Budwig

Budwig diet and protocol: tips and frequently asked questions

Budwig Diet FAQ: expert answers to 138 frequently asked questions

Question 58 re intestinal gas, bloating and constipation: I have bought Dr. Budwig’s two first books and follow the protocol as is but suffer from extreme bloating as well as constipation. What advice and help can you give me?

Answer 1 a:
Bloating or gas is due to your food not being properly digested but instead being broken down via (alcoholic) fermentation (by yeast organisms, certain bacteria etc.) and putrefaction (by bacteria decomposing proteins). This is a serious issue because it can mean that your cells are gradually starving while your body has to grapple with the toxic byproducts of these organisms.

Some suggested remedial action to optimise digestion includes the following:

Use digestive enzymes and hydrochloric acid supplements (betaine HCl). (The latter alone can get rid of virtually all gas issues.) To find the right dose, start by taking one capsule of betaine HCl early during your meal. Gradually increase the dose during the following days but stop as soon as you notice a burning or warming sensation in your stomach (signalling that you have enough hydrochloric acid). Over time, most people appear to do well on one or two capsules with each larger meal.
Drink water half an hour or so before meals. According to Dr. Batmanghelidj, M.D., taking water before meals in this manner is critical for proper hydrochloric acid production in the stomach. Without sufficient hydrochloric acid, food as mentioned cannot be digested and will be left to bacteria to ferment (leading to gas) and/or rot.
Chew very well to help predigest your food.
Make sure to include enzyme-rich foods as suggested by Dr. Budwig and other health professionals.
Have lots of live probiotics from yoghurt etc. (among the best ones according to my information are L. acidophilus, B. bifidus & L. casei), which is optimally and easily self-made at home since shops mostly seem to carry pasteurized yoghurt or yogurt with undesirable or harmful additives such as sugar, artificial sweeteners such as aspartame (implicated in the genesis of brain tumors and many other diseases), artificial flavourings or aromas, stabilisers and other chemicals.

Probiotics constitute the good bacteria in the intestinal flora which help keep at bay yeasts, candida albicans and similar microorganisms which produce intestinal gas as part of their metabolizing ("eating up") undigested food.
The very best against bloating and gas I have personally observed is drinking kombucha on a regular basis. Kombucha can be made at home and is even credited as a cancer treatment in its own right.
Simplify meals, have only a few items mixed together (the less the better, animals generally don't mix their foods but mostly eat a mono-diet).
Don't include hard-to-digest items.
Follow food combining rules to further optimal digestion (Dr. Hay, Dr. Herbert Shelton):

the most important ones are "don't combine starches with protein, starches with acidic items, starches with fruit [except bananas and blueberries]; leave out legumes since they naturally combine protein with starch in large proportions).

See Proper Food Combining Table according to Dr. Hay & Dr. Walb for details.
Get rid of geopathic stress and all EMFs to the extent possible. Dr. Hartmann found decades ago that under strong geopathic stress, hydrochloric acid production in the stomach actually ceases. And interestingly, an anecdotal report found on a German health forum states that "gas is no longer an issue for me - except after long train rides when I get extreme gas" (trains also emit electropollution).
Have a more liquid diet (fresh juices in particular).
Don't overeat, eat when hungry only.
Dance, cry, laugh, sing etc.: do anything that gets your energy moving (and thus your inner "juices").
Never eat when upset, angry, worried or tired etc., since digestion also seems to be impaired when eating while in any negative emotional state. Make sure to eat in a calm and relaxed atmosphere. Savour and enjoy your meal.
Get sunlight. Apparently, natural sunlight is required as a catalyst to ensure complete digestion ...". I like to have it shine directly on any spot that may give me trouble, including the belly with any digestive upsets.
Take "healing earth" (Fuller’s earth, clay or similar) as an internal mopping-up sponge for impurities. (credits: Healing Cancer Naturally)

Answer 1 b:
In conjunction with the advice given above, constipation should yield quickly to more liquid intake, particularly in the form of fresh juices, probiotic yoghurt and herbal teas. Another wonderful treatment - which doubles up as a full-blown stand-alone cancer treatment - is the aloe & honey formula the reported benefits of which include regulation of the bowels and elimination of constipation. (credits: Healing Cancer Naturally)

Answer 2:
If the culprit is the flaxoil/cottage cheese mixture: to allow yourself to better tolerate this mix, consider trying out the following:

If you use more cottage cheese than two times the flax oil you are using, try reducing it to the recommended 1:2 ratio and see how it goes.
Use only organic and unpasteurized cottage cheese or quark (organic, fat free cottage cheese is available in many US states from Trader Joe's (traderjoes.com), low fat organic cottage cheese can be ordered in the US from 717-556-0672, 648 Mill Creek School Rd, Bird in Hand, PA 17505, Amos B. Miller, leave a message if they aren't there).
Change the cottage cheese to quark. [Quark can be store-bought as well as made at home.]
Change to yogurt quark [simply strain off the whey from yoghurt to obtain homemade yoghurt quark or allow to ferment longer, see details [make sure to drink the whey which is packed with nutrients].
Change to kefir quark [see Making home-made kefir (to use as the basis for kefir quark)].

