Budwig

Budwig diet and protocol: tips and frequently asked questions

This Budwig FAQ was compiled and edited by Healing Cancer Naturally from materials supplied by Wilhelm H, 14 of Dr. Budwig’s original works and several other sources (complete list of questions here).

This and the subsequent FAQ pages address numerous "finer points" of the application of Dr. Budwig's healing protocol. Information on basics such as daily diet plan etc. can be found under Budwig Diet & Protocol Details.

Question 1: Is there a vegan alternative to cottage cheese/quark, i.e. can I get flaxseed oil with other sulphurated proteins? I am allergic to dairy (lactose intolerant)/feel my Candida flaring up upon ingesting cottage cheese/feel uncomfortable using animal products (want to live as a vegan).

Answer:
See Vegan Alternatives to Cottage Cheese/Quark?.

Question 2: Can one cook with flaxseed oil or would coconut or some other oil be better?

Answer:
Never use flax oil to cook with. It must not be heated. "The substance that is so important for respiration is very heat sensitive. It will be destroyed at approximately 42º C." (Johanna Budwig: Der Tod des Tumors - Band II [The Death of the Tumor, Vol. II], page 158). 42ºC is approximately 108ºF. You can add flaxoil after cooking when it has cooled down. Better yet, add Oleolux which is a coconut oil/flaxoil mixture. [See Oleolux recipe.]

Coconut oil (CNO) is well suited for sautéing and other high heat applications. Oleolux is not because it has flax oil in it. It is a good general policy not to cook with oils and rather to add them later. If you need to use some fat for frying, use a small amount of CNO and add Oleolux later to taste.

You can also fry with water. Just use enough to prevent sticking and then add oils later. I do that often. Nobody notices the difference if it is done right. I got the idea from Udo Erasmus who said somewhere that "The best oil to fry with is water". It sounds like a joke and it was meant that way, in part anyway, but it has truth value and it works - in many applications anyway.

Question 3: Should I add Vitamin E to the flax oil to stabilise it (prevent it from going rancid)/should I take Vitamin E along with flaxseed oil to prevent oxidation within the body?

Answer:
It is true that taking vitamin E along with flaxseed oil makes it more stable and prevents (or reduces) oxidation within the body. But it is this oxidation quality that makes it effective in interaction with the sulphur containing proteins. If you interfere with this oxygen affinity of flaxseed oil - this readiness to accept oxygen - you interfere with the capacity of the Budwig Protocol to restore respiration. Therefore, supplemental antioxidants from a certain level on can present a problem.

Dr. Budwig writes in her book Cancer — The Problem and the Solution, p. 50: "Fats that have industrially been made stable against oxygen acceptance, also oppose the oxygen uptake by the living tissue through auto-oxidation." In her book "Der Tod des Tumors" (The Death of the Tumor) she writes that antioxidants added to oils are (respiratory) poisons. In the same book she writes on page 161: "Overdosing with isolated Vitamin E works as an antioxidant, thus it opposes the oxygen utilization in the organism."

Compare Can antioxidants interfere with the Budwig protocol and What are "Respiratory Poisons".

Question 4 a: Can supplemental antioxidants interfere with the Budwig protocol?

Answer 1:
... high doses or levels of antioxidants (antioxidant supplements) [might] reduce the effectiveness of or interfere with the Budwig Protocol [though] I am in no position to make a definite statement on it. I have read it in the review of Dr. Budwig's last book by her publisher Sensei Verlag (see further below). I have also read it alluded to in one or two places in Dr. Budwig's [German-language] books such as in references found in her book "Fotoelemente des Lebens" (Photo Elements of Life) p. 5. I translated part of the text so that it can be seen in context:

"These highly unsaturated fatty acids proved to be essential for humans, necessary for life, not replaceable. Since these essential highly unsaturated fats easily take up oxygen in their "unsaturated" electron rich double bonds, it came to pass that with advancing civilization the preservation, the protection against oxygen became customary.

Several methods were used which inactivate or, as the case may be, destroy this oxygen affinity, these photoactive electron systems. These methods include for example high heat, treating the fats with water, or the addition of chemical substances which are antioxidants. All this destroys the negatively charged highly active pi-electron systems. Thus the interaction in the exchange of photons and electron energy in the living substrate is largely destroyed."

Dr. Budwig talks about "the addition" of chemical substances which are antioxidants. This rules out antioxidants that are naturally occurring in foods. She obviously refers to man-made antioxidants which are synthetic. But what about the "natural" antioxidants that are extracted by some means from plants and then marketed in pills, etc? Going by the quote from the book review referred to in the first paragraph above, and which I repeat below, it would seem that they too are suspect in high levels.

