New publications
Special diet sets cancer patients on the road to recovery
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
A special diet during the treatment of oncological diseases was discussed at an interregional scientific and practical seminar, which was held at the Zhitomir Institute of Nursing. The seminar was called "Modern Possibilities and Prospects for the Use of Special Dietary Nutrition during the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Cancer Patients."
During the seminar, specialists presented new methods of combating oncological diseases; all studies were conducted at the Zhitomir oncology dispensary with the support of the German-Ukrainian center of dietetics.
Also, a practicing nutritionist from Germany, Inna Lavrenyuk, was able to speak at the conference via the Internet, and she spoke about the important role that diet plays for patients. In her opinion, the lack of positive dynamics in treatment using standard methods (chemotherapy and radiotherapy) is a consequence of the presence of resistant (insensitive) cancer cells in the body that appear during treatment. Cancer cells immediately react to stress, which leads to the release of uric acid, the accumulation of which causes serious consequences - lymphocytes become less mobile and perform their functions poorly, while cancer cells feel good in an acidic environment. Thus, pathological cells receive protection from the immune system, and partial destruction of adjacent tissues facilitates tumor growth. The goal of dietary nutrition is to overcome the resistance of cancer cells to therapy. As clinical studies show, a combination of diet and standard methods of treating cancerous growths reduces the risk of metastasis by 75%.
The advantage of such dietary therapy is the complete absence of side effects, support of the immune system, high efficiency both in the early stages of the disease and in more advanced ones.
In addition, Inna Lavrenyuk spoke about methods of cancer diagnostics using new EDIM technologies. German microbiologists discovered two new enzymes while studying changes in cancer cell metabolism. The new enzymes are new-generation bio-oncomarkers in cancer diagnostics, which allow determining the presence of the disease with an accuracy of up to 95%.
The head of the chemotherapy department of the oncology dispensary in Zhitomir, Valentina Ivanchuk, spoke at the conference and shared with those present her own experience of the practical use of special dietary nutrition in combination with chemotherapy.
The diet starves the cancer and makes it more vulnerable to standard treatment.
Six patients from the oncology center in Zhitomir took part in the clinical trials. As a result, ultrasound examination showed a reduction in cancer cells in all women, and in one participant, liver metastases completely disappeared.
The principle of dietary nutrition for oncological diseases is to reduce glucose in the body (no more than 1 g of glucose per 1 kg of body weight or completely eliminate it).
Healthy cells are able to function normally without glucose, while cancer cells become more vulnerable and susceptible to chemotherapy or radiation treatment.
The diet excludes flour, sweet products and cereals. It is allowed to eat fish, meat, fermented milk products, vegetable oils (linseed oil is especially recommended), fruits, vegetables (according to their glucose content).
All six patients who took part in the experiment noted that the diet made the process of undergoing chemotherapy easier and improved their well-being and mood.
[ 1 ]