Replacing cottage cheese with kefir quark, yogurt quark or buttermilk quark may give the best chance of being tolerated.

Bloating in my experience is easy to heal when you follow some or all of the above suggestions.
Compare Is there a possible need for the use of supplemental enzymes?, Healing with light and Edgar Cayce on Keeping Our Body in Balance Nutritionally.

Also see the extensive tips for people displaying allergy symptoms to dairy (lactose intolerance) given under Vegan Alternatives to Cottage Cheese/Quark?.

Question 59: Which is best to use with the flaxseed oil — low-fat or fat-free cottage cheese? Or does it not make a difference?

Answer:
Either low-fat or fat-free cottage cheese is ok. Rather than spending a lot of time finding fat-free cottage cheese, I would spend the time in looking for good quality such as no additives, organic and - if you can find it - cottage cheese from unpasteurized milk.

Question 60: I went off the diet-I was so tired of not being able to go out to dinner-well now my tumor has increased.

Answer:
I'm sorry to hear you jumped the rails and that your tumor has grown. But welcome back to the right way to eat. Just hit the ground running and before you know it, it will become a habit. Why do you feel that you can't go out to dinner doing the Budwig diet? I don't blame you for missing that! While I am extremely careful about what I eat, I can always find appropriate choices when we go out to dinner. Maybe choose a different restaurant? (credits: BF)

Question 61: I try to follow the Budwig diet but have radiation damage to my intestines and either the flax oil or cottage cheese are making my stomach hurt terribly. I have been in severe intestinal pain. Any ideas to help me?

Answer:
1. Re healing radiation damage, see Combatting radiation poisoning tips and Treating radiation burns naturally.

2. To more easily absorb the health-giving essential omega-3 acids, these things may be worth trying:

a) Using ELDI oils to apply and absorb essential fatty acids (EFAs) through the skin.

b) Using flaxseed oil or Eldi oil enemas.

c) Some of our ingested food (or supplements) is already absorbed into/by the mucosa of our mouth and esophagus - homeopathic remedies for instance are often placed under the tongue (sublingual).

This absorption doesn't just occur at the latter site, however, since the entire buccal and esophageal mucosa seems to be a "receptive" porous area. So what you could try is taking very small parts of the flax oil/cottage cheese mix at a time, masticate/move in your mouth thoroughly and swallow only after that, then waiting a moment before taking the next small serving.

This should allow each serving to receive maximum contact with your mouth/esophagus and hopefully be partly absorbed through its mucosa, saving your stomach from having to deal with all of it. This kind of very thorough mastication of small servings generally seems to be very healthful, and was popularized by a person named Horace Fletcher, father of "Fletcherism", after he healed himself of a serious illness using this method.

3. More suggestions:

a) Make sure to drink enough quality water, to use only fresh flax oil and organic cottage cheese/dairy (if possible unpasteurized), and to mix it all thoroughly according to Dr. Budwig's instructions.
b) Do healing visualizations for your stomach.

(Credits: Healing Cancer Naturally)

Question 62: Can MSM be used with flax oil to supply the necessary sulfur?

Answer 1:
1. Can MSM be used in lieu of cottage cheese or quark... The answer is No.

2. Can MSM be used in addition to quark... That is a conditional Yes.

I say "conditional" because it is done a lot, it seems to be ok and it makes some sense, but it is not something that was passed down from Dr. Budwig.

Answer 2:
See Success Story: Cancer and Ferrets - Adrenal Cancer GONE! for someone who used MSM in lieu of cottage cheese or quark which worked very well on a ferret's adrenal cancer.

Question 63: I have received my new book "Cancer-The Problem and The Solution" and was so excited until page 35. Dr. Budwig then talks about the patients she would reject...: "I also reject patients with breast cancer whose arm is already swollen through water retention. The pain is too great because tumor masses have also collected behind the shoulder blade".... Of course this sent me into a tailspin as I had to come to terms with the fact that Dr. Budwig would have REJECTED me as a patient. I too have water retention in my arm. It happened since the surgery two months ago to remove the lump in my breast. I have been following the Budwig Protocol, to the best of my ability, since the end of October. Any mistakes were slight and would not have interupted my success. But this has me shaken to the core.

