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The Story and
Studies of Dr. Johanna Budwig
Who is Dr. Johanna
Budwig?
Dr. Johanna Budwig is one of Germany's top
biochemists as well one of the best cancer
researchers throughout all of Europe. Born in
1908 and lived to be 95. She has been nominated
seven times for the Nobel Prize. Dr. Budwig is
also a published author, holds a Ph.D. in
Natural Science, and is one of the greatest
authorities on diet and its relation to health
and well-being. To say that she is a highly
intelligent, learned and accomplished scientist
would be the understatement of the year!
Dr. Budwig's views
on "good" versus "bad" fats
Nowadays, if you want to know the difference
between "good" and "bad" fats, just make a quick
trip to your local bookstore or health food
market. Books and magazine articles abound on
which fats we should be eating, and which ones
we should avoid. We are becoming more familiar
with unusual sounding terms like "hydrogenated"
and "polyunsaturated," and if asked, you could
probably even give a reasonable definition of an
"essential fatty acid."
Not surprisingly, however, Dr. Johanna Budwig
was way ahead of the game. Over 40 years ago Dr.
Budwig lectured on the connection between "bad"
fats like hydrogenated margarines and illness as
well as the importance of essential fatty acids.
In a speech that she delivered on November 2,
1959 in Zurich, Switzerland, Dr. Budwig said,
"Without these fatty acids, the respiratory
enzymes cannot function and the person
suffocates, even when he is given oxygen-rich
air. A deficiency in these highly unsaturated
fatty-acids impairs many vital functions. First
of all, it decreases the person's supply of
available oxygen. We cannot survive without air
and food; nor can we survive without these fatty
acids. That has been proven long ago."
Clearly, Dr. Budwig understood the connection
between diet and health. She recognized that
with the advent and popularity of hydrogenated
and overprocessed oils came an increase in the
rates of several serious illnesses. She realized
that the way foods are now processed eliminates
virtually all of the essential fatty acids. So,
Dr. Budwig decided to focus her career on
finding the dietary solution or cure to the list
of diseases that affect so many people in the
world.
Dr. Budwig's extensive research
Dr. Budwig has spent a lot of time in her career
studying the blood of cancer patients. In fact,
one of her observations came about after 30
years of painstaking research. Dr. Budwig
noticed that people who were seriously ill with
cancer always had low levels of two specific
substances in their blood: phosphatides and
lipoproteins. She also observed that in healthy,
cancer-free people, these two compounds were
present in normal amounts that were sufficient
for good health.
Additionally, Dr. Budwig found that cancer
patients typically had an odd greenish-yellow
substance in their blood, instead of normal
amounts of hemoglobin. She realized that this
discovery undoubtedly explained why cancer
patients are so often weak and suffering from
anemia. Dr. Budwig also discovered that in
general, blood that comes from a healthy person
contains far greater levels of Omega 3 essential
fatty acids than blood samples taken from
someone who is ill.
From her research, Dr. Budwig realized that her
theories connecting diet and health were
absolutely correct. She theorized that if just
the right combination of nutrients were
introduced to cancer patients, perhaps the
unusual greenish-yellow gunk would go away and
healthy red blood cells would return. She began
to test her hypothesis on cancer patients,
involving a combination of organic flaxseed oil
and quark, a dairy product common in Germany
that is very similar to cottage cheese.
Why flaxseed oil?
Dr. Budwig chose organic flaxseed oil because it
is the richest source of Omega 3 essential fatty
acids, as well as being well-tolerated by most
people and easily assimilated. She opted to mix
the oil with quark because of its high levels of
sulfurated protein (cottage cheese contains
similar amounts, as does yogurt or skim milk).
She knew from her extensive studies that this
type of healthy oil requires a sulfurated
protein in order for it to be utilized in the
body. Specifically, when the protein combined
with the oil, Dr. Budwig discovered that the
flaxseed oil would actually become water
soluble, meaning that it would be absorbed more
easily. Taking flaxseed oil without the
sulfurated protein found in quark, cottage
cheese or yogurt is not inherently harmful, but
in order to achieve results like Dr. Budwig a
combination of the oil and protein is necessary.
Amazingly, Dr. Budwig found that after only
three short months on her flaxseed oil-quark
combination, cancer patients began to improve.
Tumors shrunk in size, patients' strength
returned, and further blood analysis showed that
the infamous greenish-yellow substance did
indeed go away. Phosphatide and lipoprotein
levels returned to normal, and red blood cell
amounts were once again at healthy amounts. She
was even able to help the patients whose doctors
had told to "go home and die." Clearly, Dr.
Budwig had hit on something big in the world of
cancer research!
In fact, after over 10 years of clinical
research, Dr. Budwig's combination of 2
tablespoons of organic flaxseed oil combined
with one quarter cup of cottage cheese has been
used successfully in Europe to treat a variety
of diseases in addition to cancer, including
arteriosclerosis, eczema, stomach and intestinal
disorders, arthritis, and strokes.
After reading about Dr. Budwig's numerous
successes with flaxseed oil, many other
scientists became interested in studying its
many benefits. A great number of studies have
looked at flaxseed oil's ability to help with a
variety of serious diseases and health
conditions, and the results have been
impressive. In fact, you would be hard pressed
to come up with a reason not to supplement with
flaxseed oil. You owe it to yourself and your
health to at least give it a try. After all, Dr.
Budwig is approaching the century mark in age
and she has been eating flaxseed oil combined
with quark for years! Just think of what it
could do for you, your health, and your
longevity!
References:
Budwig, Dr. Johanna,
Flax Oil as a
True Aid Against Arthritis, Heart Infarction,
Cancer, and Other Diseases, 1992, pages
5-59
Various internet sources |