Billions of dollars have been spent on laboratory, pet and agricultural animals to learn more about birth defects. The information obtained from these studies has totally eliminated birth defects in animals.
Cystic fibrosis is a selenium and fatty acid deficiency in the fetus or newborn breastfed infant. Maternal malabsorption of selenium caused by subclinical celiac disease is the initiating cause of the selenium deficit found in the fetus. This newborn's selenium deficiency produces the fibrocystic lesions in the pancreas typical of cystic fibrosis. The cystic fibrosis infant is born with normal lungs but later they become a major problem with recurring pneumonias and pseudomonas bronchial infections which often cause lung failure to be the cause for death at a young age.
In 1958 Dr. Klaus Schwartz of Germany reported in Federation Proceedings (NIH Journal) that selenium was an essential nutrient. Deficiency of selenium produced the same pancreas lesion in test rats and mice as was seen in cystic fibrosis in humans.
In 1972 Cornell University researchers reported that chicks hatched from selenium deficient hens developed cystic fibrosis lesions in their pancreas.This "cystic fibrosis" disease in the chicks was completely reversible within 30 days in newborn chicks by supplementation with selenium. This important research information enabled Dr. Wallach to treat 450 cystic fibrosis patients with excellent results using selenium. Infants with "cystic fibrosis"started on selenium therapy at 3 months are still cured at age 12. Mothers who had cystic fibrosis children have been able to have normal childrenwhen their selenium deficiency was corrected.
Working in conjunction with 3 Chinese scientists Dr. Wallach was able to learn that 1700 children who died of Keshan Disease (a heart fibrosing illness caused by selenium deficiency in the soil) had clear evidence in 595 of these children (35 %) of the cystic fibrosis lesions in their pancreases. Because the Cystic Fibrosis gene is reportedly present in only 1 out of 2500 persons this clearly proves that cystic fibrosis is not a genetic disorder. Approaching the Keshan Disease from a different angle careful autopsy studies of 400 persons who died with "cystic fibrosis" hadcharacteristic fibrotic lesions of the heart exactly like those found in selenium deficiency in Keshan Province of China.
The reason that some mothers become selenium deficient appears to be related to food allergies which cause changes in the appearance of the gut producing malabsorption of food. Breast feeding by a selenium deficient mother makes the infants selenium deficiency worse. The presence of maternal food allergies, malabsorption syndromes and nutritional deficiencies all can lead to birth defects. Dr. Wallach believes that it is unlikely that aggressive searching for food allergies and widespread use of selenium and nutritional supplements will be pursued by physicians who are earning a comfortable living with the status quo. Unfortunately many physicians hearing about the relationship between selenium and the causation of "celiac disease" will be skeptical and not willing to use this information.
