My Cancer Nutritional Protocol

The program I signed up for in 1996 is called the Metabolic Assessment Program or BioMap. It required me to go to a local lab to get blood work done and fill out a lengthy questionnaire related to my personal body characteristics, emotional health and reactions to stress. This information is then entered into software that performs thousands of calculations and delivers a report that includes what diet is best for your particular constitution, what supplements are needed to bring each organ into balance and health, and a breakdown of each lab test, down to the smallest detail. What I found fascinating is that each lab number (i.e., iron levels, cholesterol, liver enzymes) were graded like a teacher grades a test, not just a “it’s within normal range” or it’s not. Dr. Taylor explained that you can be within “normal” ranges but be getting a D. (I got one D in school, High School Chemistry, and I can verify that a D means you passed but definitely aren’t doing too well!) He wants to see each number in the A category. In each category, the A range is listed and if your number doesn’t fall within that A range, what that means and what you need to do to bring it up. Because the “normal” and “abnormal” ranges used by most doctors and testing labs were patterned after people who weren’t necessarily super healthy but only showed no evidence of disease, this way of raising the bar made so much sense! The MAP looks at approximately 20-30 details from the bloodwork. It’s very interesting to see your blood examined so closely!

Many people think eliminating meat and eating a vegetarian diet will be the best diet, but it all depends on your particular metabolism and ancestral background. My metabolism was going to be the healthiest by eating a diet of 70% fruits/vegetables, 10% meat, 10% dairy and 10% grains. Eating as much raw and organic was also stressed. Cold pressed oils (no canola, corn, vegetable oils) and all nuts (except peanuts) are also allowed. The report also listed foods that were particularly good for me.

Incorporated into my program was the Budwig Protocol, developed by Dr. Johanna Budwig, a German biochemist and expert on fats and oils. This protocol was adding three tablespoons of flax oil daily, combined with three tablespoons of cottage cheese. Dr. Budwig’s approach was very successful, even with late stage cancer patients that she treated in Europe.

Supplements were also listed that needed to be taken at meals, in between meals, and in the middle of the night. I took over a hundred capsules per day. Many of the supplements were glandular products of the highest quality and pancreatic and digestive enzymes along with the more familiar vitamins and minerals. Each supplement was prescribed to support all my individual organs and systems. One of my favorite supplements was a liquid flaxseed oil combination that included borage oil, evening primrose oil, vitamin E and CoQ10 in very high amounts. I was to take a tablespoon of this oil along with a tablespoon of cottage cheese three times per day. The cottage cheese/flax oil was part of the Budwig Protocol, which I’ll explain in a future post. The high amount of CoQ10 gave me a huge amount of energy – as much as my kids – it was great!!

The third part of the MAP recommendations included some detox procedures, which I will also cover in future posts.

Exercise was also recommended; any type that I enjoyed and would do on a consistent basis.

It was an intensive program, to be sure, but once I received the supplements, organized them into little bags and wrapped my head around the diet, it wasn’t too difficult to follow.