Budwig Protocol

The Johanna Budwig Protocol

The Budwig Protocol is an alternative and holistic cancer therapy - Therefore, it is not listed as one of the valid cures offered by conventional medicine.

Budwig's Protocol does not rely on a single "pill" or substance (the proverbial "silver bullet") to cure cancer, but rather on an overall proper interaction with both our social and natural environments.

It is named after Dr. Johanna Budwig (1908-2003), a German scientist who some sixty years ago identified a set of factors that cause an electro-chemical imbalance in cells which prevents them from properly absorbing oxygen and other nutrients.


Flax Seed Oil	Cottage Cheese	"0" Junk Foods


Raw Vegetables	Sun Light	Exercise & Rest


	Positive Mental & Emotional Attitude

Causes of cancer

Factors explicitly or implicitly identified by Dr Budwig as causes of this imbalance are:

An insufficient presence in our daily diet (and hence, in our cells) of the Omega-3 group of poly-unsaturated fatty acids (also known as essential fatty acids).
Consumption of toxic fats (such as processed or "trans" fats), processed sugar and other processed foodstuffs.
Consumption of toxic chemicals - such as benzoprin and others contained in modern day "cigarettes" - as well as pesticides, preservatives, artificial flavorings, colorants and industrial pollution-derived "additives" to our foods, water and air.
Lack of sunlight, or, which is the same, a lack of vitamin D and sun-derived energy.
Excessive stress, insufficient rest, and an overall negative attitude towards life - the latter means allowing negative emotions to overtake our everyday existence.
Lack of physical exercise - exercises provides us with both oxygen and endorphins and, through sweat, help us detoxify the body.

That a lack of oxygen in cells causes cancer was discovered by another German, Dr. Otto Warburg (1883-1970), the 1931 Nobel Prize winner. A lack of oxygen induces cells to degenerate and become anaerobic (which means that instead of absorbing oxygen they live off hydrogen obtained mainly via fermentation of glucose, i.e. sugar).

A diet which emphasizes meats, saturated fats, dairy products, sugar and grains (as opposed to a mostly raw, vegetarian diet complemented with fish) worsens the problem, because it generates a "high acidity" environment in and around cells. This is equivalent to a relatively high presence of hydrogen and a relatively low presence of oxygen, a situation chemically expressed as a pH ratio substantially lower than 7 units. Such a relatively acid environment causes the transformation of microorganisms which exist within and outside cells and which have been labeled microzymas and somatids. Once transformed into hostile forms, these microorganisms attack cells in various ways.

As a result of all this, the genetic code of cells (DNA) becomes damaged or altered, which causes cells to malfunction, reproduce anomalously and give birth to immature, also termed moderately or un-differentiated cells.

Primarily affected are those cells which make up glandular areas such as the lungs, the female breasts, digestive organs (colon, liver, stomach, and pancreas), sexual organs (such as the prostate in men or the cervix or narrower part of women's uterus), and the brain. Less frequent forms of cancers affect the blood (leukemia), bone marrow, the skin and other parts of the body.

Immature cells frequently lack those reproduction control mechanisms which characterize normal cells. One of these is so-called apoptosis, a mechanism which causes a cell to self-destruct when it malfunctions or is partially damaged or when it reproduces more than a certain number of times.

When lacking those control mechanisms, immature cells start reproducing without control -- that is the classical or official definition of cancer.

For some years, the person's immune system is able to kill off primary outgrowths of cancer cells. Some persons' immune systems are innately stronger than others' and hence are able to ward off cancer for longer. But as the person grows older, his or her immune system inevitably weakens. If the person's interaction with his or her social and natural environment is inadequate (which means that most or all the negative factors identified previously are present) in the long term the immune system will inevitably be overwhelmed. When that happens, one or more of those primary cancer outgrowths consolidate and become malignant tumors.

It is at this point that symptoms of a cancer outbreak become outwardly manifested. These are usually pain, swellings, the improper functioning of an organ (for instance, breathing difficulties or inability to properly digest and or dispose of digested foods), and bleeding (caused by the tumor's growing pressure against adjacent tissue and organs).

Cancer cells are also mobile and not "fixed", as are normal cells. This means they may detach from their original tumor and travel in the bloodstream and settle elsewhere in the body, so that another tumor will develop from them. This detachment may happen spontaneously or during some invasive medical exams (such as biopsies) and surgery.

More frequently, other malignant tumors will arise soon after the body's immune system has been overwhelmed by the original malignant tumor. In both cases cancer is said to have metastasized or spread.

Dr Budwig discovered that a cancer outbreak could be reversed more or less rapidly by implementing a "holistic" protocol, the centerpiece of which is a generous intake of the Omega-3 group of poly-unsaturated fatty acids (also known by the acronym PUFAs). These acids are needed for the proper absorption of oxygen and other nutrients in cells and are powerful anti-oxidants.

Absorption of these acids can be efficiently achieved by ingesting an emulsion consisting of flaxseed oil and cottage cheese, to which ground flaxseed is added. Flax seeds are, along with fish oil, nature's best source of such acids. And cottage cheese provides a sulphur-based protein which allows flaxseed oil to become water soluble and thus be more easily absorbed in the blood.

A second - and no less important element of her holistic protocol - is Dr Budwig's prohibition to consume processed foods and toxic chemicals which usually accompany them, such as preservatives, colorants, etc.

Thirdly, Dr. Budwig recommends consumption of mostly raw (and preferably organic) vegetables and fruits with known anti-cancer properties. These include cabbage (both raw and fermented as sauerkraut), tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, watercress, hot peppers, pineapple, papaya, kiwi and others, both whole and in juice form.

She also recommends consumption of fish but speaks against meat and fowl because of the possibility that these be contaminated with chemicals such as hormones, vaccines and others.

Dr. Budwig also recommends undertaking regular sun baths, rest, exercising (fit to the patient's condition) and maintaining a stress-free and positive mental attitude.

Three-sided attack on cancer!

These factors or "pillars" combine synergistically to re-establish the electrochemical balance within cells and deal with cancer in three ways.

Firstly, PUFAs obtained from flax seeds cause cancer cells to mature (become more "differentiated") and hence to develop the self-control mechanisms which, in turn, cause them to gradually self-destruct. Several recent scientific studies attest to this fact.

Secondly, enzymes obtained from raw anti-cancer vegetables strengthen the immune system and help dissolve the protective coating of cancer cells, and thus expose them to the action of "killer" white cells.

Thirdly, the mostly-raw vegetable diet raises alkalinity (oxygen's relative presence grows while hydrogen's decreases, so pH factor grows significantly above the 7 mid-point figure). This creates an environment in which anaerobic cancer cells find it difficult or impossible to survive and reproduce.

Dr Budwig opposed conventional medicine's "big three" pillars (chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery). These methods in her opinion (and in mine too), do not deal with cause but with symptoms, and in the long term tend to worsen the patient's condition, since they damage organs and the immune system itself. As to surgery, she did not seem to favor it either, although she said the final decision on this regard would depend on the situation.