Food Provides Your Vitamins and Minerals

The vitamins and minerals you need occur naturally in whole foods. These foods also contain co-nutrients that help regulate and improve absorption of nutrients.  For this reason, food is the only source of nutrition on the Budwig Diet.

Dr. Johanna Budwig advised against taking supplements of any kind, especially antioxidant supplements. According to Johanna Budwig, the diet works by improving oxygen uptake within the cells. Antioxidant supplements interfere with this process and reduce the diet’s effectiveness.

No to Supplements

The Budwig Diet generally excludes vitamin, mineral and herbal supplements unless they are medically necessary. When a doctor diagnoses a specific vitamin or mineral deficiency, any prescribed appropriate supplement should be taken

Vitamin D3 is widely considered an exception because people living in Northern Europe often receive too little sunlight to produce healthy levels naturally.

Yes to Herbs and Spices

Dr. Johanna Budwig recommended using herbs and spices as foods, and they are fully compatible with the Budwig Diet.

Ancient Indian medicine, through Ayurveda, has long regarded food as medicine. Herbs and spices have played an important role in this tradition for thousands of years.  Modern research is beginning to understand how these foods can benefit health.

However, the Budwig Diet makes a clear distinction between herbs and spices used in cooking and concentrated herbal extracts sold as supplements. Whole herbs and spices are encouraged as part of a healthy diet, while concentrated extracts are not.

Herbs as Teas

Herbal teas, including Essiac tea, are considered compatible with the Budwig Diet and can be enjoyed as part of the daily fluid intake.

If you wish to take anything in addition to the Budwig Diet, do so only on the advice of your doctor or a practitioner with experience of the Budwig Protocol.