Catherine Kousmine: Difference between revisions

Catherine Kousmine
Catherine Kousmine
Born	17 September 1904; Hvalynsky
Died	24 August 1992 (aged 87); Lutry
Occupation	Physician

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Catherine Kousmine (17 September 1904 in Hvalynsky, Russia – 24 August 1992 in Lutry, Switzerland) was a Russian physician who proposed an alternative cancer treatment.

Kousmine devised a restrictive diet for treating many human ailments including multiple sclerosis and cancer. There is, however, no scientific evidence that it is effective.^[1]

Life

Born in 1904 into a well-to-do family in Russia, Catherine Kousmine and her parents fled the country in 1916 before the Russian revolution, settling in Lausanne.^[2] The young Catherine went to the Ecole Supérieure of Lausanne where she graduated in sciences. She then went on to medical school. Upon graduation in 1928, she moved to Zurich, in professor Guido Fanconi's unit, to specialize in pediatrics, then worked in Vienna, Austria, where she got her degree in this discipline.

Back in Switzerland, she had to resume her work as a general practitioner because her degree in pediatrics was not recognized by Swiss authorities. Dr. Kousmine spent most of her life in Switzerland. She set up the Fondation Catherine Kousmine in Lutry, Switzerland, to promote her methods. It has sister foundations in France, Germany and Italy. There is also a Kousmine Medical Center in Vevey, Switzerland.^[3]

Work

Kousmine advocated a restrictive diet as a basis for treating a number of human ailments, especially cancer. The diet, that Dr. Kousmine provided as an alternative to mainstream medicine emphasizes first of all to put off saturated fats, totally for very ill people, to eat fruits, vegetables and a lot of whole grains and particularly advocates a no cooked grain- and no cooked seed-based breakfast;^[4] vitamins supplements are also incorporated.^[5]

Awards

In 1985, the Société d'Encouragement au Progrès gave her the Médaille de Vermeil^[6] for her outstanding accomplishment with multiple sclerosis.^[7]
In 1989, she was made an honorary citizen of Lutry, Switzerland.

Publications

Soyez bien dans votre assiette jusqu'à 80 ans et plus (Be mindful of your diet, up to 80 and beyond), éditions Sand, 1980, ISBN 2-7107-0158-8
La sclérose en plaque est guérissable (Multiple sclerosis is curable), éditions Delachaux et Nestlé 1983, ISBN 2-603-00502-2
Sauvez votre corps (Save your body), éditions Robert Laffont, 1987, ISBN 2-290-33632-7;^[8] this is a sequel to Soyez bien dans votre assiette, with more cases and in-depth explanations

References

^ Simon Singh; Edzard Ernst (17 August 2008). Trick Or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine. W. W. Norton. p. 295. ISBN 978-0-393-06661-6.
^ "Catherine Kousmine Obituary". The Times. 8 September 1992.
^ Kousmine, Fondation. "Les Centre de soins". www.solvida.org. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
^ Jean-Marie Abgrall (1 January 2000). Healing Or Stealing?: Medical Charlatans in the New Age. Algora Publishing. pp. 82–83. ISBN 978-1-892941-28-2.
^ Committee on Multiple Sclerosis: Current Status and Strategies for the Future; Board on Neuroscience and Behavioral Health; Institute of Medicine (10 July 2001). Multiple Sclerosis: Current Status and Strategies for the Future. National Academies Press. p. 405. ISBN 978-0-309-17130-4.
^ Alternative Therapies website, Doctor Catherine Kousmine, article by J P Ceria, published on 31 October 2007
^ La Pajarera Magazine website, Catherine Kousmine, article by Maria Toca dated July 24th, 2018
^ ABE Books website, Sauvez votre corps

[tot-1] Simon Singh; Edzard Ernst (17 August 2008). Trick Or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine. W. W. Norton. p. 295. ISBN 978-0-393-06661-6.

[obit-2] "Catherine Kousmine Obituary". The Times. 8 September 1992.

[3] Kousmine, Fondation. "Les Centre de soins". www.solvida.org. Retrieved 2016-11-02.

[abgrall-4] Jean-Marie Abgrall (1 January 2000). Healing Or Stealing?: Medical Charlatans in the New Age. Algora Publishing. pp. 82–83. ISBN 978-1-892941-28-2.

