Wheat germ oil was, at one point in Aajonus's teaching history, described as one of the few worthwhile supplements. It appeared in his first book, We Want to Live, as a therapeutic component in a brain tumor protocol, specifically as part of a blend of fresh raw tomatoes, stone-pressed wheat germ oil, and primary yeast that he suggested to a man named Ray whose wife had a malignant tumor wrapped like an octopus around her brain stem. The doctors had told Ray that his wife would not live more than a few months, and that the only chance she had was a high-risk operation to cut away the tumor and scrape the brain stem. Aajonus suggested refusing the surgery and using this food-based formula instead. That is the most prominent therapeutic role wheat germ oil plays in the documented source material.

However, Aajonus's relationship to wheat germ and wheat germ oil underwent a fundamental and permanent shift over time. As of June 20, 2013, he stated plainly: "I have not touched it since 1977." This is the definitive statement of his personal relationship to the substance, and it reflects his conclusion that no truly raw, unprocessed wheat germ oil is commercially available or practically producible. The subject of wheat germ oil therefore occupies a dual role in his body of work: historically medicinal in early formulations, and practically abandoned as a supplement once he fully understood the industrial processing required to produce it.

Wheat germ itself, the raw grain component, is addressed separately from the oil. The germ within a whole grain is described as a structural component that contains oil. In the context of cooking grains, particularly in discussions about rice versus other grains, Aajonus explains that the presence of the germ and its oil content is precisely why whole, unrefined grains with the germ intact are problematic when cooked, because the oil in the germ becomes rancid or coagulated through heat processing.

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Aajonus identifies the wheat germ as the oil-containing component within the grain. In discussions about why whole grains are more problematic than refined grains when cooked, he explains that when you cook a grain that has the germ in it, you are dealing with the fat content of that germ becoming damaged. The oil inside the germ, when exposed to cooking temperatures, becomes rancid or coagulates, this is stated directly in the context of rye, millet, buckwheat, and whole wheat. He says: "And we don't want whole wheat for the same reason, because it includes the germ which contains oil." His response confirms this: "Yes."

This is the biochemical reasoning behind his recommendation that if you are going to cook grains, it is best to have them refined, meaning the bran and germ removed, precisely because the fat and protein concentrations in the germ and bran become problematic under heat.

Aajonus explains that wheat germ oil is associated with vitamin E (specifically d-alpha-tocopherol when derived from wheat germ as opposed to synthetic sources). He states that even the wheat germ-derived d-alpha-tocopherol form of vitamin E, while technically different from the synthetic version, is "still solvent-extracted, which means they've just made it into the same thing that Kodak uses." His specific language is: "You can only extract wheat germ oil and get it stabilized by solvent extraction. If you cold-press it, it gets it up to 170-some degrees and destabilizes it. But you're still getting your petroleum product when you get, in distillation, when you're solvent-extracting it."

The consequence of this solvent extraction process is that the resulting oil causes what Aajonus describes as "massive headaches in people and a lot of contamination." He frames the sale of this product as a commercial deception, taking a byproduct of industrial processing and selling it as a health supplement: "Guess what? How much money they make instead of how much money they spend on dumping it."

Aajonus makes a critical distinction regarding labeling. He states that when a wheat germ oil product is marked "cold-processed," what this actually means is that the germ was dissolved with either kerosene (described as "natural") or hexane (which he identifies as gasoline). He states further that if a product is marked "cold-pressed," it is still not truly cold-pressed, because "temperatures reach as much as 176 F" during that process. This 176°F figure is significant, it is far above the threshold at which Aajonus considers enzymes and nutrients to be preserved. He confirms this by stating that he personally called "one of the most prominent labs" and asked the chief chemist whether a new way had been devised to cold-extract wheat germ oil, and was told "No."

This means, in Aajonus's framework, that at the time of his most recent assessment (2013), no commercially available wheat germ oil, regardless of how it is labeled, qualifies as truly raw or genuinely cold-pressed within his definitions.

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Aajonus's precise technical definition of what would constitute a genuinely acceptable wheat germ oil is: "A chemically unprocessed, completely cold-pressed (under 86 degrees Fahrenheit) refrigerated wheat germ is what I recommended and Ray used." This is the benchmark. The temperature threshold he specifies is under 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Any processing that exceeds this temperature, uses chemical solvents, or involves any prior processing of the wheat germ before extraction would disqualify a product.

