I observed an incredible response from my greyhound with osteosarcoma and it was this experience that was the impetus for further investigation of the Budwig Protocol. You may read about my greyhound's case by clicking on the right button. This protocol was developed by Dr. Johanna Budwig and basically is a nutritional approach on how to reverse cancer and other diseases by combining Flaxseed oil with the sulfur protein complex found in cottage cheese. Though developed for humans, I feel this treatment could have very favorable implications for all mammals that are subjected to unnatural factory made feed stuffs including racehorses. So let's delve into its science, history and founder:
Secret of Life:
Before we get into the nitty-gritty. Let's look at the big picture which medical practitioners seldom do as specialists. The main object of animal life (and accordingly, its health) is to absorb food nutrients plus Oxygen, rearranging the protons and electrons to a more stable configuration that ends in the production of carbon dioxide and water with a release of energy. The ultimate energy source for life on earth is the sun. It's photons. Plants on this earth with Flax being our focus here, capture the sun's photons, as so eloquently observed by Johanna Budwig via photosynthesis converting water, soil nutrients, photons into essential animal nutrients. It is Flax-seed's nutrients that are so vital in the electron chain of our cell's process to produce energy efficiently via the respiration process and the lack there of, the likely cause of so many of our animal's pathology, especially cancers.
Indications for its use:
Cancer, Arteriosclerosis, Strokes, Cardiac Infarction, Heartbeat (irregular), Liver (fatty degeneration), Lungs (reduces bronchial spasms), Intestines (regulates activity), Stomach Ulcers (normalizes gastric juices), Prostate (hypertopic), Arthritis (exerts a favorable influence), Eczema (assists all skin diseases), Old age (improves many common afflictions), Brain (strengthens activity), Immune Deficiency Syndromes (multiple sclerosis, auto-immune illnesses). One can see how many serious diseases are so dependent on a healthy cell and a healthy, efficient cellular respiration process.
The Science
First some background work:
Essential Fatty Acids
Essential fatty aids (EFA) are as the name implies, essential to life and health! More over, they cannot be naturally synthesized in mammals and must be obtained from outside nutrition. The two EFA classes of interest here are the Omega-6 and Omega-3 groups which are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). The base EFA of the Omega-6 group is Linoleic acid (LA) and of the Omega-3 group is α-Linolenic acid (ALA). The Linus Pauling Institute writes: "Omega-6 and omega-3 are important structural components of cell membranes. When incorporated into phospholipids, they affect cell membrane properties, such as fluidity, flexibility, permeability, and the activity of membrane-bound enzymes. In addition to endogenous metabolism, dietary consumption of fatty acids can modify the composition and molecular structure of cellular membranes. Thus, increasing omega-3 fatty acid intake increases the omega-3 content of red blood cells, immune cells, atherosclerotic plaque, cardiac tissue, and other cell types throughout the body." Johanna Budwig writes: ". . . the fatty acids that are recognized as vital with 18 links in the hydrogen chains (chain with 18 links) and with high electronic enhancement. It is scientifically known that the electronic energy, e.g. in the linoleic fatty acids, is so high-grade that this energy lifts off of the heavy mass and moves as an electron cloud."
Dr. Budwig considered Flax-seed oil to be the best source of the essential fatty acids for her treatments. Flax-seed oil contains both Omega-6 Linoleic acid (LA) at approximately 16% and the Omega-3 α-Linolenic acid (ALA) at 57%. Flax-seed oil at 1 tablespoon equals 7.3 grams of α-Linolenic acid (ALA). It is flax-seed's α-Linolenic and Linoleic acids that are the pillar to the Budwig protocol. There is confusion by students of Budwig about which essential fatty acid she used, LA or ALA? Most of her writings and lectures seem to only prominently mention the omega-6 Linoleic acid (LA) which acts as a respiratory enzyme in cellular metabolism. However, she also usually mentions that Linoleic acid (LA) is most effective in the "linoleic-linolenic acid system" found in flaxseed oil. She felt both were needed. Interestingly, it is usually thought that α-Linolenic acid (ALA) will be most deficient in our modern diets with hundreds of researchers touting its supplementation while the Omega-6's of which Linoleic acid (LA) belongs, not so much. Budwig seems to disagree with the modern view that ALA is all important and writes this: "The highest electron collection is with the combination of linoleic-linolenic fatty acids in flax oil. The linolenic acid (ALA) as conjugated fatty acid is even more effective and is even more strongly effective in interplay with linoleic acid (LA) as it is present in the flax oil chain as essential fatty acids for oxygen absorption. This was relatively easy for me to verify in my experiments. I would like to emphasize this. The combination of double unsaturated linoleic acid (LA) with triple unsaturated linolenic acid (ALA) is particularly well-combined in flaxseed. Naturally the quality of flaxseed differs greatly. Naturally red flowering flaxseed and blue flowering flaxseed are naturally different; there is also a difference depending on whether flaxseed is harvested in the cold like in Siberia, or in Africa." Thus, I say to those questioning which Fatty acids are important, both, with the emphasis on LA! The fatty acid, α-Linolenic acid (ALA) generally is not considered a prime player in cellular respiration unlike the Omega-6's Linoleic acid (LA), but Budwig seemed to think that the combination of both LA with ALA is particularly potent in the oxygen absorption process. The take-away to this and I will harp on this theme throughout this page is that it is not only this synergistic combination of the two that are important, but the quality of both LA and ALA that is key! Rancidity is to be avoided at all costs!
