Studies Show a High-Fat Diet Accelerates Tumor Growth

Recently, the U.S. journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published a study on how a high-fat diet accelerates tumor growth. The research showed that a high-fat diet increases the population of a certain bacterium in the mouse gut and suppresses the immune system, thereby speeding up tumor growth.

It has long been recognized that obesity is a high-risk carcinogenic factor; among various cancer risks, obesity ranks second, after smoking. The TCM classic Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon) also says, “Rich, fatty foods are enough to breed a great sore.” Present research further shows that not only can obesity cause cancer, but an unreasonable diet after cancer—eating too much high-fat food—can also speed up tumor growth.

The high-fat foods here include not only animal-derived high-fat foods such as fatty meat, animal organs, and egg yolk, but also plant-derived high-fat foods such as walnuts, peanuts, sesame, avocados, and durian, as well as foods made by frying.

The researchers found that the blood of mice on a high-fat diet had higher levels of leucine and myeloid-derived suppressor cells than that of mice on a normal diet. When the researchers treated the mice with antibiotics that kill Desulfovibrio, the levels of myeloid-derived suppressor cells and leucine in the mice returned to normal. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells suppress immune-cell responses, so when their levels are too high, the speed of tumor growth increases.

This study shows that tumor patients who maintain a low-fat diet can slow the rate of tumor progression and extend survival; it provides a scientific basis for the view, previously advocated by American cancer-prevention societies, that cancer patients should eat more low-fat plant-derived foods. We often hear of tumor patients who, by adjusting their diet, have achieved good dietary-therapy results; that these patients recover better also has a scientific basis.

Therefore, tumor patients should try to avoid excessive animal fats, fatty meats, fried foods, high-fat fruits, and various nuts. This study also shows that the various claims promoting a ketogenic diet as anticancer are not worth trusting.