Critically, however, the footnote itself acknowledges that what Ray actually used may not have fully met this standard. The footnote is included as a clarification of what was intended and recommended, while simultaneously raising questions about whether such a product exists.

When asked in June 2003 whether there is much value left in organic, raw wheat germ that has been vacuum-packed but frozen, Aajonus responded: "For people on poor diets it might be of some benefit. It would be of some value to us if it were not frozen." This indicates that freezing reduces but does not entirely eliminate the value of wheat germ for those on the Primal Diet. For people whose baseline diet is very poor, even frozen vacuum-packed raw wheat germ retains some benefit. For those already on the Primal Diet, the frozen form is considered inferior to unfrozen.

Aajonus states that unfrozen raw wheat germ would be of some value to Primal Diet adherents. This is a conditional statement, it implies the product would need to be genuinely raw (under 86°F, no solvents, no prior processing) to qualify. Given his concurrent statement that no such product commercially exists, this creates a situation in which the theoretically valuable form is practically unobtainable.

Aajonus's most decisive statement on the subject of wheat germ: "I have not touched it since 1977." This was stated in June 2013, representing thirty-six years of personal avoidance. This is not a dietary refinement or nuance, it is a complete and sustained personal elimination of the substance from his own intake, based on his conclusion that no genuinely raw, uncontaminated form is available.

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In his June 2013 correspondence, Aajonus provides a detailed protocol for how someone should investigate a wheat germ oil supplier before accepting any product's claims. He instructs: "When you call them, ask them to give you a written letter describing the process, the temperatures, highest and lowest, to which the wheat germ comes in contact, and any chemicals used whether natural or not. And, if the wheat germ was processed in any way prior to their lab getting the wheat germ."

This is a rigorous investigative framework. The written letter requirement is specific, verbal assurances are insufficient. The scope of inquiry must cover:

1. The full processing method 2. The highest temperature the wheat germ encountered 3. The lowest temperature the wheat germ encountered 4. Any chemicals used, including those labeled "natural" 5. Whether the wheat germ itself had been processed in any way before arriving at the laboratory performing the extraction

This last point is crucial: even if the extraction lab uses no heat or chemicals, if the raw wheat germ arrived having already been processed (dried at high heat, exposed to chemicals during agricultural processing, etc.), the final product would still be compromised.

Aajonus explicitly identifies kerosene as a solvent used in "cold-processed" wheat germ oil extraction, and notes that this solvent is labeled "natural." He makes the same observation in a broader workshop context about other food processing: "They may have used kerosene and call it raw. But that's not it." The use of kerosene derivatives in food processing is something Aajonus discusses with significant alarm throughout his teachings. In the context of milk processing, for example, he states: "And you even have kerosene derivatives that has gone into use... how many of you would put kerosene in any food? That goes into the milk. So that milk is trash. Garbage." The same logic applies to wheat germ oil processed with kerosene.

Hexane, which Aajonus identifies as gasoline, is the other solvent used in "cold-processed" wheat germ oil extraction. The distinction between kerosene ("natural") and hexane (gasoline) reflects the industry practice of labeling petroleum-derived solvents differently for marketing purposes. Both are petroleum products. Both render the resulting oil, in Aajonus's view, a petroleum contaminate rather than a food.

When a correspondent asked directly, "Is there no way people can make their own somehow?" following the confirmation that Aajonus was correct about commercial products, this question appears in the record but Aajonus's direct answer to the DIY question is not explicitly recorded in the available passages. However, his statement "I have not touched it since 1977" and his description of the inherent technical challenges of cold-pressing (which itself reaches 170-some degrees and destabilizes the oil) suggest that home production at truly acceptable temperatures (below 86°F) would be technically extremely difficult or impossible without specialized equipment.

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In the therapeutic protocol documented, wheat germ oil was not used in isolation. It was combined with fresh raw tomatoes and primary yeast as a three-component formula. The specific combination matters: fresh raw tomatoes (providing specific acids and enzymes), stone-pressed wheat germ oil (providing vitamin E and other fat-soluble compounds), and primary yeast (providing specific nutritional co-factors). This triad was the formula suggested to Ray for his wife's malignant brain tumor.

