Tripping over the Truth: How the Metabolic Theory of Cancer Is Overturning One of Medicine's Most Entrenched Paradigms Hardcover – February 2, 2017

This is a must read for those interested in cancer. The author uses a historical framework to explain the science, and makes a strong case for cancer as a metabolic disease (as contrasted to a genetic one). More importantly, cures are to come from studies of metabolism, rather than from narrowly targeted treatments aimed as particular mutations. The treatment is historical, telling the story through the great researchers and their findings, using their stories to explain the science. This makes the book very readable. Telling these stories is not necessary to understanding the science, but it may be necessary to understanding why, and when it was accepted. After running through various historical figures, such as Warburg (who got his Nobel prize for demonstrating the metabolic abnormality of cancer), the story moves to various interesting modern figures. By page 93, he reaches the research in Pedersen's lab at John Hopkins University, and the story of the bright Korean biochemist, Young He Ko. She discovers that a simple chemical, 3-bromopyruvate, kills cancer cells better and quicker than most chemotherapy drugs. She achieves the almost unprecedented feat of curing cancers in all of 19 rats, who remain free of their original cancers to the end of their natural life. One would expect to learn how she got a professorship, fame, and lots of research money. Instead, the academic politics at John Hopkins results in her being terminated, and a law suit, leaving the breakthrough unexploited. (Some believe that this will provide the plot for a movie, and speculate as to which actress should play Dr. Ko). For now, it just makes part of the book read like a novel. There is drama (starting on p. 109) when the father of a teenager near death from liver cancer hears of the new drug, and obtains approval for it to be administered in Germany (approved only because it was his only hope of evading his impending death). The unemployed biochemist travels there, and waits nervously while the first human receives it. He was being kept alive by tube feeding. There are no serious side effects, and he asks to eat. The outcome is that instead of not surviving to his 17th birthday as the doctor's predicted, he recovers enough to go to John Hopkins Medical school to lecture, reaches his 18th birthday (a party which the still unemployed Dr. Ko attends). Alas, he eventually dies from an unrelated pneumonia, but the drug had achieved a "miraculous" cure. Heart breaking drama here. The story then moves on to the cutting edge research on the genetics of cancer, and how when the genomes of various tumors were sequenced, there was found there was no pattern to the mutations, creating an embarrassment for those whose careers had been based on the genetic theory of cancer. Naturally those who had dedicated their career to cancer as a genetic disease were disappointed, and elaborate new theories, but several of the leaders have shifted their focus to metabolism. Although it is easy to say the hundreds of millions spend on genetic research was wasted, it was something that should have been done, and it appears we now know approaches that do not work. As a subplot (p152) is the story of James Watson (whose Nobel prize was for discovering the genetic code) and his shift from emphasis on genetics (which naturally served his self interest), to efforts to get the Ko formulation, and him expressing support for the metabolic theory (when famous geneticists abandon the genetic theory, it is more convincing). The story moves on to Dr. Seyfried (p. 167) and how he drifts into cancer research on discovering that starving mice slowed tumor growth, and a drug that seemed effective against cancer actually seemed to work by stopping the mice from eating as much (the control mice not given the drug died much quicker, but control mice restricted to eating only as much as the treated mice chose to eat, did just as well). This resulted in the publication of a path breaking book, The Metabolic Theory of Cancer. " While this is a very good book, and a must read for professional cancer researchers, the biochemistry is tough for non-professionals. For laymen, one can get an understanding from "Tripping over the Truth" with much less work. Even the professional may find that the historical narrative of this book makes it easier to understand Seyfried's book ( Cancer as a Metabolic Disease: On the Origin, Management, and Prevention of Cancer ), with much less work, and without being lost in the details. Such reader's may wish to skip the first two parts, which provide historical and scientific background). Christofferson's book is cheaper, slightly more up to date (in a field that is moving fast, partially due to Seyfried's recent book), and more fun to read. After reading Christoffer's account of how Seyfried came to write his book, and what he found, the professionals will be motivated to read the more technical book written by the great scientist himself. Dr. Seyfried explores ketones as the explanation for why calorie restriction works, and shows that a ketogenic diet can be effective (at least in mice). The story moves on to the history ketogenic diets, and to a Florida researcher, D'gostino (p.211), who gets good results in mice from such a diet, especially when combined with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Small scale human tests of ketogenic diets for brain cancers begin (p. 196) and produce encouraging results. Since many reading this review will be those suffering from cancer, what are the conclusions for such patients The first is the high potential of 3-bromopyruvate. Patients should not rush out and try to get this and treat themselves. If incorrectly formulated, it could be fatal. However, they should keep their eyes open for trials (which are overdue, but virtually certain to come). Those with advance, metastatic cancer should try to be included, even if this requires traveling overseas, and paying their own expenses. The preliminary evidence is that a ketogenic diet is beneficial, and the book includes an appendix on "Putting Metabolic Therapy to Work". If I was dying from cancer, I would certainly try this. What are the weak points in the book? One is that it lacks an index (so those interested in a particular topic can find it). Even the chapter headings and table of contents are non-informative. This is why I mentioned page numbers above. While it has a list of sources in the back, it is not as well documented as a researcher would want. Fortunately, more can be found in Seyfried's book. It is clear from the sources he gives, that much of his information derives from traveling around the country interviewing the researchers themselves. This permits him to provide the background that makes the book so readable (even novel like). A benefit of these interviews is that he sometimes mentions results that have not yet been written up and published. This could be valuable to researchers and funders wanting to know what is going on in a fast moving field. Those interested in the history and politics of science will enjoy the stories of the researchers, and how what should have been obvious leads and inconsistencies were not followed up on. It also becomes clear how problems of funding, human egos and ambitions, and desire not to confess to having wasting time on exploring a blind alley (even though this may keep others from wasting time by going down the same blind alley) has impeded research. Possible cures that are hard to make money from such as 3-bromopyruvate (a known chemical that cannot be patented) and nutritional approaches are not as promptly followed up on as those that can result in a highly profitable drug of marginal use (and he points just how marginal many of the hyped drugs are). Those in funding positions (government, foundations, and those with money to donate) would benefit from reading this book and thinking about the implications. Drug companies naturally would like funding decisions that lead to new drugs them to patent and market, and research that shows the utility of their products (and lobby for such). However, much higher returns should result from research private firms are unlikely to pursue, research on unpatentable molecules like 3-bromopyruvate, and nutritional therapies.

