Keto Diet Combats Low Platelets Associated With Chemotherapy, Study Finds
A seminal new study has found that a ketogenic diet can combat chemotherapy-induced low-platelet count.
Keto Diet Combats Low Platelets Associated With Chemotherapy, Study Finds
The study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, advertised the ketogenic diet as a nontoxic and inexpensive part of cancer therapy. A ketogenic diet is a high-fat, high-protein, and low-carbohydrate eating plan.
Keto Diet Combats Low Platelets Associated With Chemotherapy, Study Finds
Platelets are blood cells that help in forming blood clots. Thrombocytopenia is a condition characterized by low platelet levels in the body.
Keto Diet Combats Low Platelets Associated With Chemotherapy, Study Finds
Chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia is a side effect that can raise complications in cancer patients and also prove life-threatening. Due to the complication, there is an increased risk of bleeding, which often dissuades doctors from continuing chemotherapy.
Keto Diet Combats Low Platelets Associated With Chemotherapy, Study Finds
“Therapeutic options for chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia are limited by severe adverse effects and high economic burdens,” the lead author of the study, Dr. Sisi Xie, was quoted as saying by MedicalXpress.
Keto Diet Combats Low Platelets Associated With Chemotherapy, Study Finds
According to the researchers, currently, 1 in 10 patients undergoing chemotherapy develops thrombocytopenia.
Keto Diet Combats Low Platelets Associated With Chemotherapy, Study Finds
“We demonstrate that ketogenic diets alleviate chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia in both animals and humans without causing thrombocytosis,” Xie noted. thrombocytosis, unlike thrombocytopenia, is a condition in which there is a surplus of platelets in the body.
In other words, the ketogenic diet hits the sweet spot of platelet levels in the body.
The high-fat diet led to a change in the bone marrow, boosting circulating platelets, the study found.
“A ketogenesis-promoting diet alleviated chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia in mouse models. Moreover, a ketogenic diet modestly increased platelet counts without causing thrombocytosis in healthy [human] volunteers.” Xie added.
A ketogenic diet for a week raised platelet counts within safe levels in five healthy volunteers, the study found. Additionally, the researchers analyzed retrospective data from 28 cancer patients receiving chemotherapy and found that 17 patients on a keto diet had comparatively higher platelet counts and lower occurrences of chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia.
Currently, medical treatment for thrombocytopenia, including platelet transfusions and…