August 15, 2001
http://educate-yourself.org/fc/dukestudyignorsbudwigwork15aug01.shtml

[Editor's Note: I sent the following E mail to the editor of a web site called Science Daily ("Your link to the latest research news"  http://www.sciencedaily.com/ ) after reading a a press release posted at that site from Duke University Medical Center concerning a 'new' pilot study that they were conducting that 'suggested' that flaxseed and a low fat diet can help with prostate cancer. While the contents of the Duke press release were innocuous enough, what annoyed me was the lack of awareness (and recognition) that the definitive research on flaxseed/diet and the prevention/cure of cancers (and many other disease conditions) has already been researched, documented, and published over 50 years ago by (six times) Nobel Award Nominee,  Dr. Joanna Budwig of Germany.

Dr. Budwig, with outstanding academic credentials in chemistry, pharmacy, and physics, undertook exhaustive and original research (including years of clinical trials) which definitively PROVED that unheated and unprocessed flaxseed oil (or linseed oil, same thing) could provide the body with essential fatty acids that would replenish the loss of critically needed phosphatides and lipoproteins in the body of cancer patients which were ALWAYS  found to be grossly deficient or completely absent. Blood analysis of late stage cancer patients, any pathologist will affirm, will reveal a greenish yellow substance in place of  normal, healthy red oxygen carrying hemoglobin. Dr Budwig found that after approximately 3 months of taking flaxseed oil daily, the cancer tumors gradually receded and the greenish yellow substance in the blood was replaced by healthy red blood cells with a concurrent rise of phosphatide and lipoprotein levels.

Dr. Budwig succeeded in a profound discovery that eluded even the great German cancer researcher and Nobel laureate, Dr. Otto Warburg. In the 1930's, Dr Warburg was attempting to abort the cancer growth mechanism by stopping the fermentation process in cancer cells. He was experimenting with Butyric acid, a saturated fat, to increase oxygen transfer into the cancer cells, but as he wrote in his lab journal, he was unable to achieve the "desired and expected effect of respiration stimulation". Dr Budwig, with a greater understanding of quantum mechanics, discovered that saturated fats like Butyric acid, lacked the "pi-electron shells" that were needed to provide the higher energy levels necessary to effect oxygen transport. Electrons increase their energy state by absorbing photons and release (transfer) energy by emitting photons. She found that unsaturated fats were the key to obtaining pi-electrons and that flaxseed oil, with its two unsaturated essential fatty acid components, linolenic and linoleic acids, provided a rich abundance of high energy pi-electrons. The molecular configuration of flaxseed oil, with its two unsaturated fatty acid components composed of three pi-electrons double bonds between atoms of the molecule is capable of transferring immense amounts of energy. This electron configuration can be also be found in carotene, saffron, and other plants. The processing or heating of flaxseed oil, however, would prevent this energy transfer from occurring, so it was absolutely necessary to use cold pressed, unprocessed oil (this would later lead to problems for Dr. Budwig with the commercial cooking oil/fat industries in Germany).

The presence of high energy pi-electrons found in the two fatty acids of flaxseed oil, allows the body much greater assimilation and transport capacity of oxygen which enhances the normal metabolic requirements of oxidation and detoxification of cellular waste. These unsaturated fatty acids also repair and restore the lipid membranes of all cells in the body, improving intra and extracellular osmotic potentials and mineral balances. These two marvelous fatty acids, linolenic and linoleic acids, are found in very high concentrations in flaxseed oil. They are essential ingredients in many important bodily functions including the production of prostaglandins, which play a major role in the inflammatory response of the body to injury and disease; enzyme activity of the brain; the clotting mechanism of blood; blood flow and blood pressure; repair of injury to the inside walls of arteries; prevention of the aggregation of platelets in the blood which minimizes plaque formations and clots and a host of other functions.

Dr. Budwig was able to cure countless cases of cancers by combining flaxseed oil with a sulfur rich protein food source such as low fat cottage cheese. Just two simple food ingredients, flaxseed oil and low fat cottage cheese, easily obtainable from any health food store and supermarket, could save millions of cancer victims. There was nothing suggestive in her years of experimentation and proven clinical trials using flaxseed oil to defeat cancer; she PROVED it beyond all reasonable doubt and published her results.

Her reward for such life saving research?

Numerous unfounded legal battles over many years with the German commercial food oil industry (she eventually prevailed in all of them); loss of her high position as advisor to the German government; endless public vilification and harassment by the orthodox medical establishment, the German pharmaceuticals and the cancer industry; ostracized from professional organizations;  refusal to publish her clinical studies and research papers by mainstream journals and publishing houses- the usual routine...Ken Adachi] 

To: The Editor of Science Daily < editor@sciencedaily.com >
From: Ken Adachi <Editor@educate-yourself.org>
August 15, 2001

Re: New Pilot Study Suggests Flaxseed And Low-Fat Diet Can Be Protective Against Prostate Cancer
      http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/07/010712080024.htm
 

Dear Editor,

I've just read this article with utter astonishment. The attempt by Duke University "RESEARCHERS" to portray this "pilot study"   as new or original research is an affront to the original studies that were thoroughly documented and published by Dr. Joanna Budwig in Germany over 50 years ago.

The personal tribulations that Dr Budwig suffered for nearly 30 years to try and inform the world of the health/cancer reductive ability of flax seed oil is a matter of record and deserves more respect than this glory grabing gambit of Duke University Medical Center.