Answer:
It looks a bit different in what Dr. Budwig wrote in the original German text. Let's have a look. Dr. Budwig: "Ich schalte auch Patienten mit Brustkrebs aus, bei denen der Arm schon sehr hochgradig durch Wasserretention angeschwollen ist. Die Schmerzen sind zu groß, weil auch Tumormassen unter dem Schulterblatt angesammelt sind. In diesem Falle nehme ich die Patientin nicht mehr an. Ich prüfe die Grenze sehr sorgfältig." Translated:

"I also reject patients with breast cancer whose arm is already swollen to a very high degree due to water retention. The pain is too great because tumor masses have also collected behind the shoulder blade. In this case I do not take the patient anymore. I check the borderline very carefully."

It seems to me that Dr. Budwig's words "to a very high degree" are significant. I don't understand why they were left out in the translation. Also her words "I check the borderline very carefully" are important because in my view she says that the swelling in the arm had to be beyond a certain point for her to reject a patient.

I hope this clarifies it and makes you feel better. Perhaps your lymphatic system is not draining properly. You may want to look into using a Rebounder (mini trampoline) to help the lymphatic system to better drainage. Good drainage is important.
Addendum by Healing Cancer Naturally: Since "Cancer-The Problem and The Solution" is a first English edition, it contains a number of errors to be remedied in the second edition.

Also see the related Question 130: ... Dr. Budwig says she doesn't accept patients with an ileostomy or colostomy bag...

Question 64: Can Pau d'arco (aka Lapacho or Taheebo) and Essiac be used with the Budwig Protocol?

Answer:
As far as I know, neither pau d'arco nor Essiac is mentioned in any of Dr. Budwig's books. That does not mean that they must not be used in connection with the Budwig Protocol (since Dr. Budwig welcomed phytotherapy among other complementary therapies, see Treatment Modalities Compatible with Dr. Budwig’s Protocol and Natural Healing Approach to Cancer & Other Diseases).

They are natural herbal teas after all (ok, pau d'arco is made from the inner bark of the Tabebuia Avellanedae or the Impetignosa species). It rather means that using these teas has to be an individual decision, like anything else we do.

In the case of pau d'arco, it is likely to be a positive if taken along with the Budwig Diet. In the case of Essiac, I believe that it can be used to advantage with the Budwig Protocol - but not in all cases!

Question 65: Can I use sour cream with or in place of the cottage cheese for the flaxseed oil and cottage cheese mix?

Answer:
No, it is too fat and it is not pure dairy. It has other ingredients in it including chemical(s) such as sodium phosphate.

Question 66: What exactly is the purpose of the cottage cheese in the Budwig protocol. I read that it is to do with promoting the absorption of the flax oil. How exactly does that work?

Answer:
You ask, "How exactly does that work?" To find that out, you should read Dr. Budwig's books. Even then you will likely not know exactly. I don't. I know that it works and that it has helped a lot of people.

Yes, it promotes better digestion and absorption because flaxseed oil becomes water soluble when it is mixed with quark or cottage cheese.
But there is more to it.

Sulphurated amino acids (as found in cottage cheese) and essential fatty acids (as found in flaxseed oil) have an affinity for each other and they bond, not only in our mixer when we prepare the flaxseed oil with cottage cheese, but also in the body. They make up an important part of healthy tissue including membranes. A severe lack of either of these components causes health problems.

Experiments have shown already in the 19th century (before Dr. Budwig was even born) that animals that were fed a high fat diet without protein died. Likewise, when they were fed a high protein diet without fat, they died. But when they were fed unrefined flax oil and protein together, they quickly recovered health and vitality. It is unbelievable that such important findings seemed to have been all but forgotten or ignored until Dr. Budwig dug them up and took the next step.

That is how science moves ahead. She gave credit to early and contemporary researchers for their achievements in her books that specifically deal with this subject.

That is some background on the biochemical level. However, one has to follow Dr. Budwig in looking at the electrical side of our being and touch on quantum physics and get into photons and solar electrons to get a more complete picture. This young branch of science was one of her specialties. She did a lot of ground-breaking work in how it relates to human health.

Photons and solar electrons are being stored in plants and in produce as they grow in the sun. They are lost as produce becomes old and wilted. (Therefore, eat your foods as fresh as possible before the electrons are lost. Man-made vitamins don't contain any solar electrons).
Compare Eating the Wild Electron.

