Lasse Hessel

Doctor Lasse Hessel, M.D., was born in 1940 in Denmark. He completed his medical studies at the University of Copenhagen in 1972 and started what might have been a normal career as a General Practitioner. However, he was more interested in research and development than in merely practicing the tried and tested. Hence, when the Danish government asked the young doctor to collect research data on public health and nutrition, there was no turning back. In addition to his medical practice, Lasse Hessel produced an educational TV-series on health and slimness for the government, accompanied by a book, which sold 750.000 copies, his first huge publishing success. This was in 1974, just two years into his career. It was also the first proof of Lasse Hessel's almost unparalleled knack for communicating medical insight to a huge audience. Later followed a health magazine and many more books, including several best-sellers. Simultaneously, Lasse Hessel also wrote a medical column for the daily newspaper Politiken and became nutrition advisor for the Danish food manufacturer Schulstad, leading to bread with more fiber. In 1976, he introduced a trimness-pill called Fiber Trim, an overwhelming success which he ten years later followed up with a diet-pill called Gastrolette, later marketed as Minus Calories, Zotrim and other names. Today, Lasse Hessel is co-owner of the Natures Remedies company in London and remains an internationally acknowledged expert on nutrition and dietary fiber. His success made him envied and sometimes despised by his medical colleagues. In was not normal for a Danish doctor to make money from other activities than treating patients, and it was certainly not looked kindly upon by the Danish medical community at that time. In 1975, inspired by his field experiences as a GP, Lasse Hessel started a newspaper cartoon, "The Family Doctor", which gave easy-to-understand medical advice on a wide variety of subjects. With its ability to reach and inform the common man, the series quickly became an international success, and was syndicated by the New York Times to newspapers and magazines in 42 countries. It ran for 14 years, reached a daily readership in excess of 320 million, and made Lasse Hessel internationally famous. This success merely gave Lasse Hessel a foundation for taking off in new directions. In 1978, he invented the Aqua Wall, an indoor waterfall to improve the environmental condition. In 1981 he came up with a remover of insect poison, in 1986 followed a remover of pimples, and that same year he launched a new material called Cellastic, based on human cell structure. The most famous invention of Lasse Hessel is probably the Femidom, also called the female condom, which he started to develop in 1978. Launched worldwide in 1991, the Femidom has doubtlessly saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of men and women in the Third World and is today sponsored by organizations such as W.H.O. - the World Health Organisation - and the United Nation. In 2000, the continued success of the Femidom was recognized with the English Queen's Award for Enterprise. Part of the research behind the Femidom involved ultrasound-scans, a technique normally used for pre-natal scans of human embryos. Lasse Hessel, however, used the technique to study how the penis moves inside the woman's pelvis during sexual intercourse. This way, as an unforeseen bonus, he was able to precisely and scientifically explain why some sex positions are likely to give more pleasure than others. In 1991, Lasse Hessel published these findings in a bestselling book and videotape called "Window on Love". Using easy-to-understand illustrations, "Window on Love" demonstrates how the penis can be directed in different positions and thus stimulate various sensitive areas of the vagina, leading to a better sex life. A series of sexually related health books followed, giving further advice on subjects such as sensual massage, safe sex, the signals of love, etc. Having improved the sex life for so many people, Lasse Hessel soon after turned to new frontiers, developing medical aid systems such as the Bio Tap, a system for easier and more secure attachment of stoma bags without side effects, the DiaTest saliva collection kit and the related DiaQuick, a diagnostic system for early detection of breast cancer. Most recently, following years of research, Lasse Hessel launched his invention the Femi-X pill, developed in cooperation with London University's King's College. Based on a unique mixture of herbal ingredients, the Femi-X pill enhances women's libido by improving the blood flow and natural brain activity. Considering that over 40% of all women suffer from sexual dysfunction, the importance of such a pill simply cannot be overstated. However, Lasse Hessel was the first to point out that there is no such thing as a miracle pill to solve everything. This is why he asked for a DVD, Femi-X and Beyond (2004), to accompany his pill, to ensure that other aspects of sexuality are addressed and made aware to women longing for a more satisfying sex life. As a base for all this activity, Lasse Hessel founded his own research company, Medic House. Behind the scenes, Lasse Hessel remained a happily married family man, enjoying a quiet life in his native Denmark. When not busy curing his patients, running his company or inventing new remedies, he could usually be found with his wife and four children, or playing bass clarinet with friends and neighbors in the quite town of Svendborg, not far from Odense, the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen.