Cancer and Nutrition

Hello again! 

I just picked up my very own URL, so you can find me at www.aaronkaskowitz.com. I am also accepting clients for health coaching in March. If you are looking for an accountability health partner, I'd love to work with you to achieve greater everyday wellness. I'm also open to feedback and discussion anytime. Please feel free to reach out!

Cancer

This is a write up I put together for a friend discussing how nutrition may impact cancer. I am by no means an authority on cancer treatment but I have read numerous reports and studies about some therapies that have worked for people battling life threatening illnesses, and it is certainly information worth sharing.  I know that if I were dealing with something this serious I'd be searching for any and all tools to feel armed for greater wellness and happiness. 

I believe diet and lifestyle can make a huge difference in beating cancer, as well as nearly any other illness. At the very least these interventions can be used in conjunction with the standard of medical care to greatly increase wellness. 

We all have cancerous cells in our bodies every day, but our immune system constantly destroys them. Cancer cells primarily thrive on sugars (glucose), so when we stop eating carbs we are decreasing their fuel sources. That's one significant reason why a high (quality) fat diet is my go-to for longevity. 

It's also important to eat lots of GBOMBS (greens, berries, onions, mushrooms, beans, seeds) to support the body through nutrition. They all have a place in our daily diet, though I'm not a big fan of beans. I try to eat a rainbow 🌈 every day. Each color of veggies/fruits has its own benefits and micronutrients. It's the polyphenols that give their deep, gorgeous colors.

I'm kind of obsessed with cruciferous veggies lately. Here's a great source of info on plant foods with potent anti-cancer effects.

If you want to do some reading from one of my favorite sources for lots of cool health topics, check out this link to Tim Ferriss and Peter Attia's cancer toolkit. 

What I Would Do With This Knowledge

If I were undergoing chemotherapy I would ask my doctor if fasting around my chemo sessions was advisable. I've read that it is very helpful in increasing the effectiveness of the treatment and bouncing back afterward. Fasting can give the body a chance to take a break from digesting and focus on healing and ditching bad cells. It also starves cancer cells because there's a lack of glucose. 

I'd use lots of medicinal mushrooms like reishi, and I'd eat tons of the veggies mentioned above. I'd also add lots of MCT oil to my diet using coconut oil products like this to help me follow a strict ketogenic diet. The ketogenic diet is very low carb, high fat, and moderate protein. Much more can be found here and in my ketones blog post.

Mindfulness/meditation/spiritual practice is essential. It promotes peace of mind and relaxes the nervous system to allow the body to heal. It is also a time to practice gratitude for the beautiful life we live and decrease damaging stress hormones. Quality sleep, community involvement and regular exercise are also essential. 

Until next time!

-Aaron Kaskowitz-

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Ketones!

Maybe you, I and everyone we know should use ketone supplements. The benefits are tremendous and they aren’t prohibitively expensive. I’m not aware of any real risks because all of us were made to generate and use them.

Ketones are the reason we don’t die while fasting. We only store enough glucose for about a day’s worth of energy, so at that point we have to either add glucose by eating, or adjust by burning the fat we’ve stored in our bodies to produce ketones. Ketones are actually the cell’s preferred fuel instead of glucose, and we can fast for days and many days at a time without crashing because they’re so well utilized by our cells. Our big brains require ketones pretty quickly when we’re not eating.

Dietary Overhaul Option

I’d love to go deep into the benefits of fasting in a future post, but for now just keep in mind that it has always been normal for humans to fast periodically, and it’s actually healthy.  A few of the benefits of therapeutic fasting are clearing out pre-cancerous cells, turning on genes that improve our health, fat loss, increase insulin sensitivity, mental clarity and increase in productivity from not thinking about meals (The ultimate podcast on fasting and ketosis with Dr. Dom D’Agostino).

Another way to enjoy the benefits of fasting is to simulate a fast through the ketogenic diet. This is a diet that will cause our body to burn fat and generate ketones. Classically this is 75% fat, 20% protein and 5% carbohydrate. A very high fat diet is abhorrent to some people, but this diet has been shown to be effective in treating epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cancer, multiple sclerosis and many neurodegenerative diseases. It can be useful in prevention and treatment. I’ve heard of people whose health is fundamentally changed for the better by a strict ketogenic diet. It’s worth a shot if you’re facing something serious and your doc approves it. 

Or… Not

If you don’t want to make crazy changes to your diet then you can still supplement with ketones for a lot of benefit. I add ketones to my diet by eating things like coconut oil, specifically the refined oils in products called Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs). These products are the real magic behind the butter coffee craze. It’s not just about healthy fats, but mostly about the MCTs that jumpstart some really cool processes in our cells.

• MCT/Ketone supplements have a lot of promising results:
• Improve blood sugar
• Increase fat loss
• 28% better mitochondrial density
• Ketones turn on genes for longevity
• Decrease oxygen consumption while increasing ATP production. ATP = the molecule used as an energy carrier in our cells
• Increase in mental clarity
• Increase in satiety so you don’t feel like you need to eat
• This study explains that ketone supplementation decreased cancer proliferation because cancer cells rely on glucose and glutamine, and are unable to thrive on ketones http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ijc.28809/abstract 

The benefits of ketones aren’t dependent on being in a fasted or ketogenic state, but people with serious health concerns should absolutely give the keto diet a try. I’ve tried the diet, but I’m currently trying to gain weight so I’m eating a moderate amount of carbs. I’m very open to trying it again in the future, but I’m enjoying supplementing with delicious MCTs for now.

Products I Use

The cost of entry to this ketone experiment is around $15, or you can bump up to the more potent products to get the experience more fully.

Best deal I’ve found

Awesome product, high price, 16 oz or 32 oz sizes

One step down, but still solid

Supplement for people who really need something potent

New product that seems promising if you don’t have a sensitivity to dairy

My Butter Coffee Recipe

I genuinely look forward to this so much that I never have trouble getting out of bed

1. Chemex or French Press Pot of freshly ground coffee
2. A large spoonful of grass fed ghee/butter
3. 2 tablespoons of MCT oil (start with less than a tablespoon and increase over a couple weeks)
4. Cinnamon

Then blend it up! This is important and tastes a million times better. I use a stick blender, but a real blender is the best. 

Optional additions:

• A few drops of vanilla extract
• Grass-fed collagen protein powder
• For a mocha, add raw cacao powder and cacao butter

To learn all about the ketogenic diet and its incredible medical applications: A resource created by smart people who actually know this stuff

Here’s a direct link discussing the use of ketones in Multiple Sclerosis.

Direct quote from this website: “Neurological disorders such as ALS, Multiple Sclerosis, and Parkinsons Disease: research is showing that ketone bodies exert a protective affect on the nervous system and slow the progression of nerve related diseases.”

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