Flaxseed benefits cancer patients and in 1951 a German biochemist and expert on oil, Dr Johanna Budwig proposed a diet for cancer patients which included a combination of cottage cheese and flaxseed oil (otherwise known as linseed oil).
Budwig claims that this diet high in flaxseed is a cure and preventative for cancer due to the fact that it supplements the body's need for linol-acids which the Western diet is largely lacking.
Dr Johanna Budwig who came up with this diet is a world renowned scientist who has done much research into the benefits of flaxseed oil. To start with she noticed that there were certain elements missing from the blood of cancer patients that were normally found in healthy people's blood. There was also a greenish-yellow in the blood as opposed to the bright red from hemoglobin.
Dr Budwig used cottage cheese and flaxseed oil to replace these missing nutrients in the cancer patients and noticed the benefits flaxseed had on these cancer patients. Flaxseed benefits cancer patients by returning the nutrients that were missing from their blood as well as removing the greenish-yellow substance and replacing it with the bright red hemoglobin cells. As a result many of the tumors started to disappear.
Dr Budwig's findings have not only been applied to cancer patients but people suffering from arteriosclerosis, strokes, irregular heartbeat, bronchial spasms, stomach ulcers, arthritis and immune deficiency have all experienced these flaxseed benefits.
Flaxseed contains two anti-cancer ingredients, namely omega 3 essential fatty acids and lignan. In order to experience these flaxseed benefits you can either take flaxseed oil or a supplement or you can add ground flax seeds to your diet. Adding flax seeds to your diet is usually the better option as they still contain the fiber and can be more potent in the benefits it provides.
In the Budwig diet Dr Budwig gives the recipe for a mayonnaise and spread made from flaxseed oil which she uses to give these flaxseed benefits to her cancer patients. Her diet includes flax oil spread over muesli for breakfast, flax oil mayonnaise or spread for lunch and supper as well as one to two tablespoons of honey-coated flax seeds for afternoon tea.
There are a number of other ways you can add flaxseeds or flax oil to your diet to experience the benefits of flaxseed. You can sprinkle them on different cereals, in salads, and soups. Use flaxseed or flaxseed oil in baking (although this does de-nature the omega 3 essential fatty acids and so lower the potency) or you can take the seeds in a glass of water but you will need to drink this quickly as the seeds release mucilage which turns the liquid into a jelly.
Dr Budwig suggested the flaxseed cancer diet to help her patients and through the benefits of flaxseed to help them overcome cancer, reduce tumors and experience health once more. These benefits have now spread around the world and many people are testifying to the benefits that flaxseed provides not only or cancer but for many other diseases and disorders as well.
Glossary:
Omega 3 essential fatty acids: fatty acids that are essential for physical and mental wellbeing but which are not produced by the body
Lignan: antioxidants and phytoestrogens (substances that act like estrogen) found in plants