Catherine Kousmine (17 September 1904 in Hvalynsky, Russia – 24 August 1992 in

Lutry Lutry () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, located in the Lavaux-Oron District, Lavaux-Oron, which includes the Lavaux region, a UNESCO World Heritage site. History ...

, Switzerland) was a

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

physician who proposed an

alternative cancer treatment Alternative cancer treatment describes any cancer treatment or practice that is not part of the conventional standard of cancer care. These include special diets and exercises, chemicals, herbs, devices, and manual procedures. Most alternative ...

. Kousmine devised a restrictive diet for treating many human ailments including

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

and

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

. There is, however, no scientific evidence that it is effective.

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 Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

. 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 Guido Fanconi () (1 January 1892 – 10 October 1979) was a Swiss pediatrician. Biography Fanconi was born on 1 January 1892 in Poschiavo, a small village in the Canton of Grisons. Fanconi is regarded as one of the founders of modern pediatrics. ...

's unit, to specialize in

pediatrics Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, Adolescence, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many o ...

, 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 A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...

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

, Switzerland, to promote her methods. It has sister foundations in France, Germany and Italy. There is also a Kousmine Medical Center in

Vevey Vevey (; ; ) is a town in Switzerland in the Vaud, canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Leman, near Lausanne. The German name Vivis is no longer commonly used. It was the seat of the Vevey (district), district of the same name until 200 ...

, Switzerland.

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; vitamins supplements are also incorporated.

Awards

*In 1985, the

Société d'Encouragement au Progrès Société d'Encouragement au Progrès is a NGO fighting for initiative, responsibility and progress headquartered in Paris (France). It publishes a quarterly review called ''La Tribune du Progrès''. In 2009, the article "Cancer: curing is good, ...

gave her the Médaille de Vermeil for her outstanding accomplishment with multiple sclerosis. *In 1989, she was made an honorary citizen of

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. 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, *''La sclérose en plaque est guérissable'' (Multiple sclerosis is curable), éditions Delachaux et Nestlé 1983, *''Sauvez votre corps'' (Save your body), éditions Robert Laffont, 1987, ; ABE Books website, ''Sauvez votre corps''
/ref> this is a sequel to ''Soyez bien dans votre assiette'', with more cases and in-depth explanations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kousmine, Catherine Swiss general practitioners Women nutritionists 1904 births 1992 deaths 20th-century Swiss women scientists Swiss nutritionists Alternative cancer treatment advocates Biologically based therapies Orthomolecular medicine advocates Pseudoscientific diet advocates Russian pediatricians 20th-century Swiss physicians 20th-century Russian women scientists Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Switzerland

Life

Work

Awards

Publications

See also

References