Priming the PET
I am going to get my fourth PET scan next month. I guess I never paid 100% attention to the pre-scan instructions before, as I figure as long as I fast for twelve hours I'm good; I was needing a glass of water that morning and did a quick google search to see if that was okay. To my surprise, there is a lack of consensus on how to prepare for this scan. One hospital suggests a low carb diet and nothing 6hours before, while another prescribes no exercise for two days plus a low carb diet the day before. My own hospital suggests no food or drink for four hours and refrain from glucose containing food. While there's no recommendation that those affected by cancer should follow a low carb diet indefinitely, I'm a bit bothered by these pre-scan suggestions.
Studying the effects of food on the body is so tricky. We don't eat just one food unfortunately. We eat combinations. However, given these PET instructions, Iām thinking about what any carbohydrate containing food does to my body. Am I feeding my cancer cells? The research isnāt very definitive. In the meantime, fasting may not be a bad idea. How can you say this to a foodie?













