Have you heard of Dr. Linus Pauling? Born in Portland, Oregon in 1901, he grew up to become a renowned scientist. But there is plenty more to the story than that! His work was cutting edge, and meaningful too. (1)
Dr. Linus Carl Pauling
In fact, Dr. Pauling is the only person to win two Nobel Prizes singularly. In 1954, he received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for “research into the nature of the chemical bond and its application to the elucidation of the structure of complex substances,” particularly the molecular formation of amino acids and large-scale protein structures. In 1963, he received the Nobel Peace Prize for the 1962 year. His work, collecting the signatures of 11,000 scientists for a petition to end nuclear testing contributed greatly to him winning this award.
By the time the 1970s rolled around, he became convinced that large doses of Vitamin C could help with everything from the common cold to cancer. The medical community reacted with scorn and derision to his claims. He passed away in 1994, ironically, of cancer. (1)
KRAS-mutant Cancers And Vitamin C Anti-tumor Effects
Scientists from the University of Southern California as well as Italy, have teamed up to publish a paper that may validate Dr. Pauling after all. “Synergistic effect of fasting-mimicking diet and vitamin C against KRAS mutated cancers,” was published May 12th, 2020, in Nature Communications. Their research saw the formation of cancerous tumors in mice was delayed, and in some cases, even reversed, by a fasting-mimicking diet and large doses of Vitamin C. “For the first time,” says Valter D. Longo, senior author of the study. “We have demonstrated how a completely non-toxic intervention can effectively treat an aggressive cancer.” said Valter Longo, the study senior author. Longo, who is the director of the USC Longevity Institute, says the team has “taken two treatments that are studied extensively as interventions to delay aging — a fasting-mimicking diet and vitamin C — and combined them as a powerful treatment for cancer.” (2, 3)
What Is A Fasting-Mimicking Diet?
If you’re not familiar with this idea, it’s simpler than it may appear. For a long time, the health benefits of fasting have been touted for all sorts of ailments. However, not everyone can fast, and it may be especially arduous for cancer patients. A fasting-mimicking diet, then, is where the subject eats mostly plant-based foods that are low in calories. If you stick to this sort of meal plan, it ‘tricks’ your body–and your cells respond as though you were traditionally fasting. (3)
What Is KRAS?
KRAS is a genome structure. KRAS mutations occur in about one in four cancer cases, and about half of all colorectal cancer. This mutation reduces the chances for survival. (3)
The Future of Cancer Treatment?
“When used alone, fasting-mimicking diet or vitamin C alone reduced cancer cell growth and caused a minor increase in cancer cell death,” says Longo. “But, when used together, they had a dramatic effect, killing almost all cancerous cells.”
Exciting news–but they aren’t done yet. Their next step is conducting “randomized clinical trials” on KRAS cancers. (2, 3)
