Fish & the Budwig Diet

The original Budwig diet, developed to treat cancer patients, avoids animal fats, and focuses on cottage cheese and flaxseed oil. Recognizing the importance of protein to recovering cancer patients, revisions of the diet include wild fish, while prohibiting shellfish.

Shellfish

• According to the Budwig center, shellfish, including lobster, crab, shrimp, and other fish that contain a hard shell, are loaded with toxins; the center suggests eating this type of fish will increase the toxins in your body. Therefore, the Budwig diet strictly prohibits all shellfish. Furthermore, fried shellfish made the Budwig list of the five worst foods you can eat.

Wild Fish

• To increase the consumption of protein in recovering cancer patient's diet, Dr. Armin Grunewald amended the original diet to include protein sources. Citing a study that attributed the non-existent cancer rate among the Inuit people to their fish-based diet, Dr. Grunewald encouraged the consumption of wild organic fish, particularly Wild Alaskan Salmon.

Fish Oil

• Cottage cheese and flaxseed oil make up the cornerstone of the Budwig Diet. While flaxseed oil is similar to fish oil, promoters of the Budwig diet generally do not support using these oils, as they believe them to be filled with impurities.