I had a breat question from Mary in an earlier thread that I wanted to give some airplay:
I watched this on youtube, it was very interesting. I have one question to ask: In one the videos, Cordain says you need inflammation to have cancer. What is meant by this? I know carbs have a proinflammatory effect and I know alot of chronic degenative diseases out there: heart disease, diabetes, obesity, etc. have a chronic low level of inflammation present. Does the inflammation turn on genes in susceptible individuals that will give one cancer, another heart disease, another autoimmune disorder, and etc…? At the age of 32 I developed carpal tunnel, the previous 2 years before I would say glycemic control was slipping, I don’t have an actual blood test but would not be surprised if I had IGT. The actual week that my carpal tunnel really got worse,I purely by coincidence went on the Atkins diet (I went on to lose 40 pounds in the next 5 months). I noticed that it improved over time but went ahead with carpal tunnel release surgery. I did not know at the time that the carpal tunnel was the result of the high blood sugar excursions damaging my nerves. We have rheumatoid arthritis in my family and I am well aware of the fact now that carpal tunnel out of the blue is an herald for RA. I know this is just speculation, but if I avoid inflammation in general, a high glycemic carb diet, to what extent will that decrease the chances of developing RA? My family’s health history includes heart disease, breast cancer, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, overweight not really obese, and few diabetics and as you probably suspect a low carb diet makes a huge difference in my health. I can already guess, that you would probably say to me, considering my family’s background, that a gluten-free, low carb diet for the rest of my life would be the best option.
From The Paleo Diet vs. Multiple Sclerosis, 2008/09/07 at 2:24 PM
So Mary’s final question is essentially “Is the best route to avoiding cancer, autoimmunity and metabolic derangement a gluten free, low carb diet?” to which I’d have to respond a pretty resounding “yes”. We have pretty clear proposed mechanisms for how hyperinsulinism affects cancer propagation:
1-Increased mitosis (cell division) due to increased growth factors such as Insulin Like Growth Factor (IGF) and Epithelial Growth Factor (EGF).
2-Disruption apoptosis (programmed cell death) by disruption in retinoic acid metabolism in the liver.
3-Immune impairment/autoimmunity.
Add to this what we know about various neolithic lectins and we exacerbate the situation by disruption of insulin signaling and immune function, especially with gluten.
We have proposed mechanisms, cause and effect but not too many people care to look at this stuff because it demonizes the basis of our modern food pyramid instead of fat. Oy-vey!
Mary, you alluded to another piece in all this. Hyperinsulinism and autoimmunity affect different people differently. You are a perfect illustration of how diverse the effects are: Everyone knows Carpal Tunnel is an overwork orthopedic issue, right? Well, no. It’s an inflammatory issue and the surgery prescribed to fix it does little good. A Low carb diet and fish oil (a low inflammation diet) fix the problem completely.
Mary, I REALLY appreciate the question and I wanted to throw out one more thing. In your question you mention that you have a family history of RA, cancer and some other goodies. I’d counter that with this: If go back in your family history, somewhere between 2,000 and 10,000 years your family DID NOT have these diseases. That is your normal birthright because when our ancestors lived as hunter gatherers we simply did not see these diseases.
Who would have guessed a cigarette was better for you than a piece of whole wheat bread.
Seriously
Hmm, just thinking a bit.
Would you really implicate IGFs to hyperinsulemia and EGF/VEGF/TGF beta/etc.. Um, I guess you could… I think all of them operate under tyrosine kinase cascades which are highly susceptible to cancer (I think are found in something like 50% of cancer cases).
I dunno though because hGH and IGFs are strongly correlated especially during puberty and whatnot. Decline in GH/IGF is also related to the aging process. I guess I am kinda hesitant to throw IGF to the wolves with the cancer/inflammation issue because of GH/IGF’s positive effects on the body. Shrug.
Interesting stuff though — didn’t know that about carpal tunnel specifically the inflammation part.
Steven-
There’s little doubt the growth factors are causitive factors…something to keep in mind is that the “normal” hGh decline we see in western populations may not be normal at all. Add to this these hormones are normally ebbing and flowing in pulsitile shots. In the case of hyperinsulinism we see chronically elevated levels of growth factors, including a decrease in sex hormone binding globulin which leads to chronically elevated androgen levels (also growth promoters, particularly in the case of estrogen). The totality of these events (in conjunction with the removal of the retinoic acid mediated apoptosis control) is what results in cancer.
There are some strong EGF/IGF knock-out models which show a resistance to cancer (but an early death from other factors, including cardiac dysfunction). It is also interesting to note that the end stage of many of these disease is characterized by LOW growth factor levels (cardio myopathy for example). We see chronically elevated levels, then a systemic failure with a dramatic drop-off in certain growth factors…then death. It’s certainly not a simple linear progression but there are some strong mechanisms that are being tested.
Excellent advice. I have switched to a more low carb diet and occasional fish oil. I see a big improvement.
Hey robb
I live in a cold northern climate and as winter comes on I see my food budget on the zone climbing way out of my grad student stipend range.
Was wondering if you’ve ever done a post of would do one in the future on some good cheap alternatives to the fresh veggies and fruit that I’m presently enjoying. I wonder about canned goods and other preserved alternatives.
John-
Frozen fruit and veggies are far superior to canned and typically quite inexpensive. As we run into fall and winter (northern latitudes anyway) you cna shift to apples, citrus, squash etc. Hit what is in season and this should help reduce that food budget a bit!
