Flaxseed oil and cancer

Scott,

I'm sure you're not trying to push or sell snake oil and I agree people should make their own decisions about it.

Also, I'd certainly recommend the "cottage cheese and flaxseed oil diet" to anyone, mostly because flaxseed oil is a great source of both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids (great for those of us who don't like fish) and the cottage cheese is low in fat and contains a good deal of protein.

That being said, there's no real scientific studies that indicate that this (or any other) diet can be used to treat cancer, especially not in advanced cases. To offer some alternative (pun intended) views on the subject, here's a few links about Budwig and the diet, as well as a page on flaxseeds and flaxseed oil:

Johanna Budwig - Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johanna_Budwig

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http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/2002/06/13/the_company_you_keep.php

Page Not Found - Site Help - Mayo Clinic

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/flaxseed/NS_patient-flaxseed

Lastly, I wouldn't recommend flaxseed oil for prostate cancer patients, since some studies seem to indicate it can aggrevate the development of the cancer.

Hi everyone,

Let me begin by saying that I'm not really a pusher of "fads" and that I take all things on the internet with a grain of salt. A very, very big grain of salt. Let me also say that I'm not trying to sell anything, like that seaweed dude who just tried to get me to buy a bunch of liquid seaweed extract.

I do, however, pay a lot of attention to "listening to the universe" and looking for serendipitous events. About 6 weeks ago I was talking to a friend of mine that I hadn't spoken to in a while. I hadn't even yet brought up my fears about having TC when she started talking about studies she had read regarding a diet/regimen involving flaxseed oil blended into cottage cheese as one of its main features. Struck by the randomness (and weirdness) of this topic of conversation, I decided to look it up for myself.

A German Doctor, Dr. Johanna Budwig, first proposed a diet in 1951 in which flaxseed oil is blended with a protein of sulfuric content (i.e. cottage cheese, yogurt, or "quark"). The omega-3 fatty acids in the flaxseed oil bond to the protein, rendering them water-soluble and therefore capable of immediately bringing oxygen to the cells and allowing them to respirate properly. This respiration is something that is hindered by our western diets and their high concentration of refined sugars, animal fats, nitrates, hydrogenated oils, etc.

Very simply stated, Dr. Budwig found that this mixture had tremendous results of bringing cancer patients back from the "brink of death", even those who were given months, weeks or even days to live. Interestingly enough, even as far back as 1951, Dr. Budwig received an enormous amount of pressure (from the large pharmaceutical companies) to discontinue her work, as it is not possible to patent cottage cheese and flaxseed oil!

I have been on this regimen since learning of it from my friend. I'm starting to get really good at making interesting variations of the cottage cheese/flaxseed oil mixture (i.e. add honey and vanilla extract to make a yogurt type mixture that's really good with fresh fruit and/or granola, or adding herbs and spices to make a kind of sour cream-y mixture that's really good over a baked potato, or thinning it up with milk in order to use it as a salad dressing). I even bought a juicer, something which Dr. Budwig recommended, and have been having more fun than I should jamming all sorts of veggies and fruits into it. Regardless of whatever else happens, I'm sure eating a lot more healthily these days and I feel great!!

I know that there are about 3 billion supposed "natural cures" for cancer, and honestly I'm not sure how much stock to place in any of them, this one included. However, I was so struck by the randomness of my friend telling me about it that I decided to give it a try, and I wanted to pass it on to the TC community as well so you can make your own decisions about it.

Dr. Budwig, incidentally, died in 2003 at the age of 96.

A very thorough article on the Budwig protocol:

http://www.pahomeschool.com/budwig_flax_oil.pdf

Some other good sites: