By David Liu, PHD

Sunday March 11, 2012 (foodconsumer.org) --  A new review released in the July 2011 issue of Oncogene suggests that fasting up to five days after diagnosis of cancer may help patients fight the disease effectively.

The American Cancer Society recommends that cancer patients receiving chemotherapy should increase calorie and protein intake, the authors said.

The review led by C. Lee and V.D. Longo of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California found that fasting up to five days followed by a normal diet may also protect against chemotherapy without causing weight loss.

Fasting or no calorie intake can induce a wide range of changes in cellular protection, which the authors said would be difficult to achieve with potent chemo therapies.  This has been demonstrated in all sorts of organisms including humans.

The authors also said fasting has been associated with more than 50 percent reduction in glucose and insulin-like growth factor 1 or IGF-1 in mammals.  Insulin-like growth fact 1 is one important promoter of cancer cell growth.

On the other hand, calorie restriction - 20 to 40 percent reduction in calorie intake, requires weeks or even months to be effective in causing even much more modest changes in glucose and or IGF-1 levels and promotes chronic weight loss.

The authors suggest that fasting has the potential to be an effective clinical interventions for the protection of patients against cancer.