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Lately I have been reading some interesting studies on the (organic) cottage cheese and flaxseed oil diet, aka the Budwig Diet. Has anyone tried it?

Karen

Re: Budwig Diet?

Karen,

I don't have the experience, but found a nice link about the diet in Livestrong:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/13...s-budwig-diet/

Re: Budwig Diet?

I am so skeptical of these unproven and bizarre "cures". If they were effective, the world would be beating down their doors. My biggest fear is that people who could be treated conventionally will opt for something like this and miss the opportunity for a real chance at recovery. I've seen it happen
Keep the faith

Re: Budwig Diet?

Bonnie, I totally agree with you. I've seen it happen, too.

Re: Budwig Diet?

I tried it and to this day I cannot put anything in my mouth that resembles the texture of cottage cheese. It was horrible. I gag when I think of the spoonfuls of that stuff I shoveled in my mouth. The only good thing that came out of that brief diet was being introduced to Quark. I love the stuff and have found it in my local Wholefoods with flavors like lemon and vanilla. But you won't find me stirring in Flaxseed oil. Nope.

Re: Budwig Diet?

As always, I am interested in all possibilities...as we know chemotherapy isn't a cure, either. I do believe the cure is tangible. I was seeking anyone who indulged in the Budwig Diet and if any benefit was experienced. On a few other sites, the chatter was positive.

What is Quark?

Thank you,
Karen

Re: Budwig Diet?

Karen, I appreciate your curiosity in new things. Sorry if I sounded dismissive
Quark is a dairy product. A sort of cheese
Keep the faith

Re: Budwig Diet?

Apology accepted, Bonnie, and thank you.
Many of us here are willing to consider combined therapies, and I'm one.
I approach the cancer condition multiple ways: spiritual, physical, mental, social, etc. All the parts make one. If I can find even one part of the whole that I can change, I'm game.
I think the ideology of this list is to share information, experiences, and most of all possibilities, which brings me back to the original question--has anyone realized any benefit from the Budwig (or Henderson) Diet/s?

Karen

Re: Budwig Diet?

Karen,

There are some breast cancer patients testimonies listed here:

http://www.budwigcenter.com/testimonials.php

Re: Budwig Diet?

Quark is what Budwig used in her work, not cottage cheese. Cottage cheese is a close relative to Quark and is what they recommend as a substitute. Quark is protein. I use it to top my tacos or soups or even strawberries. Years ago you could only find it in Europe, but now you can find it at Wholefoods or any grocery store that has imported products from Europe. I believe you can even order it online. It's yummy, but not with Flaxseed oil...in my opinion.

Re: Budwig Diet?

Quark or kwark as it is called here in the Netherlands, is a very, very young cheese. It has barely started to solidify and is thicker than yoghurt and not as smooth.

I have lots of food allergies, so I've been eating a very healthy diet for decades. Little meat, no processed foods, lots of vegetables, olive oil, fruit, lots of organic stuff. I eat gluten and dairy free, nut free, no coffee or tea, except for green tea, no chocolate, no grains. I developed cancer anyway. But who knows, I've been cancer free for ten years now, so maybe it has helped keeping me healthy. It has kept my weight down, though. I guess that's helpful too.

Just my 2 cents.

And I agree: we might as well try everything, as long as it doesn't cost a fortune and doesn't keep us from using proven therapies. I have been taking mistletoe shots for years.

Jacqueline

Re: Budwig Diet?

I tried it for a few days when I was first diagnosed stage 4. The first day was ok, it wasn't great tasting, but I thought I could stomach it. By the third or fourth day, I couldn't stand the taste. I tolerate wheatgrass shots, kale smoothies, but this taste was horrible. I don't know how people stay on it long term .
I found some recipes for salad dressings made with flaxseed oil. Haven't tried them yet, but I wonder if eating some cottage cheese with a salad made with the dressing is just as good.

Laurie

Laurie

Re: Budwig Diet?

I have never heard of Quark. Even the name doesn't sound good...lol. I'd also never heard of this diet, but after investigating I see some people singing it's praises. Like some of you, I also lost a friend who decided to use a an alternative treatment and not use any of the conventional treatments. I am more investigating things to use along with the traditional treatments, and I would be interested like Karen to hear if anyone here has tried this and what kind of effects it had. I'm doing so many things now along with my treatment I couldn't even tell you which thing was effective, if any. My last scans showed I was still NED, so Im scared to quit doing any of them..lol I drink coconut water every day, I do the green shakes, I eat graviola fruit, I take supplements and multivits every day, but I also take Tykerb every day and Herceptin on schedule. I do hypnotherapy and yoga. I have tried acupuncture here and there. I wish my friend, Chance, would have at least considered some form of traditional treatment. Herceptin is the most effective thing we absolutely know of at this point, and she might still be here if she had considered at least that.

