The Budwig Diet -
so simple, yet so effective
by Lynn Hinderliter CN, LDN

I had heard of the Budwig diet previously, but the concept of cottage cheese and flax poll affecting the outcome of a killer cancer - no, it sounded ridiculous.

At this point too, I think it would be appropriate to express my anger at the health system in this country , the only major industrial country where you have to be rich or old to get the treatment you need for a deadly disease.   I fall into the latter category, or probably even the CT scan  would have been beyond my means.

Dr. Johanna Budwig died in 2004 at the age of 94.  She was a German Biochemist who became interested in the relationship between fatty acids, and chronic disease.  She built her theory on the research of  Dr. Szent Gyorgy, who won the Nobel prize in 1937 for showing that essential fatty acids need sulfur containing amino acids to carry oxygen to the cell, and that of Dr. Warburg, who won the Nobel prize in 1931 for proving that cancer cannot grow where oxygen is present in high enough concentrations. Presciently, she recommended the use of coconut oil, and exposure to sunshine for the Vitamin D effect.

Interview with Dr. Budwig

 

The Budwig Diet - guidelines. Warning:  total dedication required: I did not  have time to do much else!! :0)

The diet requires the elimination of

1. any sugar not naturally present in food

2. red meat

3. hydrogenated and animal fats

4. almost all alcohol (except the champagne)

5. all caffeine ( except the occasional cup of black tea before noon).

6. white flour, white rice and other denatured grains

7. preservatives, chemicals and processed foods.

Daily exposure to sunlight is important.  Foods should be fresh, preferably organic and eaten raw where possible, or very lightly cooked. Cook fresh every day - no re-heating!

This is the routine:

• First thing in the morning, a glass of sauerkraut juice.

• For breakfast, green tea and either a Budwig smoothie, or the Budwig Muesli. 

• Midmorning -freshly juiced vegetable combo juice, : mainly carrot juice.

• Before lunch: 2 tblsps ground flax stirred into a small glass of champagne

• Salad with the Budwig dressing/Mayonnaise.  OR steamed fresh veggies with nutritional yeast flakes and Budwig's  OLEOLUX.  Desert:  one of her recipes with fresh fruits and the flaxseed/cottage cheese (CC) blend.

• Mid afternoon: 2 tblsps ground flax stirred into a glass of papaya juice.

• Early evening:  2 tblsps ground flax stirred into a small glass of champagne

• Soup from fresh veggies; serve with nutritional yeast and the OLEOLUX.

Follow the links for recipes for the mainstays of the diet, and note a link to her books in RESOURCES at right.

I followed this regimen strictly for 2 months, then was forced to make some changes. For example, the champagne mid-morning made me sleepy:  at first, I think that was beneficial because my energy was depleted.

I replaced that with papaya juice and flax.

I added Essiac after the sauerkraut and before bed.

I moved the fresh juice to the afternoon to better reflect my work habits.

I also have to tell you, though this would never be my choice, nor my recommendation, that there have been people who have simply added the cottage cheese mixture and done nothing else, and have still seen results.

 My question would be, if you do the regimen partially and do NOT experience results, who do you blame?? Who can tell which detail it is that is the deciding factor for you?  No, all or nothing is my motto here!

It was also important for me to be choosing my foods from those high in B17, or laetrile.

I have not yet added the actual apricot pits, but am planning on doing so. (Note:  I added them in April 2006) 

Foods high in laetrile are the following:

Apple seeds, alfalfa sprouts, apricot kernels, bamboo shoots, barley, beet tops, bitter almond, blackberries, boysenberries, brewer’s yeast, brown rice, buckwheat, cashews, cherry kernels, cranberries, currants, fava beans, flax seeds, garbanzo beans, gooseberries, huckleberries, lentils, lima beans, linseed meat, loganberries, macadamia nuts, millet, millet seed, peach kernels, pecans, plum kernels, quince, raspberries, sorghum cane syrup, spinach, sprouts (alfalfa, lentil, mung bean, buckwheat, garbanzo), strawberries, walnuts, watercress, yams.

Read the other articles in this series ( see RESOURCES at right) to see what other strategies I implemented to address this tumor.  I will say that at the end of the 3 month period, the main tumor had regressed by 1/2 centimeter, and the many other lymph nodes which were enlarged on the original scan, now all measured  under 1 cm, which is arbitrarily considered to be the danger mark.

Generally, the Budwig Diet is considered to show some effect by 90 days;   my understanding is that she claimed it then took up to 5 years for the disease to be totally controlled. 

For those who are allergic to dairy products - no useful studies have been done comparing the results of people using alternatives such as yoghurt, so there is no good substitute I can recommend.

Remember, though, that mixing the flax with the cottage cheese in this manner changes the consistency of the food - changes it almost into another food altogether:  so perhaps we need to rely on Dr. Budwig's comment that she has never had a patient who couldn't tolerate quark (cottage cheese) as part of her Oil-Protein Diet.

Monitoring my progress

I should have known better, of course.  All my studies had convinced me that cancer could not grow in a body with an alkaline pH, yet over the years, I had never managed to keep my results anything but acid - I react very badly to stress, and even all the right things I did with diet and lifestyle were not enough to move my readings into the beautiful green area on the litmus paper where they should be.

I made sure I had a good supply of pH strips on hand, and immediately after starting the Budwig diet, I was comforted to see my pH readings perfectly alkaline:  I have been sure to check every day that they remain where they should be.

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