Sulfhydryl Group & Lipoproteins
To be more exact, we are interested in the sulfhydryl (thiol) group in proteins. This is the primary form in which sulfur is found in the body along with the disulfide groups. The importance of this group in the physiology of cellular respiration is vital in the oxidation-reduction processes and enhancement of other mechanisms to the well being of a healthy cell. Most herbalists are big fans of organic sulfur. We highly regard such herbs as garlic as very wonderful medicinal plants because of its high sulfur content. Garlic's active compound is allicin (diallyl thiosulfinate, a thiol group). Cottage cheese contains the amino acids, methionine and cysteine which also contain a sulfhydryl group. Thus, these sulfhydryl amino acids in the form of cottage cheese when linked to the Flax-seed's α-Linolenic acid & Linoleic acid complex creates an easily bio-available lipoprotein (fat + protein) that our cells can easily absorb. This is the key component of the Budwig protocol! The two must be taken together and properly combined! One needs to use a mechanical blender to cause this chemical reaction to occur. Mere spooning probably won't do it. Don't blend any longer than you have to as this tends to introduce oxygen into the volume hastening oxidation and degradation. Once the yellow oil disappears into the white cottage cheese, you are good to go.
Lipoproteins are amazing structures vital for life. We all know what happens if you try to mix an oil (fat) with water. The oil floats to the top with the two not mixing no matter how hard you try. As an example, try mixing a simple herbal tea made from water with flax-seed oil together in a saucer. You will quickly see this happening. The oil floats to the top. In contrast, try first mixing a tablespoon of Flax-seed oil with 2 tablespoons of cottage cheese, combining with an electric immersion blender. The result is a homogenous creamy emulsion with no signs of the yellow oil. Next, add your herbal water-based tea to this emulsion. The tea will easily mix after some stirring, producing a thinner homogenous emulsion. This would be impossible without lipoprotein formation first occurring. Lipoproteins are molecules that combine lipids (oils, fats) with proteins into one structure that is water-soluble forming a nutrient vehicle that is easily transportable within the body which is characteristically made up of approximately 60% water. Of all things unique about the Budwig protocol, this flax-seed oil/cottage cheese aspect is it! Plain flax-seed oil ingested will not have the same affect as Johanna has pointed out. Fresh flax-seed oil must be combined with the sulfhydryl proteins!
Spectrofluorometric Determination of Sulfhydryl Groups in Cottage Cheese
( Journal of Dairy Science, Volume 51, Issue 8, August 1968, Pages 1166-1168)
Abstract
The spectrofluorometric method for the determination of sulfhydryl groups in milk proteins and milk has been adapted to apply to Cottage cheese. The method was used in measuring sulfhydryl content of Cottage cheese. Cottage cheese from normally pasteurized skim-milk contained 7.40 ± 1.12 μmoles of sulfhydryl per gram of cheese protein, while cheese from highly heated skim-milk contained 21.30 ± 1.68 μmoles per gram of protein. These data derived from the statistical analysis of a relatively large number of samples, indicate that high-heat skim-milk Cottage cheese contains approximately three times as many spectrofluorometrically measurable sulfhydryl groups as that made from pasteurized skim-milk.
Note: Johanna Budwig used what the Europeans call, quark, for cottage cheese. Quark is very similar to cottage cheese, but lower in sodium. There should be little difference between the two as far as the sulfhydryl proteins are concerned.
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Lets examine Johanna Budwig (pronounced: Yaw-hun-nah Bood-vig) and her Flax-seed formula and the biological mechanism which might be behind her treatment. Dr. Budwig's only commonly available book, Flax Oil as a True Aid Against Arthritis, Heart Infarction, Cancer and Other Diseases, 3rd Edition, is a small booklet containing a collection of three of her lectures. This text is rather inadequate as books go. Plus it is a 1992 English translation of the German which seems to make it much harder to understand. Hopefully, I can do a better job of explaining her ideas on this web-page and compare what she wrote to what is being done out on the Internet where there are many variations, along with the method I used with my dog. Her book can be read online free at:
Another book of her's as narrated by Lothar Hirneise, Cancer - The Problem and The Solution, is rather hard-to-find and very expensive for a 127 page booklet when found. It is a more technical book describing how she evolved her theories along with more details. Lastly, there is her, The Oil-Protein Diet Cookbook .
