Cancer and cellular energy deficiency

An important concept that is verified time and over is the lack of cellular energy in cancer formation. When cells produce inadequate energy, the cell tends to be sick and in some instances become cancerous. More than seventy years ago, Otto Warburg observed that cancer cells produced energy mainly through glycolysis, even in the presence of oxygen. In normal cells, this should have been a citric acid cycle which produces a lot more energy. Somehow, mitochondria inside a cancer cell is recruited to produce building blocks for cancer cells instead of energy for cellular functions.

Let us examine some reasons for cells to turn away from oxidative phosphorylation and into glycolysis, the quick and simple but inefficient way of making energy. One reason is chronic oxygen shortage due to many reasons.The other reason is for cells to lose connectivity to its surrounding cells. This can be brought about by toxins and severing of electric and other communicative connections that exists between cells

One important aspect to support the patient is to turn the energy generation process from glycolytic pathway back to thre citric acid cycle. This can be achieved by correcting the issues of oxygen availability, correcting deficiencies with coenzymes in the citric acid cycle, supporting the enzymes and coenzymes at the electron transport chain or even offering a backup support to the Electron Transport Chain.

There are drugs called glycolytic agents that make cancer cells change over from aerobic glycolysis and towards mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. In other words, these cells become normal in behavior. These medicines will play a major role in future cancer therapies to temporarily, semi permanently or permanently move towards oxidative phosphorylation. 

The other aim is to reestablish connectivity between cells. The connectivities established by tight junctions and gap junctions are prime in keeping the adjacent cells connected to each other, exchanging information and in some cases, establishing their identities as belonging to the same organism. When these connections are severed, questions arise within cells on their own belonging to the organism. In some of these instances, the cells fail to identify with the self and go their own way to spread and multiply. In other words, cancer.

The citric acid cycle itself might be at fault due to want of coenzymes, mostly vitamins. Due to even the deficiency of one coenzyme, he whole cycle might grind to a slow progress with a relative decrease in energy production. This deficiency of coenzymes might point to a diet that is lacking in proper vitamins and minerals. Establishing a proper diet and measures that corrects these deficiencies is primal in treating this issue.

A follow up step is possibly moving the prime source of energy from metabolizing carbohydrates  and to move the energy production to beta oxidation or burning fat. This is the method of substituting fat instead of carbohydrates and removing the importance of citric acid cycle as the main energy source. When this step is attempted, one should be vigilant that the fat substitution is ok with the patient cells. In some people, who have deficiencies in carnethin, this step may fail if steps for correcting fat entry into the mitochondria are not taken.