Improving Cancer Treament with Fasting
Published 9.2.2025: In this piece, I'm going to discuss the presentations by Valter Longo, Ph.D. (he apparently does not have an MD, I thought he did) and Joseph Antoun, MD PhD MPP. Antoun also spoke at the Heart Disease Seminar, and at that his company (Long's company) had a commercial. I didn't cover Antoun's presentation— but I will cover it here.
Both men are discussing the Fast Mimicking Diet, which Longo created, it's also known — or based on — as the Longevity Diet. Longo (and presumably Antoun) are not vegan. They do not buy into the Fuhrman line that vegetables only are required to be ingested to create the healthiest diet. Longo, indeed, points to the Blue Zone diets (especially the one in Sardinia, because he's Italian). Even after being asked point blank at least twice by Fuhrman. Fuhrman doesn't like his answer, and the interview ends soon afterward. Fuhrman's schtick, for those who haven't read here before, is based on calorie restriction with nutrient sufficiency and is vegan.
Longo's research began with calorie restriction too— though inadvertently. He was a student of Roy Walford, he of Biosphere 2 fame. Biosphere 2 was a circa 1990's experiment, that was supposed to show how humans locked away (such as during a space voyage) could maintain and provide for themselves. What it became (the experiment was an abject failure) was an impromptu study in calorie restriction and the effects on human health. Further discussion on the Biosphere 2 is beyond the scope of this piece, but the participants in the experiment lost a ton of weight and were generally miserable. As Walford and the others emerged, Longo wondered if the health benefits (because there were health benefits) could be achieved without making participants miserable.
Back to the anti-cancer presentation: both Longo and Antoun stressed that during chemotherapy (chemo), the targeted cells (the cancer cells) are the fastest growing— which explains why hair is lost during chemo. Hair cells are amongst the fastest metabolizing in the human body. The deal with cancer cells, (and the reason fasting works) is that normal cells in a fast slow down. Cancer cells do not (don't know how to) and so fasting increases the effectiveness of chemo. And maybe immunotherapy, as well.
Longo is careful to note that fasting alone does NOT heal cancer. Antoun volunteers that El Nutra started as a cancer company. Initially, they were looking at water only fasts (which Fuhrman really does not like) but developed the fast mimicking diet (FMD) because they couldn't attract enough participants (who had to have cancer) to do the trial. This is new information, I've never, ever heard that before. They did the FMD study at the Mayo Clinic (in Minnesota?) and despite Fuhrman's asking, Antoun will not give the macronutrients in Prolon (that's the band name) FMD product that they are selling. Why? Because they don't want people to DIY the product and cancer treatment— which the Mayo clinic tried and failed to do. Fuhrman plainly wanted to do it too. The company in the past, Antoun says, has given out the formula, but no one but them gets it right. Not sure what to think about this, what exactly are they doing that can't be replicated?
Longo and Antoun mention that they worry about the Ketogenesis Diet (keto) as a treatment for cancer. Longo notes that some cancers feed on ketones; Antoun notes that animal products (and people doing keto are usually eating a ton of animal foods) increase IGF. Antoun agrees that Fuhrman's diet of vegetables is the way to go, because cancer needs Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF) to grow, which you get from animal protein. Prolon is a vegan product, and what they found is that 4 days before a treatment you do the FMD, then on the day for treatment; then after that treatment, you start eating again.
Valter Longo has a new book coming out; he did not mention it, but Antoun did, where he goes through all the various cancers, and the best way to help the treatments. Cancer is not a single disease, and there are differences between them. It's called something like Fasting Cancer (I didn't note the title in my notes, that might not be correct).
This was way more interesting than expected. It was very interesting (to me) to listen to doctors who all consider longevity to be their primary goal.
DISCLAIMER: I am NOT any type of medical professional. Do NOT take medical advice from me!!
Both men are discussing the Fast Mimicking Diet, which Longo created, it's also known — or based on — as the Longevity Diet. Longo (and presumably Antoun) are not vegan. They do not buy into the Fuhrman line that vegetables only are required to be ingested to create the healthiest diet. Longo, indeed, points to the Blue Zone diets (especially the one in Sardinia, because he's Italian). Even after being asked point blank at least twice by Fuhrman. Fuhrman doesn't like his answer, and the interview ends soon afterward. Fuhrman's schtick, for those who haven't read here before, is based on calorie restriction with nutrient sufficiency and is vegan.
Longo's research began with calorie restriction too— though inadvertently. He was a student of Roy Walford, he of Biosphere 2 fame. Biosphere 2 was a circa 1990's experiment, that was supposed to show how humans locked away (such as during a space voyage) could maintain and provide for themselves. What it became (the experiment was an abject failure) was an impromptu study in calorie restriction and the effects on human health. Further discussion on the Biosphere 2 is beyond the scope of this piece, but the participants in the experiment lost a ton of weight and were generally miserable. As Walford and the others emerged, Longo wondered if the health benefits (because there were health benefits) could be achieved without making participants miserable.
Back to the anti-cancer presentation: both Longo and Antoun stressed that during chemotherapy (chemo), the targeted cells (the cancer cells) are the fastest growing— which explains why hair is lost during chemo. Hair cells are amongst the fastest metabolizing in the human body. The deal with cancer cells, (and the reason fasting works) is that normal cells in a fast slow down. Cancer cells do not (don't know how to) and so fasting increases the effectiveness of chemo. And maybe immunotherapy, as well.
Longo is careful to note that fasting alone does NOT heal cancer. Antoun volunteers that El Nutra started as a cancer company. Initially, they were looking at water only fasts (which Fuhrman really does not like) but developed the fast mimicking diet (FMD) because they couldn't attract enough participants (who had to have cancer) to do the trial. This is new information, I've never, ever heard that before. They did the FMD study at the Mayo Clinic (in Minnesota?) and despite Fuhrman's asking, Antoun will not give the macronutrients in Prolon (that's the band name) FMD product that they are selling. Why? Because they don't want people to DIY the product and cancer treatment— which the Mayo clinic tried and failed to do. Fuhrman plainly wanted to do it too. The company in the past, Antoun says, has given out the formula, but no one but them gets it right. Not sure what to think about this, what exactly are they doing that can't be replicated?
Longo and Antoun mention that they worry about the Ketogenesis Diet (keto) as a treatment for cancer. Longo notes that some cancers feed on ketones; Antoun notes that animal products (and people doing keto are usually eating a ton of animal foods) increase IGF. Antoun agrees that Fuhrman's diet of vegetables is the way to go, because cancer needs Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF) to grow, which you get from animal protein. Prolon is a vegan product, and what they found is that 4 days before a treatment you do the FMD, then on the day for treatment; then after that treatment, you start eating again.
Valter Longo has a new book coming out; he did not mention it, but Antoun did, where he goes through all the various cancers, and the best way to help the treatments. Cancer is not a single disease, and there are differences between them. It's called something like Fasting Cancer (I didn't note the title in my notes, that might not be correct).
This was way more interesting than expected. It was very interesting (to me) to listen to doctors who all consider longevity to be their primary goal.
DISCLAIMER: I am NOT any type of medical professional. Do NOT take medical advice from me!!