Dr. Thomas Lodi: Ketogenic Diet For Cancer

Is there such a thing as a ketogenic diet for cancer that is effective?

There absolutely is but I believe there is a misconception in what that diet actually consists of so let’s talk about it. Let’s first discuss what a ketogenic diet for cancer should not include; animal products such as steak and prime rib. This is not how you heal from cancer.

A true ketogenic diet for cancer needs to have its foundation in fat. In fact, you need 60-70% coming from fat as part of your diet. And, no, it’s not the Atkins diet. You can’t eat a cheese and sausage omelet with a side of bacon and expect to live a long and healthy life.

To get to 60-70% fat from a vegan diet takes a while. The good news is, we have developed many recipes and dishes that are exactly in this range. They are raw and vegan and contain 60-70% fat. You can’t achieve this randomly, it takes years of experience and knowledge. We share and teach this to people who visit An Oasis of Healing.

You must have an ability to check your ketone levels. Why is it important to know what you are doing here? If your sugar gets too low, that’s dangerous and you can also produce too many ketones. When too many ketones are produced, you can develop keto acidosis.

This is what happens to Type 1 diabetics. Type 1 diabetics who don’t have any insulin end up going into keto acidosis. It is even possible to die from this so it is not something you can take lightly. It’s important to undergo a ketogenic diet for cancer under a medical team’s supervision who knows what they are doing.

A Ketogenic Diet for Cancer Needs To Be Managed by an Experienced Medical Team

Ketones are measured a couple of times a day to keep them at a certain point as well as the PH of your urine so you stay in a balanced place. A typical ketogenic diet we conduct here at our center lasts 6 weeks. When a person leaves our center and goes home, they can continue this and do a 4-week ketogenic diet followed by 2-3 months of a healthy 80% raw, 20% cooked food diet.

What’s important to understand is when you are eating 20% cooked food as part of your diet, it’s not that you need it. You’re doing this to feed your tongue but it’s okay. It’s okay to do things to feel good, you have to. If you don’t feel good about what you’re doing, if you feel like you’re a victim or that you are deprived, that’s not good.

Feeling like this will affect your immune system in a negative way. If you think that there is a certain food that you will never be able to eat again and this makes you upset, it is not healthy. If this is the case, apply the 20% rule and use in moderation. It’s important to live in happiness.

Now, don’t make that 20% a cheeseburger! Make it some steamed broccoli and some quinoa as an example. These will taste good and please you that way but remember, they won’t have life or energy in them anymore, hence the 20% total of your diet.

Remember the purpose of food, to supply you with life’s energy so always eat the majority of that food in its natural state, raw.