Dr. Budwig's theories were formulated in the 1950's which could mean they are quite out-dated. We shall see! She died in 2003 at the age of 94. She was a licensed Naturopath, pharmacologist with doctorates in both Chemistry and Physics and studied medicine at Göttingen. She was nominated for the Nobel prize 6 or 7 times. As late as 1994 in a written foreword to her 3rd Edition, she still believed in her theories and felt vindicated by current work at that time with fat systems. Dr. Dan C. Roehm, MD in 1990 wrote: "What she (Dr. Johanna Budwig) has demonstrated to my initial disbelief but lately, to my complete satisfaction in my practice is: CANCER IS EASILY CURABLE, the treatment is dietary/lifestyle, the response is immediate; the cancer cell is weak and vulnerable; the precise biochemical breakdown point was identified by her in 1951 and is specifically correctable, in vitro (test tube) as well as in vivo (real)..." These are pretty powerful words coming from an M.D. as late as 1990, and I agree. I have seen it first-hand myself and I am stunned by how fast it can work! Essential fatty acids seem to be at the core of cellular health as Dr. Budwig theorized in the 1950's! I have always been leery of holistic scams online and elsewhere. One of the first clues to knowing how legit a formula might be is price and the second, its list of ingredients. It is a sure sign to be skeptical when promoted "magical" health-giving products have exorbitant prices with secret ingredients. The Budwig remedy is cheap, commonly available and there are no secrets. Always follow the money trail first as an indication of creditability! Dr. Budwig had this to say: "I have the answer to cancer, but American doctors won't listen. They come here and observe my methods and are impressed. Then they want to make a special deal so they can take it home and make a lot of money. I won't do it, so I'm blackballed in every country." She had never tried to patent her formula or sell it to corporations for profit! However, after her death in 2003, her nephew, who she never had a close relationship with, took her proprietary ideas, books, formulas--commercializing them. He also was behind a Budwig clinic that currently operates in Spain.
Dr. Budwig was the first to warn against the industrial practice of using the hydrogenation process to extend the shelf-life of fats in the huge food industry for years before that topic became fashionable. "Fats that have industrially been made stable against oxygen acceptance, also oppose the oxygen uptake by the living tissue through auto-oxidation. Our diets often lack the highly unsaturated fatty acids and contain an excess of man-made oils known as trans fats (or partially hydrogenated oils)." She is referring to the cooking oils sold in grocery stores and the processed oils and fats used in producing a wide array of factory processed foods and this includes dry dog feeds as well! After all, dry dog feed does not last weeks or months in a sack not for good reason! If you only feed your dog processed dry or wet foods, undoubtedly they are not getting the essential oils needed. No wonder there is so much cancer out there in the canine world! Most companies extract the oil from corn, sunflowers, and other plants by using extreme heat and chemicals. The resulting oils and fats may be a major factor in hastening death to the user. These oils are very harmful to life in that they have a many-year shelf life which means even common microorganisms cannot utilize them let alone our own bodies. These oils are absorbed into our cell membranes destroying the electrical charges needed for proper respiration. Without the charge, our cells start to suffocate due to a lack of oxygen. Accordingly, we and our animals are all very deficient in the proper fats that can donate the electrons we need for health.
When investigating a protocol or theory, I have always found it extremely illuminating to learn how that person came up with their ideas, seemingly out of the blue! I was interested to learn how Johanna Budwig did it as well. She was working with pharmaceuticals for the German Federal Health Office (German FDA) in the early 1950's. In 1951, she was in charge of looking over a number of applications for Federal approval from companies for the use of sulfhydryl group (sulfur-containing protein compounds) in treating cancer. She was struck by how important fats were in this paradigm. The sulfhydryl group can be detected in all breathing tissues and is a key player in the automatic oxygen absorption in cells. Yet the sulfhydryl group is not the only story. Budwig writes: ". . .rather it (oxygen absorption) occurs in an interplay between the positive electrically-charged sulphur compounds in the protein and some kind of fatty substance that we cannot detect, because no verifications for it are available. This fatty substance however plays a major role in the Warburg's respiratory enzyme." This 1951 undetectable "fatty substance" eventually became known as Linoleic acid (LA). Budwig pioneered a method of paper chromatography, which could analyze 0.1 mg of linoleic acid (LA) and linolenic acid (ALA). She writes: "Warburg and Thunberg were unable to isolate or understand this mystery substance of the cell biocatalysts in tissue. Likewise the Japanese in their study [of] the ferment 'laccatase' in plants, and the French in studying 'philothion,' or in the lecithin-type substances of phosphatide combinations. Von Euler wrote that the substance seems to be very unstable. Szent-Gyorgyi wrote the same thing prior to 1951. This substance they all sought was responsible for electron displacement and for the fact that not only protons, but also electrons flow over the hydrogen bridge. This great unknown in the cytochrome oxidase function was defined by me for the first time as linoleic acid (LA). I proved it with numerous experiments, later shown to be particularly effective in the linoleic (LA)-linolenic acid (ALA) system."
