Chapter 18 January 2004, The Oil and Protein Diet

Chapter 18 January 2004, The Oil and Protein Diet

It's New Years Eve 2003, soon to be 2004. I am at home with my husband and daughters, ready for a new year to begin. It has been six month since my diagnosis. As I look back, it has been a difficult time, but it has also flown by. My friend Bonnie from down the block has been bugging me since my diagnosis to do this eating regimen called The Oil and Protein Diet by Dr. Johanna Budwig. Western medicine is not offering me much hope. I want to try a holistic approach along with the Femara to hopefully improve my chances for a longer life. This is the time to start it. I muster up the courage to commit to it. It is a strict diet, but I have decided to give it a shot.
Dr. Budwig's theory is "When you use highly unsaturated essential fatty acids (like those found in flax oil), and combine them with high quality protein, (which makes essential fats easily soluble in the body), it will counteract toxic and poisonous accumulations in all tissue. Basically the diet is good for many types of ailments. She believes that the bad oils and preserved foods that we consume create toxic and poisonous accumulations in our bodies which lead to disease.
My friend and I make the mix recipe together for the first time because the book is translated from German and the foods are called by different names. For example, quark is cottage cheese and Linomel is a muesli type cereal. Bonnie is kind enough to bring all the ingredients to my home to teach me how to make the mix which is an essential part of the diet.
First, we combine one cup of organic cottage cheese with three tablespoons of flax oil. Then, we add one teaspoon of vanilla and one tablespoon of organic honey. To that you add two tablespoons of ground flax seed, three tablespoons of sugar free muesli, 1/4 cup of organic raisins, 1/4 cup of organic raw walnuts and 1/4 cup of organic raw almonds. Then you add about 1/2 cup each of organic fresh or frozen fruits such as bananas, strawberries, grapes, cherries, blueberries, etc. You can add any type of fruit that you like. It doesn't have to be the above choices, but, they should be organic. This recipe may not sound appetizing, but it is actually delicious, filling and extremely satisfying. You can't taste the cottage cheese or the honey; it's almost like a cake batter. Once I started eating it, I got addicted. You eat this mix everyday for breakfast and lunch. For dinner, you may have salad made up of organic greens, nuts and flax oil dressing. The dressing is made up of flax oil, milk and mustard for flavor. This is actually very good as well.
You may eat any type of organic vegetables, and you can eventually add fish or organic chicken. No red meat. There is an entire cookbook, but I am too overwhelmed to cook separately for myself and then again for my family. If I am going to be successful at this I need to make it as simple as possible. Basically I eat the same thing every single day. It sounds boring, but this is all I can handle right now. Some days I eat a baked potato with melted parmesan cheese along with fish or poultry for dinner, and my dessert typically consists of God's dessert, an orange. My diet may vary just a tad from what the book suggests, but I do what I think I can. If I can't find organic fruit I use regular, but one should use organic.
As 2004 starts, the cancer diet is working for me. The mix addresses my sweet cravings. The honey sweetens everything and is better than processed sugar. Everything I've read indicates that sugar is bad for you. It is supposed to increase blood insulin levels and depress the immune system, which is what fights disease. It is also supposed to cause liver cells to divide and increase in size. I've never had a Doctor tell me that sugar is bad for cancer, but I've sure read many negative things about it. The problem is I love sugar! It has always been a constant in my diet. Sugar is addictive and I'm addicted to it. At least a quarter of my diet comes from sugar. I'm not sure why I like it so much, perhaps it is because we didn't get a lot of sugar growing up. Halloween was the time to eat sugar at our house. We filled our bags as full as possible and tried to eat it all in one night.
My Mom's parents were both obese. Her 8th grade teacher told her that this would be her fate as well, but she would prove her wrong. Ruth O'Brien is not one to be told how her future will present itself, especially if it is in a negative light. Thank God I got some of my determination from her. One of the many reasons I am so mentally strong.

Advice:

If you are not offered much hope through conventional medicine, keep trying new, holistic measures. What can it hurt?
Think about the things that you put into your body. Are they good for you? Try to slowly rid yourself of bad habits.