Cancer cells grow rapidly and need energy to do so—they use the glucose in the blood to grow. Research in both mice and dogs has shown that this alternative therapy can significantly slow cancer's growth and, in some cases, cause the cancer cells to die from lack of energy. The ketogenic diet has proven effective in treating humans and dogs with cancer. New research on the ketogenic diet in dogs shows reduced inflammation and improved mitochondrial function in the dogs who eat it.
When researchers tested healthy dogs on a ketogenic diet, they found reduced levels of cytokines, one of the inflammatory markers they use to measure the amount of inflammation in the body 1. These results support the use of the ketogenic diet in cancer, where it has already been found useful, but also in other inflammatory diseases like lupus , arthritis, and infectious diseases like parvo , so ketogenic diets may help with more than just cancer.
Unfortunately, some cancer cells can use ketones for energy. The ketogenic diet has proven to be useful in mast cell tumors, but many other types of cancer need to be investigated. In , researchers published an article in Nature about using the ketogenic diet for people with cancer. It was already known that pancreatic cancer did not respond to the ketogenic diet, and they found the gene in mice that allowed them to use fats for energy while fasting.
They were able to develop a drug that blocked the pathway the body used and were able to treat the pancreatic cancer with a ketogenic diet 2. This is great news! It means that in the future, after more research, even cancer types in dogs that do not respond to a ketogenic diet may be able to be treated in this way.
A ketogenic diet and alternative medication are not yet available for resistant cancers in dogs, but since the ketogenic diet is already available, it should be utilized while we wait to learn more.
