Original post from Jeff's forum^
I wanted to add some information I randomly found while googling if fasting is beneficial for cancer or not (including a pretty awesome visual flowchart I found that enhances understanding of his posts). I checked the forums and noticed Jeff is at least years ahead of me on this
I couldn't decide on an existing thread that I felt adding to was appropriate, so..sorry about the new thread. I wanted the chance to spark conversation at least, and from what Jeff said, the maximum weight loss diet of McDougall (50% starch/50% non-starchy vegetables) is the most fitting way to apply calorie restriction in a non-damaging way (unlike the risks of calorie restriction using other non-McDougall diets).
"How can we reduce the risk of random mutations? By lowering the rate of cell proliferation! How can we lower the rate of cell proliferation? By reducing calorie intake and performing regular endurance exercise (both together), which in turn reduce levels of growth factors (e.g. insulin, IGF1, testosterone, estradiol, inflammatory cytokines, leptin) that accelerate cellular proliferation and the risk of random mutations! Moreover, the reduction of these growth factors with calorie restriction inhibits the insulin/IGF pathway, which through FOXO upregulates DNA repair genes. This is the reason why caloric restriction in animal models is the most powerful intervention in preventing cancer!" --from a comment by Jeff Novick
Check it out! -Andy
Edit: I removed the referenced article because there is some non-McDougall advice in there but it still confirms Jeff Novick's research in my opinion to a great extent. Also note: It was stated that a 20%-40% reduction of calories is the definition of a Calorie Restriction diet, which falls right in line with McDougall's Maximum Weight Loss Program.
"Adaptation to starvation requires an organism to divert energy into multiple protective systems to minimize the damage that would reduce fitness. It is thought that these systems can also prolong life and decrease cancer risk. According to a review by Drs. Longo and Fontana of the University of Southern California, CR without malnutrition is the most potent and reproducible physiological intervention for increasing lifespan and protecting against cancer in mammals. CR reduces the levels of a number of anabolic hormones, growth factors and inflammatory cytokines, reduces oxidative stress and cell proliferation, enhances autophagy (cell destruction) and several DNA repair processes."
