Understanding Cancer and the Budwig Protocol
Flaxseed oil and cottage cheese, combined in the right way, is the mainstay of this dietary approach to cancer. Developed by the brilliant German biochemist, Dr. Johanna Budwig, it has been used very successfully by thousands of cancer patients. Dr. Budwig was one of Germany’s top biochemists as well one of the best cancer researchers throughout all of Europe. She was born in 1908 and seven times she was nominated for the Nobel Prize. Dr. Budwig claimed to have had over a 90% success rate with her diet and protocol with all kinds of cancer patients over a 50 year period. This approach is based on the fact that flaxseed oil is one of the highest sources of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and cottage cheese is one of the highest sources of sulfur-based proteins. Taken together, the fatty acids bind to the sulfur-based proteins, which results in optimum transport of the fatty acids to cancer cells.
Budwig Detox
The underlying concept is that the omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids repair the damaged cell walls and chemical communication of the cancer cells to the point where they normalize. Dietary restrictions and extra supplementation is also recommended. People with many different types of cancer have responded well to this method, but prostate cancer appears to show a particularly good response to this approach.
Directions from The Budwig Center
Generally, each tablespoon of Flaxseed Oil (FO) is blended with 2 or more tablespoons of low-fat organic Cottage Cheese (CC) or quark.
Note: Whenever Tablespoons are mentioned it is the standard US tablespoon which is the equivalent of the British “dessert” spoon (the Budwig Center is in Spain).
1 US Tablespoon (T) = 15 ml and 1 British Tablespoon is 18 ml – 16 tablespoons = cup and 4 tablespoons = 1/4 cup.
- To make the Budwig Muesli, blend 3 Tablespoons (British dessert spoons) of flaxseed oil (FO) with 6 Tablespoons low-fat(less than 2%) Quark or Cottage Cheese (CC) with a hand-held immersion electric blender for up to a minute If the mixture is too thick and/or the oil does not disappear you may need to add 2 or 3 Tablespoons of milk (goat milk would be the best option). Do not add water or juices when blending FO with CC or quark. The mixture should be like rich whipped cream with no separated oil. Remember you must mix ONLY the FO and CC and nothing else at first. Always use organic food products when possible.
- Now once the FO and CC are well mixed grind 2 Tablespoons of whole flaxseeds and add to the mixture. Please note that freshly ground flaxseeds must be used within 20 minutes after being ground or they will become rancid. Therefore do not grind up flaxseeds ahead of time and store.
- Next mix in by hand or with the blender 1 teaspoon of honey (raw non-pasteurized is recommended)
- (Optional) For variety you may add other ingredients such as sugar free apple sauce, cinnamon, vanilla, lemon juice, chopped almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews (no peanuts), pine kernels, rosehip-marrow. For people who find the Budwig Muesli hard to take these added foods will make the mixture more palatable. Some of our patients have even added a pinch of Celtic sea salt and others put in a pinch of cayenne pepper for a change
- (Optional) Dr. Harvey Diamond who wrote a book on the importance of “food combining” and other experts recommend not mixing fruit with other foods (they say to eat fruit on its own on an empty stomach and wait 10 minutes before eating other foods) If however you do not have any digestion problems you may want to add various fruits, especially berries fresh or frozen. No more than 1 cup of fruit should be added.
- (Optional) Add ground up Apricot kernels (no more than 6 kernels per day). Or you may decide to eat these apricot kernels on their own
Nausea – Some people get nausea from the ground flaxseeds, to counter this by taking a small bowl of papaya immediately afterwards. Also put a lot of papaya into the morning muesli too, it may be there is a special enzymes in the papaya that quells the nausea.
The Basic Rule with the Budwig diet is “if God made it then its fine and try to eat it in the same form that God made it”. Here are some foods that many are not sure of, but they are accepted on the Budwig diet:
- Stevia, raw non-pasteurized honey, dates, figs, berry and fruit juices serve as sweeteners.
- Herbs in their natural form (pure nothing added)
- All nuts (raw unroasted) are fine except peanuts
- All seeds good, sunflower seeds are very complete and filling
- Raw un processed cocoa, shredded (unsweetened coconut) and rose hip puree
- Cup of black tea is accepted (coffee beans are toxic and not recommended)
- Any flour is permissible as long as it’s 100% whole grain. Corn is generally believed by the group to be an exception because of mold/fungus and genetic manipulation
- 2 or 3 slices of health food store pickles (no preservatives! – read label!)
- Freezing cottage cheese /Quark as well as fruits and vegetables is okay.
- VERY IMPORTANT: The flaxseed oil must always be kept in the refrigerator. It will keep for 12 months in the freezer. Arrange to purchase as direct as possible from a manufacturer (like Barlean’s, cold pressed) and when it arrives put it right away in the refrigerator.
- Drink only distilled water or reverse osmosis water
- NO hydrogenated oils, NO trans-fats, (cold pressed sunflower seed oil is a better choice than olive oil)
- NO animal fats NO pork (pigs are the cleaners of the earth and their meat is loaded with toxins. ham, bacon, sausages, etc. should be avoided)
- NO seafood (lobsters, clams, shrimp, and all fish with a hard shell are cleaners of the sea and are loaded with toxins…)
- White regular pasta is eliminated, as is white bread, (Gluten-free pasta and bread is a better choice than wheat as many cancer patients have an intolerance to wheat, whole Rye, Oat, Multigrain bread is good. Corn is very discouraged because of mold and genetic modification issues).
- NO ice cream or dairy products (other than the cottage cheese and some cheese)
- NO cane sugar, white sugar, molasses, maple syrup, Xylitol, preservatives
- NO processed foods (NO store bought pastries), make your own with our recipes
- NO Soy products (unless fermented or used for 2 or 3 weeks at the beginning if you cannot tolerate the cottage cheese)
- Avoid pesticides and chemicals, even those in household products & cosmetics. Good old vinegar, as well as baking soda are excellent household cleaners (look on the Internet for more info)
NO microwave, NO Teflon or aluminum cooking ware or aluminum foil. We recommend and provide during your stay at Budwig Center enamel cooking ware. Stainless steel, ceramic, cast iron, glass and corning cooking wear are fine.