Chapter 1 – The Basics, Mitochondria, Apoptosis, Movement, Stem Cells
Scientific Evidence Supporting the Metabolic Theory of Cancers
One of the most important questions in cancer research is this: What is the true origin of cancer? Is cancer primarily a genetic disease, or is it fundamentally a metabolic disease? How you answer that question can greatly influence the treatment options you may consider.
The information presented throughout this website is based primarily on the metabolic theory of cancer. According to this view, cancer begins with dysfunction in the mitochondria—the tiny energy-producing structures found inside cells except red blood cells. Mitochondria produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energy that powers normal cellular function.
When mitochondrial function becomes impaired, normal cellular processes may also be disrupted, creating conditions that can contribute to the development and progression of cancer. Throughout this website, we will examine many natural approaches intended to support healthier mitochondrial function and cellular metabolism.
Today, two major schools of thought exist regarding the origin of cancer. One emphasizes genetic mutations as the primary cause. The other emphasizes metabolic dysfunction, particularly within the mitochondria, as the underlying cause, with many genetic changes occurring later as a consequence.
Factors often discussed within the metabolic model include diet, environmental toxins, heavy metals, parasites, chronic inflammation, and other influences that may impair normal cellular metabolism.
Both viewpoints agree that uncontrolled cell growth can ultimately produce tumors, but they differ significantly in how cancer begins and, therefore, in which treatment strategies may deserve the greatest attention.
These 2 Videos are a MUST-WATCH
I strongly encourage you to watch these following presentations by Professor Thomas Seyfried. It provides a clear explanation of the metabolic theory of cancer and why many researchers believe it deserves serious consideration.
This next video is a little more complicated but there is much can be appreciated by the the individual who has been given a cancer diagnosis. And remember, I am willing to talk to you as long as you need to help you understand more clearly what you may want to do take action on at NO charge for my time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULYpA4kVPgs
Because these two theories of cancer differ so fundamentally, they can lead to very different treatment strategies. The conventional genetic model often focuses on targeting cancer cells and the biological consequences associated with genetic alterations, while the metabolic model places greater emphasis on restoring healthier cellular metabolism and mitochondrial function.
Understanding the reasoning behind both approaches will help you better evaluate the treatment options available to you.
As with many areas of healthcare, it is also worth recognizing that scientific research, medical practice, economics, government policy, and commercial interests can all influence which treatments receive the greatest attention and investment.
For that reason, I encourage you to examine the available evidence carefully, ask questions, and reach your own informed conclusions. https://news.cancerresearchuk.org/2023/08/16/sugar-and-cancer-what-you-need-to-know/
1. Otto Warburg’s Research
The Warburg Effect: Otto Warburg discovered that many cancer cells rely heavily on aerobic glycolysis, converting much of their glucose-derived pyruvate into lactate even when oxygen is available, rather than relying primarily on mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation for energy production.
This altered metabolism, now known as the Warburg Effect, is one of the best-known metabolic characteristics of cancer cells and can help support rapid tumor growth.
2. Mitochondrial Dysfunction Studies
The Mitochondrial Role: Research has demonstrated important connections between mitochondrial dysfunction and cancer development. Mitochondria do much more than simply produce energy; they also participate in cell signaling, oxidative stress regulation, and apoptosis (programmed cell death). https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ExQQZEUhTQU
Abnormal mitochondrial function and metabolism are frequently observed in cancer cells and may contribute to tumor development and progression. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKFf9KksVDo
3. Glucose Metabolism Alterations
Insulin and Glucose: Insulin is a hormone that helps many cells take in glucose (sugar) from the bloodstream and use or store it.
When a person develops insulin resistance, the body’s cells respond less effectively to insulin. The pancreas may compensate by producing increasing amounts of insulin, resulting in chronically elevated insulin levels. Over time, blood glucose may also remain elevated, eventually contributing to prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.
This is particularly important in cancer research because many tumors have an increased demand for glucose. Obesity, insulin resistance, elevated insulin levels, and type 2 diabetes have also been associated with an increased risk of several types of cancer.
4. Identification of Metabolic Types
Breast Cancer Studies: Researchers using techniques such as mass spectrometry have identified distinct patterns of altered metabolism in breast cancer cells and tissues.
These metabolic signatures are being investigated for their potential usefulness in identifying cancer, predicting disease behavior, and developing more individualized treatment strategies.
5. Therapeutic Manipulation of Metabolism
Targeting Metabolic Pathways: Researchers are investigating whether interfering with glucose transport, glutamine metabolism, and other metabolic pathways can restrict the fuels and biological processes that some cancer cells depend upon.
Laboratory and clinical research into these metabolic vulnerabilities may provide additional approaches for preventing cancer growth and improving cancer treatment.
Conclusion
These studies collectively demonstrate that metabolism plays an important role in cancer, particularly involving mitochondrial function and the metabolism of fuels such as glucose and glutamine, an amino acid used extensively by some cancers. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24738035/
This understanding has opened additional avenues of cancer research aimed at identifying and targeting the metabolic vulnerabilities of cancer cells.