[fh-5] Committee on Multiple Sclerosis: Current Status and Strategies for the Future; Board on Neuroscience and Behavioral Health; Institute of Medicine (10 July 2001). Multiple Sclerosis: Current Status and Strategies for the Future. National Academies Press. p. 405. ISBN 978-0-309-17130-4.

[6] Alternative Therapies website, Doctor Catherine Kousmine, article by J P Ceria, published on 31 October 2007

[7] La Pajarera Magazine website, Catherine Kousmine, article by Maria Toca dated July 24th, 2018

[8] ABE Books website, Sauvez votre corps

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{short description|Russian physician and alternative cancer treatment advocate}}
-{{POV}}
+{{Infobox person
-{{Orphan|date=September 2007}}
+| name        = Catherine Kousmine
-'''Catherine Kousmine''' ([[September 17]], [[1904]] in Hvalynsky, Russia - [[August 24]], [[1992]] in [[Lutry]], Switzerland) was a scientist who devoted her entire life to showing that good health depends on a healthy diet. She was an outstanding physician of Russian origin and is a pioneer   in nutritionally based medicine. Kousmine focused her research on the following diseases: [[Cancer]], [[Multiple sclerosis]], [[Rheumatoid arthritis]], and other [[auto-immune]] diseases.
+| image       = Catherine Kousmine (1989) by Erling Mandelmann.jpg
+| birth_date  = 17 September 1904
+| birth_place = [[Khvalynsk|Hvalynsky]]
+| death_date  = {{d-da|24 August 1992|17 September 1904}}
+| death_place = [[Lutry]]
+| occupation  = Physician}}
+'''Catherine Kousmine''' (17 September 1904 in [[Khvalynsk|Hvalynsky]], Russia – 24 August 1992 in [[Lutry]], Switzerland) was a [[Russians|Russian]] physician who proposed an [[alternative cancer treatment]].
+Kousmine devised a restrictive diet for treating many human ailments including [[multiple sclerosis]] and [[cancer]]. There is, however, no scientific evidence that it is effective.<ref name=tot>{{cite book|author1=Simon Singh|author2=Edzard Ernst|title=Trick Or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5m6CKTEr3I0C&pg=PA295|date=17 August 2008|publisher=W. W. Norton|isbn=978-0-393-06661-6|page=295}}</ref>
 ==Life==
-Born in 1904 into a well-to-do family in Russia, Catherine Kousmine and her parents fled the country in 1918 during the Russian revolution. They settled in Switzerland, on the shores of Lake Geneva. The young Catherine went to the Ecole Supérieure of Lausanne where she graduated in sciences. She then went on to medical school. Upon graduation in 1928 with mention, she moved to Zurich, in professor [[Guido Fanconi]]'s unit, to specialize in [[pediatrics]], then worked in Vienna, Austria, where she got her degree in pediatrics.
+Born in 1904 into a well-to-do family in Russia, Catherine Kousmine and her parents fled the country in 1916 before the Russian revolution, settling in [[Lausanne]].<ref name=obit>{{cite news|newspaper=The Times|title=Catherine Kousmine Obituary|date=8 September 1992}}</ref> The young Catherine went to the Ecole Supérieure of Lausanne where she graduated in sciences. She then went on to medical school. Upon graduation in 1928, she moved to Zurich, in professor [[Guido Fanconi]]'s unit, to specialize in [[pediatrics]], then worked in Vienna, Austria, where she got her degree in this discipline.
-Back in Switzerland, she had to resume her work as a general practitioner because her degree in pediatrics was not recognized by Swiss authorities. Dr. Catherine Kousmine spent most of her life in Switzerland. She set up a foundation in her name in [[Lutry]], Switzerland, to promote her methods (Fondation Catherine Kousmine). This foundation has sister foundations in France, Germany and Italy. There is also a Kousmine Medical Center in [[Vevey]], Switzerland.
+Back in Switzerland, she had to resume her work as a [[general practitioner]] because her degree in pediatrics was not recognized by Swiss authorities. Dr. Kousmine spent most of her life in Switzerland. She set up the Fondation Catherine Kousmine in [[Lutry]], Switzerland, to promote her methods. It has sister foundations in France, Germany and Italy. There is also a Kousmine Medical Center in [[Vevey]], Switzerland.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.solvida.org/les-centre-de-soins/index.html|title=Les Centre de soins|last=Kousmine|first=Fondation|website=www.solvida.org|access-date=2016-11-02}}</ref>