"How then do we get sick? Because we take in too many of these ‘electron thieves’ or in other words, because we eat foods and poisons which block cell respiration. Known electron thieves are for example margarine, animal fat, butter, nitrate, radiation and cytostatics (chemotherapy). They all prevent the uptake of electrons. Interestingly, belonging to this also are antioxidants, like for example vitamins (from a certain level on). Therefore be careful about using high doses of vitamins.".

So my interpretation is that what is meant are man-made antioxidants in pills and added to oils and possibly to other foods. Naturally occurring antioxidants in [unprocessed] foods are not meant, i.e. are ok.
[In addition, h]ere is the translation from page 2 of a 6 page book review (formerly published at www.sensei.de/budwig.html) of Cancer-the Problem & the Solution:

"We should never forget that we are heliotropes who require light with its electrons (photons). The human tissue is exceptional insofar as it is capable of storing exactly these electrons and release them again as required. The absorption happens through the so-called resonance, which means, that our tissue vibrates in the same bandwidth as the incoming rays.

You can compare it to a TV antenna which must be tuned. In order for this to happen, our cells require unsaturated fatty acids like linoleic acid and linolenic acid. These fatty acids form a combination together with sulphur proteins, whose dipolarity and inherent resonance allow the human body to accept these electrons, store them and release them as required.

"It is this ‘energy’ which ensures that we ‘live’ and which controls all life functions like PH level, protein utilization, etc.

"Dr. Budwig sees the human body as an antenna which is capable of receiving these vital healing electrons when the two antennas named sulfhydryl and unsaturated fatty acids are ‘properly tuned’."

[Re "electron thieves" such as margarine, animal fat, butter, nitrate, ionising radiation, cytostatics (chemotherapy), and antioxidants like vitamins (from a certain level on) preventing the uptake of electrons (blocking cell respiration),] I also find the study Suppression of tumor growth and metastasis by dietary fish oil combined with vitamins E and C and cisplatin very interesting. ...

The study says that fishoil [dietary fish oil is the richest non-vegetarian source of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, as is flax oil as a vegetarian source] has an anti-cancer effect (slowing tumor growth) but less so when antioxidants are added. In other words, it suggests that in fighting cancer cells, the use of antioxidants may be counter productive. This supports Dr. Budwig's position that antioxidants counter the effect of her diet.

Their finding seems to be right but their reasoning as to why it works like that and why it is suppressed with antioxidants is not right - at least not according to Dr. Budwig. The researchers conclude that the cancer cells are killed by a massive onslaught of free radicals from rancid fishoil, and since antioxidants keep the oil from getting rancid, they interfere with this process.

Neither of these two conclusions are right. If that were so, [the further conclusion seems correct that] we may as well consume rancid flaxoil [or fishoil] in the first place - and we know that to be wrong.

According to Dr. Budwig the reason for the anti-cancer activity is that flaxoil (combined with quark or cottage cheese or quark) promotes bio-oxygenation and that antioxidants interfere with that process, because they counteract the oxygen affinity of flax oil which is a basic requirement for this bio- or auto-oxygenation to take place.

See also Should I add Vitamin E to the flax oil to prevent it from going rancid/should I take Vitamin E along with flaxseed oil to prevent oxidation within the body? and Does flax oil (polyunsaturated fatty acids, PUFAs) create free radical damage.

Compare Megadoses of Vitamin C & Cancer incl. Note by Healing Cancer Naturally

Answer 2:
Cliff Beckwith, who kickstarted the interest in Budwig in the USA (although fully concentrating on the flaxoil/cottage cheese component only) and who kept his "medium aggressive" prostate cancer under control for many years, reported in November 2006,

"On my 82nd birthday, about three years ago (Cliff turned 85 on January 5, 2007), my PSA was normal for a man my age. It was 6.7. It was then, totally unaware of the danger of heavy use of antioxidant supplements, that I began heavy use of ellagic acid and lycopene 5 months later. That canceled the value of the flax oil for nine months and that is not good with an aggressive cancer.

I will not argue that the amount of antioxidants in our natural food will probably not be a major problem with the protocol. But the way I was using it certainly has made a major contribution to my situation today." Cliff Beckwith talked about his situation, the worsening of which he attributed to taking large amonts of antioxidants, in more detail e.g. at http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/cancercure/conversations/topics/29473 (credits: Healing Cancer Naturally)

Question 4 b: If antioxidants do block the oxygenation that Dr. Budwig was striving for, then we shouldn't eat them either, should we? I don't understand why it's okay to eat them in natural food but not okay to supplement with them.

