The Metabolic Approach to Cancer: Integrating Deep Nutrition, the Ketogenic Diet, and Nontoxic Bio-Individualized Therapies

I've been on a healing journey with breast cancer for awhile now. I am one of many YOUNG women in a trend of cancer. I have assembled my team using an integrative approach and tools from both conventional and alternative therapies. I have found the most hope, support and LIFE, within my naturopathic, functional and integrative doctor offices - which has made all the difference. Our bodies are ONE being - they are not compartmentalized. Cancer is a process and apart of a larger terrain. Cancer didn't just happen and it isn't going to heal fully without looking at the whole terrain that created the process that allowed it to grow in the first place. I found this book and Dr Winters and Jessica's work a year and half into my journey. I have searched wildly for a root cause for my body's terrain issues because I knew I had to heal the root and reverse the cancering process to remain well. This book and this work have been pivotal in my healing journey. It has changed the trajectory and completely solidified the intuitive knowing that I have always had - that the body has to heal as a whole. I knew I needed to do more than just kill cancer. If cancer is a "process" - then we have some power in that space to reverse the "process". In that one statement - rests a mountain of hope and possibilities. I completed the terrain 10 questions and identified my weaknesses and started the process. I overhauled some thinking in regard to the ketogenic diet. The way keto is used therapeutically with this approach is SO VERY different from the mainstream keto diets. This is important to understand. The way food and diet is approached in this book - is clean, nutrient dense, and therapeutic. So put down your preconceived notions about what you "thought" you knew and read on and learn. If you or someone has cancer - please read this book. If you are a human breathing - please read this book. We could turn the tsunami of the cancer trends around if people would look at their terrain BEFORE their body is in the full cancering process. We all have cancer in our bodies - but what we do and how we live will influence if we are cancering or NOT cancering within our terrain. Let that sink in a bit. This book is easy to read and implement. It is not just well researched, but LIVED by Dr Winters who has been in the healing trenches herself for over 25 years after receiving a stage 4 diagnoses at 19. She hasn't just been a clinician, she has been walking her own healing and stopping her own cancering process. There is such power and hope there. Both authors bring a wealth of rich knowledge from clinical application and real life experience. This book is a game changer. A HEALING PATH changer. It puts pieces together so you can address the underlying terrain and begin repairing what needs to be repaired. It opens up a dialogue between you and your body and allows you to advocate for yourself on one of the hardest journeys many of us will walk. The book is dripping with hope and that - in and of itself - is a vital therapy! This approach has shifted my healing approach and strategy and given me tools that had been missing. On every healing journey there are defining moments - the kind that draw a line in the sand and change everything into a "before and after". This book and this work and approach - has been one of those moments for me. Buy several copies and read and implement for yourself and family first. Then pass them out to anyone you care about. And to those in the healing trenches with cancer. We have to shift the cancer tends! And it starts with taking care of our terrain!! Cancer doesn't just happen, it's a process and we CAN intervene in the process! I am living proof of that! Fingers crossed this will come out in a audible version soon :-)

