Fitness instructor, Ania Szewczk, has publicly apologised after claiming that the Ketogenic diet at her company Ania’s Fit Kitchen, “cures” cancer.
The 38-year-old Polish native received backlash on social media after she wrote in a post on her website, which has since been removed, “at AFK Lifestyle Centre we prevent, treat and cure cancer patients with ketogenic diet.”
When initially contacted by The College View, Szewczk said: “I have no comment about it,” however she later said: “there is no story.”
The claim was taken off her own website but remains up on other sites associated with her business, AFK Lifestyle Centre, in the description, along with other claims of helping people with a list of other diseases such as epilepsy and Alzheimers.
Tweets of screenshots of the original articles are still available with users adding comments like “delighted she took the page down…she upset a lot of patients.”
The issue was highlighted on RTE Radio 1’s Liveline show with Joe Duffy. The Liveline show
retweeted the AFK Lifestyle Centre’s tweet, which has since been removed, that referred and linked to the websites claim.
On the Irish Cancer Society’s website it says: ”Diet can do little to reduce the baseline risk of cancer. However, a poor diet, over a prolonged period, can increase the risk of certain cancers, especially if not offset by the cancer-reducing benefits of exercise.”
The ketogenic diet Szewczk talks about, entails eating a low carbohydrate, high fat diet and has been proven to be beneficial in weight-loss and the reduction in the symptoms and progression of some diseases.
Scientific research in recent years by the Dept of Human Health in Puerto Rico suggests that a ketogenic diet may in fact slow down cancer growth and extend the survival time of patients when used conjunction with traditional treatments like radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
The study has no mention of the diet being able to “cure” cancer but does say that in conjunction with Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and radiation that, in animal models, it “led to complete remission.”
When asked by Extra.ie if she wished to apologise, Szewczyk said: “Yes, I can apologise. I’ll send apologies myself to the Irish Cancer Society.”
Mikey Walsh
Image Credit: Pixabay