Flax-Protein Shake (one-cup version)
Main Ingredients
3/4 - 1 cup pomegranate juice
You can use whatever kind of liquid base you prefer, such as raw goat's milk, water, juice, or any combination thereof (such as 1/2 cup pomegranate juice + 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup goat's milk + 1/2 cup pomegranate juice, 1/2 cup coconut milk + 1/2 cup goat's milk, etc.) Raw goat's milk is not often available or convenient to use. For my liquid base I typically use pomegranate juice plus 1 tablespoon (15 grams) of powdered goat's milk.
14-20 grams of whey protein concentrate, unsweetened. If using goat whey, increase amount to 20-30 grams. For therapeutic dose use 25+ grams of whey protein concentrate. Do not use whey protein isolate. For low dairy you can substitute in some egg white protein (such as using 7g whey protein and 7g egg white protein.)
1 - 3 tsp of bee pollen
Some people have a reaction to bee pollen, so begin with a smaller amount and work your way up to 3 tsp.
4+ grams d-Ribose + 5-10 drops liquid stevia
Ribose + stevia is the preferred sweetener, though you can use 1/2 teaspoon of raw honey (creamed is best). Other possible sweeteners are coconut sugar, xylitol, or some combination of sweeteners.
1/2 - 1 cup of berries. Some combination of blueberries, raspberries, cranberries, cherries, or strawberries are good. You can use a little mango or banana if you prefer a sweeter taste (though you have to be careful not to use too much fructose).
1 heaping Tablespoon of rice bran solubles (with tocotrienols)
500 - 1000 mg of bromelain (2400-3000 GDU per gram)
1/2 tsp Diatomaceous Earth (DE)
2-3 Tbs (30-45 ml) flaxseed oil.
Barleans is preferred though other brands, which are organic and cold-pressed, such as Vitamin Shoppe (which is Barleans in disguise) are about half the price and may also be used. Use filtered flax oil , not “high lignan” oil, since all the lignans you need are supplied by the chia seeds/flax seeds that are added to the shake.
2+ Tbs chia seeds, ground up and soaked in 3/4 cup of warm water
Grind up the chia seeds (in a small, electric coffee grinder) and slowly pour into 3/4 cup (6 ounces) of warm water while stirring with a small spoon. (I prefer using a bistro iced tea spoon, which has a small head and a long handle. > Amazon). This should create a "gooey mass" of chia seeds in a few seconds. If using full-scale probiotics in your shake—which I highly recommend you do—it is best to open up the capsules and add the powder to the ground chia seeds before mixing in water. The chia "goo" helps protect the bacteria strains from destruction, or weakening, by the stomach acid. (It's best to begin with 2 capsules of a good full-scale probiotic, plus one capsule of salivarius, which is an especially beneficial bacteria strain.) If you have any difficulty with regularity, taking probiotics might help with that.
Alternative 1: You can use unground chia seeds, soaked in warm water. It will take a few minutes for the chia seeds to become a gooey mass. If using unground chia seeds (which is not the preferred method) you will have to mix in the opposite way: instead of placing the seeds into the water, place the chia seeds in a dry cup, and slowly add warm water, while stirring constantly. If you add the water too fast the seeds will not gel up quickly; in such a case you will then have to let the chia seeds sit in the warm water for 15 minutes, while stirring occasionally, for them to become a gooey mass.)
Alternative 2: You can use ground up flaxseeds (yellow). The standard Budwig protocol uses ground up flaxseeds.
Just grind up the flax seeds in a coffee grinder and use within 10 minutes of grinding. No need to soak the seeds. This creates some bulk to the shake but not as much as soaked chia seeds.
Note: Ground flax seeds must be added immediately after grinding because the seeds begin to oxidize, and lose their potency, within a few minutes. The ground flax seeds do not add much flaxseed oil to the shake; they primarily add lignans and roughage. After grinding, make sure to get all the ground flax seed out of the grinder and grinder cap. You can use a small (unused) paint brush. Make sure to unplug the grinder before cleaning. Anything that is left in the grinder will go rancid by the next day.
The Budwig Protocol calls for using 2 Tbs of "Linomel," which is nothing more than ground flaxseeds, with honey and milk powder added. The reason why honey is added is to preserve the ground flaxseeds from oxidizing. Using fresh-ground flaxseeds, however, is always preferred over using pre-ground seeds, even if they are preserved with honey.
