnormally low levels of GABA is linked to depression and mood disorders, and this finding adds to growing evidence that our gut bacteria may affect our brains.

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Vanessence says:

July 25, 2017 at 10:33 PM

Ketogenic Diet and Brain Cancer | The KetoDiet Blog

It has been proposed that the ketogenic diet may be a useful tool in exploiting the defects in tumor metabolism, including that of the Warburg Effect.

Both the ketogenic diet and calorie restriction are believed to be the only therapeutic approaches that simultaneously target several of the hallmarks of cancer including glucose uptake, angiogenesis and inflammation (7).

One of the observations with the Warburg Effect, is that the cells not only thrive on glucose, they also lack metabolic flexibility. Unlike normal cells that can switch between using that of glucose and ketone bodies, cancer cells can only use glucose for energy.

By reducing the glucose availability to cancer cells and providing ketone bodies for the energy to normal cells, the ketogenic diet could be used as a therapeutic option, especially in highly glucose dependent cancers such as GBM’s.

The Ketogenic is Working Beyon

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Vanessence says:

July 30, 2017 at 10:55 PM

Magnesium to make depression drugs obsolete? New science finds magnesium safer, more affordable and more effective than SSRIs – NaturalNews.com

Those who took the elemental magnesium chloride noted clinically significant improvements in anxiety symptoms and measures of depression.

Best of all, they experienced these improvements after just two weeks of taking the magnesium. In addition, patients of all ages and depression types tolerated the supplements well and noted similar levels of effectiveness.

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Vanessence says:

August 13, 2017 at 5:23 PM

Patients suffering from mental disorders ranging from depression to Alzheimer’s disease may soon be able to swap their pills for video games.

Neuroscape, a research lab at the University of California at San Francisco, has spent the past eight years pursuing that mission. Now, a spin-off called Akili Interactive Labs is engaged in medical trials to get games approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

[…]

“Our brain’s plasticity, its ability to modify itself, really responds to experience,” Gazzaley said. “If we can create very targeted experiences that are also adaptive to a person, it can help improve their brain function.”

Neuroscape and Akili make video games to treat cognitive diseases

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Suzanne Gunter McClendon says:

August 12, 2018 at 5:58 PM

This is a great post, Vanessa. Thank you for it.

I am off to investigate this whole ketogenic thing. The only “keto” I’ve had experience with is when David went into keto-acidosis, which is a very bad diabetic thing.

Have a blessed day.:)

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1. Vanessence says:
  
  August 13, 2018 at 12:20 AM
  
  I’m glad you liked it sweetie! 🙂 It’s a subject near and dear to my heart I guess, lol. 🙂
  
  Here are some more links that might help answer your questions.
  
  Is Ketosis Dangerous? No, Because Ketosis is not Ketoacidosis.
  
  Ketosis vs. Ketoacidosis: What You Should Know
  
  Ketosis vs Ketoacidosis: Is Keto Healthy?
  
  A lot of people – even those in the medical field – get the two mixed up. Many years ago I even had a (medical pro) relative try to “scare tactic” me, as she believed they were the same thing. They are not, and the information that those links explains why. I hope they help. Good luck on your quest! ❤
  
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  1. Suzanne Gunter McClendon says:
    
    August 13, 2018 at 1:03 AM
    
    Thanks for sharing these links, Vanessa. I look forward to reading them and learning the difference. I also just downloaded a zillion Keto cookbooks free on Amazon. In regards to the part about magnesium and depression, I think we are going to look into that, too, especially since it also helps with blood pressure and mine has been through the roof the last few days.
    
    Thanks for everything, especially for caring so much for other folks. {{{Hugs}}} ❤
    
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jacquelineobyikocha says:

July 20, 2022 at 5:18 AM

These are great resources. People are falling sick so easily and so much these days that it is a major concern.

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1. Vanessence says:
  
  August 10, 2022 at 1:39 AM
  
  Thank you, Jacqueline! Yes, health is such a major concern! Especially in the last couple of years.
  And thank you for the reminder that I really do need to update this page more often. After my husband passed, a lot of things fell by the wayside, including this, and it really deserves an update I think! xoxox
  
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