Understanding the Budwig Protocol: A Holistic Approach to Cancer Treatment
What is Budwig?
The Budwig protocol is an anticancer diet that was invented by Dr. Johanna Budwig in the 1950s. Dr. Budwig was a German biochemist and pharmacist with a Ph.D. in physics and chemistry. She was a seven times Nobel prize nominee.
Dr. Budwig was able to cure hundreds of (mostly terminal) cancer patients who were declared incurable by their doctors.
During her research, Dr. Budwig examined blood samples of cancer patients and compared them to healthy blood. She noticed that sick cancer patients' blood was all stacked together (a process called platelet aggregation.) The cancer patients’ blood also had a strange greenish unnatural color - a sign of oxygen deficiency.
Dr. Budwig created a diet to enhance oxygenation and increase healthy fats. She gave her patients a mixture of flaxseed oil and quark cheese (a soft, unaged cheese) and examined their blood before and after administering the diet, now known as the Budwig protocol.
After being on the diet, her patients’ blood no longer clumped together, and the greenish color was no longer present. Instead, the red was much brighter, a positive indicator of the increased oxygen intake.
According to Dr. Budwig, whereas chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation may kill cancerous cells, none of them can change the actual environment that caused and allowed cancer to exist and thrive in the body, and this diet can.
What Diseases Can Be Treated with the Budwig Diet?
Patients use the Budwig protocol to prevent and cure cancer and other diseases such as arteriosclerosis, rheumatism, heart disease, diabetes, skin diseases, autoimmune diseases, and more.
Some patients go to a Budwig clinic to jump-start their journey, while others follow this protocol from home.
Dr. Budwig
The Budwig Mix
Why Is There Dairy in this Diet?
You will often hear that cancer patients should avoid dairy.
While the Budwig protocol does include quark or cottage cheese, it is important to note that Dr. Budwig did not encourage dairy in the rest of a patient’s diet.
Dr. Budwig only used dairy for blending it with the flaxseed oil. According to the Budwig Protocol, dairy and flaxseed have opposite electric charges and the combination of protein in the dairy with the fat of the oil makes it absorbable in the intestine, causing the unhealthy cells to change their electric charge naturally.
What is Quark and What If I Can’t Find It?
Quark is just a name for a type of cottage cheese traditionally made across Europe, It used to be made in ordinary households by people with access to fresh milk.
Traditionally the milk is soured with a traditional culture, then strained to approximately 10% protein, resulting in cottage cheese that is soft and smooth.
If you can’t find quark use a good, low-fat/fat-free cottage cheese or you can make do with Greek-style yogurt. Be sure to check the protein content, it should be at least 10% and you should not add any extra milk when you mix the linseed oil with it.
If you use yogurt, it must be low-fat/fat-free and free of any sugar or flavoring and you may even need to strain it, which means you will need to start with more than 100g.
The Budwig Protocol
Foods to Avoid:
The Budwig Protocol Diet Recipe
Here is the basic Budwig protocol recipe / Budwig protocol yogurt:
- Start with two tablespoons of low-fat milk and three tablespoons of linseed (flaxseed) oil.
- Mix. Use a whisk mixer or electric stick blender until the mixture is nice and smooth (an electric blender is preferable as you can ensure that the oil blends well.)
- Add one teaspoon of honey and mix all three ingredients well.
- Slowly add the low-fat quark or cottage cheese two tablespoons at a time and mix until combined well, putting in a total of 6 level tablespoons of cheese.
- Grind two tablespoons of freshly crushed flaxseed (you can use a coffee grinder), then put it in a separate bowl.
- Add some fruit (berries, lemon juice, etc.) or nuts over the seeds.
- Pour the quark, honey, and oil mixture over the freshly ground flaxseed and fruit.
Optional – Add additional fruit or try adding other things to mix it up, such as parsley, garlic, dried fruits, ground hemp seeds, ground almonds, ground sunflower seeds, Brazil nuts, and pumpkin seeds (do not use peanuts!), vanilla, cinnamon, raw cocoa or grated coconut.
See how the Budwig protocol mix is done in this video tutorial:
The Budwig Diet Food List
The Budwig Protocol allows you to eat a variety of foods. These are just a few of the many foods that you can choose from when making your meals. This list is only meant to give an idea of what you can eat.
-
- Amaranth
- Whole barley
- Beansprouts
- On occasion, black tea
- Brown rice
- Buckwheat
- Champagne (1 glass per day)
- Cheeses: Brie, Camembert Edam, Emmental goat cheese, Gouda and Jarlsburg These cheeses are good sources of K2, a protective vitamin. You should choose cheeses made from grass-fed cows. A daily limit of 50g is allowed, recommended for breakfast and lunch.
- To make oleolux, coconut oil (extra virgin cold-pressed organic) is combined with linseed oils.
- Cold-pressed flaxseed oil (also known as linseed oil)
- Fruit
- Green Tea
- Fresh Herbs
- Honey (raw)
- Millet
- Nutritional yeast
- Nuts
- Pickles (fermented only).
- Potatoes
- Pulses (peas and beans, dried or fresh)
- Pumpkin seed oil
- Quinoa
- Root vegetables
- Rice
- Sauerkraut
- Sauerkraut juice
- Spices
- Soy - Fermented pastes and other products
- Soy sauce (traditionally fermented only).
- Sprouted grains
- Sprouted seeds
- Black tea
- Vegetables that are naturally grown. Raw vegetables can be eaten as salads or cooked. Dr. Budwig suggests boiling, but steaming is also fine.
- Vegetable stock
- Whole grains: wheat, oats, and spelt.
- Wholemeal bread – a little
- Yeast flakes. Some varieties are high in vitamin B12, which is important in this diet.
Did You Know?
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a simple mix of flaxseed oil, cottage cheese, low-fat milk, ground flaxseed, and fruits. You can also add seeds, nuts, and honey.
Dr. Budwig asserted that eating more polyunsaturated fatty acids—found in flaxseed oil and cottage cheese - can treat cancer. However, according to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, there is no proof that cottage cheese is effective in treating cancer, while it may have other health benefits. As with anything, moderation is necessary for nutrients like protein, vitamins, and minerals like calcium, which are crucial for maintaining good health.
The "Budwig combination" is often prepared by blending cottage cheese, flaxseed oil, and a small bit of honey in a 2:1 ratio. The minimum advised daily portion is 2 ounces (60 mL) of flaxseed oil, and 4 ounces (113 grams) of cottage cheese. At each meal, this mixture should be freshly made, and consumed within 20 minutes.
The healthiest plant source of the crucial omega-3 fatty acid is thought to be flaxseed. According to studies, omega-3 fatty acids may be anticancer, while omega-6 fatty acids may promote cancer growth. The levels of several compounds linked to cancer are decreased by omega-3. Both lignans and phytoestrogens are present in flaxseed. They have hormonal and anticancer properties.
Yes! Johanna Budwig emphasized the significance of sunlight, recognizing its potent energy. In today's lifestyle, many of us have minimal exposure to sunlight as we shuttle between indoor spaces. It's crucial to allocate time for sun exposure daily. Aim to spend a few minutes outdoors, allowing your skin to soak up the sun's rays. Sunlight absorbed by your skin helps produce vital vitamin D, essential for a robust immune system. A deficiency in vitamin D can lead to various health issues, such as pain and weakness.