This brings up Otto Warburg, who had a large influence on Johanna Budwig! Otto Warburg was a German physiologist, medical doctor and Nobel laureate. He is most famously known for his 1920's Cancer Hypothesis: "Cancer, above all other diseases, has countless secondary causes. But, even for cancer, there is only one prime cause. Summarized in a few words, the prime cause of cancer is the replacement of the respiration of oxygen in normal body cells by a fermentation of sugar." This premise is the backbone of most all holistic cancer protocols even to this day. Cancer and tumor growth are caused by the generating of energy by the non-oxidative breakdown of sugar/glucose, known as glycolysis. This is in contrast to healthy cells which mainly generate energy from a pyruvate oxidative breakdown (aerobic process). Pyruvate is an end-product of glycolysis and is oxidized within the mitochondria. According to Warburg, cancer should be interpreted as a mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitochondria act as control centers regulating whether a cell becomes cancerous via glycolysis or stays aerobic and healthy. It also regulates the all important apoptosis (programmed cell death). In contrast, the main-stream medical profession seems to feel this is far too simplistic with their new holy chalice being genetics with all the complexity and obscurity and mystery which that field holds in science. So far, I am not impressed with the promise of genetics despite the wonderful predictions to the eventual cure of cancer. A 2014 study, entitled: Cancer as a metabolic disease: implications for novel therapeutics pretty much backs Warburg's 1920's theories on cancer cause. They found: "Emerging evidence indicates that cancer is primarily a metabolic disease involving disturbances in energy production through respiration and fermentation."
Warburg writes this: "Because no cancer cell exists, the respiration of which is intact, it cannot be disputed that cancer could be prevented if the respiration of the body cells would be kept intact. Today we know two methods to influence cell respiration. The first is to decrease the oxygen pressure in growing cells. If it is so much decreased that the oxygen transferring enzymes are no longer saturated with oxygen, respiration can decrease irreversibly and normal cells can be transformed into facultative anaerobes. The second method to influence cell respiration in vivo is to add the active groups of the respiratory enzymes to the food of man. Lack of these groups impairs cell respiration and abundance of these groups repairs impaired cell respiration - a statement that is proved by the fact that these groups are necessary vitamins for man. To prevent cancer it is therefore proposed first to keep the speed of the blood stream so high that the venous blood still contains sufficient oxygen; second, to keep high the concentration of hemoglobin in the blood; third to add always to the food, even of healthy people, the active groups of the respiratory enzymes; and to increase the doses of these groups, if a precancerous state has already developed. If at the same time exogenous carcinogens are excluded rigorously, then much of the endogenous cancer may be prevented today."
He continues in his 1967 publication, The Prime Cause and Prevention of Cancer : "There are prime and secondary causes of diseases. For example, the prime cause of the plague is the plague bacillus, but secondary causes of the plague are filth, rats, and the fleas that transfer the plague bacillus from rats to man. By a prime cause of a disease I mean one that is found in every case of the disease. Cancer, above all other diseases, has countless secondary causes. Almost anything can cause cancer. But, even for cancer, there is only one prime cause. Summarized in a few words, the prime cause of cancer is the replacement of the respiration of oxygen in normal body cells by a fermentation of sugar. All normal body cells meet their energy needs by respiration of oxygen, whereas cancer cells meet their energy needs in great part by fermentation. All normal body cells are thus obligate aerobes, whereas all cancer cells are partial anaerobes. From the standpoint of the physics and chemistry of life this difference between normal and cancer cells is so great that one can scarcely picture a greater difference. Oxygen gas, the donor of energy in plants and animals is dethroned in the cancer cells and replaced by an energy yielding reaction of the lowest living forms, namely, a fermentation of glucose."
And finally he writes of the application of these theories: "Of what use is it to know the prime cause of cancer? Here is an example. In Scandinavian countries there occurs a cancer of the throat and oesophagus whose precursor is the so-called Plummer-Vinson syndrome. This syndrome can be healed when one adds to the diet the active groups of respiratory enzymes, for example: iron salts, riboflavin, nicotinamide, and pantothenic acid. When one can heal the precursor of a cancer, one can prevent cancer. According to Ernest Wynder of Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research in New York, the time has come when one can exterminate this kind of cancer with the help of the active groups of the respiratory enzymes. It is of interest in this connection that with the help of one of these active groups of the respiratory enzymes, namely nicotinamide, tuberculosis can be healed quite as well as with streptomycin, but without the side effects of the latter. Since the sulfonamides and antibiotics, this discovery made in 1945 is the most important event in the field of chemotherapy generally, and encourages, in association with the experiences in Scandinavia, efforts to prevent cancer by dietary addition of large amounts of the active groups of the respiratory enzymes. Since there can scarcely be overdosage, such experiments can do no harm."
