Can the Body Heal Itself? Fasting, Mitochondria, and True Healing | Dr. Katie Demming

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Episode Overview
Former board-certified radiation oncologist Dr. Katie, MD joins Dr. Nathan Goodyear live from Metabolic Health Day (Tucson, Oct 2025) to unpack her courageous transition from conventional oncology to teaching integrative oncology—now specializing in medically supervised prolonged water fasting for people with cancer. She shares jaw-dropping case stories, why re-feeding is the real danger if fasting isn’t supervised, and how extended fasting shifts physiology, mindset, and mitochondrial health. The most provocative insight? That many patients emerge with not only tumor control but also clarity, calm, and renewed trust in their bodies. This isn’t just a conversation—it’s a call to action.

📌 Key Takeaways
From radiation to integration. A 20-year radiation oncologist left the system to pursue root-cause, whole-person cancer care.
Prolonged water fasting defined. Therapeutic fasts are 5 days (often 14–30) with water only, labs/vitals monitored, and structured re-feeding.
Metabolic switch = therapeutic window. After day 3–7, deep ketosis/autophagy and detoxification accelerate; the body prioritizes diseased tissue for fuel.
Immune reboot signals. Multi-day fasting cycles can reduce growth signaling and support immune system renewal.
Adjunct or stand-alone. Fasting may complement standard treatments (chemo/radiation/immunotherapy) in early research and practice experience.
Re-feeding is critical. Most complications arise after long fasts; safe re-feeding requires staged calories, electrolyte monitoring, and trained supervision.
Not one-size-fits-all. Contraindications and comorbidities must be screened; rest (not “hustle”) is part of the therapy.
Early outcomes from practice. In 9 months, 55 fasters with cancer: ⅓ showed shrinkage (some complete); ⅔ achieved stability—a meaningful pivot from progression (anecdotal, being organized for publication).
Mindset medicine. Patients report clarity, peace, and decision-making confidence post-fast—often the turning point for sustained healing behaviors.
Safety with supervision. Fasting can be safe under medical oversight; the protocol and re-feeding plan matter.

⏱️ Timestamps
0:00 - Episode intro & conference vibe
1:55 - Why clinicians leave the system (and how hard it is)
3:40 - Guest bio: Duke-trained radiation oncologist - integrative oncology
5:04 - “Upstream vs downstream” parable that changed her path
8:55 - A shared-death experience and a new direction
12:06 - Courage, regret, and walking away from a secure career
17:32 - “Outside the bottle”: stepping back to see medicine clearly
19:18 - First fasting cases and surprising scans
25:57 - Why typical fasting centers may fail cancer patients (re-feeding)
29:51 - What prolonged water-only fasting actually looks like
31:26 - Detox/Ketosis and the day-7 metabolic inflection
34:04 - Risks, electrolytes, arrhythmias, and re-feeding syndrome
38:15 - Mental & emotional shifts during long fasts
44:38 - Mitochondria, stability vs regression, and publishing data
50:35 - Final thoughts & collaboration

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