In addition to MACROnutrients and satiety, some MICROnutrients that have been found to fuel excessive cancer growth. We can intentionally reduce these when designing a suite of recipes for cancer.
The research in this section has been highly influenced by a March 2020 paper Dietary modifications for cancer therapy by MIT Professor David Sabatini in the prestigious journal Nature. We are extremely excited to be able to apply Sabatini’s detailed analysis of cancer pathways and mechanisms using our process of nutritional optimisation.
Rather than thinking in terms of individual nutrients or supplements, our database of recipes enables us to use a multicriteria analysis to prioritise recipes that contain specific nutrients in the context of whole foods that, beyond the essential vitamins and minerals, contains a broad range of beneficial compounds.
Glutamine
While glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the human body, it has also been found to play a key role in cancer metabolism. Cancer cells consume an inordinate amount of glutamine to facilitate their growth, and many modern cancer drugs and treatments intentionally target the action of glutamine to slow cancer growth.
While it is hard to remove glutamine from a nutritious diet, our recipes designed for people managing cancer de-emphasise glutamic acid to reduce one of the major fuels for cancer growth.
Methionine
Methionine is another amino acid that is critical for cancer growth, particularly tumours. Dietary restriction of methionine has been shown to enhance cancer treatment in mouse models for a range of cancer types, including carcinoma, glioma, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer and melanoma.
It is also difficult to eliminate methionine from a nutritious diet. However, we have designed the cancer recipe books to de-emphasise methionine to prioritise recipes that contain less methionine.
Serine
Serine is another amino acid that cancer cells require to support their proliferation. Cancer research indicates that dietary restriction of serine has the potential to slow tumour growth. The restriction of serine in the diet also enhances the action of metformin which is sometimes used in cancer therapy. Hence, our cancer management recipes de-emphasise serine.
Aspartate
Low levels of aspartate, the amino acid which is required for protein synthesis, can be growth limiting under hypoxic conditions, which are common in tumours. Hence, our cancer management recipes de-emphasise aspartate.
Foods that contain more aspartate include soy protein, shrimp and asparagus.
Histidine
The drug methotrexate was one of the first approved anticancer drugs and is a cornerstone of modern chemotherapy treatment. However, this therapy can cause toxicity as it depletes histidine to dangerous levels for the person undergoing the treatment.
However, it has recently been found that increasing the dietary intake of the amino acid histidine can increase the sensitivity of cancer cells to methotrexate and lower the negative side effects of methotrexate treatment. Our recipes designed for cancer emphasise recipes that contain more of the amino acid histidine.
Folate
Folate (vitamin B9) is a nutrient that is critical for growth, including tumour cells. The antifolate drug methotrexate is the standard of care for leukemia to target the synthesis of nucleotides that are in high demand for fast-proliferating cancer cells. Hence, our cancer management recipes de-emphasise folate.
Vitamin B12
Similar to folate, vitamin B12 tends to promote growth, and excessive supplementation have shown to increase the risk of lung cancer. Hence, we have chosen not to emphasise vitamin B12 in the recipes to avoid excessive levels of vitamin B12.