Since my breast cancer diagnosis, I was trying to eat vegan / vegetarian and things just weren’t working. I wasn’t feeling good. I was sluggish and just really low despite trying everything that experts in those diets suggested. I have been opposed to what I know as “keto” for many years because the few times I tried it, I had terrible reactions: unexplained hives, digestive issues and horrible “bounce-back weight” when I’d come off the diet. Well, this book explains a LOT. First of all, it educated me on what a medical “ketogenic diet” should look like. She discusses the need for deeply nutritious food, explains a LOT about food cravings, and even gives a few recipes to get you started. The explanation about mitochondrial factors and how the process of cancer can begin (and end) is informative, but worded in such a way that we of average intelligence can clearly understand. One caveat is that the information is overwhelming…which she freely admits and touches on several times in the book. As a matter of fact, the entire book is sprinkled with “don’t panic, just take a step” encouragements. (If you want to dive deeper, you can read all citations on sites such as PubMed or NIH. They’re available for the public - but remember, you need to read the entire papers and not just the conclusion.) As I said, the information can be overwhelming, she lists testing that are not (but should be) covered by insurance, encourages an “organic only” diet as well, with the understanding that not all of us are privileged enough to go throw out all of our groceries and start fresh with only organic foods. She recognizes that some of us may have to save up to invest in tests and doctors outside our insurance coverage. It sucks, but it’s a fact of life in our healthcare system right now. (Would be nice to have these tests and invest in PREVENTATIVE medicine, but whatever.) Baby steps! She also touches on the emotional factors, childhood traumas, mental-wellness, etc. and their contributions to disease in general. Since starting a diet outlined in this book, I’ve lost some of the belly fat that crept in after starting my AIs, I have more energy (the first week was rough, though, but I adapted quickly) and no digestive issues whatsoever. This way of eating has made my “Smooth Move” tea obsolete. (Hey, elimination is a sign of good health!) I have yet to get new blood tests, but they are scheduled in two months. I’ll happily come back and report and changes - positive or negative. Lastly, if you get this book and have trouble getting through, scour the internet for podcasts featuring Dr. Winters. Hearing her talk about certain things brought about a few “ah ha” moments while reading. Overall, it’s an encouraging book that offers us some semblance of control over this wretched illness.

This is one of the BEST books you can get if you get cancer and you are not adverse to reading all you can to survive! Take CONTROL of you own health and do it NOW! This book is fairly technical in parts, but is based on evidence and research (and it is noted where it is not funded by big pharma, which has a financial incentive to only do certain things in the cancer area!) There is much here that goes beyond cancer and for general health and other things to help people be aware of what is known about the impact of things on your health and healing. But you will need to spend some time absorbing it all. In my library it is one of the top 5 books that have helped me (yes, the doctors told me I would die in 2017 and I did chemo, radiation and surgery, but refused to do any more! Doctors do not like it when you try to take control of your own health!). It is 2023....I am not NED, but I am still alive and thankful that I do not always listen to doctors (I try to listen to those who are interested in my input....most are not!). Its YOUR body, YOUR decision! The author of this book places the emphasis on helping you learn about nuitrition and what impact some items have on your health. It is facinating some of the things you will learn about that may provide health benefits. Inflammation, sugar, stress, hormones and other things that all need to be examined and considered when fighting things such as cancer and trying to be healthy. Consider this: 1 in 2 people will get cancer in the US. In some countries more and some less. Much depends on their approach to medicine, nuitrition and general health. Expecially if they want to survive. Consider this: Doctors do not get any course work in nuitrition in medical school Doctors have a financial incentive to only do one of three things for you: surgery, chemo/trials, radiation. If you get well, there is no more money in it for the doctors. Winters (the author) has given us more tools to help in our fight for life and I am deeply thankful to her work in this area. Its worth the money if you get cancer! I highly recommend!

After my mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2008 I joined an online support group and got a first hand look into the damaging effects and very poor results of conventional treatments. I realized how oncologists' standard of care treatments were just a shot in the dark, trying one chemotherapy after the other until they ran out of options. Furthermore they never addressed the patients' nutrition and lifestyles, never encouraged their patients to change their diets and at least give up sugar despite more and more evidence about the link between glucose and cancer. So I started reading and first heard about the importance of terrain from Dr. Servan-Shreiber and Dr. Keith Block' s books. But I did not really know what to do with this information, that is until I was introduced to Dr. Nasha Winters' approach. I literally had a light bulb moment, thinking that's it, that is exactly what I was looking for. She was not focusing on treating cancer, but rather on what allowed the cancer to thrive in the first place, and more importantly on how to restore health and give your body the ability to resist cancer from within. She has an amazing ability to interpret a person's labs and connect the dots, determine the terrain imbalances and designing a plan that is totally individualized for each patient to help them restore health by optimizing their terrain, whether they are in treatment or after treatment. When she offered me a chance to join her coaching program, I did not hesitate and it was the best decision I ever made. I learned so much about myself and my terrain. I always thought of myself as being a perfectly healthy person and was totally taken by surprise at our first consult when she pointed out the imbalances in my terrain that if not taken care of would eventually cause disease, not just cancer. She gave me the tools to optimize my terrain so that it will not allow cancer to take hold of it, fulfilling my mom's last wish that I not let what happened to her also happen to me. I was so excited when I heard that she and Jess Kelley were going to write this book and could not wait to read it. They met all my expectations and so much more! This book is a must read for every cancer patient and for those like me who want to avoid not just cancer, but also other chronic diseases. The metabolic approach makes total sense to me and I highly recommend this book.

