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As many of you know Dr. Jason Fung is a favorite writer and “mentor” of mine through his books on fasting and diabetes. I reviewed The Obesity Code a few years ago and continue to live by the principles laid out in that book. So I was excited when Dr. Fung came out with a new book, The Cancer Code. And a friend kindly sent me a copy so I made it a point to read it in December 2020.
The basic premise of the book is his pursuit of what causes cancer. Dr. Fung goes through the common theories at each period of history in the last 50 years. Part 1 examines the theory that cancer is a result of excessive cell growth. Part 2 looks at the next cancer paradigm of cancer as a genetic disease. Part 3 examines the new paradigm that considered the environment much more in line with the genetics. So this was when epigenetics became popular. From here he develops his main thesis that cancer cells develop because of an evolutionary idea that cancer become less different to one another, dedifferentiation.
Part 4 and 5 look at treatment options for cancer and I found this to be the most helpful part of the book. Dr. Fung addresses nutrition, insulin resistance, intermittent fasting, and immunotherapy.
Although there is much that is worth learning in this book, I have to say I was somewhat disappointed. My two main complaints are as follows:
1) The whole book is based on his theory of cancer which is rooted in macro evolution. I don’t agree with that theory of evolution so it kind of undermines my trust in the whole book. I did find his critiques of previous theories to be worthwhile.
2) I felt like the book didn’t offer much practical information. He does address that obesity and cancer are closely related, but doesn’t really address how to treat the crisis of obesity. Perhaps this is because he has already written The Obesity Code. But the book felt disjointed and not well organized.
I still think this book is worth reading if you are someone who reads widely and has a real interest in cancer and health. If you are not one to read much health information, then this is not the book I would recommend on cancer.
If you want to order a copy, this is my Amazon affiliate link.
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