Dr. Johanna Budwig, who died in 2003 at the age of 92, was a practicing physician in Germany for over 60 years. In the 1950's she noticed that people with cancer whose diets were rich in foods containing more linoleic and linolenic acids lived longer and were more likely to go into remission. Linoleic and linolenic acids are found in many nuts and seeds, notably flaxseed.

Dr. Budwig did not label fatty acids as "good" and "bad." She noted that the omega-6 fatty acids that abundant in a diet of prepared foods were just as necessary to cellular health as the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, nuts, and plankton, and in less amounts in many other foods. Both omega-3's and omega-6's are essential to repairing the oxygen transport system in the linings of cells. The objective of her diet was simply to ensure that both kinds of essential fatty acids were provided in the diet.

Getting the right mix of essential fatty acids is simple and inexpensive. Consuming up to 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of cold-pressed flaxseed oil with 1/3 cup (75 g) of low-fat cottage cheese daily provides the right balance of essential fatty acids as well as a full range of amino acids and the body's daily supply of calcium. The mixture could be made into a smoothie with fruit, and can be eaten all at once or in small servings throughout the day. Dr. Budwig prescribed only very small doses of this mixture, starting with just one tablespoon a day for her very sickest patients. She increased the dosage up to at most 8 tablespoons (half a cup) for maintenance.

Cancer patients are often advised to make Dr. Budwig's mixture with raw milk. I have nothing against raw milk, but I would caution to be very sure about the source. The last thing anyone with cancer needs is a food-borne infection.

As you can read in Cancer--The Problem and the Solution, Dr. Budwig reported that this simple addition to diet contributed to remission from many kinds of cancer, especially cancers of the breast and prostate, although she cautioned that consuming the flaxseed oil without the appropriate protein from cottage cheese could actually be harmful. Dr. Budwig was also one of the earliest advocates of juicing, especially juicing carrots, and supplementing with resveratrol. Most of her patients were so advanced in their cancers that they had trouble taking even the small amount of cottage cheese and oil she prescribed, so her diet did not emphasize prohibitions of meat, eggs, and processed foods.

Dr. Budwig's diet is often incorrectly termed a "vegan" diet. Her diet is neither vegan nor vegetarian, since it requires dairy products. Nor it is not a single-food cancer-treatment plan. It is, however, a simple, safe, and often effective part of natural support for recovery from cancer.



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