Ketogenic diets have been used successfully to treat some drug-resistant types of epilepsy for more than 100 years. Since the start of this century, they have also been investigated for their efficacy in treating chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and others. Unlike much published nutrition science, which is based on correlations and epidemiology in populations, the effects of nutritional ketosis can be demonstrated at the cellular and molecular level, providing the mechanisms by which it is an effective intervention.
The KETOCare Study (Ketogenic Diet and Chemotherapy to Affect Response to Breast Cancer Treatment) was a collaboration between research teams at The Ohio State University and the BC Cancer Research Centre, Terry Fox laboratory to determine the efficacy of a well-formulated ketogenic diet (WFKD) as an adjunct therapy to standard-of-care for women with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. The general physiological principle is that by lowing carbohydrate consumption, we lower excess serum carbohydrate and, therefore, moderate insulin secretion and resistance. Since most cancer cells are dependent entirely on anaerobic glucose metabolism, we limit the fuel available to foster metastatic growth and by limiting serum insulin, we lower one of the most important growth-promoting hormones. In this presentation you will learn how a WFKD causes physiological changes at the systemic and cellular levels that reverse the root cause of most chronic disease – what I call the “Axis of Illness”: insulin resistance, inflammation, and obesity. The results of our studies indicate that a WFKD is a safe, effective, drug-free way to improve cancer outcomes. Furthermore, these same mechanisms address the root causes for other chronic diseases because they cause significant and enduring improvements in overall metabolic health.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lecture, the clinician will identify:
- Health and therapeutic benefits of a well-formulated ketogenic diet and the “Axis of Illness” for chronic disease
- The metabolic basis of cancer and general principle for a WFKD as an adjunct therapy
- Cellular mechanisms for efficacy of a WFKD
- The KetoCARE study
- Design and methodology
- Results and conclusions
- General conclusions
- How to safely adopt a ketogenic diet (including appropriate supplementation)
- Benefits for other chronic diseases
- Metabolic commonality of chronic and neurological diseases
CE Credits
CONO: Category A – 0.75 credit (General)
British Columbia: Category C – 1.0 credit
AANP: 1.00 credit (General)
OANP/OBNM: For Oregon attendees seeking OBNM approved CE credits, please note that this event has not been submitted for approval to OBNM. CE certificate will be issued upon individual request.
Dr. David Harper, PhD
As a health educator and cancer researcher, Dr. David G. Harper has studied the impact of diet on human health for many years. The culmination of that extensive work is the BioDiet, a ketogenic food regimen that he created in 2012. The significant weight loss and health improvements he experienced led Dr. Harper to counsel hundreds of people on the BioDiet, in clinical trials and on a personal basis, with consistent, impressive results.
BioDiet, released in 2019, has become an international best-seller, reaching as high as #18 globally for books overall on Amazon.com.
Dr. Harper is an Associate Professor of Kinesiology at the University of the Fraser Valley and a Visiting Scientist at the BC Cancer Research Center, Terry Fox Laboratory. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in comparative physiology at the University of Cambridge. He is on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Canadian Clinicians for Therapeutic Nutrition and a member of the Institute for Personalized Therapeutic Nutrition. His present research investigates the therapeutic benefits of ketogenic diets for women with metastatic breast cancer.