Additional Items (to use at your discretion) *
1-2 capsule of serrapeptase (120,000 SU per capsule)
1 capsule of evening primrose oil (1300mg)
1 capsule of Vitamin E, mixed tocopherols (400mg)
8-15 drops of vanilla extract (for taste)
2-4 capsules of a full-scale probiotic blend (+ salivarius, if available)
1/2 - 2 tsp red raspberry seed powder (provides 10 -40 mg ellagitannins)
1 capsule of mucopolysaccharide concentrate.
* I usually use all the listed ingredients when making my shake.
2-6 Tbs of l.salivarius yogurt
Procedure:
1) Place the liquid, then all the powder ingredients, then the berries into a 1 liter container. (If you are using soaked chia seeds, add them at a later time.)
A glass container is usually preferred but you have to be careful that it does not crack when mixing with a stick blender. (After my glass mason jar cracked a few times, I always mix in a large, wide-mouthed plastic container, such as a 1-quart yogurt container.)
2) Blend with a stick blender.
When the blender blade is fully submerged it may not move fast enough; so, on occasion, you will have to blend up the mixture while the stick-blender blade partially submerged, about 1 inch deep. Keep moving the blender up and down until the contents are fully blended.
3) Add 2-3T of Flaxseed oil to the contents and mix in with a large spoon (or the stick blender at a low speed.) Do not use a regular blender. Mix in the flaxseed oil until it “disappears" and then stop. (If you are using primrose oil, you can add it at this time.)
Note: Do not blend flaxseed oil in a blender. The rotating motor of virtually all commercial blenders puts out an electro-magnetic charge that can strip fruits, vegetables, and delicate oils of their electron charge. (Most blenders put out 400 gauss at 6”). Because of this, commercial blenders as well as centrifugal juicers are never used in the Gerson program. They recommend using a hand-held stick blender, which is better than a regular blender (as it uses a smaller motor, and the motor is further away from the blended material). It is best to keep the flaxseed oil (when storing it) at least 1.5 meters away from any electromagnetic device, such as the motor in your freezer.
Some people feel that it takes a few minutes for the flaxseed oil to fully interact with the sulfur protein; they suggest that you mix in the flaxseed oil and let the mixture sit for a few minutes. If you adhere to this notion, you can mix in the flaxseed oil and wait a few minutes.
If the flaxseed oil has been properly mixed (and fully interacted with the sulfur-protein base) then the oil will have become water soluble—which means you can clean out the container with water only. If there is an oil residue then a) the shake was not properly mixed or b) not enough protein was added (or too much flaxseed oil was used).
For additional information on mixing see Mixing Instructions
4) Add the chia seed "goop" to the mixture and blend in with a stick blender.
Note: the reason why the soaked chia seeds are blended in after the flaxseed oil is because the chia seeds may slow down the reaction between the flax oil and sulfur protein. If the chia seeds are added before the flax oil the shake will require a lot more blending, which is not good because, when working with flaxseed oil, the less blending the better. (Don't forget to add your probiotics to the ground chia seeds before making the goop.)
5) The shake is now done and ready to eat with a large spoon (if thick enough) or drink through a large straw.
Frozen Version
Eating cold or frozen food is not recommended. However, if no fresh berries are available, and you must use frozen berries, the shake is likely to become too cold. So, you may have to heat it up a little by placing the container in a pot of warm water and stirring until it reaches room temperature or above. You can counteract the cold of the frozen berries, somewhat, by heating up the liquid base before adding the dry ingredients and berries; however, make suse you don't heat the liquid above 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
On occasion, if you are relatively healthy (and if the weather is warm enough) you may want to have a thick, frozen dessert. This can be accomplished using cold juice, frozen berries, and cooling down the soaked chia seeds before adding them. This would create a thick mixture similar in consistency to soft ice cream. (But be careful---it's highly addictive!) To mitigate the ill-effects of eating frozen food, you can follow up with a cup or very warm water or spiced tea.
Note: Dr. Budwig suggests that people dealing with cancer sip hot water throughout the day. Eating cold foods, especially frozen shakes or deserts, is not particularly good for the liver nor recommended for anyone dealing with a serious disease.
