HOW DOES CANTRON® WORK?
A LAYMAN’S EXPLANATION
This explanation is indeed for the laymen. There are generalizations and simplifications of very complex material. Professionals in the fields of medicine and biochemistry may feel the need for more detail. Such detail is presented in other writings. This paper is intended as only a general overview for those without technical backgrounds.
CELLULAR
RESPIRATION
An understanding of Cantron requires a basic understanding of the respiratory system of the human cell. Most people think of respiration as breathing, taking oxygen into the body and letting out carbon dioxide through the lungs. However, every living cell in the body is technically involved in respiration, because the word means more than simply breathing. Respiration is a chemical reaction in the cell which involves oxygen and which provides energy for the cell. The respiration system in the cell has the job of manufacturing and delivering energy in the cell so that the various functions of the cell can be carried out. (For example, muscle cells need energy to contract and all cells need energy to grow and divide.) Thus, respiration has the more general meaning of providing energy through the respiration systems of the cell.
OXIDATION-REDUCTION
One of the most important parts of the respiratory system in the cell is called the “oxidation-reduction system.” Indeed, in many respects, referring to the oxidation-reduction system of the cell is much the same as referring to the respiration system. This is because in the cell the oxidation-reduction system produces energy for the cell to do its work. Scientists sometimes refer to the oxidation-reduction system as the “Redox system.”
The oxidation-reduction system can be thought of as a ladder, with a different chemical reaction taking place on each step. The respiratory reaction, which takes place on each step of this ladder is the same as on every other step in what it produces (i.e. energy for the cell to do its work), but each is also different from every other step in the sense of how effective the reaction is.
The bottom steps of the ladder involve relatively simple or “primitive” respiratory reactions. An example of a primitive reaction would be yeast while it is fermenting. Keep in mind that this is still an amazingly complex reaction. It is only “simple” or “primitive” compared to the other reactions in the oxidation-reduction system.
The higher steps involve more complex respiratory reactions. The primitive reactions at the bottom of the ladder take place without oxygen being present. The higher respiratory reactions require the presence of oxygen. Generally, for “reduction” you are moving down the ladder. For “oxidation” you are moving up the ladder,
Each “step” on this ladder has a different “potential.” “Potential” means a measurable electricalvoltage, like a small battery would have. Primitive yeast cells which are fermenting will give off a certain amount of electrical energy i.e. movement of electrons. (We are talking about very small amounts of electrical energy.) As you move up toward the top of the ladder you will get increased potential energy. Thus, the potential electrical energy at the top of the ladder is greater than at the bottom. The top of the ladder has a potential of about +0.4 volts while the bottom is about -0.2 volts.
ENZYMES REGULATE
CELLULAR
RESPIRATION
Enzymes are involved in each of the steps of the respiratory ladder. Indeed, part of’ the oxidation-reduction system within each cell is an enzyme system. In every living cell there are many different enzymes. Some of these enzymes are related primarily to the respiration system of the cell. Without these enzymes the respiration system could not function and the cell would have no energy to do its work.
Enzymes are a group of chemical compounds, which help chemical reactions take place. For example, an enzyme may make the reaction possible or may speed up a reaction which otherwise might require a great deal of time. Respiration is one chemical reaction that enzymes help. Even in the lungs, where most of us think respiration takes place, enzymes help make the oxygen usable for the body.
Each step on the oxidation-reduction ladder has a different enzyme from every other step. While certain of these enzymes are very similar to others in structure, they are still different enough to involve them in a different position on the ladder of respiratory reactions.
The major distinction between the primitive (i.e. bottom) respiratory reactions and the advanced (i.e. higher) respiratory reactions is that the primitive reactions do not use oxygen, while the advanced reactions do, Thus, in respiratory reactions below this dividing line (i.e. in the primitive part of the system) the movement of electrons does not rely on the presence of oxygen, while generally the movement of electrons in reactions above this dividing line on the ladder do require oxygen. (NOTE: there are a few situations above this line where oxygen is not used. However, they are not sufficiently significant to affect this level of explanation.
We refer to the advanced reactions, which use oxygen as “aerobic” and the primitive reactions which do not use oxygen, as “anaerobic”.