-==Research==
+==Work==
+Kousmine advocated a restrictive diet as a basis for treating a number of human ailments, especially cancer. The diet, that Dr. Kousmine provided as an alternative to mainstream medicine  emphasizes first of all to put off saturated fats, totally for very ill people,  to eat fruits, vegetables and a lot of whole grains and particularly advocates a no cooked grain- and no cooked seed-based breakfast;<ref name=abgrall>{{cite book|author=Jean-Marie Abgrall|title=Healing Or Stealing?: Medical Charlatans in the New Age|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kel6_1aN5JwC&pg=PA83|date=1 January 2000|publisher=Algora Publishing|isbn=978-1-892941-28-2|pages=82–83}}</ref> vitamins supplements are also incorporated.<ref name=fh>{{cite book|author1=Committee on Multiple Sclerosis: Current Status and Strategies for the Future|author2=Board on Neuroscience and Behavioral Health|author3=Institute of Medicine|title=Multiple Sclerosis: Current Status and Strategies for the Future |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-UudMz742BwC&pg=PA405|date=10 July 2001|publisher=National Academies Press|isbn=978-0-309-17130-4|page=405}}</ref>
-She decided to conduct research in cancer, mostly because of the death from it of two children in her care while she was working as a general practitioner. For seventeen years, working in a makeshift laboratory in her kitchen, she studied a special breed of mice that develop mammalian cancer at four months of age. She discovered a striking correlation between a [[healthy diet]] and a [[Remission (medicine)|remission]] of their cancer and became convinced that the cure for diseases sometimes labeled "incurable" involves the return to a healthy feeding habit - one that provides all the nutrients that the organism needs to function properly. Consequently, she focused her attention on healthy diet. In 1949, she treated with success her first of many cancer patients, this one suffering from [[reticulo-sarcoma]], thanks in part to the use of a healthy diet.
-== Her work on cold pressed (virgin) oils ==
-Catherine Kousmine took a particular interest in [[vegetable oils]] because their quality had been greatly altered during [[World War II]]. Producers used new methods of oil extraction with heat (320°F - 392°F), the only goal of which was to produce half again the quantity of oil. The extraction with [[hexane]], a hydrocarbon solvent with [[carcinogenic]] properties,{{Fact|date=December 2007}} allowed the production of almost twice the amount of oil.
-The major problem with these methods, compared to the cold pressed method that produces what is commonly called [[virgin oil]], is that the quality is poor in every respect: many of the [[cis]] molecules are transformed into the infamous [[trans]] molecules.
-Dr. Kousmine became a strong opponent of [[processed food]], white sugar, refined flour and refined oil, [[margarine]] and butter, each of them being harmful to the body cells and providing only "empty calories", as she called them.
-Following up on work of the Foundation Catherine Kousmine, the trans-fatty acids have been the object of several studies worldwide. These studies showed that, even at small doses, the trans molecules are a health hazard. These studies lead some countries (Canada, USA, France for example) to make health recommendations. In 2003, Denmark reduced the proportion of trans-fatty acids to 2 grams per 100 grams of cooking oil. Trans-fatty acids were forbidden in New York in 2006. In the Netherlands, following an advertising campaign in the eighties, the amount of trans-fatty acids in margarine went from 50% down to 2% today.
-==Theory about cancer ==
-Her novel approach was to understand what would cause a [[tumor]] to form and invade healthy cells, and NOT HOW TO DESTROY a tumor. After many extensive studies on mice, she came to the conclusion that cancer is a need of the organism to ward off a [[toxic]] aggression (1).
-Briefly put, a tumor, first [[benign]], then [[malignant]], is just a particular form of a defense mechanism of the body. A tumor is not a freak and isolated accident, but a coherent reaction to a state of alarm. Her method focuses on how to disengage the source of the cancer and make it useless.
