Cancer has long been seen as a disease of genetic mutations, a random malfunction of cells gone rogue. Yet, a growing body of research — championed by experts like Dr Jason Fung, author of The Cancer Code — suggests there’s more to the story.
According to Dr Fung, cancer is not just a disease of genetics, but of metabolism — a condition driven by the environment within the body, particularly by what and how often we eat.
Author of the international bestsellers The Diabetes Code and The Obesity Code Dr. Jason Fung returns with an eye-opening biography of cancer in which he offers a radical new paradigm for understanding cancer—and issues a call to action for reducing risk moving forward.
🧠 What Is Cancer, Really?
The Care for Cancer foundation describes cancer as a disease where cells grow uncontrollably and spread into surrounding tissues. This happens when the body’s normal cell-regulating systems fail — damaged cells that should die, instead multiply.
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But why do these systems fail?
Dr Fung argues that cancer is part of a biological survival program gone wrong — a “rebellion” of cells under metabolic stress. The modern diet — heavy in processed foods, sugar, and constant eating — keeps insulin levels chronically high, sending a powerful growth signal to cells. Over time, this can contribute to cellular overgrowth and insulin resistance, both linked with cancer risk.
🧬 The Metabolic Theory of Cancer
In The Cancer Code, Fung revisits Otto Warburg’s century-old observation: cancer cells thrive on glucose and prefer fermentation even in the presence of oxygen — known as the Warburg effect.
This discovery reshapes our understanding of cancer metabolism. It suggests that reducing glucose availability — for example, through fasting or low-carbohydrate diets — may starve cancer cells while protecting normal ones.
“Cancer cells are addicted to sugar. If we reduce sugar and insulin, we reduce the fuel that drives their growth.”
— Dr Jason Fung, The Cancer Code (Read PDF excerpt)
🥦 How Fasting May Help
Fasting isn’t a cure, but it may be a powerful adjunct to prevention and treatment. Here’s why:
- Lowers Insulin and IGF-1: Reduces growth signals that promote cancer proliferation.
- Triggers Autophagy: The body’s “self-cleaning” process removes damaged cells.
- Improves Mitochondrial Function: Healthy cells become more resilient.
- Reduces Inflammation: Chronic inflammation feeds tumour growth.
Emerging studies show that short-term fasting before chemotherapy may also reduce side effects and improve patient tolerance — giving normal cells a survival edge over cancer cells.
⚖️ A Balanced Perspective
Neither fasting nor diet alone can replace medical treatment. However, understanding the metabolic roots of disease empowers people to make better lifestyle choices that support healing.
The takeaway?
Cancer thrives in an environment of excess — excess glucose, excess insulin, excess growth signals. Fasting restores balance, allowing the body to return to its natural state of repair.
💭 Final Thought
Dr Fung’s Cancer Code encourages us to see cancer not as an external invader, but as an internal imbalance — one that can often be influenced by our daily habits.
Fasting, when done safely and intelligently, offers a profound way to reconnect with the body’s own healing intelligence.
🕊️ “Cancer is not just about bad luck. It’s about the environment we create inside our bodies.” — Dr Jason Fung
Our understanding of cancer is slowly undergoing a revolution, allowing for the development of more effective treatments. For the first time ever, the death rate from cancer is showing a steady decline . . . but the “War on Cancer” has hardly been won.
In The Cancer Code, Dr. Jason Fung offers a revolutionary new understanding of this invasive, often fatal disease–what it is, how it manifests, and why it is so challenging to treat. In this rousing narrative, Dr. Fung identifies the medical community’s many missteps in cancer research–in particular, its focus on genetics, or what he terms the “seed” of cancer, at the expense of examining the “soil,” or the conditions under which cancer flourishes. Dr. Fung–whose groundbreaking work in the treatment of obesity and diabetes has won him international acclaim–suggests that the primary disease pathway of cancer is caused by the dysregulation of insulin. In fact, obesity and type 2 diabetes significantly increase an individual’s risk of cancer.
In this accessible read, Dr. Fung provides a new paradigm for dealing with cancer, with recommendations for what we can do to create a hostile soil for this dangerous seed. One such strategy is intermittent fasting, which reduces blood glucose, lowering insulin levels. Another, eliminating intake of insulin-stimulating foods, such as sugar and refined carbohydrates.
For hundreds of years, cancer has been portrayed as a foreign invader we’ve been powerless to stop. By reshaping our view of cancer as an internal uprising of our own healthy cells, we can begin to take back control. The seed of cancer may exist in all of us, but the power to change the soil is in our hands.