When cells are working they are using a certain amount of energy. That energy is produced as a result of chemical reactions in the respiratory system at all the steps of the aerobic portion of the ladder at the same time. These reactions can be thought of as a system in that they are all related to each other. As energy is being used in a normal cell, the respiratory system is not only providing the energy used, but also replacing the energy held in reserve,
One might think of the chemical reactions like the electrical system in an automobile. The battery provides the spark to run the engine. The engine provides the power to drive the generator. The generator recharges the battery so it, in turn, can continue to provide the spark to the engine. If all is working well, and the system is in balance, the battery will have power to supply the engine for a very long time. Likewise in the cell, if all is working well the respiratory system is in balance. As energy is drawn off by work, the cell will “generate” new energy so that more is available. The balancing will insure that a constant supply of energy is available for work.
In an automobile engine a serious problem can develop, if there is a long term, extraordinary drain on the power. For example, if a short develops or some one leaves the head lights on without the engine running (which would normally run the generator and resupply the battery). In these situations, there is a drain of energy and eventually the system will fail. Usually, this means that the battery goes dead.
In the cell there can also be a long term, extraordinary drain of power.
If this were a short term drain of energy, the cell could easily recover. For example, a muscle cell may get tired if you try to hold a weight over your head for a long time. If you put the weight down, the cell will recover nicely. If the extraordinary workload on the cell continues, despite its being tired, respiration will continue, but the “balance” of the respiratory system will eventually be affected. The unending continuation of such a workload is called a “chronic” situation. The individual cell has no way of shutting itself down to rest. It still keeps working, but the point of “balance” will continually be at an ever lower oxidation-reduction level, as long as the excess work load continues.
One example of a chronic condition is cigarette smoking. Cigarette smoke in the lungs is an irritant in which the cells in the lungs are constantly working to overcome. As they continue to try to keep up the extra work caused by the smoke, the delicate balance of the respiratory system to the lung cells is altered and effectively moves continually lower on the respiratory ladder.
THE CRITICAL POINT
The cell’s movement down the ladder slowly continues until it hits what might be called a “critical point.” The “critical point” is when the cell is about 85% of the way down from the top of the ladder. (Obviously, it is likewise about 15% up from the bottom). The reason this is a critical point is that, for some reason, the cell does not fall any further down the ladder, and remains “in balance.”
This “critical point” is significant for three other reasons. First, this is the lowest the cell can go on the respiratory ladder and still have significant similarities to a normal cell. However, it is also on one of the highest rungs of the ladder it could be on and still be able to be in the primitive zone. Second, just as the cell had been “in balance” when it was working normally in the aerobic part of the respiratory ladder this is the point at which the cell reaches a new point of “balance.” It “likes” it there; it is and will never move back to its old, normal balance in the respiratory system. Third, this is the stage at which the cell is now a cancer.
WHAT TO DO?
Once the cell is at this critical point, i.e. it is cancerous, the question becomes: What to do about it? The first thought is to simply “push” the cell back up the ladder, much as one would recharge a nearly dead battery. In theory this should work as a cure for cancer. However, all efforts to date have failed. The chemicals thus far used to push the cells back up the respiratory ladder are very toxic. Therefore, those who have tried this method have caused almost as many problems in side effects as they have solved. It has not been a satisfactory solution. The second thought might be to remove the bad cells, much as one removes broken parts from a machine. In the context of cancer this is a polite way of saying we are going to kill the bad cells.
Currently, the three methods used to kill cancer cells have severe drawbacks. Chemotherapy (i.e. chemicals that kill cells) is not only toxic to cancerous cells it is also toxic to healthy cells. Thus, it causes the extreme side effects with which we are all familiar. Indeed, chemotherapy is so toxic to healthy cells it could kill you itself if it were not for the cancer doing the job first. Radiation (i.e. such as X-rays that kill cells) has much the same draw backs as chemotherapy. An X-ray does not know the difference between healthy and sick tissue and can cause very undesirable side effects. Surgery (i.e. killing the cells by cutting them out; can never guarantee that they “got it all,” Indeed, on occasion, surgery will end up speeding the spread of the cancerous cells to other parts of the body.
Cantron takes a fourth approach. It was designed to take advantage of the fact that the cancer cell sits on the “critical point” of the ladder. Once again this “critical point” is where a cell turns cancerous, and is right on the boundary, the dividing line between primitive cells and normal cells. (Normal cells, sometimes called “differentiated cells, are cells which have all their functions and can do all their normal work, such as grow and divide or, for a muscle cell, contract). Healthy cells are at a “steady state.” They are constantly working, with much of their activity using energy. But, they are also effectively “recharging” themselves all the time. Thus, if you measured the potential of a normal cell (like you measure the potential of a car battery with a properly functioning regulator) it would remain substantially constant. Unfortunately, as mentioned earlier, cancer cells are also at a “steady state.” Once pushed down to that critical point, the cell “likes” it there and wants to stay in that new steady state at the 15% point on the oxidation-reduction ladder.
