Otto Warburg and the prime cause of cancer

Posted by Linda Lazarides on October 13, 2009 under Studying Nutrition |

I remember when I was a little girl, hearing on the radio that Otto Warburg had made a major breakthrough in finding a cure for cancer.

Warburg, a Nobel Prize Laureate, discovered that cancer cells live without oxygen. “The prime cause of cancer,” he said, “is the replacement of the respiration of oxygen in normal body cells by a fermentation of sugar.” This fermentation is known as glycolysis—the process whereby glucose can be metabolised into energy without the presence of oxygen.

Although Warburg’s discovery is widely accepted, his theory that  the metabolism of cancer cells is the cause of cancer, is not. But maybe Warburg was closer to the truth than we think.

One of the fundamental principles of naturopathy is that degenerative disease begins in parts of the body where the circulation is obstructed. If blood, with its supply of oxygen, cannot get to an area, then the cells in that area will try to survive by altering their metabolism—producing energy from glucose by glycolysis. (This is normal—it does not make them cancer cells.) But if some damaged cell particles with this metabolism but without the normal cell blueprint, manage to reproduce, then perhaps we are looking at the beginnings of a tumour.

The white blood cells of the immune system should of course go into attack and destroy mode as soon as they find aberrant or cancerous cells. But if the circulation obstruction persists, white cells may not be able to travel to the site.

How does the circulation get obstructed?

If you have read my book the Waterfall Diet you will find a section about the effects of long-term inflammation. Inflammation is the body’s attempt to bring white blood cells to clean up damage or debris. Poisons or irritants which become lodged in the tissues (e.g. airborne pesticides, smoke, asbestos particles, plastic implants) can trigger long-term inflammation. Injuries sometimes stay inflamed for months or years, as I know from experience. I was involved in a minor car accident and severely wrenched one of my fingers. The joint was swollen for almost a year and only daily, vigorous massage eventually restored it to normal.

The problem with long-term inflammation is that it causes hardening of the inflamed tissues. The hardening process is caused by a protein known as fibrin, which accumulates at the site of the inflammation. This  hardening is known as fibrosis, and it can severely restrict the flow of blood to the affected area.

You can imagine the effect this might have on tissues deep within the body, such as breast or lung tissue. Oxygen will be lacking, and aberrant cells could begin to develop there if the fibrosis persists in blocking the entry of sufficient white blood cells to search and destroy.

Natural cancer therapies

Many natural cancer therapies focus on diet. Fruits and vegetables contain natural anti-inflammatory substances. Vitamin C is also a natural anti-inflammatory, and megavitamin C therapy has been successfully used to treat cancer.

Other natural cancer therapies focus on reducing stress and promoting relaxation. This is extremely helpful to reduce the adrenal hormones which suppress the immune system and reduce the circulation (these hormones are, respectively, cortisol and adrenaline). Relaxation of course aids blood flow.

Improving the circulation

Applying warmth to the body is one of the best ways to induce relaxation. Josef Issels, the founder of the Issels clinics for cancer patients,  was a firm advocate of using heat treatments such as hot baths and saunas. He  believed that cancer cells are more sensitive to heat than normal cells. He was interested in the work of William B. Coley, a surgeon at the Memorial Hospital, New York, from 1893 to 1936, who pioneered “fever therapy” in cancer. After observing that several sarcoma patients went into remission after developing a superficial streptococcal infection of the skin accompanied by high fever, he started to treat cancer with bacterial vaccines designed to induce fevers.

In cases where heat treatments work, is it because heat kills the cancer cells, or because heat relaxes the blood vessels and allows more white blood cells to reach the site of the cancer?

Another kind of heat—from red chilli peppers—is also believed to have benefits against cancer. In 2006 Lehmann and colleagues writing in the journal Cancer Research, reported that administering chilli extract to cancer cells in a test tube caused them to “commit suicide” (the technical term for cell suicide is apoptosis).

Chilli seems to have two more potential benefits against cancer. It stimulates the circulation and gradually dissolves fibrin deposits. I found an extraordinary story on the internet which actually makes good sense if you take on board the points made in this article. Kelley Eidem’s story.

The enzymes bromelain and papain (from pineapples and papaya fruit, respectively) can also break down fibrin. Bromelain supplements have been effectively used in several trials to reduce inflammation caused by sports injuries.

In conclusion, I believe that Otto Warburg has steered us in the right direction by believing that oxygen is the key to the successful treatment of cancer.  I’m very glad that the radio broadcast I heard when I was only 11 years old has stayed in my mind so vividly.

Linda Lazarides

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