Dr. Johanna Budwig’s
Flax Oil & Sulphur-Based Protein Therapy

erman-born biochemist Johanna Budwig (1908-2003) was acknowledged as perhaps the world's leading expert on lipid biochemistry -- the field of study dealing with fats (lipids that are solid at room temperature) and oils (lipids that are liquid at room temperature), and their activity within biological systems. 

     She held a Ph.D. in Natural Science, with emphasis in chemistry and physics, and was also formally trained as a physician, botanist, and biologist.  On seven different occasions she was nominated by her peers to receive a Nobel Prize. 

     Dr. Budwig was familiar with the work of 1931 Nobel laureate Otto Warburg who demonstrated that, unlike normal cells which receive their energy from oxygen gas, the energy that maintains cancer cells is derived principally from the fermentation of glucose. 
Warburg stated:  

     Warburg's work never fully postulated the cause(s) of this reversion of cancer cells to the more primitive anaerobic state.  He did, however, theorize that he could raise the oxygen levels in anaerobic cells through the consumption of saturated fats.  Pursuing this reasoning, he unsuccessfully attempted to increase oxygen transfer into cancer cells using the saturated fat butyric acid (which Budwig later determined was not sufficiently energetic to effect oxygen transport). Building on Warburg’s work, 1937 Nobel laureate Albert Szent-Györgyi demonstrated that essential fatty acids (EFAs), combined with sulphur-rich proteins, are able to increase cellular oxygenation.²

     Budwig understood that cancer cells revert to the more primitive fermentation of glucose because they are deprived of oxygen to the extent they must find another source of energy in order to survive.  One of her greatest contributions is the discovery of the reason this oxygen deprivation and subsequent reversion occurs. Simply stated, the anaerobic environment that spawns the proliferation of cancer is caused by the lack of sufficient omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids in the diet, as well as the overconsumption of modern foods containing unhealthy forms of fats and oils, according to Budwig.

     Essential fatty acids are so labeled because they are essential for life and cannot be manufactured by the body. Consequently, they must be supplied through the diet.  If these health-providing fatty acids aren’t consumed in sufficient amounts, physical processes within the cells degrade to the more primitive form of energy production -- fermentation of glucose within a poorly oxygenated environment.  Also, and equally important, is the fact that the modern-day overconsumption of unhealthy forms of fats and oils so prevalent in today’s processed foods, competes with the uptake and use of healthy EFAs, further limiting their availability.

     Although this is a simplified explanation of the physical/chemical processes involved, a more detailed explanation can be found in the references listed below.

     Based on her own extensive research over many decades, as well as probable knowledge of Szent-Györgyi’s findings regarding the use of essential fatty acids combined with sulphur-rich proteins to raise cellular energy levels, Dr. Budwig pioneered a protocol for cancer prevention and treatment based on the use of small amounts of flaxseed (linseed) oil combined with a rich supply of sulphur-based proteins.  She recommended the products Quark® (a German cottage cheeselike dairy product), and more commonly cottage cheese, as the best sources of sulphur-based protein.

     Flax oil is one of the richest sources of the EFAs omega-3s and -6s, and cottage cheese is perhaps the most convenient, richest source of sulphur-based protein.

     Budwig found that neither ingredient alone is effective in either the prevention or treatment of disease.  The flax oil must be "activated" by thoroughly mixing it with the cottage cheese in an electric blender at a ratio ranging from 1 tablespoon flaxseed oil per ¼ cup of (preferably organic) lowfat cottage cheese, to 3-4 tablespoons flax oil per ½ cup cottage cheese, depending on the severity of illness -- taken on a daily basis.  Other ingredients such as fruit and honey may be added to taste.

     For those who are lactose intolerant or simply want to avoid animal-derived foods, alternatives to cottage cheese can be found in the references below.  One possibility is the product Companion Nutrients® by Nature’s Distributors (800-624-7114), an Arizona-based company that claims one capsule of the dried, sulphurated protein in Companion Nutrients can activate the EFAs in one tablespoon of flaxseed oil.  Because the precise treatment of cancer is so critical, Companion Nutrients might best be used in addition to but not as a substitute for cottage cheese.

     As amazing as it may sound to some -- especially to oncologists who practice traditional forms of cancer therapy, not to mention the unsuspecting and naive public who have observed for decades the many twists and turns of the War On Cancer -- the use of these two inexpensive (and unpatentable) food substances provides a powerful and effective means of treating even the most advanced cancers.

     According to Dr. Budwig, "... 99% of the sick that come to see me ... are cancer patients who have had operations and radiation sessions, and were diagnosed as being far too advanced for another operation to be of any help.  Even in these cases health can be restored, usually within a few months, I would say in 90% of cases." ³

     Writing in the Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients in 1990, cancer researcher and physician Dan C. Roehm, M.D., F.A.C.P., states that, "What she [Dr. Budwig] has demonstrated to my initial disbelief but lately, to my complete satisfaction in my practice, is: CANCER IS EASILY CURABLE; the treatment is dietary/lifestyle, the response is immediate: the cancer cell is weak and vulnerable; the precise biochemical breakdown point was identified by her in 1951 and is specifically correctable ..." ⁴

     According to Robert E. Willner, M.D., Ph.D., writing in his book The Cancer Solution, "Numerous independent clinical studies published in major medical journals worldwide confirm Dr. Budwig's findings ... Over 40 years ago Dr. Budwig presented clear and convincing evidence, which has been confirmed by hundreds of other related scientific research papers since, that the essential fatty acids are at the core of the answer to the cancer problem."  You will come to your own conclusions as to why this simple, effective prevention and therapy has not only been ignored -- it has been suppressed!⁵

     Dr. Budwig recommended the Flaxseed Oil & Cottage Cheese treatment protocol be followed precisely, according to her explicit directions.  The caveat to this is that many people have successfully used only the flax oil and cottage cheese, without adhering to the other detailed food recommendations her works suggest.

1. Warburg, Otto. “The Prime Cause and Prevention of Cancer” (Revised Lindau Lecture), www.whale.to/a/warburg.html
2. www.cancertutor.com/Cancer/Budwig.html
3. Budwig, J., “Der Tod des Tumors, Band II” (“The Death of Tumors, Vol. II”), Transcribed interview, broadcast Sept. 11, 1967 by Süddeutscher Rundfunk Stuttgart (Germany).
4. Roehm, D.C. “The Bio Electron, Re-Examining the Work of Johanna Budwig,” Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, July1990, p.480
5. Willner, R.E., The Cancer Solution, Peltec Publications: Boca Raton, FL, 1994.

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Wishing You the Best of Health,

President
Medical Research Associates