The Budwig Protocol and diabetes seem to be a good match for eating healthier, lowering cholesterol and gaining better blood glucose levels. We are not ordinarily an alternative health medicine website, but the Budwig protocol has gained enough attention in the recent news that we felt it warranted a paper on this site. There is nothing harmful in the Budwig protocol. Johann Budwig, Ph.D., was a well-known German biochemist who stated that her recipe, along with other modifications in the daily diet would lead to a healthier lifestyle and prevent/cure some diseases.
The Budwig protocol is an alternative medicine treatment for people who have decided to take a different route in the maze of medical therapies. It is not a prescription that you pick up at the local pharmacy, but a blended food recipe that you mix yourself. You mix this recipe together on a daily basis, as the ingredients have to be fresh when consumed. One of the ingredients will turn rancid if left for any extended period of time.
The Budwig protocol has been used as an anti-cancer formula since 1952, when it was created by Johanna Budwig. It has also been stated that the Budwig protocol has shown positive results in regards to arthritis, blood pressure, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, a positive aid in diabetes because of the healthy fats used, psoriasis, acne, asthma, fibromyalgia, and other chronic ailments.
The calories contained within the Budwig Protocol are easily worked into the daily diet of a person with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes or a person in a prediabetic condition. The ingredients required can be found on the website of the Budwig Center and are easily purchased at any health food store or, more likely, your local supermarket.
The only things you might need, aside from the ingredients, would be a coffee bean grinder (or food processor), a hand-held blender, and/or a juice machine. We have heard that as long as you have the coffee bean grinder, you can simply stir the ingredients together. A mortar and pestle could be used in place of the coffee bean grinder, and you might already have one of these in your kitchen cabinets, although it might require quite a bit of grinding. It’s not a difficult process to make the recipe.
The Budwig Protocol Rules Include:
- No salad oils
- No animal fats
- No meats
- No butter or margarine
- No sugar – Thought it would help prevent cancer
Her theory was that the blood of patients ill with cancer was low in lipoproteins and phosphatides, which are certain types of negative fats; therefore, she reported that these deficiencies allowed cancer cells to grow. By adding healthy fats and making other healthy changes in a person’s diet, a patient might possibly reverse the negative process that the unhealthy fats created.
Healthy Fats
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
These type fatty acids are found in fatty fish and have shown in clinical reports to decrease the risk of coronary artery disease, help lower bloods pressure and guard against irregular heartbeats. You can get an intake of omega-3 fatty acids from plants, but the body does not convert it and use it as well as it does the omega-3 fatty acids from fish.
Examples of omega-3 fatty acids:
- Flaxseeds
- Walnuts
- Sardines
- Salmon
- Beef
- Soybeans
- Tofu
- Shrimp
- Brussel sprouts
- Cauliflower
Polyunsaturated Fat
This fat is plant based (think corn) and has shown to improve blood cholesterol levels and helps decrease the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Examples of polyunsaturated fat:
- Soybean Oil
- Corn oil
- Sunflower oil
- Fatty fish – salmon, mackerel, herring & trout
Monounsaturated Fat
This fat is found in a variety of foods and healthy oils. These fats have been shown to improve cholesterol levels and are known to benefit insulin levels and blood sugar control, a great help to someone with type 2 diabetes.
Examples of monounsaturated fats:
- Sesame oil
- Flaxseed oil
- Safflower oil
- Peanut oil
- Canola oil
- Olive oil
- Avocados
- Peanut butter
- Many nuts and seeds
There is some overlapping of foods at times between these different healthy fats, but they are all good for you, and you should strive to incorporate these fats into your daily diet. But fats are high in calorie content, so take that into account when doing your meal planning.
Unhealthy Fats
Saturated Fat
This is the fat that is contained in animal foods. Saturated fats raise the overall cholesterol level and raise the LDL (low-density lipoprotein) in your cholesterol level, all of which contribute to cardiovascular disease. Saturated fats are known to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.
- Red Meat
- Poultry
- Full-fat diary products
Trans Fat
The big bad taboo of fats. This fat occurs naturally in some foods in small amounts. But most trans fats are manmade from oils when the oils are processed in a method called “partial hydrogenation.” Partially hydrogenated trans fats raise the LDL cholesterol level and is very harmful. Avoid any container that states the product in it contains any trans fats. (Think of most boxed products at your grocery store. Trans fat gives these products longer shelf lives. And those French fries at your favorite takeout are usually fried in trans fats, although some restaurants are currently trying to make the transition from trans fats to a healthier form of fat.)
Healthy eating goes a long way in preventing illness and obesity. By eliminating unhealthy fats from your diet and focusing on only healthy fats and healthy foods, a person increases their odds of a more healthy life. By decreasing obesity, type 2 diabetes diagnoses might decrease, and you will very likely help your heart in the process.
Your Cholesterol
Always know your cholesterol numbers, to include your total cholesterol number, along with your LDL and HDL numbers and your triglyceride levels. Remembering that the “L” of LDL should be a low number, hopefully below 100, and an easy way to remember this is that “L” stands for “low.” You always want a low LDL number. Your HDL should be as high as you can get it through proper eating and exercise (hopefully above 50), and an easy way to remember this is that the “H” of “HDL” stands for “high.” You always want a high HDL number.
As stated previously, we are not advocates of alternative health treatments when it comes to the treatment of diabetes (or any other health condition), but a healthy addition to your diet will not harm you. We could find no harmful elements to the Budwig Protocol.
Johanna Budwig, who created the Budwig Protocol, died at the age of 95.
Hey, enjoyed reading about this.My friend is a cancer survivor of 7 years and has been on this protocol since her remission. She truly believes in it. I’ll let you know how it goes. Her daughter was recently diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer and she has her daughter on it. I don’t know if the protocol might work after a diagnosis of cancer has been made, but here’s hoping it helps her daughter. She’s taking chemo and radiation and fixing this recipe in the morning is simple and gives her as much hope as the chemo and radiation. And I’ve found that hope helps just as much as all the medicine in the world. Thanks for a good place to go to read some very interesting articles.