Cancer, Metabolism, and the Mitochondria:
The Ideas of Otto Warburg & Dr. Thomas Seyfried
What Otto Warburg Discovered
In the 1920s, scientist Dr. Otto Warburg observed something unusual about cancer cells:
Cancer cells rely heavily on sugar (glucose) for energy.
They prefer to make energy without oxygen—a process called fermentation, even when oxygen is available.
This became known as the Warburg Effect.
What it suggested:
Cancer cells may have problems with mitochondrial function, so they switch to a less efficient, glucose-hungry way of producing energy. Warburg believed this abnormal metabolism was a core feature of cancer.
Dr. Thomas Seyfried’s Modern Perspective
Dr. Thomas Seyfried, a researcher at Boston College, has expanded on Warburg’s ideas. His main points:
Cancer may be primarily a metabolic disease, not just a genetic one.
Mitochondrial damage or dysfunction may push cells toward cancerous behavior.
Because cancer cells depend so heavily on glucose and glutamine (another fuel), changing fuel availability might impact their growth.
New Metabolic-Based Treatment Approaches
While still being researched and not replacements for standard cancer care, several strategies aim to target cancer metabolism:
🔹 Lowering Glucose Availability
Ketogenic or low-carbohydrate diets may reduce the primary fuel cancer cells rely on.
Normal cells can adapt to ketones (fat-based fuel), while cancer cells struggle.
🔹 Targeting Glutamine
Some cancers also depend on glutamine, another fuel source. Therapies that lower or block glutamine usage are being explored in clinical research.
🔹 Improving Mitochondrial Health
Approaches under study include:
Exercise
Fasting or time-restricted eating
Nutritional therapies
Certain metabolic medications (e.g., metformin, inhibitors of glycolysis)
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (being researched in combination with ketogenic diets)
These are experimental and should only be considered under medical guidance.
What This Means for Patients
Metabolism and mitochondrial function may play a key role in cancer behavior.
Research is ongoing—these strategies are not cures and are not substitutes for chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, or immunotherapy.
However, metabolic approaches may eventually become adjunct therapies to make cancer cells more vulnerable to treatment.
Bottom Line
Warburg showed that cancer cells use energy abnormally.
Seyfried proposes that targeting this abnormal metabolism may help treat cancer.
Metabolic therapies are promising, but most are still in research stages.
Contact Valley Integrative Health Today.
Devin Wilson, ND is a licensed Naturopathic Doctor and Owner of Valley Integrative Health, LLC in Ashland, Oregon. With over a decade of clinical experience including 2 years of training with a John’s Hopkin’s/Yale Medical Doctor, Dr. Wilson combines naturopathic and modern medicine along with cutting-edge therapies. His enduring goal is to help people re-establish, maintain and optimize their health using a patient-centered and holistic approach.