"All normal cells have an absolute requirement for oxygen, but cancer cells
can live without oxygen - a rule without exception." - Dr. Otto Warburg,
quoted in Philpott, page 74.
Deprive a cell 60% of its oxygen and it will turn cancerous. - McCabe, page
192. Deprive a cell 35% of its oxygen for 48 hours and it may become
cancerous. - Dr. Otto Warburg. Read Dr. Warburg's papers in the Library:
Lecture 1, Lecture 2.
When the oxygen saturation of blood falls, conditions become ripe for the
creation of cancer. Oxygen is removed from the arterial blood as it passes
through the capillary system. If arterial blood is deficient in oxygen or if
the blood flow is restricted by blocked arteries, then tissues oxygenated by
the latter stages of the capillary system may be so deprived of oxygen as to
become cancerous.
Normal Metabolism vs. Cancer Metabolism
"The fuel on which the body's cells run is called adenosine triphosphate
(ATP). ATP must be created by all cells, including cancer cells, for energy.
The biochemical process in which ATP is created is called oxidation
phosphorylation and is oxygen-dependent. Healthy cells require the
conditions of alkalinity and high molecular oxygen (O2) to produce ATP and
function properly. In contrast, non-oxygen-respiratory organisms - like
cancer cells - make ATP by fermentation phosphorylation, which requires the
conditions of acidity and low oxygen to function, and actually produces
additional acids." - Philpott, page 75.
Cellular Respiration
The human body's main fuel is a simple sugar called glucose. Glucose comes
from the plants we eat. Through photosynthesis, plants use light energy to
produce glucose and oxygen from carbon dioxide and water.
Carbon dioxide + water + energy --> glucose + oxygen
Plants then use the glucose to create cellulose and complex carbohydrates.
When we eat the plants, the complex carbohydrates are broken down by our
digestive system into glucose. Then this food energy is converted to
chemical energy by a series of reactions known as cellular respiration.
Aerobic respiration uses oxygen.
Glucose + oxygen --> carbon dioxide + water + energy
This reaction occurs in mitochondria in cells. Aerobic respiration extracts
the maximum amount of energy from glucose, because the molecule is
completely broken down.
When the supply of oxygen is insufficient, there is a back-up system known
as anaerobic respiration, that can release energy without oxygen.
Glucose --> lactic acid + energy
This reaction occurs in the cytoplasm of the cell. It does not put any extra
pressure on the respiratory or circulatory systems, because it does not
produce carbon dioxide, but it can cause muscle stiffness after exercise.
Cancer cells have either wholly or partially switched to anaerobic
respiration.
"The ideal task of cancer therapy is to restore the function of the
oxidizing systems in the entire organism." - Dr. Max Gerson, page 7.
Aerobic cellular respiration creates as many as 36 ATP molecules from each
glucose molecule, and anaerobic respiration creates only 2 ATP molecules.
Anaerobic respiration releases one eighteenth of the available energy.
Cancer cells must feel very tired!
For more information regarding cellular respiration, you can do a search of
the Internet for subjects such as cellular respiration, cellular biology and
ATP, adenosine triphosphate, healthy mitochondria, Dr. Otto Warburg.