Answer:
First of all, see Can supplemental antioxidants interfere with the Budwig protocol?
Dr. Budwig writes in "Die elementare Funktion der Atmung in ihrer Beziehung zu autoxydablen Nahrungsstoffen", p. 52 (translated/excerpted by me):

"The above-mentioned basic constituents of our food [proteins containing sulfurated amino acids, high omega-3 fatty acids, carbohydrates containing natural sugars, vitamin A and B] are usually found in natural unprocessed crops, such as in grains, in well-balanced proportions. [I don't advise using isolated wheat germ but rather to presoak the entire grain and consume it that way.]

Only then do you have the natural composition of the basic food elements and of the vitamins that go with it, as they naturally occur together. Because overdosing on isolated vitamin E has an antioxidant effect, i.e. works against the utilisation of oxygen in the body."

From the above I draw the following (speculative!) conclusions: Vitamin E (and by extension Vitamin C etc.) as found in relatively small amounts in natural foods (i.e. unadulterated/not isolated/concentrated but in their natural complex and balance with many other nutrients and elements) simply do not work (are not metabolized) as antioxidants. Only the isolates/concentrates will, and can thus be called antioxidants in the Budwigian sense and need to be avoided for the Budwig diet to benefit cellular oxygenation.

Also compare Could even ingestion of too many natural foods with high antioxidant properties have a detrimental effect on the protocol, i. e. could too much of a good thing (antioxidant foods) be bad? (credits: Healing Cancer Naturally)

Question 5: Does flax oil (polyunsaturated fatty acids or PUFAs) create free radical damage to those of us who are using quantities to heal? Does Dr. Budwig talk about this, and wouldn't the free radicals kill not only the cancer cells but the normal cells over time unless there are plenty of antioxidants in the system?

Answer:
We are not supposed to take quantities of flaxseed oil without the requisite quantity of sulphur bearing proteins and thoroughly mixed. Dr. Budwig warned against it.

As far as I know, Dr. Budwig did not talk about free radicals. Again, the article refers to PUFAs taken by themselves. We don't do that, we take flaxseed oil /cottage cheese which is a different food than either of its components.

The principle behind the Budwig Diet is based on supplying the highly unsaturated fatty acids with the proteins for better oxygenation of the blood and cells everywhere and thereby set in motion the healing processes - it is not based on free radicals bombarding cancer and healthy cells and thereby killing cancer cells and damaging healthy cells in the process (a kind of collateral damage). That is the rationale of chemotherapy except in that case chemicals are used.

I doubt that Dr. Budwig was concerned about free radicals in the context of her diet. She looked at it from a different perspective, and she was probably right. I think her success proves it.

Question 6: Flaxseed vs. fish oil: why did Dr. Budwig prefer flaxseed oil over fish oil?

Answer 1:
Fish oil or rather cod liver oil was not recommended by Johanna Budwig because Dr. Budwig didn't like the processing that was involved which primarily is high heat. She was concerned about the damage it does to the oil and to humans. She did therefore not include them in her diet. Udo Erasmus [author of "Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill] agrees with that. There is a fish or cod liver oil that is not heated and unprocessed. It's called 'Olde World® Icelandic Cod Liver Oil' which I use sometimes. (I don't know how it stacks up for heavy metals content.)

Generally speaking, I would not use it as a replacement of flax oil/cottage cheese in the Budwig Diet, but possibly as an addition to it for a while where people are concerned that they don't convert LNA to long-chain omega-3s.

Taking CLO in the summer when one gets a lot of sunshine is not a good idea. Also, one has to be concerned about heavy metal accumulation from long-term use. In general, the Budwig Diet stands on its own as far as omega-3 intake and utilization is concerned. Cod liver oil should generally not be required.
Compare Question 57: Is substituting fish oil for flax oil as good or better than using flax oil?, Developing massive swelling & water retention upon adoption of the Budwig protocol and its possible causes such as liver impairment, allergies, insufficient LNA conversion etc.: a case of cancer unresponsive to the classic Budwig oil-protein diet with suggested remedies, and Question 29 re estrogen-receptive tumors: I am unable to take Flaxseed Oil because it is estrogen-like. My tumors are very highly estrogen receptive. How much Fish Oil could I take to replace the Flax?.