Back to Budwig and her statement that a fatty acid plays a major role in the Warburg's respiratory enzyme. So what is the Warburg's Respiratory Enzyme? Warburg's yellow enzyme (Atmungsjerment) is a flavoprotein that catalyzes an oxidation-reduction reaction and it is the last enzyme in the respiratory electron transport chain of mitochondria . This reaction is necessary for the cells to normally "breath". It is now thought that his Atmungsjerment is the same as the enzyme, Cytochrome c oxidase. This fundamental enzyme converts the oxygen you breath into water at a cellular level by using electrons provided by cytochrome c and protons found in the body. Because oxygen is a very reactive, unstable molecule, Cytochrome oxidase takes electrons from nutrient oxidation and attaches them to an oxygen molecule, then a few hydrogen ions forming two water molecules causing a release of energy. Cytochrome c oxidase utilizes the reaction of oxygen to water to power a molecular pump. As oxygen is consumed, the energy is stored by pumping hydrogen ions from one side of the membrane to the other. Later, the energy can be used to build ATP. ATP is the end product of cellular respiration though it goes without saying here, this is a very complex chain of many events. Linoleic acid (LA) is known to be positively associated with cytochrome c oxidase (COX) activity.
So what happens in mitochondrial dysfunction, if we don't have enough right fatty acids for optimum cellular respiration? The energy-generating capacity of the cell diminishes until the cell can no longer function properly. Defects in cellular respiration are dangerous and likely. As far as cancer, programmed cell death or apoptosis may cease, not to mention that a decreased cellular respiration will be conducive of cancer. Let's take a look at what it is said the Budwig protocol can help, if not cure: Cancer, Arteriosclerosis, Strokes, Cardiac Infarction, Heartbeat (irregular), Liver (fatty degeneration), Lungs (reduces bronchial spasms), Intestines (regulates activity), Stomach Ulcers (normalizes gastric juices), Prostate (hypertopic), Arthritis (exerts a favorable influence), Eczema (assists all skin diseases), Old age (improves many common afflictions), Brain (strengthens activity), Immune Deficiency Syndromes (multiple sclerosis, auto-immune illnesses). One can see how many serious diseases are so dependent on a healthy cell and a healthy, efficient cellular respiration process.
Mitochondria & Electron Transport Chain
Mitochondrial dysfunction can be the precursor for cancer. For those of you not well versed in biology lets examine Mitochondria. Mitochondria are the energy power stations of the mammal's body. We would not produce body heat without them! It is estimated that the human body has about 1000 mitochondria per cell and they produce almost all the energy the body requires. They are our nuclear power reactors! Amazingly, they were at one time individual primitive bacteria that were consumed by a larger cell and life being what it is, a symbiotic relationship was discovered and nurtured through evolution. These once primitive bacterial cells had the unique trait of using oxygen to make energy. This was not the case of the bigger cell that consumed it. This larger cell found that it benefited from the bacteria it consumed and life as we know it was initiated. Mitochondria has its own unique DNA and is only handed down by mammals from mother to daughter. We all owe our mothers our machinery for energy and respiration. Oxygen respiration as utilized by mitochondria allows it to take food nutrients and oxygen in the air and produce ATP the primary energy source for our body's life processes. This is accomplished by our consumed food's electrons being ripped off and fed to oxygen by the electron transport chain. Electrons can be transported in the form of the hydrogen atoms. Enzymes (dehydrogenases) in the mitochondria rip hydrogen atoms off food transporting them to the cytochromes passing them on to cytochrome oxidase. These electrons at the other end of the chain are now used to drive what is called proton pumps. Proton pumps pump electrons pass the mitochondria membrane creating ATP, the general energy source of the body. In other words, respiration is simply the inverse of photosynthesis. Plants utilizing photosynthesis absorb sunlight (photons) from the sun combining it with atmospheric carbon dioxide and water to produce plant nutrients. With respiration, the electron rich substances made from both plants and animals are consumed by other animals where the electrons are stripped by the hydrogenases as previously discussed in conjunction with all important oxygen to eventually produce ATP. So you see how important it is to have a efficiently functioning electron chain for respiration. Without it, cancer can form along with other pathologies.