Tripping Over the Truth: The Return of the Metabolic Theory of Cancer Illuminates a New and Hopeful Path to a Cure by Travis Christofferson is a surprisingly interesting collection of stories about the history and findings of cancer research.One of the stories in the book is about Dr. Warburg who in 1924 discovered that cancer cells can only live on glycogen (sugar) and later that cancer cells have fewer mitochondria than healthy cells. Dr. Warburg’s extraordinary brilliance, his personal sacrifices to contribute to understanding cancer, and the dedication of his students make the story an inspiring read.The book describes three shocking revelations from recent discoveries made at the multinational Cancer Genome Atlas project funded by the National Cancer Institute, started in 2006.First: most cancers are not caused by genetic damage to the DNA, which mainstream medicine believes (except Dr. Warburg and his students) to be the primary cause of cancer since the discovery of DNA in the 1950s.Second: the body does a remarkably good job of repairing DNA; most cancer cells have far less DNA damage than anyone realized, which completely destroyed the accepted model of cancer known as the “Somatic Theory of Cancer“.Third: tumors are rarely comprised of just one type of cancer cell and instead consist of thousands of genetically different cancer cells. This explains why cancer growths are so resistance to chemotherapy and radiation. Cancer growths with thousands of versions of DNA are far more likely to survive compared to a mass of cells with duplicate DNA. Sadly, it also explains why if cancer returns it is much harder to treat; the cancer cells that survived initial treatments are not affected by the same subsequent treatments.The book describes a discovery in 1978 that strongly pointed to cell mitochondria damage being the cause of cancer. Cancer researcher Cyril Darlington found that x-rays with enough energy to damage the DNA in the nucleus did not cause cancer, yet when the energy in x-rays was increased enough to damage cell mitochondria, it did cause cancer. Sadly this research was totally ignored until Thomas Seyfried wrote his landmark book in 2012 “Cancer as a metabolic disease”. Mitochondria controls cellular growth rates, apoptosis (programmed cellular death), and intracellular communications. When the mitochondria of cells are damaged, it causes rapid cell replication (from days to hours), the cells become immortal and never die, and they tell nearby cells to redirect the blood flow to support their rapid growth.One of the strangest discoveries the book describes is when the cell’s mitochondria is damaged, it sends an emergency message (known as a “retrograde response”) to the cell’s nucleus. The nucleus attempts to help the mitochondria by sending it pieces of DNA to help it survive without oxygen. These pieces of DNA activate some cell functions like high-growth, and deactivate other functions like DNA repair which can create and replicate cancer cells. Ironically, these changes can also damage the DNA of the cell nucleus because it is no longer being repaired. Cancer researchers who thought the DNA damage was the cause of cancer didn’t realize it was just a side effect of mitochondria damage.One disturbing fact is that despite the number of smokers being cut by 50% in the last 40 years, cancer incidence is going up as is cancer mortality. In fact, the mortality rates are increasing so fast that the author predicts cancer will soon take over heart disease as the number one cause of death. This contradicts what I had been hearing from the media, about most cancers having effective cures and that a cure to all cancers was very close.Despite the bad news, the author has a positive view of future cancer treatment because of an experimental diet that promotes low blood sugar. The diet basically consists of no sugar, very low carbohydrates, limited protein, and huge amounts of saturated fat. This diet is known as the ketogenic diet. There are several trials going on around the world and there have been some extraordinary results with many people surviving previously incurable forms of cancer.I find it exciting to think that a diet could be the cure to cancer.Imagine getting diagnosed with cancer and instead of surgery, radiation treatment, and chemo therapy, the doctor just makes you an appointment with a dietician. I highly recommend this book, five stars.

