It has been estimated by some experts that over 90% of cancers can be prevented; most cancers are due to environmental exposure. Therefore, only 10% of cancers are genetic! This is great news because it gives pet owners who own those breeds predisposed to cancer a fair amount of hope.
Just some of the breeds predisposed to cancer are:
Bengals
Boxers
Great Danes
Labradors and many of the Retriever breeds
Persians
Rottweilers
Saint Bernards
Scottish Terriers
Siamese
For the pet owner, owning a specific breed of dog or a cat should not mean continual fear that cancer will rear its ugly head. Because most cancers are caused by environmental exposure, it really does give the pet owner great control over what can happen to their pet.
The exposures some of the common exposures that put pets at higher risk for cancer include:
Over-vaccination
Over use of topical chemicals and flea and tick medications
Lawn treatment
Fluoridated water
Obesity
Certain pet food ingredients
Some of these pet food ingredients include:
Ethoxyquin
By-products
Dyes
Molds/fungi
Simple carbohydrates like corn, wheat, and soy
Again, the good news is there are many things the pet owner can do to help protect his/her pet. Not only by avoiding over exposures and unnecessary chemicals, and feeding the best food that fits the owner’s lifestyle, but also feeding an easy, special recipe (the Budwig Diet) can help avoid cancer.
The Budwig Diet was discovered/invented by Dr Johanna Budwig, a German biochemist who found high quality flax seed oil could bring oxygen to the tissues; but the flax seed oil needs the help of a sulfur
containing protein to be well absorbed into the body – thus cottage cheese. Because cancer develops in a low oxygen environment, flax seed oil makes it harder for cancer to find that place to grow in the body.
Budwig Recipe:
2 tablespoons flaxseed oil, fresh, refrigerated
1/4 cup cottage cheese, organic
Mix together so that the cottage cheese is no longer oily. If it is still oily, add more cottage cheese.
Feed this mixture to your pet two or three times a day every day on an empty stomach. Wait one hour to feed a regular meal.
Every day. Feed 1-2 teaspoons for cats, up to ½ cup twice a day for large breed dogs.
Make fresh at each meal. Flax seeds can be used but should be ground fresh then mixed into cottage cheese.
While this won’t stop all cancers, it will go a long way to provide healing oxygen to the cells of your dog or cat’s body.
That in itself is incredibly healthful!
Dr. Cathy Alinovi DVM
As a practicing veterinarian, Dr. Cathy treated 80% of what walked in the door — not with expensive prescriptions — but with adequate nutrition. Now retired from private practice, her commitment to pets hasn’t waned and she looks forward to impacting many more pet parents through her books, research, speaking and consulting work.  Learn more at drcathyvet.com
Diane Richards
April 21, 2016 at 10:03 am
Is this recipe also good for humans?
Dr Cathy
April 21, 2016 at 10:30 am
You bet! In actuality, this recipe was designed for humans. But there is nothing in it that makes it unsafe for pets and the mechanism of cancer is the same regardless of species. Therefore, interspecies sharing.
Jennifer
April 21, 2016 at 12:13 pm
Would a homemade raw yogurt be comparable?
Batzion
April 21, 2016 at 11:18 pm
Here is the “human” Budwig diet protocol (you’ll have to scroll down). Thanks, Susan!
Batzion
April 21, 2016 at 11:19 pm
Well, I forgot the link. Here it is: http://www.cancertutor.com/budwig/
Toby
April 21, 2016 at 11:05 am
Can you give this to cats or is there an alternative recipe?
Jane Eagle
April 21, 2016 at 11:08 am
I think this is terrific info! But here is my question, (and I know I am weird): I am vegan, and feed my dogs a raw food diet…so twice a day I am up to my elbows in dead meat. I became vegan when I understood the egregious cruelty of the dairy industry, which tortures cows beyond belief for 4-5 years until their bodies are spent and then they also go to slaughter. I realize that dairy is so much more cruel then just killing an animal, so I cannot in good conscience give dairy products to my dogs. Is there some non-dairy food that would contain sulfur containing protein that could be used instead? I have enough trouble buying meat!
Ellie
April 22, 2016 at 9:55 am
It is possible that you could find a privately owned farm not far from where you live where people treat their animals well and will sell you both meat and dairy at a reasonable rate. Such places still exist around the country. The animals are free range and not continually injected with steroids, hormones, antibiotics, etc., throughout their lives.
We have fed ourselves and our pets this way for years. A good internet search should help you locate farms like this or co-ops in your area that sell those products.
Vicky H
June 23, 2016 at 2:53 pm
Hi Jane,
I am not a vegan but I became obsessed about the source of the animal products I consume a couple years ago for the same reasons you became a vegan. I agree with you that the dairy industry is the ultimate form of cruelty. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. The problem is that doing it right results in dairy products being A LOT more expensive, so many producers trying to market to consumers like you and I will compromise.