-==Basic treatment==
-<blockquote>
-''"The measures that I recommend start to be effective after about two months, and develop their full benefits only after two years,"''² Dr. Kousmine said.
-</blockquote>
-Dr. Kousmine noted that by consuming RAW virgin vegetable oil, such as cold pressed [[flaxseed]] and [[sunflower]] oil rich in [[omega-3]] and [[omega-6]] fatty acids and in vitamin E, it is possible to reduce the permeability of the intestinal membrane and to prevent toxins from invading the blood and overloading the kidneys and the liver, thus preventing the formation of a tumor and reducing the severity of any degenerative disease, like multiple sclerosis or rheumatoid arthritis.
-She proclaimed the importance of organic sunflower oil and of whole grains. Her prescriptions for her patients included: Dr [[Johanna Budwig]]'s "[[crème Budwig]]" ([[Budwig Cream]], a mixture of freshly ground cereals, flax and sunflower seeds, fruit, cold pressed sunflower or flaxseed oil and cottage cheese) along with [[essentials vitamins]] (C, E, F, etc.), [[alkalizing minerals]] to restore [[immunologic]] balance in ill patients, all of them suffering from acidic blood, chamomile enemas to clean the intestines followed by an instillation of organic sunflower oil, and in some cases (rheumatoid arthritis), [[vaccines]].
-<blockquote>
-''"If the patient is too ill, it is better to prepare him for surgery over a few weeks or months with the described measures. We then observe that the tumor stops growing, that it even shrinks in size, and that the general state of the patient improves, sometimes dramatically. Then, the result of delayed surgery or radiotherapy can be excellent."''''³
-</blockquote>''
-On one hand, her diet approach generally seems quite easy and pleasant to follow to ensure a daily [[hygiene]] and [[nutrition]] for a healthy person. On the other hand, for a patient with a sever [[pathology]], doctors and patients agree that the whole [[treatment]] requires a tremendous personal investment and a life-time of strict [[discipline]].
-==Criticism==
-''"It is important that the treatment that I recommend is a beneficial COMPLEMENT to current medical treatments."''(4)
-Dr. Kousmine herself stated many times that eating [[Budwig Cream]] and taking vitamin pills weren't the [[magic bullet]] to cure a disease like cancer. Contrary to what some critics have said, she always insisted that her method was a [[complement]] to, and not a [[substitute]] for mainstream treatments. Advocates of her method claim that it dramatically improves the results of [[chemotherapy]] and reduces its [[side-effects]].
-Even though countless people have benefited from her method, providing they follow the treatment to the letter for the rest of their lives, the orthodox medical community scoffed at her for many years, inaccurately reducing her theory and methods to Budwig Cream and [[vitamin]] and [[mineral]] pills. Some cancer specialists even went so far as to state that their critically ill patients who followed her treatment and then went into complete [[Remission (medicine)|remission]], some of them for more than thirty years, had been simply "misdiagnosed". Today, physicians who treat patients with her method are still not well viewed by the orthodox medical community.
-Dr. Kousmine repeatedly stated that the dramatic results (long - term remission, dramatic improvement of the quality of life for the most desperate patients) were not [[miraculous]], but instead the result of a [[holistic]] approach to the disease, compared to the limited approach in orthodox medicine that focuses on the [[symptoms]] of the disease, providing the patients only with [[palliative]] treatments.
-At the time of her death, criticism included that the benefits of raw, whole foods and cold pressed vegetable oils were not supported by scientific literature at all and that her theory has never been scientifically proven.
-Other critics say that her monitoring of patients with MS was not scientific. Her study rested on no control group nor did she ever test her diet on healthy people to determine any protective effect.(5)
 ==Awards==
-In 1985, the Société d'Encouragement au Progrès - whose headquarters are in Paris (France) - gave her the Médaille de Vermeil for her outstanding accomplishment with multiple sclerosis.