Ninety years ago, a German scientist named Otto Walberg put forward a theory of cancer that was to radically alter the way we think about this devastating disease. However, a change in thinking would not happen immediately. It would take many years before his theory finally gained ground. In 2014 there is increasing attention being paid to the work of Otto Warburg and the implications his theory has for the prevention, cause and treatment of cancer. The journey has really only just begun.As I closed the last page of Tripping Over the Truth by Travis Christofferson, I turned back to the first and started it again. That’s how good this book is.I first heard about Christofferson via an article he posted on Robb Wolf called The Origin of Cancer last year. I thought it was one of the most fascinating articles I had ever read and was keen to find out more about the foundation Single Cause Single Cure, which Christofferson founded. I had also been interested in the work of Dr Colin Chapman, Professor Thomas Seyfried and Dr Dominic D’Agostino and their research into ketogenic diet therapies for cancer using the Warburg Hypothesis, so Christofferson’s article sparked a real desire to learn more about the metabolic theory of cancer.This book will hook you from the first page. Firstly, I want to say that it is neither a medical textbook nor a heavy scientific tome that will require prior knowledge to understand its argument (although I had read the excellent The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee, which gives an overview of the story of cancer.) Tripping Over the Truth is for everyone; doctors, patients, medical professionals or simply people like me who are interested in this field of cancer research and the possibilities of nutritional therapy as an aid to treatment. It is an incredibly well-crafted, easily-read and profoundly moving account of the fight against cancer, detailing a theory of its origins that was all but forgotten save for a handful of scientists over the last 100 years.As we know all too well, each of us has been touched by cancer in some way. It is hard to write about, to read about and to talk about yet as Christofferson points out, one in two men and one in three women will be diagnosed at some point in their life. It is all around us, yet we are silenced by it. These figures are astounding.Tripping Over the Truth takes us on a journey from the Chimney Boys of Percival Potts 19th Century London and the discovery of carcinogens to the very latest drugs such as 3BP (still awaiting funding) and therapies such as Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) and the Restricted Ketogenic Diet (R-KD). We learn about chromosomal abnormalities of cancer cells, about viral infections, the discovery of DNA and its implications for cancer research, the advent of chemotherapy (born from the toxic weapons of World War II), Nixon’s ‘War on Cancer’ and the new generation of drugs such as Herceptin that target oncogenes (genes that have the potential to cause cancer).We discover why much of what we know about the prevention, causes and treatment of cancer is rooted in a deeply-held belief about its origins which – at its very core – may be erroneous. To say that writing a book like this will bring Christofferson in for some hard criticism is an under-statement. As with anyone involved in this area of research, going against the conventional thinking in the fight against what is undoubtedly our most feared disease will invite much condemnation, as well as praise.This book questions why a cure for cancer continues to hover outside of our reach. Why have we not seen the breakthroughs that we hoped? Why does the complexity of the disease continue to confound scientists? Why have the billions that we have spent on research not succeeded in improving overall death rates since the 1950s? These are questions that must be asked if we are to move forward in our understanding of cancer.Current thinking posits the origins of cancer as resulting from damage to our DNA; the genetic or Somatic Mutation Theory (SMT) of cancer. This idea dominates research and since the remarkable discovery of DNA in the 1950’s, it has been the one overarching theory that researchers hoped would unite cancer research and provide the elusive cure. Christofferson describes how the The Cancer Genome Atlas which was started in 2006 aims to sequence the entire genome of a cancer cell and thus elucidate the mutations that cause the disease. When Christofferson looked at the research coming out of this project, he was struck by the failure to provide consistent data along with its apparent randomness. In addition to this, Christofferson explains that the new drugs developed to target these mutations have not lived up to their promise.In contrast to the SMT theory, Christofferson explains how the concept of cancer as a disease of ‘defective metabolism’ first put forward by Otto Walburg takes a different approach. Warburg’s observation that cancer cells generate most of their energy from glucose (sugar) through the process of fermentation rather than through respiration via oxygen posits a root cause to the disease. The metabolic theory places genetic mutation and a host of other symptoms as secondary side effects, rather than as causes. However, it was largely ignored.Christofferson highlights the work of Professor Thomas Seyfried at Boston University and in particular his seminal book ‘Cancer as a Metabolic Disease’ (2012) which expands the Warburg theory even further. When the energy-generating powerhouses in our cells called mitochondria suffer damage they begin to send out signals that result in destabilising changes to the cell. These include the way that cells generate energy, pushing them over to fermentation rather than oxygenation and also resulting in genetic mutations.Professor Seyfried uses a restricted ketogenic diet R-KD in his practice; in particular in the treatment of aggressive brain tumours. This diet naturally reduces calories (as it has been shown that calorie restriction shrinks tumours) but it also does something else: through the restriction of carbohydrates and protein together with high amounts of fat, the diet forces the body to manufacture ketones as an alternative fuel source in the absence of glucose. Cancer cells cannot use ketones; only normal cells can make the switch and the R-KD starves cancer cells of their energy.As we know, the ketogenic diet has been used since the beginning of the 20th Century to treat epilepsy, falling out of favour with the rise of seizure-control drugs. Charities such as Matthew’s Friends in the UK and The Charlie Foundation in the US are at the forefront of raising awareness and promoting research into ketogenic therapies for epilepsy and related neurological disorders, but there is also a growing interest in using this dietary therapy for cancer patients (alongside conventional treatments). The 4th Biannual Ketogenic Dietary Therapies Symposium took place in Liverpool UK this year and doctors such as Dominic D’Agostino and Professor Adrienne Scheck attended. With 500 representatives from 27 countries, the conference is becoming increasingly popular and with the amazing work done by Matthew’s Friends and the Charlie Foundation, press awareness continues to grow.In addition to ketogenic diet therapies, the development of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) alongside the R-KD is an exciting development that Christofferson describes. Through his work with Navy SEALS researching methods to prevent seizures from oxygen toxicity, Dr D’Agostino discovered that cancer cells were irretrievably damaged in the presence of high levels of oxygen. As Christofferson notes, these two therapies represent ‘a massive step in the direction of cheap, nontoxic, effective health care’ but warns ‘It is not unrealistic to expect friction.’ There is no money to be made in these sorts of therapies and as Christofferson notes, in terms of opposition, therein lies the problem.The metabolic theory of cancer and books such as Tripping Over the Truth offer new hope, but Christofferson stresses the importance that (as in all good science) there must always be room for the prospect of error or revision. Indeed, eradication of this disease may never be achieved but as Christofferson notes our understanding of cancer is still in its infancy. Despite this, perhaps we are turning a corner in the prevention, treatment and ultimately the cure of cancer.I really cannot recommend this book highly enough. The work of these pioneering researchers deserves a wide audience. Yes, it is controversial. Anything that deals with the subject of cancer ultimately is because we are so fearful to even discuss it, let alone depart from conventional thinking with regards to its cause and treatment. This horrible disease touches all of us in some way and yet when I began researching the subject and reading only a tiny fraction of the information out there, I realised I knew nothing about it. Yet the story of cancer is a gripping and spellbinding odyssey that transcends disease and cuts to the heart of what it means to be human, to be mortal. Tripping Over the Truth shines a light on our most feared enemy and encourages us to understand the potential we have at our fingertips to exploit its greatest weakness. Time will tell if we are successful, but for now let’s hope that things are about to change.