Some Alternative Ingredients
To increase beneficial bacteria and lactic acid, and add a tangy taste, you can add some homemade yogurt or buttermilk. For your yogurt, it is best to use bacterial cultures that produce dex-lactic acid, or dextrorotatory L(+) lactic acid. The most common type of culture (involving acidophilus) is neutral; it produces equal amounts of dex- (right-turning) and lev- (left-turning) lactic acid. Dex-lactic acid-producing strains include: L. Sporogenes, Lactobacillus Casei, Streptococcus Lactis, Bifidobacteria, and Lactobacillus Salivarius.
Instead of using soaked chia seeds as a thickening agents, you can try using mushy oatmeal on occasion. Oatmeal helps anchor beneficial bacteria in the intestines.
Lactose
In general, the lactose content of the shake is tolerable by most people (even people who are "lactose intolerant") especially when using raw milk instead of processed milk. However, if you cannot tolerate milk or dairy products, you can make the shake using egg white protein, or some kind of pea or hemp protein, though I cannot guarantee the taste. (If using an alternative protein, make sure it has enough of the sulfur proteins, cystine and methionine, to potentiate the flaxseed oil. (See the section on Sulfur Proteins to check the sulfur content of various proteins.)
Lipid/Fat Digestion
The flaxseed oil used in the Fosube Shake is rendered water-soluble when combined with sulfur protein; and, thus, it does not place a burden on the liver (as would flaxseed oil when not combined with sulfur protein). If, however, you have any issue with fat digestion, or less than optimal digestion, you may want to take a full-scale digestive enzyme before taking the Fosube Shake. Ω-Zyme Ultra by Garden of Life or Hoffman's Advanced Digestive Enzymes by the Vitamin Shoppe, may be useful. In addition, a digestive blend containing Ox Bile (such as GB-3 from Endomet Labs) and the inclusion of beet tops, for bile flow (such as Beet Flow 180 from Whole Health Network) may be useful.
Eggs
Egg yolks contain about 31% fat. They are sometimes good for athletes but are considered too high in animal fat to be used with the Budwig Program. Dr. Budwig considered animal fats to be "respiratory inhibitors" that decrease cellular respiration and the uptake of oxygen at the cellular level. However, if you are using the Shake for general health, and cannot tolerate milk or cow products, using raw organic eggs might be a viable alternative. (For less fat and more protein, you might also consider using egg white protein).
>> Explanation of Shake Ingredients
Main Ingredients
3/4 - 1 cup pomegranate juice
You can use whatever kind of liquid base you prefer, such as raw goat's milk, water, juice, or any combination thereof (such as 1/2 cup pomegranate juice + 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup goat's milk + 1/2 cup pomegranate juice, 1/2 cup coconut milk + 1/2 cup goat's milk, etc.) Raw goat's milk is not often available or convenient to use. For my liquid base I typically use pomegranate juice plus 1 tablespoon (15 grams) of powdered goat's milk.
14-20 grams of whey protein concentrate, unsweetened. If using goat whey, increase amount to 20-30 grams. For therapeutic dose use 25+ grams of whey protein concentrate. Do not use whey protein isolate. For low dairy you can substitute in some egg white protein (such as using 7g whey protein and 7g egg white protein.)
1 - 3 tsp of bee pollen
Some people have a reaction to bee pollen, so begin with a smaller amount and work your way up to 3 tsp.
4+ grams d-Ribose + 5-10 drops liquid stevia
Ribose + stevia is the preferred sweetener, though you can use 1/2 teaspoon of raw honey (creamed is best). Other possible sweeteners are coconut sugar, xylitol, or some combination of sweeteners.
1/2 - 1 cup of berries. Some combination of blueberries, raspberries, cranberries, cherries, or strawberries are good. You can use a little mango or banana if you prefer a sweeter taste (though you have to be careful not to use too much fructose).
1 heaping Tablespoon of rice bran solubles (with tocotrienols)
500 - 1000 mg of bromelain (2400-3000 GDU per gram)
1/2 tsp Diatomaceous Earth (DE)
2-3 Tbs (30-45 ml) flaxseed oil.
Barleans is preferred though other brands, which are organic and cold-pressed, such as Vitamin Shoppe (which is Barleans in disguise) are about half the price and may also be used. Use filtered flax oil , not “high lignan” oil, since all the lignans you need are supplied by the chia seeds/flax seeds that are added to the shake.
