Keto for Cancer: Ketogenic Metabolic Therapy as a Targeted Nutritional Strategy

539 Pages·2017·3.08 MB·English

by  Miriam Kalamian

Praise for Keto for Cancer
“Keto for Cancer is an incredible guide for cancer patients and anyone attempting the ketogenic diet for the
metabolic management of disease or just overall health benefits. This book addresses at least 95 percent of
the questions I get on a daily basis. A must-read resource for anyone interested in ketogenic diets, cancer,
exogenous ketones, and personalizing their nutritional ketosis strategy.”
—Dominic D’Agostino, PhD, leading scientist on ketogenic metabolic therapies
“In an era when interest in ketogenic diets has erupted and misinformation abounds, Miriam Kalamian has
brilliantly cut to the facts for cancer patients and their caregivers. Keto for Cancer is a clear, concise, and
invaluable resource that describes both the science and implementation of these metabolic therapies.
Underlying it all is the heart of a mom who has experienced the ultimate tragedy and has chosen to give
additional meaning to her son, Raffi’s, life.”
—Jim Abrahams, The Charlie Foundation for Ketogenic Therapies
“Keto for Cancer reveals how a ketogenic diet powerfully targets cancer at its metabolic core. . . . Miriam
Kalamian’s exemplary achievement brings clarity to this emerging science and makes implementation of
this information straightforward and uncomplicated.”
—David Perlmutter, MD, FACN, author of #1 New York Times bestseller Grain Brain and The Grain
Brain Whole Life Plan
“Keto for Cancer is comprehensive and has appropriate cautions about the limits of the approach. . . . It’s a
complete how-to book for others in this terrible position and is imprinted with her love for her son.”
—Eugene J. Fine, MD, professor of clinical radiology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
“Keto for Cancer offers hope for healing to cancer patients by offering them a personal plan for success that
implements the powerful symbiosis of natural strategies such as the ketogenic diet, fasting, and
supplementation.”
—Jimmy Moore, health podcaster; international bestselling author of Keto Clarity
“I’m confident that [this book] will become the go-to resource for the practical application of the ketogenic
approach. Keto for Cancer will undoubtedly pave the way for improved health in many chronically ill
patients.”
—Patricia Daly, coauthor of The Ketogenic Kitchen
“A well-researched yet easy-to-understand approach to the science underpinning the metabolic foundations
of cancer. A must-read, not only as stepwise guide for patients but for all physicians, particularly those
skeptical of the therapeutic benefits of the ketogenic diet.”
—Joseph C. Maroon, MD, clinical professor of neurosurgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
“Miriam Kalamian has written an excellent and complete guide to ketogenic therapy in cancer treatment. . .
. I especially recommend this book to patients and their relatives, but it has also become a valuable
reference for my own clinical work with patients.”
—Dr. Rainer J. Klement, PhD, Department of Radiation Oncology, Leopoldina Hospital Schweinfurt,
Germany
“Miriam Kalamian’s Keto for Cancer provides the most comprehensive and organized step-by-step
information to easily understand and efficiently implement a lifesaving ketogenic diet. The book is an
academic, scientific primer for clinicians (who will greatly benefit from the lucid, crisp explanations), as
well as a detailed, easy-to-follow manual for patients and their families to carry out their daily anticancer
ketogenic diets. This diligent, gifted work gives real life and authentic hope to its readers in a unique tour
de force which will remain a landmark for generations.”
—J. William (Will) LaValley, MD, Molecular Integrative Oncology
“Cancer nutrition expert Miriam Kalamian has poured every ounce of her hard-earned wisdom, deep
scientific knowledge, and compassion into Keto for Cancer. Within this masterful guide, she explains how
ketogenic diets limit tumor cell access to key nutrients while nourishing healthy cells, quieting
inflammation, and improving quality of life. Let Kalamian empower you to take aim at cancer’s soft
underbelly and begin reclaiming your health.”