According to Dr. Budwig, these solar electrons are especially high in essential fatty acids as found in flaxseed oil, giving them a negative electrical charge. In contrast to flax oil, the sulphurated amino acids (which are plentiful in cottage cheese) have a positive charge. This provides the basis for an electrical circuit but in a biological setting. Flaxseed oil is the electron donor.

These opposite polarities allow electrons to flow and energy fields to be set up. Dr. Budwig calls them electron clouds. They store energy and release it on demand. The more energy is stored, the healthier a person is according to Dr. Budwig.

These solar electrons within us, being of solar origin, resonate with the photons/electrons coming at us from the sun and capture them directly from the sun's rays (as opposed to receiving them only from fresh foods). This increases our energy levels even more and it promotes healing and health in general. In fact, according to Dr. Budwig, this energy force is essential not only to health, but to life itself. She calls it the anti-entropy factor which creates order out of chaos. Ill people have a very low level of it. Dead organisms have none.
Compare Why and how do the sulphurated amino acids from cottage cheese change the dynamic of flaxseed (omega-3) and provide the cancer-fighting component?

Tip for those taking chemotherapy (strictly prohibited by Dr. Budwig):
Chemo makes you nauseous, and when you eat something after chemo when you are nauseous, that food is capable of always making you nauseous, even after chemo. It's conditioning as in Pavlov's dogs who learned to salivate at the ring of a bell because Pavlov always rang the bell before feeding them. So, a word to the wise, don't eat the flaxseed oil/cottage cheese when you are nauseous or you just may never again be able to eat it without becoming nauseous. (credits: Syd M.)

Question 67: Are there any self-administered supplements or protocols which can work in tandem with the Budwig diet? I've seen that the use of antioxidants may be counter-productive and compromise the oxygenating effect of the flax oil/cottage cheese mix, and most other treatments seem to involve these. But I'd like to add more weapons to my arsenal if I can do so without counteracting the Budwig plan in order to employ any and all self treatments I can to win my battle with cancer.

Answer:
As you probably know, Dr. Johanna Budwig’s diet & protocol (and I agree with this) is about using natural things for healing, i.e. substances and processes the body has evolutionarily learned to deal with and benefit from, see In Dr. Budwig Own Words: Treatment Modalities Compatible with Dr. Budwig’s Protocol and Natural Healing Approach to Cancer & Other Diseases. Additionally and more specifically, here is my current "natural supplements" hit list which is likely to be fully compatible with and enhancing Dr. Budwig’s diet:

1. The most important "supplement" in my opinion is the firm INTENTION to heal yourself, which includes strong life purpose etc. This goes along with positive thoughts & affirmations such as saying that "I am healing, I am basically healthy", visualization, guided imagery etc. That's how a "winner" talks and thinks in my view. Many have shown that reason and will to live alone and the spiritual force and energy born within us based upon them will heal the body of cancer and other dis-ease (no matter what else is done or not done).
Also see Real-Life Cancer Healing Stories, particularly Cynthia Rose’s Grandmother spontaneously healed of terminal cancer by being true to herself, On the Power of Belief (Placebo Effect) to heal or to kill, and "Terminal" cancer patient in constant pain heals after "changing his mind" about pain.

2. Next is mineral-and-trace-element-rich seaweed (buy in health food store and ask about heavy metals contamination): bioavailable minerals and trace elements seem to be essential health builders often missing and/or unbalanced in "normal" diets.

There are studies linking a lack of selenium, for instance, with increased cancer incidence. That said, I would not go for supplements (or only use them for jumpstarting purposes) but indeed rely on food sources such as seaweed and organically grown food (organic husbandry includes seaweed as a fertilizer) both for reasons of bioavailability and since minerals act synergistically and need to be ingested in balanced ratio to avoid them "cancelling" each other.

Seaweed is also rich in iodine which reportedly helps eliminate heavy metals like mercury and lead, protects the thyroid against ionizing radiation (compare Chelating ionizing radiation), induces apoptosis, increases immune system function etc. (more on iodine under Seaweed).

3. Glyconutrients (found in many fresh organic fully ripened produce items, aloe vera etc.) Cheapest and best is fresh from natural sources.

4. You may wish to further step up your nutrient intake via sprouting, growing and juicing your own wheatgrass (all inexpensive and homemade), and perhaps taking spirulina, kelp, chlorella, barley green (and similar dried supplements) as well as Lifestar Living Food Concentrates made from natural sources (all more expensive).

As we know, taking wheat and barley grass and sprouts freshly (as juices, salads etc.) is fully compatible with the Budwig diet. Concentrates which contain high levels of antioxidants however could/would interfere with the oxygenating effect of the omega-3s cum sulphurated proteins.

