The Budwig Diet Protocol: Then and Now

Sixty-five years ago, a German scientist and researcher named Johanna Budwig created the Budwig Diet Protocol as anti-cancer treatment based on her research into the connection between oxygen and cancer. Over the years, some changes to the original protocol have been introduced, but the basis remains the same: harnessing the unique properties of highly unsaturated fatty acids and sulfurated amino acids to allow cancer cells to start “breathing” again. The Budwig Diet’s focus on increasing the body’s absorption and utilization of oxygen aligns well with today’s High pH Therapy protocol, and both protocols work well together towards that goal.

Who Was Johanna Budwig?

Johanna Budwig (1908 – 2003) was a German biochemist, pharmacist, and author who held doctorate degrees in physics and chemistry. In 1952, her research on fatty acids led her to develop an anti-cancer protocol known as the Budwig Protocol (aka the Budwig Diet) based on her findings.

Budwig researched the theory that a low oxygen environment would encourage the proliferation of cancerous cells. She found that a low-oxygen environment would develop in the absence of sulphydryl groups and/or fatty acids, which encouraged the growth of cancerous cells. Sulfur has a similar electron configuration to oxygen and enables the transport of oxygen across cell membranes. Budwig found that highly unsaturated fatty acids stimulated cellular respiration and worked in conjunction with sulfurated amino acids in the absorption and utilization of oxygen.

Budwig used paper chromatography techniques to compare the fatty acid profiles of sick and healthy individuals. The Budwig Diet Protocol, a result of this research, is based on the idea that cancer cells can be killed by changing the type of fats in the diet to increase oxygenation.

What is the Budwig Diet Protocol?

There are two parts to the Budwig diet protocol that are used concurrently. The first part is a blend of flaxseed oil together with something containing high amounts of sulfur proteins such as quark. The second part of the protocol is a special diet.

Flax seeds are the richest source of unsaturated omega 3 fatty acids. Quark, a cultured dairy product made from fermenting milk with beneficial bacteria, is rich in sulphurated amino acids. Organic cold-pressed flaxseed oil, when mixed with sulphurated amino acids (such as found in quark), becomes water-soluble and therefore readily available and easily assimilated for use in the body. This unsaturated fatty acid and sulphurated amino acid combination is vital to the absorption and utilization of oxygen.

Cancer cells, unlike normal healthy cells, actually use anaerobic (without oxygen) fermentation metabolism. In 1931 Dr. Otto Warburg proved that cancer cells cannot live in an oxygen-rich environment. According to Dr. David Gregg, in his work “The Proposed Common Cause and Cure for All Forms of Cancer”, the solution to cancer is to “restart aerobic metabolism”. The goal of Budwig’s diet protocol is to allow cancer cells, which have converted from normal aerobic oxygen respiration to anaerobic fermentation, to start “breathing” again.

About the Original Budwig Diet

The Budwig diet protocol is based on a daily muesli prepared one to two times per day. Flaxseed oil (kept sealed and refrigerated) is mixed with quark and served with freshly ground flax seeds (consumed within 15 minutes of grinding), topped with fresh seasonal organic fruit and raw organic nuts. It can be flavored with a bit of cinnamon or vanilla to taste.

For each Tablespoon of flaxseed oil, add 2 Tablespoons of quark. The flaxseed oil and quark mixture should be fully blended until no traces of oil remain visible and the highly unsaturated fatty acids have become water soluble.

The diet to be used along with the flax/quark mixture is rich in fruits, vegetables, and fiber (raw or lightly cooked). Avoid sugar, refined grains, animal fats, salad oils, butter, and margarine. Fresh meat is allowed, but not store-bought meat. Avoid all processed foods, as well as caffeine, liquor, and tobacco.

According to one article, Dr. Budwig never recommended or sanctioned the use of yogurt or cottage cheese as a suitable substitute for quark in any of her original writings. Dr. Budwig also never endorsed or used low-fat or non-fat products. She was adamant on using quark. Quark is very different from Greek yogurt or cottage cheese and contains the beneficial Lactococcus lactis bacteria, is very high in protein, and contains neither rennet nor added salt. There are several recipes available online if you want to make your own quark at home.

Budwig Diet Recipe

Here is a recipe for the Budwig Diet quark flaxseed mixture.

3 Tablespoons Flaxseed Oil
2 Tablespoons Ground Flax Seeds
1 Tablespoon Raw Organic Honey
6 Tablespoons Quark Cheese (no substitutes)
3 Tablespoons Whole Milk (non-homogenized)

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Cinnamon, vanilla, cayenne pepper, or garlic can be added to taste. Or mix with fresh fruits, nuts, or berries. Mixture must be consumed within 15 minutes of combining.

The Budwig Diet and High pH Therapy

The original Budwig Diet is a good fit with today’s High pH Therapy protocol. High pH Therapy focuses on using the alkaline mineral cesium chloride as part of a daily supplement protocol, together with an alkaline diet rich in vegetables and fruits, to help alkalize the body, increase oxygen content, and support the immune system, which is the body’s natural defense system. A healthy immune system is better able to help repair and rebuild damaged cells.

The Budwig Diet is very similar in many ways to an alkaline diet and can be used interchangeably when following the High pH Therapy protocol. The main difference is that the Budwig Diet protocol includes dairy products in the form of cultured quark, where most alkaline diets recommend avoiding all dairy products. The two protocols work well together, however, and share the same goal of increasing oxygenation in the body to address the low-oxygen acidic environment that is a hallmark of cancer cells.

Budwig’s Books

To learn more about the original Budwig Diet, here are three of Johanna Budwig’s books, which have been translated into English from the original German.

• The Oil-Protein Cookbook (l-Eiwei-Kost) Sensei Verlag (2000)
• Cancer – The Problem and the Solution (Krebs. Das Problem und die Lsung) Sensei Verlag (1999)
• Flax Oil As A True Aid Against Arthritis, Heart Infarction, Cancer And Other Diseases (Fette als wahre Hilfe gegen Arteriosklerose, Herzinfarkt, Krebs) 1972

Sources

• The Original Budwig Diet
• Johanna Budwig on Wikipedia
• The Budwig Protocol
• The True Budwig Protocol
• Cancer, Sulfur, Garlic, and Glutathione
• The Basis of Dr. Budwig’s Oil/Protein Diet
• Budwig Diet Health Topic
• Foods to Avoid on the Budwig Diet
• How to Make Quark Cheese
• What is Quark? Is it Healthy?
• Did Dr. Budwig Recommend the Use of Yogurt?
• Cesium Chloride and the Budwig Diet
• pH and the Alkaline Diet
• High pH Therapy
• Why Alkaline?

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