+*In 1985, the [[Société d'Encouragement au Progrès]] gave her the Médaille de Vermeil<ref>[http://dr.ceria.free.fr/spip.php?article96&lang=fr  Alternative Therapies website, ''Doctor Catherine Kousmine'', article by J P Ceria, published on 31 October 2007]</ref> for her outstanding accomplishment with multiple sclerosis.<ref>[https://www.lapajareramagazine.com/catherine-kousmine  La Pajarera Magazine website, ''Catherine Kousmine'', article by Maria Toca dated July 24th, 2018]</ref>
+*In 1989, she was made an honorary citizen of [[Lutry]], [[Switzerland]].
+==Publications==
-In 1989, she was made an honorary citizen of the City of [[Lutry]], [[Switzerland]].
+*''Soyez bien dans votre assiette jusqu'à 80 ans et plus'' (Be mindful of your diet, up to 80 and beyond), éditions Sand, 1980, {{ISBN|2-7107-0158-8}}
+*''La sclérose en plaque est guérissable'' (Multiple sclerosis is curable), éditions Delachaux et Nestlé 1983, {{ISBN|2-603-00502-2}}
+*''Sauvez votre corps'' (Save your body), éditions Robert Laffont, 1987, {{ISBN|2-290-33632-7}};<ref>[https://www.abebooks.com/book-search/title/sauvez-corps/author/kousmine-catherine/  ABE Books website, ''Sauvez votre corps'']</ref> this is a sequel to ''Soyez bien dans votre assiette'', with more cases and in-depth explanations
-==Books==
+==See also==
+*[[Alternative cancer treatments]]
-Her books contain remarkable and detailed, easy-to-read for the non-specialist, accounts of patients with severe pathologies, documented with complete [[clinical]] and [[anamnesis]] of the patients and their kin, the treatment provided and its results, successes as well as failures.
+*[[Diet and cancer]]
+*[[Johanna Budwig]]
+==References==
-These books also provide explanations about intestinal flora and processed food, with chapters about [[instinct]] and [[ancestral]] feeding habits and an hypothesis on the connection between cancer, [[toxins]] and [[Stress (physics)|stress]].
+{{Reflist}}
+{{Authority control}}
-Critics say that the explanations are too simplistic and complain that some rants against chemical products are caricatural and/or lack any solid data (for example [[aspartame]] and milk). Experts also complain that her books give the feeling that doctors don't understand anything "except me". (6)
-These books, that include a full description of her method, are available in French but have not yet been translated into English.
-[[Soyez bien dans votre assiette jusqu'à 80 ans et plus]] (Be well till 80 and beyond), éditions Sand, 1980, ISBN 2710701588
-[[La sclérose en plaque est guérissable]] (Multiple sclerosis is curable), éditions Delachaux et Nestlé 1983, ISBN 2603005022
-[[Sauvez votre corps]] (Save your body), éditions Robert Laffont, 1987, ISBN 2290336327, is a sequel to Soyez bien dans votre..., with more cases and in-depth explanations.
-==References==
-.2.3.4 Sauvez votre corps (Save your body), éditions Robert Laffont, 1987<br />
-. MS Quebec, vol.28, no.105, June 2004, Nutrition and MS, [http://www.mssociety.ca]<br />
-. Le régime de la Doctoresse Kousmine (The diet of Dr. Kousmine), in EcoEtSanté2010, [http://ecoetsante2010.free.fr].
-==External links==
-* [http://www.kousmine.ch Centre médical Kousmine]
-* [http://www.msif.org/en/ Multiple sclerosis international federation]
-* [http://www.pureinsideout.com/kousmine-budwig-breakfast.html Power breakfast recipe]
-* [http://www.kousmine.fr <http://www.kousmine.fr/>]
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kousmine, Catherine}}
+[[Category:Swiss general practitioners]]
+[[Category:Women nutritionists]]
 [[Category:1904 births]]
 [[Category:1992 deaths]]
-[[Category:Orthomolecular medicine]]
+[[Category:20th-century Swiss women scientists]]
+[[Category:Swiss nutritionists]]
+[[Category:Alternative cancer treatment advocates]]
 [[Category:Biologically based therapies]]
-[[Category:People in alternative medicine]]
+[[Category:Orthomolecular medicine advocates]]
+[[Category:Pseudoscientific diet advocates]]
+[[Category:Russian pediatricians]]
-[[de:Catherine Kousmine]]
+[[Category:20th-century Swiss physicians]]
-[[fr:Catherine Kousmine]]
+[[Category:20th-century women scientists]]
-[[it:Catherine Kousmine]]
+[[Category:Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Switzerland]]

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