2+ Tbs chia seeds, ground up and soaked in 3/4 cup of warm water
Grind up the chia seeds (in a small, electric coffee grinder) and slowly pour into 3/4 cup (6 ounces) of warm water while stirring with a small spoon. (I prefer using a bistro iced tea spoon, which has a small head and a long handle. > Amazon). This should create a "gooey mass" of chia seeds in a few seconds. If using full-scale probiotics in your shake—which I highly recommend you do—it is best to open up the capsules and add the powder to the ground chia seeds before mixing in water. The chia "goo" helps protect the bacteria strains from destruction, or weakening, by the stomach acid. (It's best to begin with 2 capsules of a good full-scale probiotic, plus one capsule of salivarius, which is an especially beneficial bacteria strain.) If you have any difficulty with regularity, taking probiotics might help with that.
Alternative 1: You can use unground chia seeds, soaked in warm water. It will take a few minutes for the chia seeds to become a gooey mass. If using unground chia seeds (which is not the preferred method) you will have to mix in the opposite way: instead of placing the seeds into the water, place the chia seeds in a dry cup, and slowly add warm water, while stirring constantly. If you add the water too fast the seeds will not gel up quickly; in such a case you will then have to let the chia seeds sit in the warm water for 15 minutes, while stirring occasionally, for them to become a gooey mass.)
Alternative 2: You can use ground up flaxseeds (yellow). The standard Budwig protocol uses ground up flaxseeds.
Just grind up the flax seeds in a coffee grinder and use within 10 minutes of grinding. No need to soak the seeds. This creates some bulk to the shake but not as much as soaked chia seeds.
Note: Ground flax seeds must be added immediately after grinding because the seeds begin to oxidize, and lose their potency, within a few minutes. The ground flax seeds do not add much flaxseed oil to the shake; they primarily add lignans and roughage. After grinding, make sure to get all the ground flax seed out of the grinder and grinder cap. You can use a small (unused) paint brush. Make sure to unplug the grinder before cleaning. Anything that is left in the grinder will go rancid by the next day.
The Budwig Protocol calls for using 2 Tbs of "Linomel," which is nothing more than ground flaxseeds, with honey and milk powder added. The reason why honey is added is to preserve the ground flaxseeds from oxidizing. Using fresh-ground flaxseeds, however, is always preferred over using pre-ground seeds, even if they are preserved with honey.
Additional Items (to use at your discretion) *
1-2 capsule of serrapeptase (120,000 SU per capsule)
1 capsule of evening primrose oil (1300mg)
1 capsule of Vitamin E, mixed tocopherols (400mg)
8-15 drops of vanilla extract (for taste)
2-4 capsules of a full-scale probiotic blend (+ salivarius, if available)
1/2 - 2 tsp red raspberry seed powder (provides 10 -40 mg ellagitannins)
1 capsule of mucopolysaccharide concentrate.
* I usually use all the listed ingredients when making my shake.
2-6 Tbs of l.salivarius yogurt
Procedure:
1) Place the liquid, then all the powder ingredients, then the berries into a 1 liter container. (If you are using soaked chia seeds, add them at a later time.)
A glass container is usually preferred but you have to be careful that it does not crack when mixing with a stick blender. (After my glass mason jar cracked a few times, I always mix in a large, wide-mouthed plastic container, such as a 1-quart yogurt container.)
2) Blend with a stick blender.
When the blender blade is fully submerged it may not move fast enough; so, on occasion, you will have to blend up the mixture while the stick-blender blade partially submerged, about 1 inch deep. Keep moving the blender up and down until the contents are fully blended.
3) Add 2-3T of Flaxseed oil to the contents and mix in with a large spoon (or the stick blender at a low speed.) Do not use a regular blender. Mix in the flaxseed oil until it “disappears" and then stop. (If you are using primrose oil, you can add it at this time.)
Note: Do not blend flaxseed oil in a blender. The rotating motor of virtually all commercial blenders puts out an electro-magnetic charge that can strip fruits, vegetables, and delicate oils of their electron charge. (Most blenders put out 400 gauss at 6”). Because of this, commercial blenders as well as centrifugal juicers are never used in the Gerson program. They recommend using a hand-held stick blender, which is better than a regular blender (as it uses a smaller motor, and the motor is further away from the blended material). It is best to keep the flaxseed oil (when storing it) at least 1.5 meters away from any electromagnetic device, such as the motor in your freezer.
Some people feel that it takes a few minutes for the flaxseed oil to fully interact with the sulfur protein; they suggest that you mix in the flaxseed oil and let the mixture sit for a few minutes. If you adhere to this notion, you can mix in the flaxseed oil and wait a few minutes.