So if in doubt or concerned re antioxidant content and possible impact of the above dried supplemental nutrients made from natural sources on the oxygenating efficacy of the Budwig diet but still wanting to take some of them, it may be wise to take them at completely different times than the flax oil/cottage cheese.

Personally and generally, I assume that eating as natural, organic, raw, complete, unprocessed and mineral-rich as possible and digestible (!) may be most promoting of health and healing.

5. Use fresh and particularly wild herbs: Johanna Budwig wrote another (mostly) cookbook aimed at the homemaker, KREBS EIN FETTPROBLEM. In it, she highly recommends lavishly using freshly harvested pot herbs, wild herbs and wild vegetables, to be used both as seasoning and in salads.

She writes that salads from wild vegetables are particularly important, with dandelion being number one in terms of health benefits (compare Taraxacum research). She mentions plants such as stinging nettle (the medicinal benefits of Urtica are powerful and wide-ranging), young primrose leaves (high Vitamin C content), the tips of hops tendrils (used as salad or cooked like asparagus), Lesser celandine (Ranunculus ficaria - use first young shoots), willow flower herb, shepherd's purse, Stellaria media (common chickweed), watercress ("very healthy"), yarrow, ribwort, meadow salsify (Tragopogon pratensis - use young shoots).

These are of course all plants native to Germany and not necessarily growing in every part of the world. If one lived in very different climates, one could familiarize themselves with the edible flora native to the part of the world they live in and integrate that into their diet to the extent possible.

Environmental pollution/contamination of course is a big issue to watch out for. Pot herbs can be grown year-round (I'd make sure to use good soil).

6. Seek regular contact with nature's and the earth's energies - such as free electrons which enter your body via barefoot and other direct contact with the ground. In her advice for very seriously ill patients, Dr. Budwig included spending as much time as possible everyday in the outdoors, see Dr. Budwig’s Treatment Advice for Very Ill Cancer Patients.

Make sure to not wear eyeglasses to simultaneously benefit from the healing effects of the crucially important full-spectrum light, see Healing Cancer With Light (2) and Healing Cancer With Light (7). Your health is likely to benefit even more when indulging in forest bathing.

7. Qigong (can be powerfully healing), meditation, prayer, laughter, dancing etc. Any exercise, act and process that gives you joy and/or makes your vital energy flow positively (which can include the release of pent-up feelings, homeopathic remedies which aim at clearing your "energetic bodies", etc.).

A person who has guided a number of cancer and other patients to health via the Budwig protocol instructs them to do body brushing and hot/cold showers which is yet another way to get things moving in your body.

Eminent alternative cancer treatment researcher Lothar Hirneise considers (as do others including myself) stagnant life energy a prime cause of cancer. Also compare Budwig protocol & life energies blockages: On the question why the cancer always/sometimes will come back when the Budwig diet is abandoned.

8. EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique): In fact, I currently consider EFT to be the most powerful and easily accessible of all techniques geared to re-establish healthy flow of life energies. EFT can be completely self-applied since extensive information on it is made freely available by its premier promotor Gary Craig. I highly recommend looking into this DIY technique, see Introduction to EFT: Healing Mind and Body By Reestablishing Healthy Energetic Flow, which seems to be helping a growing number of people to recover their health and joie de vivre in all areas of living.

A somewhat similar technique (which, like EFT, is also DIYable) is called The Emotion Code and also worthwhile checking out.

9. Doing good in the world, helping/serving others: see some of the quotes pointing to the healing benefits of doing good featured in Inspirational Quotes for Cancer Patients and Healing Cancer.

10. You may also wish to look into zeolites and/or Marine Phytoplankton ("FrequenSea"), both rather expensive.

An excellent "supplement" which has healed many cancers by itself is this aloe plus honey recipe. A number of others (not all "proven compatible" with the Budwig approach) can be found eg in the Supplements section.

11. Generally speaking, it is a good idea in my view to use a number of "tools" such as kinesiologial muscle testing (which can be self-administered), electroacupuncture according to Voll (EAV) and many others including "divinatory" tools and prayer to help determine individual compatibility and "beneficialness" of whatever one does or doesn't use. Compare Finding the right modalities, foods and remedies for you.

12. Last but not least see Is there a possible need for supplemental enzymes?.

Generally speaking, natural medicine (naturopathy) therapies include, but are not limited to the following disciplines, all of which are compatible with and enhance the Budwig protocol: folk medicine, herbal medicine, diets, hydrotherapy (water applications according to Father Sebastian Kneipp etc.), homeopathy, faith healing, healing with energy, light and colour, chiropractic, acupuncture, massage, and music and sound therapy. (credits: Healing Cancer Naturally)

complete list of questions here

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