The search for the optimal diet continues as health minded people hear very encouraging stories about the power of healthy eating to aid in recovery from illness, and to promote long term good health and longevity.

A sensible eating plan alongside regular exercise and stress-reducing measures may provide enormous benefits to us all. According to emerging scientific research, it may also help in the recovery from disease.

Whole food plant-based eating, which means consuming plant foods with non or minimal processing, is now widely recommended for all major diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

I believe that if we eat sensibly, get some quality exercise and manage our stress, we may be less likely to develop health-related problems in the future. Heart disease and diabetes seem to be gaining prevalence in overweight adults and even some adolescents. As a result, the plant-based and ketogenic diet may have some powerful and beneficial effects for these two health problems. But when it comes to exploring plant-based or keto diets for cancer – which is best?

A new study by Haematologic Oncologist Urvi Shah, MD and Medical Oncologist Neil Iyengar, MD published in JAMA Oncology is well worth a read for those interested in living well with cancer and importantly, those who want to remain cancer-free.

The study found that although both these diets show benefits, overall, a plant-based diet came out on top. Plant-based eating addresses a lot of the imbalances linked to poor dietary choices. For instance, a plant-based diet (especially if organically grown) provides an array of valuable nutrients, increases fibre intake, and the gut bacteria (microbiome) will also benefit hugely from the pre-biotics present in abundance. Raw whole foods also provide enzymes which are essential for every biochemical process within our cells and tissues.

The ketogenic diet is still popular, mainly for helping to control seizures in children, and to encourage weight reduction in the obese. It can be a very useful tool, but it doesn’t provide all the essential nutrients for good health in the long term.

I have personally used the ketogenic diet to improve my type 1 diabetes, and for the first few months I witnessed a big improvement in my blood sugar, a big drop in insulin requirements and a noticeable improvement in energy. This lasted for a few months before the positive effects gradually started to decline, so I eventually returned to a more carb-based diet. Being plant-based, I did find it very difficult to reduce carbs to a minimum whilst raising fats significantly. Lots of avocados, coconut oils, nuts and seeds, and very little of my favourite foods, you know the ones……

Writing this, I am now considering another venture down the keto path for maybe a few weeks, just to see if it will improve on my already pretty good blood sugar control. Like most diabetics, I have my ups and downs (pardon the pun) so maybe it’s now a good time to see how a reduction in carbs and extra fats will affect my control.

As I have already mentioned, keto can be a great tool to restore balance, but I personally feel that a whole food plant-based diet is far better on all levels in the long term.

Words by Stephen Gamble, Naturopathic Nutritionist at Together Against Cancer.

Want to try a plant-based diet but don’t know where to start? Book onto an upcoming Nutrition For Life workshop for a beginner’s guide into supporting your health and healing through foods.