Banting Diet: What You Need to Know

What is the Banting Diet?

The Banting Diet comes close to meeting the criteria of the ideal real-food diet. (299-301) William Banting (1796-1878), a Victorian undertaker, is regarded as the father of the low carbohydrate diet. In 1863, Banting wrote a booklet called Letter on Corpulence, Address to the Public, which contained the particular plan for the diet he followed. (299, 301) It was written as an open letter in the form of a personal testimonial. Banting accounted for all his unsuccessful fasts, diets, spas, and exercise regimens in his past. His previously unsuccessful attempts had been on the advice of various medical experts. He then described the dietary change that finally had worked for him, following the advice of another medical expert. "My kind and valued medical adviser is not a doctor for obesity, but stands on the pinnacle of fame in the treatment of another malady, which, as he well knows, is frequently induced by [corpulence]." His own diet consisted of meat, greens, fruits, and dry wine. The emphasis was on avoiding sugar, saccharine matter, starch, beer, and milk. Banting's pamphlet was popular for years to come and would be used as a model for modern diets. 

Patients are strongly recommended to eat “real food” and not processed food. If it looks like food, it is likely food. If it comes in a box or carton, has a food label, and/or a long list of chemicals and additives with long and complex names it is not food. A high proportion of the population (60-80%) eating a Western diet are addicted to processed food. (292) Processed food addiction is a recognized “substance use disorder” (SUD) and should be treated as such. (292) Animal experiments demonstrate that sugar and fructose are more addictive than cocaine and heroin and that carbohydrate addicts demonstrated many of the behaviors of those with an SUD. (292)
 

A low carbohydrate-high fat (LCHF) dietary pattern is especially important for patients with cancer. As already discussed, a low carbohydrate ketogenic diet is essential to control blood glucose levels. Furthermore, a real food diet high in both soluble and insoluble fiber and fermented foods is critical to normalize the microbiome. Alterations in the microbiome play an important role in both tumorigenesis and tumor propagation. Altered gut microbiota is associated with resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs while restoration of a normal microbiome improves the response to the anticancer drugs. (293-296) Antibiotics cause severe dysbiosis; this is associated with an increased risk of cancer and reduced response to chemotherapy. (297, 298) 

The Banting diet consists mainly of animal protein (including poultry, eggs, and fish), saturated animal fats (including lard, duck fat, and butter), coconut oil, olive oil, and macadamia oil, some cheeses and dairy products, some nuts and seeds, fresh vegetables grown mainly above the ground and a few berries. (300) The Banting diet excludes all processed “food”, pre-packed, boxed, and “food” in wrappers as well as “fast food”. It excludes all foods with sugar, fructose, and maltose as well as grain products (wheat, barley, oats, rye) and soy products. (300) Soy products are genetically modified, toxic non-foods. (300) Replace all seed oils (canola, sunflower, safflower, cottonseed, soy) with healthy saturated fats; extra virgin olive oil and virgin coconut oil are freely encouraged. High-fat dairy products are suggested and not skimmed or fat-free dairy. 

MANAGEMENT OF CANCER CACHEXIA

According to the FLCCC's Guide:

We suggest three nutrient-dense meals a day (following the Banting Diet). Intermittent fasting/time-restricted feeding should be avoided (except during chemotherapy); however, patients should avoid snacking between meals and should avoid eating within 3-4 hours before going to sleep (to promote autophagy while sleeping)...

In addition, we suggest a complete nutritional “shake” containing superfoods such as plant protein, super green, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, adaptogenic herbs, probiotics, fiber, mushrooms, and berries (e.g., Ka’Chava ™ https://www.kachava.com and 310 Shakes™ https://310nutrition.com). These “superfood shakes” are preferred over regular protein shakes. Tube feeding should be avoided as this may negatively impact quality of life. Pharmacological therapies for cachexia have limited efficacy and are difficult to improve the severely reduced muscle mass in patients with cachexia.

Sources and References:

292. Ifland J, Marcus MT, Preuss HG. Processed Food Addiction. Foundations, Assessment, and Recovery. Boca Rotan, FL: CRC Press; 2018. 

293. Cheng WY, Wu CY, Yu J. The role of gut microbiota in cancer treatment: friend or foe? Gut. 2020;69(10):1867-76. 

294. Lee KA, Luong MK, Shaw H, Nathan P, Bataille V, Spector TD. The gut microbiome: what the oncologist ought to know. Br J Cancer. 2021;125(9):1197-209. 

295. Sadrekarimi H, Gardanova ZR, Bakhshesh M, Ebrahimzadeh F, Yaseri AF, Thangavelu L, et al. Emerging role of human microbiome in cancer development and response to therapy: special focus on intestinal microflora. J Transl Med. 2022;20(1):301. 

296. Zitvogel L, Galluzzi L, Viaud S, Vétizou M, Daillère R, Merad M, Kroemer G. Cancer and the gut microbiota: an unexpected link. Sci Transl Med. 2015;7(271):271ps1. 

297. Boursi B, Mamtani R, Haynes K, Yang YX. Recurrent antibiotic exposure may promote cancer formation--Another step in understanding the role of the human microbiota? Eur J Cancer. 2015;51(17):2655-64. 

298. Cao Y, Wu K, Mehta R, Drew DA, Song M, Lochhead P, et al. Long-term use of antibiotics and risk of colorectal adenoma. Gut. 2018;67(4):672-8. 

299. Banting W. Letter on Corpulence, Addressed to the Public. 3rd ed. London, UK: Harrison; 1864. 

300. Creed SA. The Real Meal Revolution. The Radical, Sustainable Approach to Healthy Eating. London, UK: Robinson; 2015. 

301. Meadows W. The Banting Diet: Letter on Corpulence: FCD Publising; 2015. 

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