The Budwig Diet

Based on the information from here:

The Budwig Diet is also known as the Cottage Cheese & Flaxseed Oil Diet created by Dr Budwig  — purported to be an alternative treatment for cancer and other chronic disease. A mix of these two ingredients is one component of a protocol involving additional types of alternative therapy, and generally avoiding conventional treatment such as chemotherapy and radiation.

Budwig said that the blood of cancer patients was deficient in some essential components, including phosphatides and lipoproteins. This affects the proper balance between the electrically negative cell membranes and the electrically positive nutrients, causing stagnated healthy cell growth. A balance could be restored through diet over three months, resulting in better health.

Eating a specific mix of cottage cheese and flaxseed oil is said to help resolve stagnated healthy cell growth and cause tumors to dissolve. This is due to the essential electron-rich unsaturated fats in flaxseed oil and the sulfur protein of cottage cheese. The chemical reaction between these two makes the oil soluble in water, so it can permeate cell membranes and produce healing effects.

To make the cottage cheese and flaxseed oil combination, I use the immersion blender to blend 2 or 4 tbsp. of cottage cheese to 1 or 2 tbsp. of oil. To make it more palatable, I will add fruits, chia seeds etc as seen in the photo above. That one has strawberries, chia seeds and lime zest (extras from my key lime tart).  

I have been having this 'diet' multiple times a week — not sure if it works because I'm under chemotherapy as well; whereas those under this strict diet are usually patients who are seeking alternative therapy. In any case, I hope eating this will be a supplement!

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In other news, yesterday I was getting out of the car at Eastpoint Mall... when my heart palpitations came back again :'( CRAI. Spent almost 30 mins sitting at Tori Q in the basement instead of exploring the newly renovated mall. Tried my best coughing hard to get my heart back on track but to no avail. When I got home, my heart rate was around 146. Lay on my bed and didn't move an inch cuz I was afraid my heart rate will go up (dinner in bed!). My mom managed to contact Dr Eric, and he asked me to take an extra dose of my heart medication. Past 10pm, my heart rate finally slowed to 100+, I think it's due to the combination of both the medication and the effect of blowing the syringe (the cardiologists taught me this method to reverse my fast heart rate). 

Well, at least it went down and saved us a trip to the ER where I would have been kept for at least a night. So thankful. 

"What do you do in your free time?"

I hardly leave the house nowadays because it's important that I stay away from crowded places as my immune system is down and I don't wanna get sick. Anyway I'm the kind that normally loves staying home all day long so it doesn't really matter... I know some people feel 'trapped' in their own home but not me!! I love my home! To get fresh air, I'll stand at the balcony for some sunlight (vitamin D!) and enjoy the pool view. Lol when I typed that out it sounds quite sad... But it really isn't!

I used to take walks downstairs by the pool but I'm trying to avoid any activity that will make my heart pump faster. I don't want it to start racing again because I don't wanna head back to the hospital anytime soon! My 3rd cycle of chemo starts this coming Monday, and I'll be in hospital till the next weekend so it's best that I don't check myself in any earlier. (Sidetrack: my heart rate decided to go up to 160 one day after I returned home from hospital on Tuesday. Thank god it went down after I took the medication!)

Anyway... I've been getting this a lot — "What do you do in your free time?"

Well, it's true — I have LOADS of free time on my hands now. Most of the time I'm sleeping, and eating... definitely my kind of recuperation. 

Before I started chemotherapy I was talking to Joel about it, there are so many exciting things that I could do to keep myself busy these few months that I'm off work (and also to keep those brain cells working) — continue learning French, do online courses that will up my PR game, equipping myself with new skills (e.g. art, photoshop, Microsoft excel) etc.

But when I really got home after my first round of chemotherapy... I was feeling so lethargic and simply nua. I decided that these few months I only needed to do one thing — rest well!! But during the past few weeks I realized that "hey, baking is actually quite fun and therapeutic ah". So... that's my new skill. #domesticated

So far my first attempts have been successful - except for flourless peanut butter choc chip cookies. Not sure why the cookie refused to stick together?! Like the peanut butter continued to crumble :( perhaps I was abit too excited and scooped too much peanut butter. 

But yes, for someone who NEVER steps into the kitchen (except to grab food to eat)... I must say I have leveled up!! The recipes I've used are generally fuss-free and do not need a lot of equipment/utensils (post-baking, i.e. cleaning, ughh). I'd be more than glad to share, just let me know :)

Strawberry muffins

Matcha Chia Pudding, topped with cranberries

Cinnamon Sugar Popovers

Matcha White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Molten  chocolate lava cake! 
Used the airfryer to make this and it surprisingly turned out great.

Juicin' Up: ABC Juice, Cabbage-Celery-Apple Juice

I have been diligently using the Hurom juicer, drinking juice twice a day. Gotta build my body up and make it ready for chemotherapy round 2 the following week! Anyway it's really fun mixing the different fruits and vegetables. 

The ABC Juice (makes 450ml juice/2 servings)

- 2 large apples

- 1/2 beetroot (peeled)

- 2 small carrots (unpeeled)
Mix all ingredients in your juicer, and drink immediately.

According to this website:

"This drink is a hope for cancer patients. In fact few years back a Chinese herbalist recommended this drink to his patients suffering from lung cancer. By taking the drink daily for 3 months the patient recovered from this life threatening disease. It’s not only effective for lung cancer but cures almost all types of cancer by inhibiting the growth of cancer cells."

Not sure how much to believe this but I sure hope it is somewhat true!

The ABC juice can also keep cholesterol down, control blood pressure... it's good for the skin and digestive system and basically keeping the immune system up up up!

The Cabbage-Celery-Apple (makes 500ml juice/2 servings)

- 1/4 cabbage

- 2 stalks of celery

- 1 large apple
Mix all ingredients in your juicer, and drink immediately.

I've mentioned before in a previous post that the cabbage is the king of cruciferous vegetables and packed with loads of nutrients... decided to juice it up again with celery instead of carrots! I prefer this combination, the celery makes it more refreshing. 

At first I was telling my parents that they'll need to get kale — I've always heard about it in cold press juices, and how healthy it is... but I'm pretty happy I got to read about cabbage! It is cheap, easily found in supermarkets, and easy to drink/stomach because the taste is really mild. Can't wait to try more combinations with it! 

Ever since I was back from the hospital, my fridge has been fully stocked with fruits! Especially my fav ones — berries, berries, berries. They're high in antioxidants so I'm more than happy to nomz them all. And of course, kiwis for vitamin C!

Today's tea-time snack — too lazy to peel the kiwi skin off haha what's new