Could Mitochondrial Robustness Prevent Cancer?

Is it possible to prevent cancer with metabolic therapies used to increase mitochondrial health? Could it also be possible to treat even very aggressive cancers with the same approach?

Tune in for the answers, and to discover:

• What the Warburg effect is, and the difference between oxidative phosphorylation and fermentation in the development of cancer
• What benefits can be provided by the combination of hyperbaric oxygen therapy and chemotherapy, and why
• Whether plants, bacteria, insects, and other biological systems can develop cancer, and if so, how it might differ from metastatic cancer in humans

Dominic D'Agostino is Senior Research Scientist at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, and Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine.

On today’s show, D’Agostino discusses the Warburg effect, which explains the way in which cancer cells produce energy. Rather than through mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, cancer cells stay alive and proliferate using energy produced by the ancient fermentation pathway. This understanding points to a critical theory: cancer develops when there has been damage to the mitochondria in cells, limiting or altogether eliminating the production of energy through oxidative phosphorylation.

There are many causes of cancer, including viruses, inflammation, irradiation, the aging process, and carcinogens, but what could be the underlying culprit among all causes is mitochondrial damage, which causes inflammation which further damages mitochondria.

D’Agostino explains this process in depth, but also discusses a range of metabolic drugs being used to combat cancer, offering a less damaging form of cancer treatment than chemotherapy. In addition to discussing certain types of exercise and diets that can boost mitochondrial health, he talks about the combined use of radiation therapy and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. He explains that when hyperbaric oxygen and targeted radiation are used, only about five percent of the amount of radiation is necessary, which could provide huge benefits to patients and avoid the negative side effects of using radiation and/or chemotherapy alone.

Metabolic therapies may not only hold the key to treating aggressive cancers, but preventing them, to begin with.

Press play for all the details and learn more at https://ketonutrition.org/.

Episode also available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/30PvU9C