Back in the days - 1970s and 1980s - when I was a molecular biology scientist, focused upon discovering the plant genes involved in nitrogen fixation, I fervently believed the scientific paradigm that when a hypothesis was eventually tested and shown to be accurate, there would be acceptance by the scientific community and implementation of the procedure / treatment in the wider world.
Some 40 years on, having charted a zigzag course from agricultural biotechnology, research about Organic Germanium, Vitamin C and Nutrition and Cancer, and launched publication of Positive Health PH Online, I have been wizened and steeped in the outright conflicts and battles which are constantly raging over just about every field of medical treatment, including and especially about paradigms for the most prevalent conditions including cancer, heart disease.
Paradigms are particularly the subject of the mystery / thriller description recounted in the gripping book Tripping Over the Truth: The Return of the Metabolic Theory of Cancer Illuminates a New and Hopeful Path to a Cure by Travis Christofferson[1] describing the long journey back from the Warburg hypothesis about the central role of oxygen / metabolism / mitochondria in cancer. The entire knowledge and expertise regarding oxidative metabolism discovered in the 1920s and 1930s was largely superseded by the febrile, somewhat hysterical optimism fuelled by the theory that cancer is entirely genetically determined, caused by oncogene mutations – the so-called somatic mutation theory (SMT) of cancer.
“The national attempt to beat cancer, kicked off by Nixon, had been a failure, and journalists were taking notice. The statistics were everywhere. If you were a woman, you had a one in three chance of being diagnosed with cancer in your lifetime, If you were a man, your chances were one in two... The most important statistic, the one that told the story with the most unbiased clarity, was that the current death rate from cancer was still the same as it was in 1950...
“In the winter of 2013...[James] Watson released his own article in the in the journal Open Biology titled "oxidants, Antioxidants and the Current Incurability of Metastatic Cancers"... The article reflected the nation's state of mind and was a brutal assessment of the ongoing war. It did not shy away from harsh criticisms and again called for a complete refocusing of direction.”
I am still deeply engrossed by this thriller and deeply recommend it to PH Online readers. I hope to be able to provide an adequate review upon its completion.
PH Online Issue 230 published features across the entire spectrum of health conditions, including features about Negativity and Anger, Sound Healing, Medical Intuition, Nutrition the Daoist Way, Saffron Effective Treatment for Depression, Introduction to Micro-Immunotherapy, Himalayan Crystal Salt, Reproductive Reflexology, Factors Behind Infertility, Fertility is not just about your Eggs, Dietary Seaweed in Preventive Health, Food Combining Wisdom, Perfect Nutrition - Liquefied Seeds, Potential for Increased Lung Capacity, Healthy Reasons to Receive Massage Therapy, and Parkinson’s Disease and Cervical Dystonia.
Research Updates are from published articles within the topics of acupuncture, cancer, macular degeneration, multiple sclerosis and women's health. Letters to the Editor continue the massive controversies within the contentious fields of vaccination and mercury dentistry. The Short Features and Brief Takes endeavour to highlight current news of treatments events, products and courses drawn from a wide selection of the media and well-known natural treatment companies and institutions.
The raging conflict and arguments about which treatments are most effective mirror similar conflicts in the wider outer and inner worlds. It is for each of us to become self-informed in order to choose the most correct path to optimum health.
References and Bibliography
1. Travis Christofferson. Tripping Over the Truth: The Return of the Metabolic Theory of Cancer Illuminates a New and Hopeful Path to a Cure. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. 2014. Available on Amazon.
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1500600318/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2MIHKAWEK9F63&coliid=I14JTLSD1JVLBB