As an avid health enthusiast and one who has much experience with fasting as a way to promote health, delete and diffuse allergies and improve prayer life, I truly did enjoy this book. The Ketogenic and Paleo diets, have become quite popular so this book meets a need for good research and science to back up these diets and lifestyles. I find it extraordinarily encouraging and miraculous when I learn of a complete healing or remission due to changes in diet, environment and lifestyle, of the dreaded cancers, which plague our modern life. Dr. Nasha’s life story, which I saw on a Youtube Interview with Mike Mutzel, was engaging and intriguing. After I forwarded this video to my best friend, her husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer. She bought the book and I felt compelled to also buy it so that we could discuss its contents. It is a good thing that I did buy this book because we have had some interesting conversations and I am much better able to guide and support. This book contains an overview of the Ketogenic diet as it pertains to cancer and other inflammatory diseases. The book has lots of suggestions and insights into health and nutrition which can seem overwhelming and daunting to the novice and those who are just diagnosed with cancer. The authors take a loving approach though, and seem to understand the dilemma of the novice. A cancer diagnosis can be a shock, there are therefore, various emotional hurdles for the cancer patient to overcome as well as drastically changing diet, environment and lifestyle. Cancer, according to the authors, is not a one size fits all disease with a one size fits all cure all, however, they also emphasize that there are certain things that work and have worked well with cancer patients. The concept of “terrains” presented was quite intriguing to me. When I read the description of the ten “terrians” and the things that I might be doing to disrupt them, I found, even myself, to be lacking. At this point, I thought, that those who are new to this will probably feel overwhelmed. But all is not lost, as the authors try to assure. So what are some takeaways from this book? SUGAR feeds cancer, it causes inflammation and other diseases. Carbohydrates turn to sugar. Legumes have lectins which can cause inflammation. Grass-fed and grass finished meat is a must. Dairy is not digestible BUT there are certain cows which actually produce digestible dairy with an A2 protein, they are: Jersey, Guernsey and Normande cows. (p. 284) Gluten causes inflammation. Organic produce only. Switch to fruits that are low in sugar content. Some things I question: While the authors give a great summation of the Ketogenic diet, they don’t get into the various blood types, nor do they call upon the work and study of Dr. D’Adamo in his groundbreaking Eat Right For Your Type book. The authors do state vaguely, that everyone is different, but they don’t and can’t get into the specifics of each person. Interestingly, though, the authors have a hard time with vegetarians and vegans because of their staunch paradigms. I too, have seen many overweight vegans chowing down on legumes and carbs in satisfaction that they are not eating animal products. Even I was caught in the vegan mindset for many years until I opened up to the possibility that I might need to change. The authors also state emphatically that they are not proponents of wheatgrass juice which I have used for many years. I agree, that gulping down wheatgrass juice is first of all difficult and often not efficacious, however, I have found that swishing in my mouth for a good 2-5 minutes and then swallowing helps digestion and overall health tremendously. So there is a technique to it because we are not cows with 4 stomachs to digest grass! Which leads me to the next thought, the authors actually cite a book written by Drs. Brian and Anna Marie Clement called, “Killer Clothes” and yet they do not endorse their good work at the Hippocrates Health Center. There are many who have regained their health and their lives in Florida at this great resource and resort and simply not to state that they, too, are doing a good work is sad. Alas, I wonder though, if the Clements would endorse the Ketogenic diet because they are firmly rooted in the wheatgrass juice and raw foodist movement. Both the Ketogenic/Paleo Diet and the Raw Foodists have important commonalities: Organic fruits and veggies are best. Detox environmental toxins including electromagnetic fields and pesticides. Emotional and spiritual renewal and support. So, while we’re there on the spiritual support idea, I’d like to just add that “spirituality” does not have to be devoid of Christianity. Jesus healed and is still healing due to the prayers of the faithful. I’m not sure why so many health advocates do not touch on the Lord Jesus and His miraculous love for us as well as His support during times of distress. Prayer works, Jesus laid His hands on the sick and healed, He raised the dead, He is the Great Healer and moreover, Lover of our souls. The Christian cancer patient who is going through this time can dig deep into his or her wellspring of faith. It is important not to push the “spiritual meditation” of Eastern religions on those of us who stand firmly and believe firmly in the Christian church. As a Catholic and one who has seen many miracles occur due to prayer, I’d say to any Christian who encounters this disease, to stand firm and hold on to faith in Jesus and ask for prayer. In conclusion, I greatly appreciate the hard work and effort the authors put into this work and would definitely recommend a read through to anyone interested. If the ideas and suggestions resonate, use this book as a reference guide and continue to dig deeper. There are lots of books suggested in this book so there is much more to read on this very interesting topic. May the Lord richly bless the work of these authors as they continue to bring healing to the world and those under their watch. To the Editor: This book, unfortunately has quite a few grammatical errors which it ought not to have since it’s a book published by a doctor (p 148 (This) , 150 (froot), p 175. ( a ….responses), p. 181 (what is still allows), p. 197 (their lost direction), p. 208 (were not get) p. 299 (some people’s heads many be). Please check and revise!

