I came across two powerful studies this morning. And honestly, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about them.
The first was a massive meta-analysis published in Frontiers in Oncology, showing overwhelming scientific support for the use of medical cannabis in cancer care – not just for symptom relief, but potentially influencing cancer progression itself.
After reviewing nearly 40,000 data points, the authors concluded that support for medical cannabis was over 30 times stronger than opposition, especially in areas related to health outcomes, treatment success, and even cancer dynamics like tumour growth.
The second study hit even deeper.
Published in the Journal of Bioenergetics & Biomembranes, it proposes a complete shift in how we understand cancer – away from the long-standing genetic mutation theory, and toward a mitochondrial metabolic theory.
According to this view, cancer isn’t just a disease of bad genes – it’s a metabolic failure at the level of the mitochondria, our cells’ energy factories.
“A paradigm shift is now underway in the cancer field,” the study’s lead author tweeted.
“The mitochondrial metabolic theory has replaced the genetic theory as the most credible explanation for the origin of cancer.”
A Paradigm Shift is now Underway in the Cancer Field.
— Thomas N. Seyfried (@tnseyfried) April 11, 2025
The mitochondrial metabolic theory has replaced the genetic theory as the most credible explanation for the origin of cancer. According to the American Cancer Society over 618,000 people are projected to die from cancer in…
If this is true – and the evidence is stacking up – it means everything changes.
It means that cancer may be preventable and treatable in ways we’ve never been told.
And it means that tools like cannabis, nutrition, breathwork, light, and mushrooms may play a far bigger role in healing than we’ve been led to believe.
This blog post is my attempt to unpack all of this. And to show why this shift in perspective could be one of the most important developments in modern health.
Everyone deserves to know this.
The Stats Are Grim – and Aren’t Improving
According to the American Cancer Society, over 618,000 people in the U.S. are projected to die from cancer this year 0 that’s 1,700 deaths every day, or roughly 70 people every hour.
And it’s not just an American issue – the situation in the UK is just as alarming.
- Cancer is the leading cause of death in the UK, accounting for around 1 in 4 deaths.
- In 2021, there were 167,000 cancer deaths in the UK – that’s over 450 people dying of cancer every day (Cancer Research UK, 2023).
- Shockingly, cancer death rates have barely changed in the last 20 years, despite enormous advances in diagnostics, data, and targeted therapies.
Meanwhile, the lifetime risk of developing cancer in the UK is now 1 in 2. This means half of us are estimated to experience it in our lifetime.
It raises the question: What if we’ve been looking in the wrong place all along?
If cancer is fundamentally a metabolic disease, not a purely genetic one, then everything – from our treatments to our prevention strategies – needs to change.
From Genes to Energy: The Metabolic Theory of Cancer
As detailed in a recent paper by Seyfried et al. in the Journal of Bioenergetics & Biomembranes, the Mitochondrial Metabolic Theory of Cancer is gaining traction as the most credible explanation for cancer’s origin (DOI: 10.1007/s10863-025-10059-w).
Instead of random mutations, this theory proposes that cancer arises when cells lose their ability to generate energy through oxidative phosphorylation, and switch to fermentation, which is a far less efficient metabolic process.
This shift leads to uncontrolled growth, genomic instability, and metastasis.
As lead author Seyfried put it in a recent tweet:
“The failure to reduce yearly deaths from malignant cancers has been due in large part to the dogmatic ideology that cancer is a genetic disease… Based on the new understanding that cancer is a metabolic disease, the field can now advance in using more effective and less toxic therapeutic strategies.”
Enter Cannabis: A Metabolic Therapeutic
This new understanding of cancer as a metabolic disease helps explain why unconventional treatments like cannabis and mushrooms have been shown time and time again to not only help with cancer symptoms, but to even cure the disease in some cases
Just this month, a major meta-analysis published in Frontiers in Oncology analysed over 39,000 data points and found that support for medical cannabis in cancer contexts was 31x stronger than opposition (Frontiers, 2025).
But get this: this support wasn’t just about symptom relief.
- For health metrics (e.g. appetite, pain, energy), support was 47x stronger than opposition.
- For cancer treatment outcomes, support was 11x stronger.
- For cancer dynamics (like tumour growth and remission), support was 32x stronger.
Could cannabis be helping on a metabolic level?
How Cannabis Can Support Mitochondrial Health
Cannabis is most often associated with pain relief, appetite stimulation, and anxiety reduction in cancer patients.
But a deeper dive into the science reveals something far more compelling: cannabinoids may directly influence the metabolic machinery of the cell – the mitochondria.
This means cannabis could be doing more than managing symptoms. It might be metabolically therapeutic at the cellular level, especially in the context of cancer.
Let’s break it down:
1. Supports Mitochondrial Biogenesis and Function
Cannabinoids like CBD have been shown to influence mitochondrial activity and dynamics, including fission and fusion. These are key processes that maintain mitochondrial quality and energy efficiency.
- CBD has been shown to regulate mitochondrial calcium homeostasis and promote biogenesis via activation of PPAR-γ, a key metabolic regulator.
- This can help cells adapt to energy stress and improve mitochondrial resilience – critical in the context of cancer, where dysfunctional mitochondria contribute to tumour progression.
2. Reduces Chronic Inflammation and Oxidative Stress
Chronic inflammation and oxidative stress are hallmarks of cancer metabolism. Cannabinoids (CBD, THC, CBN, CBG etc) are potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents:
This reduces oxidative damage to mitochondrial DNA and membranes — a key factor in cancer initiation and progression.