Conventional Cancer Treatment
The primary conventional cancer treatments include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. These treatments can be lifesaving and, depending upon the cancer and its stage, may cure some cancers or substantially extend survival. However, cancers can sometimes recur or metastasize despite these conventional treatments, and certain treatments can have significant short- and long-term side effects. This is one reason I believe patients should understand both conventional treatment options and the developing research into cancer metabolism.
Keep in mind that the cancer alternatives in this paper have had to swim upstream against the prevailing standards of the Cancer Care Industry. That revenue stream was approximately $190 billion in 2015 and estimated to reach $246 billion annually by 2030! The primary modalities they present are surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The Natural Cancer Alternatives I am presenting have been maligned, demonized and marginalized by big pharma, the medical establishment and the main stream media. Why would these groups be fighting so hard against these non-patent-able items? Could following the money help?
There are some clinics in Mexico like, Oasis of Hope Hospital, that do use many natural modalities plus the three convention cancer modalities used in the US. However, the doses of chemotherapy and radiotherapy are usually a fraction of those used in the conventional US healthcare model.
Mitochondria: The Powerhouses of the Cell
What are Mitochondria and Why Do I Need Them?
1. What are mitochondria?
Mitochondria are organelles, or small specialized structures found inside most of the cells in your body.
They are best known as the energy-producing structures of the cell.
2. What do mitochondria do?
Mitochondria produce much of the energy your cells need in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Think of ATP as the usable energy or fuel that allows your cells to perform their many functions. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29950572/
Mitochondria are unusual because they even contain their own DNA. Human mitochondrial DNA contains 37 genes, which are important for normal mitochondrial function.
But mitochondria do much more than produce energy. They are also involved in:
- Apoptosis (programmed cell death)
- Cellular signaling
- Regulation of metabolism
- Calcium regulation
- Production and control of reactive oxygen species (ROS)
- Communication of the cell’s energy and health status
Mitochondria also produce hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) as part of normal cellular metabolism. At controlled levels, hydrogen peroxide can function as an important signaling molecule and participate in cellular defense mechanisms. Too much, however, can contribute to oxidative damage.
Remarkably, mitochondria can also communicate with one another and with other parts of the cell, allowing cells to continually adjust their energy production and metabolism.
Take a look at the extremely complex metabolic chart below. There is an enormous amount of metabolic activity occurring inside your cells every moment—and most of it happens automatically without you even thinking about it.
This complexity reminds me that we truly are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” — Psalm 139:14.
The more we learn about these remarkable structures, the more amazing the creation of the human body becomes!
Some might even say you are a lot more expensive than you look!
https://mededucation.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/FullSubwayMap_V1023_Web.pdf
3. Why is ATP so important?
The cells throughout your body need an adequate supply of ATP (energy or fuel) to perform their specialized functions. When mitochondrial energy production becomes impaired, cellular function can also become impaired.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7V2kRH0K8QU
4. Why do some cells have more mitochondria than others?
The number of mitochondria within a cell depends largely upon how much energy that cell requires.
Muscle cells, for example, contain many mitochondria because movement requires large amounts of ATP.
Interestingly, mature red blood cells have no mitochondria at all. This allows them to transport oxygen without consuming the oxygen themselves. Red cells typically live for about 120 days before that are taken out of circulation.
You can think of mitochondria somewhat like tiny power plants inside your cells. They take nutrients derived from the foods you eat and, through a series of metabolic processes involving oxygen, produce ATP.
One of the most important parts of this process is called the electron transport chain, located within the inner mitochondrial membrane.
The following videos provide good visual explanations of how this remarkable energy-producing system works:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CLfLEUu-1o&ab_channel=JonasKuehneMD
Want to Drill Down Further?
For a more detailed explanation of the electron transport chain:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJNx1DDqIVo&ab_channel=BioManBiology
Can Mitochondria Become Damaged and Fail to Produce Adequate ATP?
1. Yes. Mitochondria Can Become Dysfunctional
Mitochondria can become damaged or dysfunctional, resulting in reduced efficiency in producing ATP, the usable energy needed by cells.
When mitochondrial energy production is impaired, cells may have difficulty performing their normal functions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5CM573Y1ek&ab_channel=Dr.PaulAnderson
MUST VIEW — Professor Thomas N. Seyfried: Cancer as a Metabolic Disease
Professor Thomas Seyfried presents the argument that mitochondrial dysfunction and abnormal cellular metabolism play a central role in the development and progression of cancer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OgWi1H-2Zs
2. What Happens When Mitochondria Don’t Work Properly?
When mitochondria cannot efficiently produce adequate ATP, the cell may compensate by relying more heavily on other methods of energy production, including glycolysis.
This altered energy metabolism is particularly important in cancer because many cancer cells demonstrate increased glucose consumption and lactate production—the metabolic characteristic commonly known as the Warburg Effect.
3. Nitric Oxide, Cytochrome c Oxidase and ATP Production
Cytochrome c oxidase, seen in Complex IV of the electron transport chain, is an important enzyme in the mitochondria.
