Episode #065

Miriam Kalamian

Keto for Cancer: Plus Fasting, Protein Intake, and The Number One Thing You Can Do Today, Even if You’re Healthy

In three months on the (keto) diet, we had an MRI, and I was just kind of blown away by how different that response to the tumor to diet was than it had been to anything we had done at that point. Click To Tweet

Miriam Kalamian experienced any parent’s worst fear: her son was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

And despite 14 weeks of chemotherapy and getting him into a clinical trial, the tumor was progressing even faster instead of shrinking.

Determined to help her son as much as she could, Miriam dove headfirst into other options she could use to complement the standard treatment given.

It was at this point that her research led her to use the keto diet to help battle her son’s diagnosis.

As you’ll hear more about in this episode, Miriam’s doctors didn’t think keto could make a difference and they told her it wasn’t worth trying.

She persisted, did extensive research to figure out how to tailor the diet to her son’s smaller stature, and saw incredible results in his condition.

Miriam dives into the science behind why keto works (and when it doesn’t), what fuels cancer, and the exact steps to take if you’ve been diagnosed.

The glutamine that we take in through diet is not the primary driver of the glutamine that cancer cells are using. Click To Tweet
She also shares her tip for what to focus on if you’re healthy, how to use fasting to reduce chemo side effects, and other therapies.

And if you’re not familiar with Miriam, she’s authored the book, Keto for Cancer, which shares how to use the diet therapeutically.

You’ll learn more about this and all of these other great topics when you tune in:

  • How Miriam found herself using a keto diet to help treat her son’s brain tumor
  • Cancer cells and glycolysis
  • The environment cancer thrives in
  • Does glucose fuel cancer?
  • Consuming too much protein with cancer
  • Gluconeogenesis
  • Combining fasting with keto to fight cancer cells
  • The exceptions for using fasting during cancer treatment
  • Is the prevention of cancer the same as treatment using keto?
  • The single most important thing people can do
  • The type of snack you should be choosing if you’re going to snack at all
  • What to focus on if you’re already healthy
  • What happens if you’re following keto and you still end up with cancer?
  • How to use fasting to reduce chemotherapy side effects
  • Is it necessary to reach zero grams of carbs in the diet to effectively treat tumors?
  • Miriam also shares her thoughts on veganism and if it’s a viable tool for cancer treatment
  • Miriam’s general benchmarks for protein intake
  • Are there any types of cancer that would not benefit from keto?
  • Glucose, ketones, and the glucose ketone index
  • Other therapies Miriam uses in conjunction with keto
  • Does keto replace the standard of care or complement it?
  • What to ask your oncologist if you’re considering keto with your cancer treatment
  • The exercise Miriam recommends to her patients and the one therapy she suggests getting a prescription for if you have cancer and why
  • Fasting mimicking diets, hyperbaric oxygen, and cancer cells

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