Answer 2:
Thanks to industrialisation without respect for nature, environmental toxins such as PCBs, fertilizers, mercury, lead, petroleum and others abound in the world's rivers and oceans (as someone commented: "the increasing pollution of the seas has made fish into some kind of mercury, arsenic and dioxin concentrate"). So fish oil is likely to contain dangerous contaminants which apparently only molecular distillation is able to completely remove. If you do use fish oil, you may wish to look for a product which is molecularly distilled under extreme vacuum (which allows the oil to "boil" at relatively low temperatures) as well as independently certified as being free of contaminants. (credits: Healing Cancer Naturally)

Question 7: Vitamin C - did Dr. Budwig talk about Vitamin C as an adjuvant therapy? Linus Pauling, himself a Nobel Prize winner (but not for his advocacy of Vitamin C) was a contemporary of hers. Surely she would have heard of his work regarding Vitamin C as a treatment for cancer. Did she have anything to say about it? Apparently, Vitamin C makes the blood alkaline.

Answer:
If you look at the research study Suppression of tumor growth and metastasis by dietary fish oil combined with vitamins E and C and cisplatin, you will see that the two antioxidants that were found to reduce the anti-cancer effect of fishoil, were vitamin E and vitamin C.

What we don't know is whether the anti-cancer effect was reduced because of the vitamin E, or because of the vitamin C or because of a combined effect. Since the researchers did not answer that, I cannot be sure either. From what I have read by Dr. Budwig, she mentions antioxidants in general, not the individual ones.

Linus Pauling sure did great work. So did Johanna Budwig. Pauling knew of Budwig's work and did not use it. Budwig knew of Pauling's work and did not use it.
Compare Can I have intravenous vitamin c therapy/undergo chemotherapy while on the Budwig diet?, When can other therapies such as vitamin C high-dose infusions, Ukrain, Galvanotherapy make sense with the Budwig protocol? and Megadoses of Vitamin C & Cancer incl. Note by Healing Cancer Naturally.

Question 8: Is flaxseed oil dangerous?

Answer:
Why would flaxseed oil be dangerous? Because Bruce Fife said so? Like other detractors, he does not look at flax oil mixed with COTTAGE CHEESE. That should be the end of this discussion, but let's take a closer look. ... Unless there are two or more writers by the name of Bruce Fife, he wrote or co-authored some 30 books. About one third of them are on health and nutrition such as: "The Coconut Miracle" and "Coconut Cures", etc. ...

Here is an example of what he wrote and where he draws his wrong conclusions from: "Researchers know that it's the free-radical chain reactions that kill the cancer because when antioxidants, such as vitamin E, are given at the same time, flaxseed oil has no anticancer effects. The vitamin E stops the oxidation of the oil within the body and thus prevents the formation of free radicals. Without free radicals roaming around inside the body tearing up the cells, the cancer remains unharmed."

Interesting... unwittingly Bruce Fife underscores Dr. Budwig's point that antioxidants interfere with the anti-cancer effect of her diet:

The researchers’ finding seems to be right but their reasoning as to why it works like that and why it is suppressed with antioxidants is not right - at least not according to Dr. Budwig. The researchers and Bruce Fife conclude that the cancer cells are killed by a massive onslaught of free radicals from rancid flax oil, and since antioxidants keep the oil from getting rancid, they interfere with this process. Neither of these two conclusions are right. If that were so, we may as well consume rancid flax oil in the first place - and we know that to be wrong.

According to Dr. Budwig the reason for the anti-cancer activity is that flax oil (combined with quark or cottage cheese) promotes bio-oxygenation and that antioxidants interfere with that process, because they counteract the oxygen affinity of flax oil which is a basic requirement for this bio- or auto-oxygenation to take place.

Now I ask you, would you rather listen to Bruce Fife on the topic of flax and its health effects than to Dr. Budwig who was one of the greatest medical scientists and who spent a lifetime researching this subject and practicing it with astonishing results?

Compare Does flax oil (polyunsaturated fatty acids) create free radical damage to those of us who are using quantities to heal?.

Question 9: Fruit and sugar: Dr. Budwig states that honey is necessary for the mix, and she recommends fruit and juices, but isn't sugar in any form a cancer feeder?

Answer:
Can you point me to where Dr. Budwig said that honey is necessary for the mix? I believe she said that some honey may be used rather than saying that it is necessary. One point that I have observed, which I am not 100% sure about, is that the flax oil/cottage cheese seems to mix better when honey is added - that is before any other ingredients are added. Other ingredients should always be added after the flax oil/cottage cheese (with honey?) is thoroughly mixed.

Refined sugar is bad for you - without a doubt. Dr. Budwig made that clear. She did allow berries, fruit and fruit juices because of their nutritional value, without specifying which ones. This means in my opinion, that so long as they are taken in reasonable quantities, she was not overly concerned about the sugar content in them. If you wish to consult glycemic index tables and only eat tart fruit and berries that should be fine but perhaps it would be unnecessarily restrictive.