—Georgia Ede, MD, Psychiatrist and Nutrition Specialist
“I had the pleasure of first meeting Miriam at a conference in Berkeley a few years back, she was speaking
on a panel about the ketogenic diet and cancer. Her story touched me deeply as did her articulate way of
expressing how to implement a ketogenic diet. Since then, I have watched Miriam reach superstardom with
her brilliant mind and compassionate heart. This book is a culmination of what she has learned, shared,
gleaned from others, and inspired in the world of both bench (her collaborations with world renowned
researchers) and bedside (real-life application by respected clinicians) medicine. This is the most thorough
discussion on ketogenic diet and cancer in the industry and I expect it to continue to inspire change in how
we approach cancer today.”
—Nasha Winters, ND, coauthor of The Metabolic Approach to Cancer

Copyright © 2017 by Miriam Kalamian.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form by any means
without permission in writing from the publisher.
Photograph on page v by Miriam Kalamian.
Project Manager: Patricia Stone Developmental Editor: Makenna Goodman
Copy Editor: Jennifer Lipfert
Proofreader: Nanette Bendyna
Indexer: Shana Milkie
Designer: Melissa Jacobson
Printed in Canada.
First printing September 2017.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 17 18 19 20 21
Our Commitment to Green Publishing Chelsea Green sees publishing as a
tool for cultural change and ecological stewardship. We strive to align our book
manufacturing practices with our editorial mission and to reduce the impact of
our business enterprise in the environment. We print our books and catalogs on
chlorine-free recycled paper, using vegetable-based inks whenever possible. This
book may cost slightly more because it was printed on paper that contains
recycled fiber, and we hope you’ll agree that it’s worth it. Chelsea Green is a
member of the Green Press Initiative (www.greenpressinitiative.org), a nonprofit
coalition of publishers, manufacturers, and authors working to protect the
world’s endangered forests and conserve natural resources. Keto for Cancer was
printed on paper supplied by Marquis that contains 100% postconsumer recycled
fiber.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Kalamian,
Miriam, author.
Title: Keto for cancer : ketogenic metabolic therapy as a targeted nutritional
strategy / Miriam Kalamian, EdM, MS, CNS ; foreword by Thomas N.
Seyfried, PhD.
Description: White River Junction, Vermont : Chelsea Green Publishing, [2017]
Identifiers: LCCN 2017023265| ISBN 9781603587013 (paperback) | ISBN
9781603587020 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Cancer—Diet therapy. | Ketogenic
diet. | Integrative medicine. | BISAC: HEALTH & FITNESS / Diseases Cancer.
| COOKING Health & Healing Cancer. | HEALTH & FITNESS Nutrition.
Classification: LCC RC271.D52 K35 2017 | DDC 616.99/40654—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017023265
Chelsea Green Publishing
85 North Main Street, Suite 120
White River Junction, VT 05001
[phone]
www.chelseagreen.com
This book is dedicated to my son, Raffi.
Raffi Kalamian Walsh Born February 18, 2000 Died April 17, 2013
Raffi, the sunsets we shared could be enjoyed only in the moment, but the light
you brought to this Earth shines on. You will always be my hero! I’m grateful to
have been your mom.
Contents Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1: Cancer: Genetics or Metabolism?
2: “Show Me the Evidence”
3: “Show Me the Science”
4: Is the Ketogenic Diet Right for You?
5: Understanding the Origins of the Ketogenic Diet
6: Diet Does Matter!
7: Fasting for Health
8: Get Started!
9: Create Your Personal Plan
10: Plan for Success
11: Put Your Plan into Action
12: Get to Know Your Macros
13: Meal Templates
14: Nutritional Supplements
15: Other Health Challenges and Keto
16: Evaluate Your “Response to Treatment”
17: Your Anticancer Life
Afterword: Raffi’s Gift of Life
Appendix A: Troubleshooting
Appendix B: Recipes
Resources
Glossary
Notes
Foreword
It is an honor for me to write the foreword to Miriam Kalamian’s deeply
important book, Keto For Cancer. Miriam has produced a masterpiece that
translates decades of research on the anticancer therapeutic benefits of ketogenic
diets and calorie restriction in preclinical models to a practical guide for people
with cancer and practitioners who are increasingly drawn to the science behind
this metabolic approach. The information in her book moves far beyond the
limits of conventional anticancer nutrition to include the use of food as
medicine, a concept first elucidated by Hippocrates, the father of modern
medicine.