Re: Budwig Diet?

Hi

I have posted on Budwig before but do not recall if it was here or on another board.

Budwig recommended flax oil, quark, and sunshine, which each individually contain elements that might logically impact on cancer risk.

We know much more about how the body works than was known in the 1950s. Her explanations are more concept than fact but prescient; apparently Dr Budwig was very highly regarded by her patients.

There is biology that underlies elements of her diet that might explain why they might reduce the risk of occurrence and or recurrence of cancer and other conditions at least in some people . . .

Omega 3 (flax is rich in plant based Omega 3)

Flax oils are rich in omegas 3s, and as discussed on this thread there are a host of reasons why improving the Omega 3:6 balance may reduce the risk of occurrence and recurrence. There are further reasons which have not as yet made in into the thread why plant based Omega 3 could affect changes that may be beneficial, and particularly so given our Omega 3:6 dietary imbalances. Polyunsaturated fats have way more influence on the way the body functions than is generally recognized.

http://her2support.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=24410

Sunshine exposure = increased vitamin D

Sunshine exposure in the summer months provides vitamin D. As set out in the vitamin D thread there is increasing evidence that higher blood levels of vitamin D are protective against a number of diseases including cancer. This means getting the sort of levels that are seen in beach guards, not those found in office workers taking 400 iu a day as a supplement. (See Holick video and other information.)

http://her2support.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=43711

Iodine

Dairy products are one of the more significant sources of iodine; if quark follows the general trend in quantity it may have in relative terms significantly increased iodine intake. Low iodine is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer and thyroid malfunction.

http://her2support.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=53928

Proteins - cysteine may improve thyroid and antioxidant function.

According to her book Quark is rich in the amino acid cysteine, which Dr Budwig suggests may form compounds with the polyunsaturated fat in flax oil so making it more digestible. I need to think about and read up on fat protein interactions.

It is known that cysteine is essential to a crucial internally produced antioxidant family called glutathione, which have many essential roles in all cells including in particular in thyroid function.

It is suggested that digestive malabsorption can reduce the uptake of cysteine. It can also be made in the body but requires another amino acid to be present in the diet . . . so one can see why at least some people may be low in cysteine.

General points

I need to reread Dr Budwig's book. I do not know what else figures in her diet; maybe nuts for minerals would make sense - it is not entirely clear what form the flax oil seed was taken in - flax seeds like other nuts / whole grains are a source of some and varying minerals including importantly in the case of flax selenium, which is essential to glutathione production and thyroid function . . .

The above at least suggests there is clear biological rational behind what Dr Budwig was doing; unfortunately I have not managed to find any reference to any papers documenting her work which is a shame, and the body is enormously complex dependent on a host of nutrients etc. Simple nonpatentable solutions have difficulty in attracting research funding . . . so we often never get to find out if they work when measured on a double blind basis.

There is an anecdotal case I posted that a man with lung cancer reversed tumors by seriously changing his Omega 3:6 ratio intake. He was getting on in years and his doctors reluctantly consented to his proposal on the basis they followed him with regular scans. The result is intriguing, but absent a large trial it is not possible to draw further conclusions.

I know nothing of the Budwig Centre or any treatments they prescribe so cannot comment on them, beyond the observations above on elements of the original Dr Budwig's treatments as mentioned in her book. . .

Re: Budwig Diet?

Be sure to read R.B. summary on entry #14. [The spammer seems to have changed the clock on this board - it runs about 30 minutes faster here now.]

Re: Budwig Diet?

I have now reread part of her book, from a quick skim the first section is the most prescient and relevant part. Her later chapters, which try to theorize why light is so important, and how it affects electron and so cellular function, whilst prescient in foreseeing the importance of light to life, are superseded by what we now know.

It appears that the form of flax recommended was ground flax with honey, so whole flax rather than oil, and maybe with other things?.

I have ordered her cook book to check and will update once I have seen it and checked.

Re: Budwig Diet?

I did not do it deliberately. I read about it later. It was odd to me that one of the few foods I ate during chemo was cottage cheese. I also drank some probiotic yogurt everyday. I have no idea what effect it had but I did not have diarrhea or constipation that some people had. I didn't have as much nausea either.