A Genetic Variant Associated with Cancer and the Warburg Effect
Happy Fathers Day, (Late) to all you dads reading this!! I hope you truly know how important it is to have fathers in the picture!! I hope you got spoiled and loved yesterday!
First of all I wanted to say thank you for all the replies from last month’s blog about racism and trauma
As we continue on, I hope the conversation continues.
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This week we are switching years a little bit from brain talk and talking a little about nutrition. As many of you know I switched a few years ago to doing solely genetic based nutrition. Why? Because something was missing in my practice. Hormone protocols, and detoxification protocols, and gut protocols got some people well but others plateaued, myself included. The world of genetics in itself is fairly new medicine, and we are literally learning more every single week it seems. I like to look at genetics this way. We are born with certain genes, but the way those genes actually work or express themselves can be changed. We know they can be changed even through our thoughts and environment. So one way we look at helping is through nutrition.
The more genetic “variants” we call them there are in a certain pathway, the more that person might have trouble either creating or destroying something. As the world is not only getting more toxic emotionally, but has been getting physically toxic for years and years, we have to find new ways to help our bodies overcome such constant bombardment, even from the air we breathe. You’ve heard it before, we live in a toxic soup. From our air, water, food sources, EMF’s, cleaners to body care.
This is generally why we are seeing more and more health issues, an overload of toxins, the inability of our bodies to handle it, and inability to create new cells.
What happens when we can’t eliminate and regenerate leads to chronic conditions.
In the western medical world we are taught to fear the C word. Even though doctors and researchers have already found cures, and have been using treatments for years saving individuals lives. I distinctly remember a teacher in my graduate studies who was one of the smartest medical doctors and microbiologist I had ever met. He told me, Rachel we already know the cures to cancer. He had served on some of the most prestigious cancer facilities in northern california. But why was that not broadcasted? He said he was not allowed to tell, and as we all know that industry makes billions every year.
I have never said nor will I ever that I treat cancer, because I don’t. I help the body regain balance. We all in fact have cancer cells. Yes you have them now. The way we deal with them and regenerate is what leads to it progressing. What he eat, how we think, our surroundings, and what we inject in us. The typical western route is either radiation or chemotherapy. And although I support all my patients decisions, I don’t believe injections or taking toxic chemicals is the answer. How can it be “good” to ingest chemicals? Again, I support all decisions, but remember this is a billion dollar industry.
Let’s talk a little bit about what is called the Warburg Effect.
If you didn’t know, cancer cells LIVE and feed off glucose. That is why a huge thing to cut down for most individuals is their sugar intake to starve it. Cancer is defined by uncontrollable cell growth and division, so cancer cells need the building blocks and energy to make new cells much faster than healthy cells do. They rely heavily on the glucose and rapidly convert it to pyruvate via a process called glycolysis. The Warburg effect is just that. Cancer cells exhibit glucose fermentation even when enough oxygen is available to properly utilize.
In 2012, scientists wanted to know what the link was, so research commenced.
When we look at genetic variants, we are looking specifically at something called enzymes. Enzymes either speed up a reaction or slow it down. If the enzyme isn’t working properly, that means that the next step in our body making or utilizing something won’t happen.
In particular, the scientists looked at a specific enzyme called citrate synthesis(CS).
Here is a snip of my genetic chart (#3) to just show you where it is. This enzyme comes in the ENERGY production (ATP) and utilization pathway.
In the study, they silenced or blocked this enzyme and the results are quite important. The most important was that blocking this enzyme greatly increased (10 times!) migration and proliferation of cancer cells. They also found that inhibiting this enzyme accelerated tumor malignancy. This is why: CS inhibition causes severe defects in mitochondrial respiration (thats how our energy cells breathe) and switches it to glucose uptake and up-regulates glycolytic metabolism. You’ve heard me talk over and over again about the importance of oxygen, well here the cells needs oxygen as well and to utilize it. Since the mitochondria cells carry ATP our energy source, this means that ATP too was greatly decreased. Defects in mitochondria may promote tumor malignancy, forcing the cell to revert to the more primitive route of energy production through glycolysis.
Of course theres a lot more that is said in this study, and I will give the link if you choose to read it all, but this one enzyme is pretty huge increasing the risk for cancer. Since the body works as a unit it also blocks things further down the line that need to function as well. One is cholesterol breakdown for hormone regulation and the electron transport chain which in the end creates that ATP (Energy). I’m sure looking at that Kreb’s Cycle can bring back some high school chemistry days. A lot goes into it, but that CITRATE up top is the key to get it started. If we don’t have ATP we can’t regenerate new cells. That means cancer cells can start to take over. ATP can modulate the cell growth and bioenergetic metabolism of tumor cells, at least in part, through suppression of AMPK/p38 MAPK and ERK1 signaling and glycolytic enzyme expression and activation of p53 function ( sorry a lot of chemistry here, but just means more ATP less cancer cells).
So, if someone has a genetic variant in this enzymes ability to function, that can cause some pretty huge complications wouldn’t you think? This is definitely a different way of looking at cancer.
What if we could optimize this enzymes function for those that have a compromised pathway? With this enzyme working better, and energy production with oxygen utilization working more effectively it makes sense to think that will modulate proper cell growth and death.
This is the beauty of looking at specific chemical reactions in the body. Testing for this gene can be a big find for anyone not only for treatment but also for prevention. How many individuals have issues with cholesterol usually being too high, or gallbladder or weight/hormone issues? That comes in here too.
Once knowing this, finding the night nutrient to help that enzyme properly work is the key.
When we get the body working better it heals. Again we are looking at the body as a whole picture. We need to look at toxin intake, diet and environment of course, but we can also help that person’s body function better, resulting in less availability of improper cell growth.
If you haven’t done my genetic nutrition yet, I suggest you do! It’s been a big game changer for many. It can take some time to figure out the perfect combo as we are learning more every month about genes, but already to success stories are flowing.
Look at how the body is functioning, not necessarily the “diagnosis”. There you will find the answers.
OIL OF THE WEEK
This week we are talking about Frankincense.
Frankincense might not just reduce inflammation. It may also attack cancer cells directly.
This, say some researchers. could benefit people with leukemia and other types of cancer.
One of the challenges of cancer treatment is that, unlike bacteria or viruses, cancer cells are not foreign invaders. Instead, cancer occurs when the body’s cells grow out of control, attacking healthy tissue.
This process makes it difficult to fight cancer without also killing healthy cells. In fact, most cancer treatments do kill healthy cells.
Chemotherapy for example, kills many healthy cells as it fights cancer. This is why people often lose their hair, experience nausea, and become more vulnerable to infection during chemotherapy.
Some evidence suggests that frankincense might target cancer cells without harming healthy cells.
A laboratory study of bladder cancer, published in 2009, looked at how frankincense affected cultures of normal and cancerous bladder cells. The oil targeted cancerous cells, but it did not destroy healthy cells.
In 2015, further lab research found similar effects in breast cancer. The investigators found that frankincense could kill breast cancer cells and disrupt the growth of future cancer cells.
In 2016, scientist describing the properties of frankincense noted that it contains substances that have anti-tumor properties. These could prevent cancer cells from growing and lead to controlled cell death, or apoptosis.
These are early results, but they offer hope that substances that occur in frankincense might one day fight some forms of cancer without the potentially life-threatening effects of chemotherapy.
