Alix Hayden has brain cancer, but instead of undergoing surgery and grueling chemotherapy, she’s fighting it with the low-carb, high-fat ketogenic diet and has been doing great so far.

Some of the most exciting research to come out in the past few years regarding the high-fat low-carb ketogenic diet has been in the area of cancer treatment. The results are so promising that new “ketone” drugs are in the pipeline.

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carb, and moderate-protein diet that was first developed in the 1920s at John Hopkins hospital to treat epilepsy. Some children with seizures saw great success on the diet, often where drugs had failed.

Today, the ketogenic diet principles — particularly using coconut oil as the main fat — are being used to treat neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s, as well as successfully treating cancer.