Lastly, mitochondria are widely thought to be the centers of cell apoptosis (controlled cell suicide) or cellular necrosis (sudden death). Again, this is an important function vital to the control of cancer. If you do an online search of the scientific journals, there are hundreds of studies that support the importance of the mitochondria in the cancer process. Warburg may have had a few things wrong, but he seems to be dead right even to this day on cancer being a mitochondrial dysfunction. Apoptosis is a vital mechanism for protecting any cell. In 1996, it was discovered that the mitochondrial induced apoptosis in a cell was stimulated by a release of cytochrome c which is normally a prime component of cellular respiration; but in this case, cytochrome c can be suddenly released by the mitochondria to activate the deadly caspases that initiate cellular death, apoptosis. Remember, it is widely believed, we all have cancer cells but in most cases, thanks to cellular apotosis, cancer ceases to exist, never becoming a threat.
The Success Rates
What was Dr. Budwig's clinical success rates? How good was her system? Lothar Hirneise writes that Dr. Budwig stated: "I decided to straight way go for human trials and enrolled 600 patients from four big hospitals in Munster (Germany). I started to give flax oil and cottage cheese to the cancer patients. After just three months, patients began to improve in health and strength, the yellow green substance in their blood began to disappear, tumors gradually receded...I treated approximately 2500 cancer patients during the last few decades. Prof. Halme of surgery clinic in Helsinki used to keep records of my patients. According to him, my success was over 90%." And note that this success was achieved in cases where modern medicine had failed. She also felt that those patients that didn't improve, did not follow her protocol strictly. She wrote: "I often take very sick cancer patients away from the hospital where they are said to have only a few days left to live, or perhaps only a few hours. This is mostly accompanied by very good results. The very first thing which these patients and their families tell me is that, in the hospital, it was said they could no longer urinate or produce bowel movements. They suffered from dry coughing without being able to bring up any mucous. Everything was blocked. It greatly encourages them when suddenly in all these symptoms, the surface-active fats [flaxseed oil and Quark (cottage cheese) with their wealth of electrons, start reactivating the vital functions and the patients immediately begins to feel better. It is very interesting to ask how this sudden change is possible. It has to do with the reactions patterns, with the character of electrons." My remarkable experience with my greyhound shows change can indeed happen in mere hours!
Here is a rather disturbing note of warning. Dr. Budwig wrote: "With persons who previously suffered from cancer and who feel well again - having even lost their tumors and metastases - after strictly adhering to the oil-protein diet, I've observed the following: if they re-change their diet within the first months [after their recovery], such as by eating sausages and cold cuts or eating on a holiday whatever the usual hotel cuisine will serve, all of a sudden, their erythrocytes will be heavily re-infested by these 'cancerobes'. In these constellations I am no longer able to help and such patients will often die within a few weeks. After five years or so, a gradual broadening of the diet is no longer dangerous to this degree. When a person who had previously had a cancer diagnosis abandons the oil-protein diet, death occurs appallingly quickly. Both my own observations and those of other MDs have been able to confirm that straying from the diet leads to death, and frighteningly fast." Dr. K. Bischoff also agrees and writes: "Like with any serious condition, the strict rules must be maintained for three years before they can be relaxed. A return to the former, cancer-causing lifestyle must be avoided since a second bout of cancer does not hold much promise regarding healing success even when a rigorous dietary change is re-implemented. I have experienced this with rectal cancer, stomach cancer, and breast cancer." Jan Roehm, MD wrote this: ". . . you should follow this diet for about five years. By that time, your tumor should have completely disappeared. Persons who stop the diet too early (by eating meat and sweets) sometimes see their health rapidly deteriorate and cannot be saved after such a bodily torture." Budwig never mentioned in her literature that once a terminal illness has been brought into remission that the patient may reduce the daily amount of flax oil ingested by going on a maintenance dose of one tablespoon per hundred pounds of body weight which is so commonly and erroneously stated on the Internet.
The Patients, Johanna Budwig Generally Refused to Treat:
Dr. Budwig held little success for a few patient categories which may be worthy of note here. Though keep in mind, there is always hope in all cases with no two patients ever alike. She had no trouble accepting patients full of metastases and with liver involvement or those with brain tumors. She had no problems with patients diagnosed as incurable by the establishment either. She did bulk at accepting patients with an impaired G-I track, particularly those with artificial portions added or removed by surgery. She specifically stated that she rejects breast cancer patients whose symptoms had advanced to swollen edematous arms with tumor tissue behind the shoulder blade. To summarize, Budwig felt that a patient needed an intact gastro-intestinal tract and a functional lymphatic system for her protocol to work. That makes sense. One needs a patient with a G-I tract that can absorb nutrients and one needs a functional lymph system that can also nourish and remove toxins. I would like to go further here than Johanna did in her lectures and suggest that older humans and animals nearing their species expiration dates are not good candidates for success. By all means treat them, but do not blame the protocol if failure occurs. We all have to die some time!
