Many cancer patients are now following a starvation diet, believing that by depriving themselves of food, they are contributing to “starving the tumor” or accustoming themselves to “tolerating chemotherapy better.”
However, doctors warn that these theories, which are spreading like an infection, are merely media misinformation, as this diet does not protect against malignant disease, but rather exposes patients to “huge” risks.
Video clips of people saying they have “recovered” or others describing themselves as “healers” have been watched tens of thousands of times on YouTube, asserting that fasting constitutes a “quick cure for cancer” in a “purely natural” way.
Some recommend complete fasting specifically during the days before chemotherapy and going outdoors to “feed on the light,” while others extol the advantages of an exclusively liquid diet (water fasting).
This diet is “one of the miracle cures promoted by natural healers in particular,” says Donatien Le Vaillant, head of Mivilud, a department in the French Ministry of the Interior that monitors groups that make their followers psychologically or physically submissive and thus deprive them of part of their decisions. The heat.
He adds, “When this leads to the patient abandoning treatment and thus losing his chance of survival, this conversation becomes a criminal offense.” The French judiciary condemned a physical therapist named Eric Gandon in Tours (centre), after the death of several of his participants in water fasting courses, including people suffering from cancer.
Le Vian points out that “the vulnerability of patients is particularly great when they are informed that they have cancer,” as some of them become very sensitive to “anti-drug conspiracy theories, which have become popular through social networks in particular.”
– “Whole body starvation”
Le Vian also points out the significant lack of laws, and says, “When we write the question ‘How do you overcome cancer?’ on the Internet, very dangerous content and crazy ideas appear.”
The benefit of fasting to fight cancer is based on an observation that seems logical. Since cancer cells “have a large appetite,” depriving them of food is a helpful step in eliminating them.
“Cancer cells consume two to three times more sugar than normal cells,” says Professor Bernard Sorour, an epidemiologist at the French Enray Institute for Research on Agriculture, Food and the Environment.
He continues, “But the problem is that when we adopt fasting, we are not only starving the cancerous tumors, but the entire body.”
He believes that this method leads to counterproductive results because “cancer cells will derive their resources from muscle mass, for example.”
The National Institute of Health and Medical Research in France indicates that these cells have “very great adaptive capabilities.” He states, on his website, that studies centered on the benefits of this practice are “largely unconfirmed.”
After reviewing dozens of studies, the “NACER” network concluded in a report in 2017 that there is no evidence of the effect of fasting in humans “in preventing or fighting disease” (whether the effect is therapeutic or interactive with cancer treatments).
– Vigilance of those close to you
Professor Sorour says that the benefit of this method is zero compared to the patient facing “enormous” risks, adding, “If you are in good health and want to listen to your bodies, you can adopt fasting. But if you have cancer, resorting to it may be very dangerous.”
He warns that fasting may increase the risk of toxicity from the treatment and reduce its effectiveness. It may cause muscle weakness and malnutrition, which are two factors that threaten the patient's life, as malnutrition is the direct cause of death for 5 to 25% of cancer patients.
He stresses that oncologists must encourage patients to eat “whatever they want, because the patient must be strong enough to withstand the side effects of treatments, and eating well is difficult because the appetite for food is damaged as a result of chemotherapy.”
He points out that “cancer patients are willing to try anything. Therefore, it is necessary for someone to accompany them and for them to be monitored in order to detect any malnutrition they may be exposed to and solve the problem quickly.”
The Mivilud section provides advice to those close to a cancer patient, including the need to take the necessary measures in the event that the patient isolates himself from his surroundings or from doctors, shows a desire to stop his treatment, or spends large sums of money on so-called “alternative treatments.”
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