About Shawn Wells:

• Shawn Wells is a Certified Sports Nutritionist and Fellow through the prestigious International Society of Sports Nutrition.
• He has credentials in the fields of business, clinical work, sports, exercise, and nutrition, making for a unique and highly respected blend of expertise as CEO of Zone Halo Research and Chief Scientific Officer of BioTrust.
• He is known as “The World’s Greatest Formulator”
• Lastly, he is a registered dietitian and has his Masters of Public Health in Nutritional Biochemistry.

Interview:

1. Shawn, you have been working for the last 2 months with a lady that has neuro glioblastoma. Stage IV brain cancer. At no cost…just because you know science, medicine, nutrition and you care. Give us some background.

*First, I am not a doctor. This show is not replacing advice of your doctor, nor am I. I want to educate on other options as adjuvant therapy along with standard of care and your doctor’s advice. *

Yes, she came to me through a mutual friend. I heard about her cancer and I’ve been working with others. I’ve lost several. Typically, someone reaches out to me at the last second with a week or two to live in stage IV and its tough at that point. This was no different.

Neuro glioblastoma, or more technically known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM)

2. What are the signs and symptoms?

Signs and symptoms of glioblastoma are initially non-specific. They may include headaches, personality changes, nausea, and symptoms like those of a stroke. Worsening of symptoms is often rapid. This can progress to unconsciousness.

3. What’s the prognosis typically?

Despite typical radiation/chemo treatment, the cancer usually recurs. The most common length of survival following diagnosis is 12 to 15 months with less than 3% to 5% of people surviving longer than five years. Without treatment survival is typically 3 months.

So, it’s bad. She is 55 and already been through all the treatment and wasn’t given long to live.

4. Well what did you do for her? What was your advice?

I put her on a strict ketogenic diet, exogenous ketones, talked to her about cooking with MCTs/coconut oil, and intermittent fasting (she is heavy set) to keep ketone levels high and blood glucose low. Certain supplements as well to improve glucose efficiency/insulin sensitivity high like berberine, cinnamon, etc. Then adding things like active folate and B12 (5-MTHF and methylcobalamin) as well as creatine and betaine for proper methylation (DNA and cellular methylation errors can lead to potential cancer errors. Also, adding some things for mitochondrial dysfunction like CoQ10, PQQ, and a liposomal vitamin C to also reduce inflammation at the tumor. A Liposomal Hemp Extract may also be a good thing to take too.

5. Back to the ketogenic diet. How does it work so well with cancer?

Well, this is a progressive show and we’ve had Dr. Thomas Seyfried on here. He is THE GUY. The guy that pioneered the metabolic model of cancer. It’s not simply a genetic disease. Its fueled off glucose. Healthy cells are “dual fuel”…they can use glucose or ketones. Cancer cells only use glucose for fuel. So, starving the cancer of glucose slows cancer’s ability to replicate/metastasize.

Further, we have talked about how brain diseases also respond well to keto not only because of the glucose aspect (Alzheimer’s is now dubbed type 3 diabetes), but also many of these conditions are related to mitochondrial dysfunction (remember the cellular powerhouse from biology class that produces ATP). Well these disease, like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s epilepsy are related to ICE, insufficient cellular energy with the mitochondrial dysfunction. Keto allows for a bypass of the of the second complex of the electron transport chain in the mitochondria…this means ketones are providing the brain ATP and bypassing this dysfunction. The brain prefers ketones over glucose for fuel.

6. Big Question!! How is she now?

As of yesterday, she sent me scans. Her tumor has shrunk 80-90%. Remarkable. These things are the only things she’s changed.

Crazy, right??!

Here are the pictures of her scans and texts we exchanged:

Before

After

What’s upsetting is no one told her about the diet. Not one person, during her whole path. That’s not right. There’s plenty of research about this. Just not right. Hopefully we can continue to get the word out.

Check out web sites like Ketogenic.com and the Charlie foundation for more research and articles.