Hippocrates might be credited with saying “Let food be thy medicine, and let medicine be thy food,” but biochemist Dr. Johanna Budwig is known for making this belief a reality.
One of the top experts on fats and oils in the 1950s, Dr. Budwig found that the right combination of quark or cottage cheese and flaxseed oil has therapeutic properties in preventing, treating, and even curing cancer.1,4 Known as the Budwig Diet, could this diet protocol beat cancer?
Dr. Budwig’s Discoveries
How did Dr. Budwig derive her understanding that this simple strategy has major therapeutic properties? While researching the pathogenesis of disease and illness as a biochemist in Germany, Dr. Budwig observed that quark (a soft fresh cheese) contained the very same sulphydryl groups found in cancer treatment drugs. These sulphydryl groups are cysteine and methionineamino acids.4
While researching fats and oils, Dr. Budwig further established that essential polyunsaturated fatty acids, referred to as PUFAs, are major components of cellular membranes.4 Without a properly functioning cellular membrane, cells lose the ability to perform vital life processes such as cellular respiration and the ability to divide and form new cells.
The two essential polyunsaturated fatty acids critical for cell membrane support are:
- Linoleic Acid (LA): Better known as omega-6 fatty acids.
- Linolenic Acid (LNA): Commonly referred to as omega-3 fatty acids. Omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids have been recognized for their anticancer properties and roles in preventing sickness and disease.4
Cottage Cheese and Flaxseed Oil Work to Re-energize Cells
A chemical reaction takes place when the sulphydryl groups in quark or cottage cheese bind with the unsaturated fatty acids in flaxseed oil.3,4 This reaction allows the flaxseed to become water soluble and enter into a cell to supply energy.
Imagine the cells in your body are the same as the battery in a car. Our cells also require electrical energy in order to run and energize all of our life-giving biological functions. In order for a dead car battery to be recharged, it requires jumper cables to supply an electrical current from a good battery. The combination of quark or cottage cheese and flaxseed oil work together and function like jumper cables.
In her research, Dr. Budwig’s cancer patients had improved oxygen supply to their cells and found relief from all forms of cancer including cancers of the gastrointestinal tract, brain, breast, and skin cancers.1,2,5,6
How to Make the Budwig Diet Protocol a Lifestyle
Dr. Budwig advised specific recommendations in order to beat cancer.1 The following is a list of guidelines for using her protocol:
- Drink only purified water
- Receive adequate amounts of sunshine to stimulate healing in the mind and body
- Eliminate all processed foods from your diet
- Do not consume sugar, meat, or animal fat
- Prepare only fresh and organic fruits and vegetables
- Prepare and eat foods immediately, never use leftovers
- Avoid all drugs and supplements
- Always grind flaxseeds fresh and consume within 15 minutes of grinding
- Mix quark or cottage cheese and flaxseed oil in a 2:1 ratio and blend until no visible oil remains floating
- Do not mix in added ingredients until final cheese mixture results
Further Recommendations for the Budwig Diet
If suffering from cancer, Dr. Budwig recommended consuming up to 8 tablespoons of flaxseed oil (in the mixture) daily. Otherwise, 1 tablespoon per day of flaxseed oil can be taken to prevent cancer.1
The pathogenesis of cancer can be stimulated by toxins in our environment and all sources of these toxins should be eliminated. This includes trans fats, genetically modified foods, and carcinogen-ridden cooking tools such as Teflon coated pans and plastic.6
Since Dr. Budwig’s research, other cancer experts have introduced similar cancer treatment protocols designed to stimulate cellular health and function by improving cellular respiration, strengthening immunity, reducing body acidity, and limiting carcinogens in the body.1,2,4
Reverse Cancer Naturally with the Budwig Diet
Dr. Budwig’s research has had a domino effect on influencing the scientific and medical community. Since her research, the last 50 years of science involves the study of fats and oils and the effects that these components have on our bodies.
If you want to give Dr. Budwig’s Diet protocol a try for beating cancer, you must begin by purchasing high quality ingredients to promote optimal health and healing. For example, Barlean’s cold pressed flax oil with no added lignins can be found in the refrigerator section of health food stores. It is contained in a dark bottle and should never be used past its expiration date.
Nancy’s brand of organic low fat cottage cheese contains probiotics and enzymes which even those with dairy sensitivities may tolerate. People living in many European countries will have access to quark.
Purchasing lower quality cottage cheese inhibits the necessary chemical reaction from occurring between the sulphydryl groups and fatty acids. Preservatives and hormones in poor quality cheeses coupled with high heat pasteurization processes destroy the quality sulfur-containing protein.
Step-By-Step Instructions for Preparing the Budwig Diet Mixture
You can prevent and even reverse cancer naturally by implementing strategies of the Budwig Diet Protocol. Use these step-by-step instructions to prepare your own fresh Budwig Diet mixture.
Remember, 1 tablespoon of flax oil plus 2 tablespoons of organic low fat cottage cheese or quark is recommended for every 100 pounds of an individual. The recipe can be adjusted according to dosage needs as well as for its intended purpose to treat the severity of cancer symptoms.
- Place 1 tablespoon of cold pressed flaxseed oil into a glass container.
- Mix in 2 tablespoons of organic, low fat (2% or less) cottage cheese OR quark.
- Never by hand, and preferably using an immersion blender, blend the two foods for 1 minute. This will result in a whipped cream like consistency.
- Grind 2 tablespoons of either golden or brown flaxseeds in a coffee grinder for 1 minute until an airy, fluffy appearance results. Place ground flaxseed in a separate glass bowl. Add the cheese and oil mixture to the ground flax seed and stir with a spoon to combine.
Additional add-ins including organic fruits, nuts, and spices can be added on top for a tasty meal.