“Mitochondria are both sources and targets of oxidative stress. By protecting them, cannabinoids may help preserve cellular metabolic integrity.” — Mitochondrial Dynamics in Neurodegeneration and Cancer (2023)
3. Modulates Glucose Metabolism and Insulin Sensitivity
Cancer cells are infamous for their reliance on glycolysis (even in the presence of oxygen) a phenomenon known as the Warburg effect. This glucose-hungry metabolism supports rapid growth but is metabolically inefficient.
Cannabinoids can influence this metabolic pathway:
- Cannabinoids including CBD and THC improve insulin sensitivity, enhance glucose uptake in healthy tissues, and may limit glucose availability to cancer cells.
- THC and CBD interact with CB1 and CB2 receptors, which are linked to glucose regulation pathways in peripheral tissues and the liver.
This could help starve tumours of their primary fuel while improving systemic metabolic health – a key factor in cancer prevention and control.
4. Induces Apoptosis in Cancer Cells
One of the most well-studied anticancer effects of cannabinoids is their ability to trigger programmed cell death – also known as apoptosis – selectively in cancer cells.
- Both THC and CBD have been shown to activate caspase-dependent pathways, disrupt mitochondrial membrane potential, and lead to cytochrome c release, a death signal inside the cell.
- These effects appear to be tumour-selective and often spare healthy cells, making cannabinoids unique in their potential for low-toxicity intervention.
Studies show this effect across a range of cancers: breast, glioblastoma, prostate, lung, and colon – all involving mitochondrial pathways of cell death.
Taken together, this emerging research suggests that cannabis may help restore metabolic homeostasis – especially in diseased, energy-compromised cells. By:
- Reactivating proper mitochondrial function
- Reducing inflammatory blockages
- Correcting metabolic signaling
- Targeting diseased cells for destruction
…it aligns perfectly with the mitochondrial metabolic theory of cancer.
Read: The Link Between Metabolic Health and Cannabis: More Than Just the Munchies
Other Metabolic Tools for Cancer Prevention & Management
Once we shift our lens to metabolism, a wide array of holistic tools suddenly make sense – tools that don’t just attack cancer, but support the body’s core energy systems:
- 🍳 Ketogenic diet: Restricts glucose and increases ketones, which cancer cells can’t easily use due to defective mitochondria.
- ⏱ Intermittent fasting: Triggers metabolic switching and autophagy, a cellular “cleanup” process that removes damaged mitochondria and precancerous cells.
- 💨 Hyperbaric oxygen therapy: Increases tissue oxygenation and helps shut down fermentation-based energy production that cancer cells rely on in low-oxygen environments.
- 🧴 Nutritional supplementation: Especially compounds that support mitochondrial health – like CoQ10, magnesium, alpha-lipoic acid, and creatine – all of which play key roles in cellular energy and redox balance.
- 🔴 Sunlight / red light therapy: Stimulates cytochrome c oxidase in the mitochondria, boosting ATP production and improving mitochondrial efficiency.
- 🧘 Stress reduction and breathwork: Chronic stress dysregulates metabolic signaling and impairs immune function. Breathwork and nervous system regulation support metabolic flexibility and resilience.
- 🍄 Mushrooms (especially medicinal types): A 2021 meta-analysis published in Advances in Nutrition found that regular mushroom consumption is associated with a significantly lower risk of cancer – especially breast cancer. Participants who ate 18g of mushrooms daily had a 45% lower risk of cancer compared to those who didn’t eat mushrooms at all.
- 🌞 Circadian alignment: Mitochondria run on circadian rhythms. Exposure to natural morning light, eating meals in sync with the day, and sleeping according to your body clock optimises hormonal balance, glucose control, and energy metabolism.
- 🌱 Grounding (earthing): Direct contact with the Earth (like walking barefoot on grass or soil) allows for electron transfer that reduces inflammation and oxidative stress. Grounding has been shown to improve sleep, heart rate variability, and markers of immune health.
- 🌲 Nature exposure: Time in nature reduces cortisol, improves glucose metabolism, and boosts natural killer (NK) cell activity – all of which support anti-cancer immunity and metabolic resilience.
A New Path Forward
The war on cancer has been fought with the wrong weapons.
For decades, we’ve targeted genes with precision drugs, irradiated tissues, and poisoned fast-dividing cells. Not realising that behind every mutation is a struggling mitochondrion, starved of energy, flooded with toxins, and suffocating in a broken environment.
But a quiet revolution is building. From disease management to metabolic restoration.
By embracing the metabolic model – and therapies that nourish rather than suppress – we may finally begin to treat cancer at its roots, not just trim its branches.
Cannabis, with its powerful anti-inflammatory and mitochondrial-modulating properties. Mushrooms, with their immune intelligence and antioxidant richness. Light, breath, fasting, nutrition, grounding, and rhythm – all ancient tools with modern scientific backing,
These are not fringe anymore. They are the future.
A future where oncology is:
- Integrative — combining the best of natural wisdom and medical science
- Mitochondrial — focused on energy, function, and vitality at the cellular level
- Metabolically intelligent — addressing root causes, not symptoms
Final Reflection
We are standing on the edge of one of the most important breakthroughs in the history of modern health.
This isn’t just about cancer. It’s about how we understand the body, energy, and healing.
It’s about shifting from fear to empowerment. From fragmentation to wholeness. From treating disease to cultivating vitality.
If this resonated with you – if you believe in a future of integrative, natural, and intelligent healthcare – we’d love to keep the conversation going.
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Together, we can help shape a new paradigm.