No explicit biochemical explanation is given in the available passages for why these three specific components were combined, but in Aajonus's framework, the raw tomatoes would contribute to cleansing and alkalizing activity in tissues, the wheat germ oil would provide fat-soluble nutrients, and the primary yeast would provide nucleic acids and B vitamins in their raw form.

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Because Aajonus's position is that no commercially available wheat germ oil meets the standard of being genuinely cold-pressed (under 86°F) and free of petroleum solvents, there is no dosage guidance for any available commercial product. Any product currently marketed as wheat germ oil falls into the category of producing "massive headaches" and "a lot of contamination."

No specific dosage is provided for frozen vacuum-packed raw wheat germ, only the qualitative statement that it "might be of some benefit" for people on poor diets, and would be "of some value" to Primal Diet followers if it were not frozen. This implies minimal use-case, without a specific quantity protocol.

Aajonus's own dosage of wheat germ or wheat germ oil is zero, sustained since 1977. This represents the most direct safety guidance he provides, his own practice.

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Aajonus addresses the vitamin E derived from wheat germ oil as a specific derivative product. He distinguishes between synthetic vitamin E and the wheat germ-derived d-alpha-tocopherol form, noting they are "different, however, it's still solvent-extracted, which means they've just made it into the same thing that Kodak uses." The reference to Kodak is significant, Kodak is a photographic chemical company, and the implication is that the solvent-extracted vitamin E from wheat germ oil has more in common with industrial photographic chemistry than with nutrition.

He describes the commercial production of this derivative as essentially industrial waste monetization: "Guess what? How much money they make instead of how much money they spend on dumping it." The meaning is that vitamin E from wheat germ oil is a byproduct of industrial wheat processing, rather than paying to dispose of it, manufacturers convert it into a supplement and sell it at profit.

His alternative recommendation, in place of any wheat germ oil-derived vitamin E supplement: "it's better just to take some butter or cream, stick your finger...", implying that animal fats provide the necessary fat-soluble compounds without the industrial contamination issues.

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Aajonus's We Want to Live recommendation of wheat germ oil was made with a very specific product in mind: stone-pressed, chemically unprocessed, under 86°F, refrigerated. The historical trajectory documented in the Q&A correspondence is that this type of product ceased to be available. By the time of the June 2013 correspondence, Aajonus had personally called "one of the most prominent labs" to ask the chief chemist directly whether any new method had been developed to cold-extract wheat germ oil without solvents or excessive heat. The answer was "No." The chief chemist confirmed that solvent extraction remains the only viable commercial method.

This represents a documented case in which a food Aajonus once recommended therapeutically became unavailable in an acceptable form due to industrial processing methods becoming universally adopted. His response was not to update the recipe to accommodate impure versions, it was to abandon the substance entirely from his own practice and warn against all commercial products.

The specific deception Aajonus documents is the use of the term "cold-processed" to describe a solvent extraction process using kerosene or hexane. The word "cold" in "cold-processed" refers to the absence of externally applied heat, not to the absence of chemical solvents. This allows manufacturers to technically avoid claiming heat processing while using chemical processes that Aajonus considers equally or more damaging. He further notes that even "cold-pressed" labeling is fraudulent because the pressing process itself generates heat up to 176°F, not from an external heat source, but from friction in the pressing mechanism, which exceeds the 86°F threshold he defines as necessary for true cold processing.

This example fits within Aajonus's broader documented framework about food industry labeling deceptions, which he discusses in multiple contexts across his teachings: the use of the word "natural" to describe kerosene-derived solvents, the use of "raw" to describe products that were chemically treated without heat, the use of "cold" to describe processes that generate substantial heat through mechanical means.

While not the primary subject of the wheat germ discussions, Aajonus's comments about wheat germ in the context of whole grains versus refined grains position him against the established nutritional consensus that whole grains are superior to refined grains. His argument, specifically regarding the germ, is that the oil-bearing germ in whole grains becomes a liability when the grain is cooked, the fat oxidizes or coagulates, creating compounds more harmful than the simple refined starch. He explicitly states that refined flours (unbleached, not fortified or enriched) serve the therapeutic purpose of binding excess neurological hormones and toxins better than whole grains, precisely because in whole grains "the starch and gluten often attach to bran and germ and cannot be absorbed." The bran and germ, including the wheat germ, actually prevent the therapeutic absorption of starch and gluten in this framework, the opposite of conventional nutritional advice.

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