Compare On the Link Between Sugar Consumption and Cancer.

Question 10: I am on the Budwig diet and am suffering from swelling and weakness in my arm after blood test/excessive bleeding after an operation. Why is that?

Answer:
Flax oil does thin the blood somewhat. As one person reported, "I have had ‘bruise marks’ different times from blood draws. The higher the amount of flax oil used the more likely to have such marks. If a person were taking much of it I would be concerned with an operation. I had a growth removed from a foot and it took two sets of bandages to get the bleeding stopped."

Flaxseed oil’s mild blood thinning quality should not be a serious matter unless you are on blood-thinning medication. In that case you should make allowances for it.

What you need is vitamin K which is the natural blood clotting agent. Get it from deep green vegetables, especially Swiss Chard and Kale - not from pills. See (among many more informative sites) this link for more information on the foods containing it: www.dietitian.com/vitamink.html. While the Kale etc. would not work to help blood clotting instantaneously (since you have to digest and absorb it first), I would expect rather quick results depending on how much you eat.

To get an idea what 100 gram of food contain...
Kale or Swiss Chard contain about 800 mcg vitamin K,
Parsley 500 mcg,
Brussels Sprouts or Spinach 400 mcg,
Broccoli, Endive, deep green Lettuce 250 mcg,
etc.

Compare that to the level in pills, and keep in mind that natural is better quality and one would likely require less for the same effect.

There are a number of reasons why I prefer to get it from deep green vegetables rather than from pills. It is always better to get your nutrients from food. For instance you can overdose on vitamin K pills and not on vit. K from foods. Fresh organic green vegetables give you a world of other goodies.

The osteoporosis that you may want to guard against with pills is also guarded against with foods. And in addition you are getting high quality calcium/magnesium and other minerals with it. If you consider the very high level of vitamin K in Kale for example, as well as the minerals, vitamins A,B,C, etc. you would wonder why pills instead of food? In any case, if you do the Budwig Diet, you have to get away from thinking pills and switch to natural. It is VERY IMPORTANT. Every bit helps.

Question 11: Does flaxseed oil promote prostate cancer? (1)
See below-quoted excerpt from the article "flaxseed Oil Actually Increases Prostate Cancer While Fish Oil Decreases It" found at mercola.com/2004/jul/21/flax_seed_oil.htm:

"A recent study of about 47,000 men has found the ALA omega-3 fatty acids stimulate the growth of prostate tumors in men. Of the men monitored over 14 years, some 3,000 struggled with prostate cancer and about one in seven were suffering from the advanced stages of the disease.
Researchers found men who were suffering from advanced prostate cancer had higher quantities of ALA from non-animal as well as meat and dairy sources.
Scientists also found EPA and DHA could reduce the risk of total and advanced prostate cancer too. How does EPA and DHA work to prevent prostate cancer? Researchers offered these possibilities:
modification of membrane phospholipid composition
alteration of cell signaling and receptor activity
lipid peroxidation
cyclooxygenase inhibition
cytokine production
interference with androgen activity
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition July 2004 80(1);204-216"

Answer:
The flax oil in the study was not administered along with a sulfurated protein (like low fat cottage cheese or quark)) to make it water-soluble and, in turn, the unsaturated fatty acids were not made easily available to the body. Even Dr. Budwig, the discoverer of the wonderful attributes of the flax oil/sulfurated protein synergy stated that flax oil alone can do more harm than good.
Compare Prostate cancer: healing testimonials involving the Budwig diet.

Question: Does flaxseed oil promote prostate cancer? (2)
I'm concerned after reading an article in www.webmdhealth regarding flaxseed oil and fish oil, according to a research from Charles Myers at the University of Virginia Medical School, flaxoil causes a 300% increase in the growth of prostate cancer cells, so he doesn't reccomend flaxseed oil for men.

Answer 1:
The idea that FlaxSeed Oil is bad for men with prostate cancer originated with Dr. Myers and virtually all of those who write as Dr. Ornish has written got it from that source originally.

In the first place it is based on the use of flaxseed oil without the sulfur based proteins and Dr. Budwig herself said that is dangerous. Don't use it without the cottage cheese or other source of amino acids with the sulfur bond. I have seen enough myself to know that the idea that flaxoil/cottage cheese increases the growth of prostate cancer is very highly suspect, to be as charitable as possible. (credits: Cliff Beckwith)
Compare Prostate cancer: healing testimonials involving the Budwig diet.