The real problem with having a cell in the steady state at the critical point is that the body does not know how to deal with it. If the cell were still healthy, it would know how to “recharge” itself. If the cell were further down the oxidation-reduction ladder the body would know how to get rid of it through natural processes.
Somewhat like jumping a fence, you are fine if you stay on your side and you are fine if you make it all the way over the fence. But, you are in real trouble if you land so you are straddling the fence! The cancer cell “straddles” the fence. It is neither normal enough nor primitive enough for the body to deal with in an adequate fashion.
THEORY OF OPERATION
The theory behind Cantron is to push the cell further down the oxidation-reduction ladder so it is fully and completely into the primitive stage of the oxidation-reduction system. Here, the body can deal with the cancer cell on its own. Cancer cells are often referred to as “primitive cells.” They are indeed primitive because oxygen is not used in the respiratory system of the cancer cell. Again, however, while they are true primitive cells in that sense, they constitute the boundary line between primitive and normal. It would take a relatively small step up the ladder for them to be normal again or a relatively small step down the ladder for them to be completely primitive so that the body could deal with them as primitive cells. Thus, even though they are primitive cells they “look” normal and “act” normal in certain respects.
Cantron tries to take away the last vestiges of normality, pushing them down the oxidation-reduction ladder so they are no longer on me boundary line. Once the cancer cell is definitely into the primitive stage, the body deals with it as the body does any other foreign object. It gets rid of it. But how?
A primitive cell is different than a normal cell in the way it functions. It cannot exist like other cells in the body. It becomes alien tissue, as it were “incompatible” non-functioning in the normal sense. It ceases to be cancer and it ceases to be normal. The body cannot tolerate it and rejects it. Much like trying to graft a piece of wood on your finger, the body will not allow it. The primitive cells are attacked by the body in different ways, depending on where they are in the body. In some places (like the brain) the body forms a crust-like membrane around the primitive cells. There will be the ‘tumor’ but it is dead and enclosed. In other places (skin cancer) the body effectively digests it in a process called “lysis” or simply sloughs it off like a dried out scab.
HOW DOES CANTRON WORK?
The next question is: How does Cantron cause the cell to shift from its stable state at the critical point deeper into the primitive state? The process of moving down the oxidation-reduction ladder is the process of chemical “reduction,” which is the opposite of oxidation, the moving up on the ladder.
There are chemicals that inhibit respiration. One example is a group of chemicals called catechols. Catechols are common in nature. In fact the chemical that makes cranberries red is a catechol. The inhibition of the respiration of a cancer cell will push it off its stable state and completely into the primitive state. Obviously, if a chemical is taken into the body which inhibits the respiration of the cancer cell it will, likewise, inhibit the respiration ability of every other cell it acts on. (Just as the sugar molecules from a candy bar will affect every cell they contact). Normal cells, it will be recalled, are working well within their potential to do work. They are working near the top of the oxidation-reduction ladder, because the cell works most effectively there.
Since normal cells work at such a high level of the oxidation-reduction system, if their respiration potential is reduced somewhat, it is no real problem for them. Cancer cells, however, are atthat critical point, right on the dividing line between normal and primitive. If their respiration ability is reduced, they will be pushed completely into the primitive state. The inhibition of the respiratory system is done by shunting off “energy units” of the cell as it is working so the energy is not going through the respiratory system. (An “energy unit” is two electrons and a proton). Thus, work is being done by the cell, but not respiration. But, again, respiration is the process by which the cell manufactures and delivers energy to the various parts of the cell so that the cell can function. If work is being done, but not respiration, the cell is forced further down the oxidation-reduction ladder. Thus, once respiration is reduced, the cell is forced down completely into the primitive state.
One of the chemicals which reduce respiration is catechol. The natural catechols have many different oxidation-reduction potentials (i.e. the level on the oxidation-reduction ladder where the particular catechol will work or operate.) The trick is to find one that works at the same level as a cancer cell, i.e. at that “critical point” level.