Once a month, eat less for 5 consecutive days to safely enhance anti-tumor immunity

Fasting has become a very popular way to lose weight in recent years, with many claiming on social networks that it is the best way to lose weight

Notably, a growing body of scientific research suggests that fasting is more beneficial than weight loss, improves metabolic health, and promotes the treatment of diseases such as diabetes and cancer

On November 17, 2021, researchers from the University of Milan, Italy, published an article titled "Imitating fasting diets is safe and reshapes metabolism and resistance in cancer patients" in Cancer Discovery, a top academic journal in the field of cancer.

CONCLUSIONS: In cancer patients receiving standard care, short-term, severe caloric restriction fasting is safe and feasible, reduces blood glucose and growth factor concentrations, reduces peripheral blood immunosuppressive cells and enhances intratumoral T cell infiltration

Preclinical studies have shown that severe caloric restriction in the form of short-term fasting or fasting-mimicking diets (FMDs), combined with standard drug therapy, has a powerful anticancer effect

Dr Claudio Vernieri, first author of the study, said: "Our first-in-human clinical trial results suggest that a strict short-term caloric restriction fasting regimen is safe for patients and is biologically active, which may activate Immune response

For the study, the study recruited 101 patients with different types of tumors who received different standard anticancer treatments

The research team devised a fasting-mimicking diet (FMD): a low-carb, low-protein vegetarian diet of 600 kcal on the first day and 600 kcal on the second in a five-day fasting cycle

Following a simulated fasting cycle, patients entered a 16- to 23-day recovery period during which they were not subject to specific dietary restrictions but were advised to adhere to international guidelines for healthy eating and life>

Repeat the fasting cycle every three or four weeks, up to eight times in a row

In a statistical analysis of all patients who participated in fasting, the fasting trial had a success rate of 91.

Weight loss during feeding was reversible in most patients within 5 days of strict caloric restriction

The incidence of simulated fasting-related adverse events was 12.

These results suggest that short-term severe caloric restriction is safe, feasible, and well-tolerated for most patients, regardless of tumor type and antitumor treatment modality

Dr Filippo de Braud, co-corresponding author of the study, commented: "This is a particularly important finding as it excludes the risk that patients may experience progressive weight loss or malnutrition, which are associated with reduced efficacy of anti-cancer treatments, Reduced efficacy of anticancer therapy is associated with reduced survival

At the same time, the researchers also assessed the effects of simulated fasting on the patients' metabolic and immune responses
.
In 99 evaluable patients, the simulated fasting regimen reduced median blood glucose concentrations by 18.
6%, serum insulin by 50.
7%, and serum IGF-1 by 30.
3%, and these changes remained stable over 8 consecutive cycles
.

"The metabolic changes we observed in patients were similar to those induced by calorie restriction in preclinical models, and they were associated with potent antitumor effects," said Dr.
Claudio Vernieri
.

In addition, in an analysis of 38 patients following a 5-day simulated fasting cycle, the researchers found that the patients had a significant reduction in a subset of circulating immunosuppressive myeloid cells and an increase in activated CD8+ T cells
.

Neither effect was associated with the combined antitumor treatment -- a phenomenon the researchers observed in a small group of healthy volunteers
.

This is because strict caloric restriction creates a metabolic "shock" that activates immune cell populations that increase the antitumor activity of standard antitumor treatments
.

To investigate the effects of a simulated fasting diet on intratumoral immunity, the research team conducted an interim analysis of another ongoing trial in which patients with early-stage breast cancer and melanoma were simulated for 5 days 7 to 10 days before surgery fasting period
.

This analysis showed changes such as a significant increase in tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells, suggesting a functional switch in the anti-tumor immune microenvironment after simulated fasting
.
 

The results of the above studies all indicate that the simulated fasting diet is beneficial to the metabolic health of cancer patients and enhances the body's anti-tumor ability
.
Good immunomodulatory effects were observed at both systemic and tumor levels
.

Finally, the team says new clinical trials have recently been initiated to understand whether caloric restriction leads to metabolic and immune effects that could improve the efficacy of anti-tumor treatments and prolong life expectancy in cancer patients
.
 

This diet was invented by Professor Walter Longo of the University of Southern California
.
5 days is a cycle, and only one cycle needs to be completed in a month
.
Specifically: Calorie intake: 11-16 calories per kg of body weight on days 1; 7-11 calories per kg of body weight on days 2-5
.

Food composition: 10% protein + 56% fat + 34% carbohydrates on day 1; 9% protein + 44% fat + 47% carbohydrates on days 2-5
.

Of course, the food here is not random
.
Vegetables, fruits and nuts are the main ingredients
.
Vegetables can be made into salads, stews or soups
.
They are bulky and low in calories
.
Fat is provided by olive oil, protein is provided by nuts, and carbohydrates are provided by small amounts of sugar and honey
.

You can resume your normal diet on day six, but be careful to transition to prevent overloading your digestive system and not eat too much sugar and meat right away
.

refer to:

https://cancerdiscovery.
aacrjournals.
org/content/early/2021/11/11/2159-8290.
CD-21-0030