Johanna Budwig's Way
Online, every holistic health practitioner seems to have their own "improved" version of the Budwig protocol, but let's examine exactly how Johanna did it resulting in such spectacular results. Only after such study, should we then adjust her ideas to our own and our patient's individual needs and then only do such modification with extreme care, if at all! Her success rates are legendary and often unbelievable by today's standards. It was said over-all, she obtained around a 98% "cure" rate while with terminal cancer patients which modern medicine had given up on, 90%. These were often patients that had taken the full course of radiation and chemo and were given up for dead. Yet she could bring many back! So, it behooves us to try to appreciate what she did and what she warned against. Plus, let me say, I am mostly interested in Budwig as a veterinary protocol on this page and since Budwig only dealt with human patients, we will need to make a few modifications for animals such as the horse and dog. Nevertheless, I think Budwig can be quite beneficial for all mammals.
Her protocol was not simply cottage cheese (quark) and flax-seed oil as it is so often fractionalized down to in today's modified protocols. I am not saying this is not an important or a keystone aspect of her method, but it is not the full story. We being human tend to over-simplify and go for the easiest solution which is not necessarily the best. Also, I am not saying that a simple dosage of cottage cheese and flax-seed oil has not in itself produced miracles. Certainly that is all I did with my dog and I saw a miraculous recovery, but life is imperfect and many times, it may take a more holistic approach on difficult cases. There are plenty of successful testimonies on the web that will vouch for the potency of such a simple protocol; however, likewise there are a certain number of failures to be seen as well. We must suspect that perhaps these failures may be more a fault of technique, discipline or rancid oils rather than any major weakness in her protocol but as I keep saying, everyone is different and we must make allowances and adjustments for that individuality, plus only use the freshest oils. Healing is very much an art!
Some of the principles of the original Budwig protocol (human):
1) The basis of Dr. Budwig's protocol is the ingestion of a cold pressed, organic flax-seed oil with a protein mixture in the form of cottage cheese or "quark" (a dairy product readily available in German-speaking countries made from various types of milk and roughly similar to cottage cheese) to balance what is often an over-supply of rancid omega-6 fatty acids in the modern industrial diet--providing an immediately bioavailable supply of omega-6 and -3 essential fatty acids. It is thoroughly mixed by a mechanical hand immersion blender. Dr. Budwig said to use 100 grams quark (or cottage cheese) in her oil/protein recipe. Her 100 grams equals approximately 6 U.S. tablespoons of cheese. Dr Budwig also recommended 3 tablespoons of flax seed oil. That's a ratio of approximately 1:2. Only make enough to use immediately in minutes. Also, freshly grind in 2 Tbs whole flaxseeds, adding them to the mix afterwards. This is taken twice a day within 15 minutes of mixing.
2. Dr. Budwig's instructions are very strict and include no supplements apart from brewer's yeast flakes and possibly plant-derived enzymes for fat/protein digestion with herbs in their natural form. Dr. Budwig insisted on her instructions being closely followed by the patient with no deviations.
3. She favored 6 to 8 ounces of sauerkraut juice to start the day, an hour before breakfast. This is raw sauerkraut that has gone through a juicer. Sauerkraut has cancer-fighting benefits and improves digestion. Homemade is best in order to get the digestive enzymes back to normal. Herbal teas were also employed.
4. Dr. Budwig was not only against processed foods and supplements (no pills) but also against chemotherapy, radiation and drugs, and generally, surgery.
5. She considered sunlight exposure to be of critical importance. It was just as important as her oil/protein supplement! The two must work together! Few medical professionals remotely appreciate the power of the sun in giving health. It is really a no-brainer! Most all life needs the sun and only prospers with it. Why we moderns have so demonized the sun, urging the masses to avoid it at all costs and if we can't, we must use sun-screens, is a mystery. Intuitively, I think we all know the sun is good for us, but we are brain-washed by current thinking. Dr. Gabriel Cousens, M.D writes: "She has concluded that not only do electron-rich live foods act as high-powered electron donors, but electron-rich foods act as solar resonance fields in the body to attract, store, and conduct the sun's energy in our bodies. She asserts that the photons of the sunlight are attracted by the sun-like electrons resonating in our biological systems, especially in the double bonded electron clouds found in our lipids. These sun-like electrons are termed pi-electrons. This pi-electron system within our molecular structure has the ability to attract and activate the sun photons." Now, consider how we are generally very deficient of sunlight in everyday life and that includes our racehorses and many dogs who tend to be stabled or kenneled inside for most of their lives! To conclude, Dr Budwig wrote this: "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."
6. Flax oil/cottage cheese must be optimized by a sugar-free diet devoid of respiratory poisons (substances which inhibit cellular respiration) such as the hydrogenated oils and fats in processed foods. Only eat raw organic food. One should avoid cancer stimulating foods, such as hydrogenated oils, trans-fats, animal fats/proteins, processed sugars of all types, animal meats, foods heavily laden with preservatives, highly processed foods, and avoid all obvious contact with toxins i.e. pesticides, household, cosmetic chemicals, etc.