Answer 2:
Dr. Myers is a recognized authority, he definitely doesn't like flaxoil/cottage cheese therapy, and he campaigns against it in many forums. However, that doesn't mean that he is right. I subscribe to the Prostate Forum, I urge others to subscribe, and I find benefit in reading it. I am not an anti-Meyers person. But you have to understand his biases when you read his theories or you get misled.

Dr. Myers has a huge medical practice but he never reports on his clinical data. He may not have clinical data. Compare him to a Dr. Walsh or a Dr. Catalona. You may not agree with them, but they tell you exactly what happened with their very large patient populations.

They are not theorizing. They have treated thousands of men and here's what happened. Dr. Myers is the opposite. He only theorizes-- with no data at all. He reads published papers and interprets them from the point of view of someone with a lot of biochemistry knowledge. That causes problems and you have to be very careful when you read his writings. He can be dead wrong.

Look first at one of his other peculiar items in the latest issue (called Feb 2000). On the front page it says: "Surgical removal of prostate cancer accelerates the growth of metastatic prostate cancer by suppressing the production of angiostatin."

You might think that he is saying that you shouldn't have surgery, but if you think that you were deceived. He's not saying that at all!! I know, some people will jump on these words and start to believe that surgery doesn't work. But it's nonsense; we have data on that topic. Where's the error? Can you find it? Be honest. Can you find the error or would you have been taken in?

O.K. here's the answer. Firstly, if you read his analysis of his own treatment regime in a prior issue then you know that he wanted to have surgery, but he reasoned that it wouldn't work for him. So he's clearly not against surgery.

If you read the supporting article in detail, you will find that he's not talking about surgery in general, despite the headline; he's talking about (without properly naming it) so-called debulking for men who have very advanced prostate cancer with well-defined metastases.

However, even for this case his argument is theoretical and not a valid proof. Why? Because these are very sick men who are using some type of therapy. The question is whether their chosen therapy is aided or harmed by the debulking.

Dr. Myers has nothing valid to say on this topic, because he didn't even speculate, no less have data, on a protocol for such cases. His imaginary protocol is the case of the very sick man who does nothing but debulking. That's a stupid case and doesn't arise. So what does the article teach? Answer: Nothing at all. It's all blowing in the wind. It's just an interesting theoretical comment with no clinical significance.

I offer you that analysis to show you how Dr. Myers’ theorizing style gets him in trouble fairly often. You have to be a very careful reader.

What is Dr. Myers doing with flaxoil/cottage cheese? He's theorizing again. He offers an analysis of the biochemistry of fats and tells you of his library search. He does everything other than follow the suggested protocol and try it on patients, or at least on dogs. He'll do anything other than real scientific testing.

When we read that many quite sick people have tried flaxoil/cottage cheese alone and as an adjuvant to other therapies, and very good things happened, how can anyone possibly throw out this data and accept Dr. Myers’ theorizing? Above all, if we want to be scientifically rational, then we must give the heaviest weight to real test data. That's where the rubber meets the road.

What's the bottom line? We must remember that flaxoil/cottage cheese is an investigational therapy. We have to be careful and work closely with a supportive doctor. We should treat Dr. Myers’ concerns with respect.

But in no way is his theorizing ever a trump card. In no way should people ignore test results and prefer learned speculation. Dr. Myers hasn't proven anything. Read it always as an advisory thought. (credits: Jules, "a retired scientist, very knowledgeable, who writes for a Prostate Cancer Publication put out every 3 months by Dr. Jerry Calona. I trust him greatly." [Cliff Beckwith])
Compare Prostate cancer: healing testimonials involving the Budwig diet.

Question 12: What are the "Respiratory Poisons" Dr. Budwig refers to as to be avoided?

Answer:
To requote from above: "How then do we get sick? Because we take in too many of these "electron thieves" or in other words, because we eat foods and poisons which block cell respiration. Known electron thieves are for example margarine, animal fat, butter, nitrate, radiation and zytostatics (chemotherapy). They all prevent the uptake of electrons."

In other words, respiratory poisons are those chemicals and foods that interfere with the respiration of cells. These are hydrogenated fats, many animal fats, etc. which are deposited in the cell membranes and other places where they harm the proper fatty make-up of the cell membrane and therefore interfere with the oxygen transfer; certain chemicals in food and non-food substances also interfere with proper cell respiration such as preservatives (nitrite in meat, antrachinon, benzoic acid etc.).

Dr. Otto Warburg proved that cells become cancerous when they are oxygen-starved below a certain threshold. Dr. Budwig with her Oil-Protein Diet aims to improve the cell respiration or restore the ability of cells taking in oxygen, and of the blood to accept and transport oxygen to the cells. This is critically important for health and fighting cancer and central to the healing processes that need to take place.