This is a fascinating book, well-researched and easy to follow. I could literally not put it down. The more I read about cancer being a metabolic disease the more it makes sense. Cancer is not a disease of damaged DNA but of defective metabolism and it should be treated as such, with diet, HBOT, and repurposed drugs, among others. Jane McLelland's 'How to Starve cancer' definitely helps with this. COC are currently carrying out a trial with some repurposed drugs. Interestingly, the book mentions Chemothermia, a clinic that uses metabolic therapies to treat cancer. My good friend came back from there in complete remission after only 4 treatments for metastatic breast cancer. More people need to be aware of this new logical approach and more research needs to be done to replace the current toxic and overly expensive therapies.

This book provides an unbiased review of the history of the understanding of the causes and treatment therapies of cancer. Given the high proportion of people affected by cancer it would make sense for anyone to read and understand the contents of this book.Ironically a more open minded and less profit motivated approach could have saved many lives and huge sums of money in treating cancer over many decades. This book explains how and why it has taken so long to pursue the most effective cure for cancer.

Love this book, shows me why sugar is so dangerous when cells revert to fermenting , so take great care of your mitochondria because if they fail you likely have a big problem. very thought provoking I'll not part with it, just hope I never get the big C.

There are many books on Cancer and this is one of the best. It explains historical and recent ground breaking ideas on the causes, and ways to combat Cancer. This might sound far fetched, but the theory is from sound research. There have been other books on these theories of fighting Cancer, However they are littered with medical jargon making them useless apart from a medical professional. This is an excellent book and should be bought by anyone with or wanting to prevent Cancer.