This situation is almost a carbon copy of the Vitamin E "discoveries" made in the early 90's by similar orthodox medical 'research' centers. In April 1994, an article appeared in the New York Times announcing the new 'discovery'  by Drs. Plagiarists X, Y, and Z of  how Vitamin E can abate and ameliorate heart disease and improve cardiovascular disease conditions. The NY Times article conveniently forgot to mention that two Canadian brothers by the names of Evan and Wilfred Shute had already published these findings about Vitamin E and heart disease in many books starting in the 1940's, but their work was totally suppressed by the orthodox medical establishment. The United States Post Office under the direction of the government actually seized and BURNED the Shute brothers' books that documented the benefits of Vit. E and cardiovascular disease condemning them as a fraud and quackery.

A simple search engine inquiry under the name Dr. Joanna Budwig will deliver numerous articles concerning her research with flax seed oil, low fat cottage cheese and cancer. All published in the early 1950's.

Perhaps you could forward a copy to Demark-Wahnefried since she said:

"it is still unknown if the low fat diet or the flaxseed—or a combination of the two—is the active component in the tumor           reductions, adding more studies examining these elements independently are needed. "

Sincerely, Ken Adachi
 

Source:
Duke University Medical Center (http://www.mc.duke.edu/)
Posted 7/12/2001

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/07/010712080024.htm

                 New Pilot Study Suggests Flaxseed And Low-Fat Diet
                 Can Be Protective Against Prostate Cancer

                 DURHAM, N.C. —- A low-fat diet supplemented with flaxseed may help reduce
                 the risk of prostate cancer, researchers from Duke University Medical Center report
                 in the July issue of Urology.

                 The researchers said dietary fat and fiber can affect hormone levels and may
                 influence cancer progression. Flaxseed is high in fiber and is the richest source
                 of plant-based, omega-3 fatty acids. Studies suggest that dietary fiber reduces
                 cancer risk, and omega-3 fatty acids also have shown a protective benefit
                 against cancer. Flaxseed is also a rich source of lignan, a specific family of
                 fiber-related compounds that appear to play a key role in influencing both
                 estrogen and androgen metabolism.

                 “We thought flaxseed would be the perfect food for prostate cancer patients,”
                 said lead author Wendy Demark-Wahnefried, associate research professor in
                 the department of surgery at Duke. “It’s full of omega-3 fatty acids, fiber and
                 lignan. Testosterone may be important in the progression of prostate cancer,
                 and lignan in the flaxseed binds testosterone, so we thought the flaxseed might
                 suppress the growth of prostate cancer cells. By pairing a low-fat diet with the
                 flaxseed supplement, we also thought we could maximize the effect of the
                 omega-3 fatty acids, since studies in animals show that the kind of fat we eat
                 may be important for cancer progression.”

                 The pilot study involved 25 patients with prostate cancer who were awaiting
                 prostatectomy (surgical removal of the prostate). Baseline levels of
                 prostate-specific antigen (PSA), testosterone, free androgen index and total
                 serum cholesterol were determined at the beginning of the study. The tumors
                 of those on the diet were then matched with 25 historic cases, equal in age,
                 race, PSA level at diagnosis and biopsy Gleason sum (a scoring system used
                 to grade prostate tumors) to compare tumor progression and biomarkers after
                 the dietary intervention.

                 The men were on the low-fat, flaxseed-supplemented diet for an average of
                 34 days. Finely ground flaxseed was used in the study because, in its natural
                 form, flaxseed is a pointy, tough seed that can puncture the intestines when
                 consumed in the amounts used in this study (three rounded tablespoons a
                 day). The ground flaxseed in the study was vacuum-packed (ground flaxseed
                 can quickly go rancid) and had added emulsifiers for ease of mixing. The men
                 were instructed to sprinkle the flaxseed on their cereal or mix it into juices,
                 yogurt or applesauce. Researchers reported good compliance with the diet
                 and said it was tolerated well.

                 At the end of the study, the researchers observed that the men on the diet had
                 significant decreases in cholesterol, and both total and free testosterone. While
                 there was a decrease in testosterone levels, they noted that none of the
                 participants in the study suffered decreased libido or sexual dysfunction. There
                 was a trend toward a decrease in PSA levels in men with early-stage prostate
                 cancer (Gleason sums of six or less), but in men with advanced prostate
                 cancer (Gleason sums of more than six) PSA levels continued to rise.

                 “It’s not surprising that a diet therapy that was only taken for an average of 34
                 days had little effect on men with aggressive disease,” Demark-Wahnefried
                 said. “But what we did see was that for the men on the diet, their tumor cells
                 did not divide as quickly and there was a greater rate of apoptosis (tumor cell
                 death) in this group.”

                 With such a short-term dietary intervention, the researchers said they did not
                 expect to see a difference in tumor biology between the diet-treated patients
                 and the control patients, but were encouraged by the lower proliferation rates
                 and significantly higher rates of apoptotic cell death. However, they said the
                 results should be interpreted with caution, stressing that randomized controlled
                 clinical trials are needed to confirm the results of the pilot study. Research on
                 mice models is currently under way, and preliminary results support the
                 findings in humans.

                 Demark-Wahnefried said it is still unknown if the low fat diet or the
                 flaxseed—or a combination of the two—is the active component in the tumor
                 reductions, adding more studies examining these elements independently are
                 needed.

                 Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Duke University
                 Medical Center for journalists and other members of the public. If you wish to quote
                 from any part of this story, please credit Duke University Medical Center as the
                 original source. You may also wish to include the following link in any citation:
                 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/07/010712080024.htm