7. She formulated and used "ElDI" oils topically for massage mainly for patients that had trouble eating and for very seriously ill cases. Massage (twice a day) to stimulate the lymphatic system. Her ElDI oils were formulated in the 1960's and are a blend of mainly flaxseed oil and wheat germ oil. She named it "Eldi-Öl" (Electron Differentiation Oil or ELDI oil in English). Her instructions: "Two times a day, i.e. morning and evening, rub Eldi Oil R into the skin over the whole body, a bit more intensely on the shoulders (armpits), breast and groin (where the lymphatic vessels are) as well as the problem areas, such as the breast, stomach, liver, etc. Leave the oil on the skin for about 15-20 minutes and follow with a warm shower without using soap. Follow up with another shower, this time using a mild soap, and then rest for 15-20 minutes. The purpose of the shower, once the body has been oiled and the Eldi Oil has penetrated the skin, is to allow the warm water to open the pores so the oil can penetrate the skin even more deeply. The second shower, where one washes with soap, cleanses the skin so that clothes and linen will not become overly soiled." These oils are expensive to buy and I suspect one can economically make them yourself. Dr. Budwig's instructions: "The sun is a preferred treatment modality, as is Eldi oil, used externally to stimulate the absorption of the long-wave band of the sun. ... I have used ELDI oils extensively since 1968 for massaging the entire body as well as in the selective (targeted) application of oil packs. Where required I use these ELDI oils rectally (as enemas/infusions). ... Cancer treatments which inhibit growth and are thus "hostile to life" as well as dietary fats which impede respiratory function cause pain in the sick. The ELDI oils I invented produce the opposite effect. ... As a matter of fact, the practical application of the oils both on the inside (flax oil/quark) and on the outside (as Eldi oils) allows to largely eliminate all narcotic substances. ... US pain institutes report: 'What this lady does with her ELDI oils, none of us manages to do via painkillers'."
Dr. Budwig also often employed a ruby red laser in conjunction with the topical ELDI oils on many serious cancer patients. There isn't really much online about using cold lasers in conjunction with the Budwig protocol and I will be delving into this segment of her protocol on a different page. Click on the right button, DIY LASER, for more information on how lasers may benefit the Budwig treatment.
8. All types of physical and emotional stress was to be avoided when fighting a serious illness. Never underestimate the body under stress in regard to its affect on successful outcomes. I have long found it interesting that many cancer cases are precipitated by emotional trauma. A 2008 study showed: "Results. For both men and women, the death of a predecedent spouse from almost all causes, including various cancers, infections, and cardiovascular diseases, increased the all-cause mortality of the bereaved partner to varying degrees. Moreover, the death of a predecedent spouse from any cause increased the survivor's cause-specific mortality for almost all causes, including cancers, infections, and cardiovascular diseases, to varying degrees."
9. Dr. Budwig warned against the use of pharmaceutical drugs and was very suspicious of supplements. In our industrial medical world, who mostly does not take a large number of prescribed medication when they become older? Budwig felt that many times, her patients did not respond well to her protocol because they were also taking chemo, radiation and a host of other drugs. She advised everyone to wean themselves off of these potential road-blocks to recovery. I know, it is hard to go against current medical thinking, the legions of doctors and veterinarians, societal pressures! She has written: "Our stance must be flexible on that point because we cannot say this for certain for all cases and for all medications. While most meds are best eliminated, some may have to be maintained while others should be only gradually phased out, e.g. insulin." You be your own judge, but know, less is better. She was also against the use of pain-killers, particularly the narcotics as she felt they interfered with her protocol's mechanics. I agree and have often felt that the notion that our medical doctors could eliminate pain via the pain-killers completely hyperbolic bragging. Some pain can be quite good, believe it or not. I know I avoided pain meds like the plague when training my racehorses. Interestingly, she found that using flax-seed oil often provided pain relief on its own. From what I observed in my dog on this page, I agree!
As far as our venerated anti-oxidants of which I have long been a proponent, such as Vitamin C, she had this to say: "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 photo-active 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." NOTE: She is referring to man-made synthetic anti-oxidants while those found naturally in foods are less troublesome. In short, Budwig warned against mega-doses of synthesized anti-oxidants as they are electron thieves. All things that steal electrons are to be avoided. Such electron-thieves as the hydrogenated fats, margarine, animal fats, nitrate, radiation, pharmaceutical anti-oxidants and chemotherapy's cytostatics should be eliminated and counter-acts against her protocol of adding the essential fatty acid electrons to the starving cell. On a personal note, I am not so sure I agree with her caveat on this count about antioxidants. Check out a webpage on this very subject to the right.