I had a nasty bout of breast cancer 4 years ago at the age of 30. With seemingly no predisposition, I have researched endlessly. Based on what I’ve found, I would guess the excessive consumption of refined carbs (sugar, processed grains and alcohol) created a nurturing environment for such a disease. I just discussed insulin, IGF and their far-reaching effects with my oncologist a couple of days ago, along with low-carb nutrition in general. He said everything I’ve found regarding this is right on. I am in complete amazement at how much havoc insulin, IGF and inflammation can wreak inside a human. I had to spend countless hours trying to piece this stuff together myself because the government is constantly quashing this info in favor of a grain heavy (and agricultural supporting) diet. I had to bring it up to my doctor or it would’ve never been addressed. Why? Because 99% of patients don’t want to hear it. What in the hell is wrong with everyone? I’m pissed that I had to endure slash, burn and toxic cancer treatment, probably because I was consuming lots of seemingly benign foods. Did I mention my dad’s heart disease and my mom’s hypertension? Because this info struggles to get mainstream credibility, I haven’t been able to convince them to change their ways. It’s sad but at least I’ve been able to figure it out, with a healthy dose of help from you.
Thanks for cracking open that big brain of yours and sharing the juicy nuggets!
Sarah-
I was unaware of my juicy brain nuggets…kinda creepy!
Seriously however…the reality of what is happening here is just tragic and heart breaking. I dont know what to do but continue to fight the good fight and change the minds we can reach.
The mother of one of our clients was diagnosed with breast cancer and did not want to go the conventional treatment route. We set her up on a calorie restricted ketogenic diet, 10 hrs of sleep each night in a pitch black room. Solid exercise (brief but intense). After a month of this program they could not find the tumors on a follow-up scan. She has been cancer free for over a year…and continues to eat a ketogenic (isocaloric) diet. She feels great, loves the food and is pretty stoked to be cancer free. This is a case history of N=1 but it’s pretty damn compelling.
Robb,
Here’s a chit chat we were having in our blog:
http://crossfitevolution.com/redcorner/?p=240#comments
And here’s an excerpt that might be of interest to you:
“just read the article and I’ve never put all of that together. I have a family history of RA, Diabetes,CVA, heart disease, extreme obesity (have an aunt on dad’s side clocking in at 500#! E GADS!) I have carpal tunnel in both wrists and have had the release surgery on the right. That’s why I’m a little cautious when doing weight bearing stuff with my hands flat on the floor. Never went to PT to get full ROM. I think it’s mental now though. Anyway the left side got better after surgery but recently has been acting up. After reading this article I realized it hasn’t bothered me in about a month or so. That’s about 1 month after I started eating paleo foods only (except cheat meals). So I find all of this very interesting. I had no idea how a persons diet was so influential on RA and CT. I was so ignorant that if my doctor had told me diet could prevent surgery I’d still have opted for surgery! My plan is to not aquire these lovely genetic gifts!! HA I say!”
Paleo works wonders and people that help promote it are good people!
Leo
Great stuff Leo!
Dude! You cured cancer!
It really is a shame this info isn’t more public. My dad lost a nasty fight with cancer while the doctors fed him Boost through a feeding tube.
I’m not sure if Boost is in the US, but it’s made by fucking Nestle (what isn’t made by Nestle??) and these are the top ingredients: water, corn syrup solids, modified milk ingredients, sugar, and vegetable oil.
It was frustrating to say the least.
Oh yea, we have Boost here. Not even a thought about what macros can do to hormones and immune function. If by some weird twist of fate I get cancer and a ketogenic diet does not fix it, I’m dying on a mountain-side somewhere, not in a fucking hospital.
I am curious….where did you do your training? What did you research when a biochemist? What/where/when did you publish? I have searched for you on MedLine and a biochem database, and nothing comes up. Thanks.
Shannon-
I was a grunt at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center…you will find no paper with my name on it but I contributed data to projects including the Nurses Health Study, Shanghai, Folate research study…most of my time there was spent on lipid metabolism, looking at the lipid distribution in red blood cells.
I contributed some meterial for one of Prof. Cordain’s papers relating to Skin Tags…I’m not sure I’f I’m listed in that.
If you dig VERY hard you can find some obscure organic chemistry work I did in I believe the Journal Tetrahedron Letters. Look for something along the lines: “Stoichimetrically augmented reduction of pro-chiral ketones…”
My under-grad was in biochem at CSU, Chico. I’m better known for my cooking than my chemistry!
“My under-grad was in biochem at CSU, Chico. I’m better known for my cooking than my chemistry!”
No shame in that, brother…
True about the resistance of ‘conventional wisdom’ and The Medical Establishment to effects of low carb diets. I have RA, some heart trouble, and am pre-diabetic. My present regime cuts out (= no) gluten, starchy foods, milk products, nightshade vegetables, and sweet stuff of any kind. Weight is down 3 kg, RA improved in 10 days so I can make a fist. Actually, there’s a lot of good things to eat out there.
My study suggests that conditions such as RA and many tumors are potentially caused by many factors. Thus I believe that searches for single causes and magic bullets will be unsuccessful.
Studies may find that a particular treatment is only ~ 20 % effective, and dismiss it from further consideration — WITHOUT RECOGNIZING THAT TREATMENT MIGHT HAVE BEEN 100% EFFECTIVE IN CONTROLLING DISEASE CAUSED BY A PARTICULAR FACTOR. Since one (or one’s doctor) doesn’t know which factors are active, one should attack as many as possible, in hopes of hitting the right one.
All with difficulty in low-carb diet acceptance (self or by others) might find it useful to read:
The Internet Journal of Nutrition and Wellness
ISSN: XXXX-XXXX
Arguments In Favor Of Ketogenic Diets
Joaquín Pérez-Guisado
It is very well-researched and considers negative findings also.
Thanks for sharing your own stories and experiences!
Rich
is carpal tunnel going to cancer?tnx