This websites might give you a better idea of what I’m talking about:
https://maplehillcreamery.com/ourfarms/Farms/The-Madre-Method.html
http://www.nodpa.com/production_health_madre-method-08-18-14.shtml
There’s many more resources about this on the internet. I don’t know where you live, but in some it is particularly easy to get milk from humanely raised cow/calf pairs.
Joy
November 20, 2016 at 2:46 pm
Why not find a local farmer with organic, raw Jersey or Guernsey milk, who love their cattle as pets? I found someone about 45 miles away, and I would not feed my animal any milk from Holstein cattle, as that is A1 dairy, and very damaging. Raw A2 dairy is what you want. You can email me at created2bhealthy@gmail.com if you want to know more, and also what plant minerals will truly help your dog! I am going to make Kefir for my dog from this above mentioned raw milk.
Anni
April 21, 2016 at 11:17 am
How can the cows milk dairy product-cottage cheese-be any good for cats?
Bell
April 21, 2016 at 11:47 am
Cats have a problem with the lactose. Cottage cheese has relatively low lactose. You can squeeze it until most of the moisture is gone to eliminate even more of the lactose.
Dr Cathy
April 21, 2016 at 1:27 pm
Sounds like a can of worms – whether dairy is safe for cats or not. According to the ASPCA website, dairy is not safe for pets at all. However, thousands of people share their ice cream and the bottom of their cereal dish with cats every day. And small, family farms with cats in the barn find cats drinking the milk all the time. (I have a girlfriend from vet school who grew up on a dairy farm in upstate New York – it as normal to milk a bowl for the barn cats.) The cats are healthy and do well when they grow up on dairy products. For the pet who stopped eating dairy, some dairy can be hard to digest, but cheese is cultured, making it easier to digest. Pets who are not used to dairy products may get diarrhea – this is what the ASPCA website is concerned about. We are talking about the lactose – the sugar.
There are some who say fish is not a natural protein source for cats and do not recommend it. Neither is corn, yet that is fed everyday to cats all over the world in the form of dry cat food. Many cats thrive on fish, and ask for more – just as some do for dairy products.
Because cottage cheese is cultured, it is more digestible. Options would be kefir (also cultured), or goat’s milk. Goat’s milk has a little less lactose and the particle size is a little smaller, therefore easier to digest, than cow’s milk.
Certainly, organic cottage cheese is preferable.
Homemade raw yogurt is also fabulous.
Other sources of sulfur-based amino acids: meat. Taurine is a sulfur-based amino acid; which cats obviously need plenty of.
barbara m.
April 21, 2016 at 2:00 pm
What about unflavored yogurt as a substitute? I believe that yogurt has less lactose in it than milk. Yogurt is good for cats to promote live and active bacteria cultures and probiotics that can help with digestive problems. I use Pavel’s Russian yogurt, as it just like home-made, and our cats love it. Also, what about raw goats milk? Maybe for Jane this would be a good substitute, as they are not abused in factory farms. I have fed this to young kitties in the past. There is often a local farmer that will sell directly to you. Otherwise, you can find it pasteurized in the market.
Pat P.
April 26, 2016 at 1:07 am
Barbara,
Where did you get the idea that goats are not abused in factory farms?! EVERY animal inside one of these hell holes is abused!
There has been a rapid increase in the demand and destruction of grazing lands, leading to goats being increasingly bred in overcrowded, toxic and filthy living conditions of factory farms. They are taken at birth from their mothers (male kids are killed, immediately), kept in separate enclosures, subject to painful body mutilations (disbudding by burning, castrations) w/o painkillers or vet care. Like cows, goats are wonderful mothers, who grieve intensely when their babies are stolen from them, and they form very strong bonds, when given the chance in humane settings. They have “rape” contraptions, where they are strapped/chained and force bred. No movement/exercise, unnatural shed flooring, toxic ammonia fumes–large number of chronic diseases in goats. Although their natural lives are 8-12 years, in factory farms it’s 3-5 months–often slaughtered/skinned alive with dull knives! Most of them suffer, horribly, just like cows. They are smart, very affectionate social animals who develop very close relationships with their family and friends, including humans. It’s too bad that so many humans are very cruel to them.
barbara m.
April 26, 2016 at 11:57 am
Thank you for your reply, and waking me up. I had no idea that goats were in “factory farms”. I’m well aware of the abuse of other animals such as cows, pigs, chickens, and turkeys – the reason that I am a vegetarian. Living in a rural area, we have many small local farmers that sell their products and do not mistreat their animals. Last weekend they even had a goat parade. I know a lady who raises goats and sells goat milk, so used to buy from her – raw.