To repeat: "Respiratory poisons" counter the cellular respiration which the Budwig Protocol aims to improve. (credits in addition to Wilhelm H.: Healing Cancer Naturally)

Re animal fats and the general low-animal-fat principle of the Budwig diet for cancer, also compare the following questions (number 13 to 15).

Question 13: I thought animal fats were prohibited (see What are the "Respiratory Poisons", but in the Budwig Oil-Protein Cookbook it says (page 3) "the heavy eater is allowed all types of cheeses."

Answer:
I assume it has to do with two things: The psychological side of not being cut off all the nice spicy and flavourful foods and that they (the cheeses) are a good source of sulphurated amino acids (proteins) in spite of the fat content.

The most deleterious animal fats are those found in bacon and similar fatty meats. Fat in organic milk from grass-fed cows is much richer in the beneficial omega-3 fatty acids, so there are animal fats to absolutely avoid and animal fat sources that can be tolerated in certain amounts depending on the severity of the illness to be healed.

That said, always make sure to use only high-quality organic cheese, and if possible raw (for sources see for instance realmilk.com). You will get more of the beneficial omega-3s, a balanced mineral & trace element spectrum and other good stuff, while ingesting less or no pesticides, antibiotics and other toxic or even cancerogenic chemicals residues.

Also (hopefully) no animal pain & suffering involved either (which is part and parcel of conventional dairy production). As stated on the packaging of my raw biodynamic milk: only a happy animal can give wholesome milk that's good for you! (credits in addition to Wilhelm H.: Healing Cancer Naturally)

Question 14: Is butter allowed, which I would like to eat sometimes?

Answer:
You are talking about very high fat with no proteins in butter vis-à-vis moderate fat with proteins in the cheese. I would think that a flavourful piece of cheese offers a greater level of satisfaction than some butter for which you can have Oleolux [Dr. Budwig’s "answer to butter"] as a substitute.

Question 15: When making my own yoghurt or quark, can I use goat’s milk?

Answer:
Dr. Budwig refers to dairy without mentioning goat milk (at least I have not read it), perhaps due to the fact that goat milk is not traditionally used in Germany though she does mention sheep’s milk as being ok. Since goat milk fat is different and is generally seen as healthier, it could be the exception, but I don't know. In case of cancer, I would stick with the low fat principle of the Budwig Diet.

There are cases, however, where goat milk is indeed the only milk available, such as in the South African hinterland. In fact, Allan in SA who healed himself of "terminal" colon cancer and now looks after a group of Budwig diet followers reports that "We use goat milk with great success and some people prefer full-fat goat milk to low-fat cow milk while on the Budwig protocol."

One reason for using goat milk is that a lot of people from the 'Hinterland' of South Africa have no access to quark or cottage cheese. They do however have access to goat milk. So they are being advised to use goat milk and ferment it with kefir grains and strain the resultant to obtain a type of quark (see further explanations in Explanatory notes re kefir and sprouting). This would be full-fat quark because goat milk fat does not separate or hardly so (since goat milk has smaller fat globules and "is naturally homogenized since it lacks the protein agglutinin" [Wikipedia]).

We know that some former cancer patients got well with using a full-fat goat quark. We also know, as mentioned, that goat milk fat is healthy, or at least healthier than cow milk butter fat. Additionally, the locally available goat milk is likely raw and full of enzymes. After it is fermented and not heated it is full of probiotics as well.

The cow milk that is available to 99% or more of the population, apart from being pasteurized and non-organic, is also homogenized which makes its fat content a health problem. It may actually be healthier in such cases to use full-fat unpasteurized and unhomogenized goat milk for making quark even though it is full-fat than to use low-fat pasteurized and homogenized non-organic cow milk. (credits in addition to Wilhelm H.: Healing Cancer Naturally)
Compare Question 42 re yogurt: Did Dr. Budwig actually recommend the use of yogurt in place of cottage cheese/quark?.

Question 16: Is there any difference between golden and brown flaxseeds, apart from the cost, as well as between linseed and flaxseed?

Answer:
Linseed and flaxseed are synonyms, both used to denote the seed of flax. As to golden or brown flaxseed, there is no real difference. If the quality seems to be the same (clean, few broken or discoloured seed, etc.) save your money and buy the brown ones.
Also see Caveat: new breed of golden flaxseed (linseed) low in alpha-linolenic acid (an omega-3 fatty acid): Linola/Solin.

Question 17: When making my own yoghurt or quark, can I use kefir?