Nitric oxide (NO) is a molecule naturally produced by the body and performs many beneficial functions, including helping regulate blood-vessel dilation and circulation. However, under certain conditions, excessive or prolonged nitric oxide activity can interfere with the cytochrome c Oxidase in mitochondrial respiration.
Nitric oxide can temporarily bind to cytochrome c oxidase and compete with oxygen. When this occurs, mitochondrial respiration and ATP production may be reduced.
Cells that rely more heavily on glycolysis can also produce increased amounts of lactate, contributing to an acidic environment immediately surrounding cancer cells and tumors.
It is important, however, to distinguish this local cellular environment from blood pH. The human body normally regulates blood pH very tightly, generally between approximately 7.35 and 7.45.
4. Can Mitochondrial Energy Production Be Improved?
Researchers continue to investigate methods of improving mitochondrial function and cellular energy production.
Two approaches discussed later on this website are Methylene Blue (MB) and Red-Light Therapy (RLT).
Red and near-infrared light can interact with mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase and may influence mitochondrial respiration and cellular signaling. Methylene blue can also participate in cellular oxidation-reduction reactions and has been studied for its effects on mitochondrial electron transport chain.
These mechanisms are scientifically interesting, but their ability to treat cancer in people remains an area of ongoing research. They should not be considered established replacements for proven cancer treatments.
5. An Important Distinction About pH and Baking Soda
You will sometimes hear the suggestion that making the body “alkaline” with sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) can restore mitochondrial function or kill cancer.
This requires an important distinction.
Eating or drinking substances that change urine pH does not substantially change blood pH, because the lungs and kidneys tightly regulate the body’s acid-base balance. A change in urine pH therefore does not demonstrate that the environment surrounding a cancer tumor has become alkaline.
Researchers have investigated tumor acidity and methods of altering the tumor microenvironment, including bicarbonate in laboratory and animal studies. However, this does not establish that taking baking soda can restore cancer-cell mitochondria or reverse cancer in humans.
More information about sodium bicarbonate and tumor acidity is discussed in Chapter 4.
Additional Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7PA1uMYWYY
Apoptosis
Part of Your Body’s Natural System for Removing Damaged Cells
Apoptosis is the normal, carefully controlled process your body uses to eliminate cells that are damaged, worn out, abnormal, or simply no longer needed. It is often called programmed cell death because the cell follows an organized series of steps that ultimately leads to its removal.
Unlike uncontrolled cell injury, apoptosis allows unwanted cells to be dismantled in an orderly way and then cleared away by surrounding cells and the immune system.
Apoptosis is essential for maintaining healthy tissues. Your body continually needs to remove cells that are too old or damaged to function properly. This is especially important when a cell has suffered DNA damage that cannot be adequately repaired.
Normally, severely damaged cells may be directed toward apoptosis rather than being allowed to continue dividing. Many cancer cells, however, develop mechanisms that allow them to evade apoptosis, enabling them to survive and multiply when they otherwise might have been eliminated.
What Is the Purpose of Apoptosis?
Apoptosis begins before you are even born. During fetal development, certain cells die at precisely the right time so structures such as individual fingers and toes can form properly.
Throughout life, apoptosis continues to help your body by:
- Removing old or unnecessary cells.
- Eliminating some damaged cells that cannot be repaired.
- Helping prevent abnormal cells from continuing to multiply.
- Regulating cells within the immune system.
- Helping maintain the proper number and balance of cells within tissues, known as homeostasis.
Apoptosis therefore represents one of the body’s important natural safeguards against abnormal cell growth.
Can I Naturally Influence Apoptosis?
One area receiving considerable research attention is intermittent fasting and longer periods of fasting.
Intermittent fasting simply means extending the period of time during which you do not consume calories. One commonly used approach is 16/8 fasting—fasting for approximately 16 hours and consuming meals during an 8-hour eating window.
Some people extend this to a 20/4 schedule, while longer fasts lasting one or more days are also practiced.
During fasting, numerous metabolic changes occur involving insulin, glucose, ketones, cellular stress responses, and nutrient-sensing pathways. Laboratory and animal research suggests that fasting can influence processes associated with autophagy and apoptosis, although the effects in humans—and particularly in people with cancer—are considerably more complicated.
Several other approaches, including resistance and endurance exercise, are also being investigated for their effects on cellular signaling, metabolism, and apoptosis.
An Important Precaution for Cancer Patients
Fasting is not appropriate for everyone with cancer. Maintaining adequate calories, protein, muscle mass, and body weight can be extremely important during cancer treatment. People who are underweight, losing weight unintentionally, diabetic, taking certain medications, or undergoing cancer treatment should discuss fasting with their physician or oncology team before attempting it.
Longer fasts, such as a three-day water fast, deserve particular caution and should not be undertaken casually by someone dealing with cancer.
The goal of this website is to help you understand these possibilities so that you can investigate the evidence, discuss appropriate options with your healthcare providers, and make informed decisions.