Miriam’s book comes at a critical time in our quest to manage cancer, as the
cancer field is now stagnating under the weight of traditional therapies (radiation
and chemotherapy) that result in unacceptable toxicity and impairment in quality
of life, often with little improvement in survival. Even the new immunotherapy
drugs are proving to be unacceptably toxic, marginally effective, and
inordinately expensive. The rate of increase in deaths from cancer over the last
five years (3.4 percent) is now twice the rate of increase in new cases (1.7
percent). According to data from the American Cancer Society, cancer deaths
have reached epidemic proportions, with over 1,600 people dying each day in
the United States alone. Too often, five-year survival statistics masquerade as a
cure, allowing the conventional community to dodge any discussion of long-
term survivorship, especially in those people with aggressive or metastatic
disease.
How could this situation exist even with the enormous investment in
resources and the decades of research directed at cancer therapies supported by
the NIH, the pharmaceutical industry, and the many private cancer research
groups, many of which are founded by people who have lost loved ones to this
disease? This unacceptable state of affairs is due largely to the prevailing but
flawed dogma that cancer is a genetic disease. Massive evidence shows the large
impact that environmental influences have on the initiation and progression of
this disease. Cancer treatment centers use buzzwords like personalized medicine,
targeted therapies, and cancer mutation screening to imply that cancer is under
their control. These are hollow words linked to a fundamental misunderstanding
of the origin of cancer. Emerging evidence indicates that cancer is primarily a
metabolic disease arising from a disruption in the ability of the cell to obtain the
energy it needs to survive and proliferate from normal cellular respiration.
Although the cancer research community acknowledges this aberration, it fails to
connect the dots leading back to the origin of most cancers. That is, most cancer
cells obtain their energy from the process of fermentation, which was the way
primitive living organisms survived before oxygen became abundant in Earth’s
atmosphere some 2.5 billion years ago. It is cancer’s protracted reliance on
fermentation energy that leads to the many genetic mutations seen in cancer
cells. In other words, the mutations are not the cause of cancer but instead are
the downstream effect of the disturbed respiration that drives compensatory
fermentation and even evasion from immune system surveillance.
Cancer mutations are “red herrings” that divert attention away from the real
problem, which is a reliance on fermentation for growth and survival. It is no
wonder that cancer therapies based on the gene theory have had so little success
in managing the disease. Damage to cellular respiration, thus causing a reliance
on fermentation, can arise from any number of provocative agents, including
carcinogens, radiation, tissue inflammation, viral infections, focal hypoxia, rare
inherited mutations, or simply age. Fermentation metabolism also makes tumor
cells resistant to radiation and chemotherapies by strengthening their inherent
antioxidant defenses. Miriam’s book provides a nutritional strategy to manage
cancer based on the metabolic origins underlying most tumor cells. Cancer is not
many diseases, as some would suggest, but it is a singular disease of abnormal
energy metabolism regardless of the cell or tissue of origin.
It is now recognized that both glucose and glutamine, an amino acid, are the
prime fuels that drive fermentation metabolism in most tumor cells. In addition
to generating energy, these fuels are also the precursors for the synthesis of
lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids, which pave the way for rapid tumor cell
proliferation. It follows that the most logical therapeutic strategy for managing
cancer centers on restricting glucose and glutamine. The low-carbohydrate, high-
fat ketogenic diet is an alternative, nontoxic metabolic strategy for targeting
those tumor cells that depend on fermentable fuels for their growth and survival.
Therapeutic ketosis starves tumor cells of glucose while elevating blood levels