I should have made it clear that a person could seek out one of these farmers in their area. For some reason I could not imagine goats in a factory, knowing how delightful their personalities are. Now I assume that ducks are also in factory farms as well, which must be truly awful. Fortunately for us in Northern CA, there is a small farmer who makes a pet food (as well as human food) called Mary’s: chicken, ducks and turkeys. All of her animals are humanely raised. I can send you her website.
Sophia Kantor
December 20, 2016 at 6:18 pm
Hi, Barbara,
I would appreciate your sending me the website you mentioned.
I have a dog and recently decided to switch him to raw food diet; still searching for a reliable food source.
Thanks in advance,
Sophia
Phyl
April 28, 2016 at 12:52 pm
THIS IS WHY I AM VEGAN! People refuse to believe how farm animals are abused.
dana prince
March 6, 2019 at 8:21 am
You can use Kefir instead which is a natural probiotic.
Claudia
April 21, 2016 at 2:22 pm
Would it be ok to substitute an egg, for the cottage cheese?
Joy
November 20, 2016 at 2:47 pm
My dog gets 2 or 3 eggs a day, very healthy!
Sage
April 21, 2016 at 4:39 pm
I personally drink LACTAID (lactose free milk) so it’s always in the refrigerator. Some of our many CATS like milk so they occasionally have a little Lactaid. NEVER has it lead to diarrhea or other digestive problems. I also give it to a couple of the ferals that I feed since they like it, and it increases their hydration – especially in the heat of Southern California summers (they already eat wet food). Relating to cottage cheese, most of my cats don’t like it (dogs always seem to love it) but I doubt just a teaspoon would ever cause digestive problems for cats. LACTAID brand makes lactose free cottage cheese although I have not seen it locally.
Debra Newton
April 21, 2016 at 10:07 pm
I read that cats should not have flax seed oil. Only salmon oil or fish oil?
Judy Boitt
April 22, 2016 at 8:01 am
I put stabilized oxygen in my dogs water bowl every day….I also give it to my birds. My oldest dog lived to 18 and died in his sleep he was a Miniature Schnauzer my Giant Schnauzer is 11 and still plays hard. Her vet said she had a few years left. 🙂
Robin
April 22, 2016 at 2:29 pm
How do you do this?
Beth
April 24, 2016 at 2:20 pm
And then there is Dr. Andrew Weil, who is generally a well-respected alternative therapy proponent, who states the opposite. I never know who to believe when there are conflicting reports!! : “The idea that oxygen might destroy cancer cells goes back at least to the 1930s when Otto Warburg, M.D., a Nobel Prize winner, discovered that compared to normal cells, cancer cells have a low rate of respiration (i.e. oxygen-based metabolism) and seem to thrive in low-oxygen environments. He proposed that higher levels of oxygen should be toxic to cancer cells and might kill them. Unfortunately, Dr. Warburg was wrong. Oxygen doesn’t slow cancer growth – in fact, tumors grow rapidly in tissues well supplied with oxygenated blood. According to the American Cancer Society, attempts to treat cancer patients by injecting hydrogen peroxide directly into solid tumors or into the blood system have generally been ineffective.”
Batzion
June 23, 2016 at 9:15 pm
I am injecting this undercover expose on Eggland’s Best eggs as an FYI to all who eat eggs and feed them to their pets. Please note, it is difficult to watch: http://www.egglandsworst.com/
Joy
November 20, 2016 at 2:48 pm
I buy from a local small farmer who has very happy and healthy chickens. I would NEVER use Egglands eggs!
Doug Ahart
May 3, 2017 at 11:37 am
I had very good luck using the budwig flaxseed oil formula for my osteoarthritis greyhound until I didnt, but I was not following Johanna’s protocol to the “T”. I still kept my dog on commercial dry dog food which if you watch the documentary PET FOOedD, you know is pretty bad stuff. To read my account case study: http://racehorseherbal.net/Budwig.html
Natalie Mosley
August 25, 2019 at 11:42 pm
I love this article. My dog was just diagnosed the other day with mast cell cancer. I live in Maryland I have never seen raw flaxseed oil. Where do I get it or is there another way like maybe the one in the oil (not cooler) aisle?
Cathryn Bower
September 19, 2019 at 5:25 am
Amazon have raw organic flaxseed oil.
Gen
May 9, 2020 at 12:39 pm
Health food stores sell in the cooler. Even some grocery stores that carry a good deal of healthy, organic foods.
Brenda
May 18, 2020 at 6:14 pm
Hi Cathy our most loved dog has serious cancer. Can you suggest a good homemade dog food we could prepare alongside the BUDWIG protocol ? We are vegan. BUT we only want the best food to help him. Not sure if vegan or meat based is better? Although Dr Budwig did not advise eating too much meat for humans and never pork. If you would be so kind (THANK YOU) to share your thoughts this would be HUGE for us right now. Your help is so appreciated
Susan
July 22, 2023 at 7:48 pm
can you substitute coconut oil for flax?