Answer:
Kefir was never mentioned by Dr. Budwig. Although I feel more comfortable with low fat quark, cottage cheese and drained yogurt, I think strained kefir is an option. I have tried kefir for a while until I killed the kefir grains with a temperature that was too warm.
My objections with it were the fishing out of the grains and that it would not strain very well. It drains poorly as I remember and I could not remove enough whey to get the same protein density as quark.

(To prepare kefir cheese:) One easy way is to take one of those coffee filter cups that sit on a big mug. Just put the filter in, pour the kefir and later in the day you have something similar to cream cheese. More on making kefir quark and reasons for using kefir

Question 18: Can Fromage Blanc be used instead of cottage cheese (or quark)?

Answer:
According to ochef.com/100.htm (no longer online), "Fromage frais simply means fresh cheese in French, and at its most generic, can refer to any of hundreds of varieties of cheese that have not been ripened, but are meant to be eaten shortly after they’re made. These include American cottage cheese, German quark, Italian ricotta and mozzarella, the French fromage blanc, Spanish queso fresco, and on and on.

In practice, when a recipe calls for fromage frais, it probably means fromage blanc, which is a creamy soft cheese made with whole or skimmed milk. It has the consistency of another product available in the US, cream cheese, but with fewer calories and less cholesterol. Where available, low-fat cream cheese is an acceptable substitute for fromage blanc."

In other words, fromage blanc when made from skimmed milk is very similar to low-fat quark. The only important thing to watch out for is to use the low- or zero fat variety, since for the purpose of keeping the ingestion of respiratory poisons low, it is advised to use low-fat quark (cottage cheese) for the preparation of the flaxoil/cottage cheese mixture. Voir Le régime Huile-Protéine du Dr Johanna Budwig: recettes de base.

Compare Can I use ricotta instead of cottage cheese or quark as the source of sulphurated amino acids?. (credits: Healing Cancer Naturally)

Question 19: What are sulphurated (or sulfurated) amino acids?

Answer:
Methionine, cystine, and cysteine and their derivatives owe their designation of "sulphurated amino acids" to the fact that they contain sulfur in addition to carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen. Incidentally, they are also well-known as an effective cleaning "squad" for all toxic substances that we ingest because they attach themselves to harmful substances and pollutants and carry them out of the body. One example: methionine and cysteine aid in lead elimination (Karen Vago).

Question 20: Should I preferably buy flaxseed oil with lignans?

Answer:
See Why plain flaxseed oil - not the one with lignans.

Question 21: My doctor suggested I get on Proscar for my prostate. I was wondering if Proscar is safe to take while on the Budwig Protocol?

Answer:
I cannot determine whether it will interfere with the Budwig Diet, but there is a strong chance that it will. The rule is simple: If it is natural, it probably is ok; if it is a drug, chemical or synthetic, it probably will interfere with the Budwig Diet. Why don't you try natural foods or compounds like Ginger, Turmeric, Pygeum or Saw Palmetto? Also, for a comparison of effectiveness and cost of Proscar and Saw Palmetto check this site: sawpalmetto.com/proscar.html
Compare Question 49: Weaning off medications.

Question 22: How long is it before one notices a change in a palpable tumor on the Budwig protocol, days, weeks, months? Given that my (breast) tumor is small will it go away quicker?

Answer:
The time it takes for a tumor to get smaller or before you notice a change is really not a question that is easy to answer. With my own dad - he was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and his tumor's size came down within six (6) weeks and totally disappeared by the 12th week on the Budwig protocol (see the Budwig testimonials file for several lymphoma testimonials).

Some people start noticing a change from the 3rd week while others take months before there is a change in the size of the tumor. One thing I would like to say about all this is that the Budwig protocol will most certainly stop the tumor from getting bigger and spreading to the other organs.

We have a lady in our Budwig group with breast cancer who refused chemo and radiation - she is doing only the Budwig protocol. She had two lumps in her breast and she has been following the protocol since January this year. She can still feel the lumps, although a lot smaller, but she is feeling on top of the world and she never stopped working and hasn't felt ill ever since she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Another friend of hers was diagnosed with breast cancer, in December last year, she went for surgery, chemo and radiation treatments. She became so ill, lost all her hair, suffered from pneumonia several times this year and she had to stop working and is still not well at all.

The point I'm trying to make is that although the tumors are worrying and one would like them to disappear as soon as possible, at least with the Budwig protocol you know that you are keeping them in check although it might take some time for them to disappear, but you will be able to enjoy a wonderful active quality of life. (credits: AC)
Compare eminent cancer treatment researcher Lothar Hirneise’s observations on the positive role of tumors as "second liver" & reservoirs serving to safely store away toxins.

Read breast cancer testimonials or the sample Budwig healing testimonials covering many types of cancer.

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