If the flaxseed oil has been properly mixed (and fully interacted with the sulfur-protein base) then the oil will have become water soluble—which means you can clean out the container with water only. If there is an oil residue then a) the shake was not properly mixed or b) not enough protein was added (or too much flaxseed oil was used).
For additional information on mixing see Mixing Instructions
4) Add the chia seed "goop" to the mixture and blend in with a stick blender.
Note: the reason why the soaked chia seeds are blended in after the flaxseed oil is because the chia seeds may slow down the reaction between the flax oil and sulfur protein. If the chia seeds are added before the flax oil the shake will require a lot more blending, which is not good because, when working with flaxseed oil, the less blending the better. (Don't forget to add your probiotics to the ground chia seeds before making the goop.)
5) The shake is now done and ready to eat with a large spoon (if thick enough) or drink through a large straw.
Frozen Version
Eating cold or frozen food is not recommended. However, if no fresh berries are available, and you must use frozen berries, the shake is likely to become too cold. So, you may have to heat it up a little by placing the container in a pot of warm water and stirring until it reaches room temperature or above. You can counteract the cold of the frozen berries, somewhat, by heating up the liquid base before adding the dry ingredients and berries; however, make suse you don't heat the liquid above 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
On occasion, if you are relatively healthy (and if the weather is warm enough) you may want to have a thick, frozen dessert. This can be accomplished using cold juice, frozen berries, and cooling down the soaked chia seeds before adding them. This would create a thick mixture similar in consistency to soft ice cream. (But be careful---it's highly addictive!) To mitigate the ill-effects of eating frozen food, you can follow up with a cup or very warm water or spiced tea.
Note: Dr. Budwig suggests that people dealing with cancer sip hot water throughout the day. Eating cold foods, especially frozen shakes or deserts, is not particularly good for the liver nor recommended for anyone dealing with a serious disease.
Some Alternative Ingredients
To increase beneficial bacteria and lactic acid, and add a tangy taste, you can add some homemade yogurt or buttermilk. For your yogurt, it is best to use bacterial cultures that produce dex-lactic acid, or dextrorotatory L(+) lactic acid. The most common type of culture (involving acidophilus) is neutral; it produces equal amounts of dex- (right-turning) and lev- (left-turning) lactic acid. Dex-lactic acid-producing strains include: L. Sporogenes, Lactobacillus Casei, Streptococcus Lactis, Bifidobacteria, and Lactobacillus Salivarius.
Instead of using soaked chia seeds as a thickening agents, you can try using mushy oatmeal on occasion. Oatmeal helps anchor beneficial bacteria in the intestines.
Lactose
In general, the lactose content of the shake is tolerable by most people (even people who are "lactose intolerant") especially when using raw milk instead of processed milk. However, if you cannot tolerate milk or dairy products, you can make the shake using egg white protein, or some kind of pea or hemp protein, though I cannot guarantee the taste. (If using an alternative protein, make sure it has enough of the sulfur proteins, cystine and methionine, to potentiate the flaxseed oil. (See the section on Sulfur Proteins to check the sulfur content of various proteins.)
Lipid/Fat Digestion
The flaxseed oil used in the Fosube Shake is rendered water-soluble when combined with sulfur protein; and, thus, it does not place a burden on the liver (as would flaxseed oil when not combined with sulfur protein). If, however, you have any issue with fat digestion, or less than optimal digestion, you may want to take a full-scale digestive enzyme before taking the Fosube Shake. Ω-Zyme Ultra by Garden of Life or Hoffman's Advanced Digestive Enzymes by the Vitamin Shoppe, may be useful. In addition, a digestive blend containing Ox Bile (such as GB-3 from Endomet Labs) and the inclusion of beet tops, for bile flow (such as Beet Flow 180 from Whole Health Network) may be useful.
Eggs
Egg yolks contain about 31% fat. They are sometimes good for athletes but are considered too high in animal fat to be used with the Budwig Program. Dr. Budwig considered animal fats to be "respiratory inhibitors" that decrease cellular respiration and the uptake of oxygen at the cellular level. However, if you are using the Shake for general health, and cannot tolerate milk or cow products, using raw organic eggs might be a viable alternative. (For less fat and more protein, you might also consider using egg white protein).
>> Explanation of Shake Ingredients
Note: The video below does not reflect the preferred method for making the Fosube Shake (as described above); however, it is close enough for instructional purposes. It shows a version of the shake made with frozen berries and ground flax seeds.