First of all, if you are in the very least concerned about avoiding cancer this is a must read. I literally have 15 books on cancer. I am very close to 60 and want to avoid the typical cancer rates for women my age. This book has information that is current. I have learned a few knew nuggets of information that I have never heard in other resources. One, being that dehydration is a risk factor to cancer. Which if you think about it makes perfect sense. Dehydration is a stressor to the body and it also doesn’t allow the body’s lymph system to work properly. I am drinking more clean water for sure. Two, I also was not aware that progesterone is a fuel for cancer. I knew estrogens are related to many cancer. Three, I was not aware that the brain cells have estrogen receptors. How many women take birth control pills which contain both estrogen and progestins. Why is this important, because at my age every damn doctor wants me to take hormone replacement therapies. The book also goes into the bio identical hormone therapies and the risk of cancers with those application creams and I stopped my bio identical because it makes sense to me. It never hurts to educate yourself. When you are educated you smell the B.S. a mile away. Knowledge is power and this book is written for everyone to understand cancer. No need to fear cancer once you understand cancer. Highly recommend to anyone concerned about their health and the health of their loved ones.

Strongly recommend! It’s a start and another I would recommend is “How to Starve Cancer”.

I've been studying health since before I was married (been married 26 years). I've read and heard it all...what's good, what's bad, what to eat, what not to eat. Some make sense, others don't. I was diagnosed with two types of thyroid cancer this summer. Our son recommended a podcast with Dave Asprey (Bulletproof) and Dr. Natasha Winters. This book has answered every question that has gone unanswered and she explains all the other myths and foods that do and don't help us. As I've followed her plan, I've lost "inflammation" weight, feel strong, don't experience carb crashes at all, and feel like I'm getting an education on my health instead of a sales pitch as to why I should eat a certain way. I LOVE THIS BOOK and would HIGHLY RECOMMEND it to anyone who is wanting a higher quality of life, (with or without cancer) anyone who is trying to help a parent or family member with their health, and every medical doctor on the planet who does and doesn't believe food affects our health. I wish I had read this years ago. You will be very happy to have found a community of education, comradery, and lots of answers! God bless!