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THE
THE PY®
The Proven
Nutritional Program
For Cancer and
Other Illnesses
Charlotte Gerson and
Morton Walker, D. P. M.
FED UP WITH ILLNESS?
NOW YOU CAN OVERCOME IT WITH THIS
LIFESAVING NUTRITIONAL PROG RAM !
Cancer. Hepatitis. Migraines. Arthritis. Heart Disease. Emphysema.
For years, the medical establishment has called these chronic or life
threatening diseases "incurable." But now, The Gerson Therapy® offers
hope for those seeking relief from hundreds of different diseases.
This unique resource will help and inspire anyone who has ever said,
"I want to get well. Just show me how." The Gerson Therapy® offers a
powerful, time-tested healing option that has worked for others-and
can work for you!
ISBN 1-57566-628-6
51700
KENSINGTON
U.S. $17.00
CAN $22.00 9 781575 666280
The Proven Nutritional Program
for Cancer and Other Illnesses
Kensington Books
http://www.kensingtonbooks.com
Authors' Disclaimer
fi �
v sed and Upd ated Trad
e Paperback Printing: Jun
be learned from reading our text, what had in the past been thought "in
e2006
8 curable" is curable.
Derived from several sources other than the first through sixth editions
Printed in the United Stat
es of America of A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases, our new book offers a great
deal of additional information. It comes from interviews with informed
VI Au thor's Disclaimer
health care personnel who have monitored patients' progress by their use
of laboratory tests and clinical examinations. Also for our readers' educa
tion, numerous patients who have experienced either low levels of well
ness, subclinical illness, or outright life-threatening disease tell their
stories. All the patient case histories are true, and in most instances, un To Max Gerson, M.D., who,
less indicated as a pseudonym, the identities of patients are given. for having developed viable therapies for the permanent remission of
These patients discuss their illnesses, and the alternative/complemen cancer, was challenged by individual interests in the cancer industry
tary medical approach they used to overcome them permanently. because, by application of the Gerson T herapy, these interests i� ould be
Although every word published here about the Gerson Therapy is doc put out of business. Today, nearly half a century later, such legztzmzzed
umented by case studies, this book's coauthors and publisher are provid interests continue to fiourish a t the expense of ill people around the world.
ing educational material and nothing more.
If information gleaned from these pages raises questions about your
own or a loved one's medical condition, yol.l should contact the Gerson
Institute directly for a list of Gerson-approved health care practitioners.
Please take the above message as a disavowal of all responsibility by the
authors, publisher, the Gerson Institute, listed organizations, and product
or services suppliers for any practice, procedure, diagnostic technique, nu
tritional supplement, food, utensil, or other item mentioned in the text.
Information taken from this book and acted upon by a reader or other in
terested parties is carried out at that individual's personal risk.
For the best information about the Gerson Therapy, please contact the
nonprofit Gerson Institute.
Contents
Preface XVII
Introduction
Ch�rlotte Gerson visits patient s who are currently receivin g medica lly •
Consum er Health Organiz ation of Canada-Toronto, Ontario, Can
supervi sed Gerson Therap y at the Gerson Therapy Hospita l. She consult s ada
with these patient s' doctors, studies their progres s toward health, answers • Australian Health Groups-Sydney, Melbou rne, Brisban e, and the
many questio ns from the patient s and their compa nions, lectures on the
Gold Coast
intric�cies o � the Gerson Therapy, and offers everyone encouragemen t. • "Fit fuers Leben" (Fit for Life)-Waldthau sen Verlag, Munich and
This chanta ble and human itarian effort is natural for Charlo tte Ger Bonn
son, for she was always interest ed in her father's work. Even as a young • The Municipal Hospital-Graz, Austria
woman her greates t joy involved reading medica l literatu re. She spent • The Gerson Support Group-London, England
much of her �ree time assistin g Dr. Gerson by translat ing and writing his • Wirral Health Clinic-Manchester, England
papers. She listened to and critique d his lectures to health profess ionals • Gerson Practitioners Training groups-San Diego, California, and
and medical consum ers. Often Charlo tte made hospita l rounds with her Sedona, Arizona
father and acted as one of the medical assistan ts at his Oakland Manor
Cancer Clinic in Nanuet , New York.
Moreover, Charlot te Gerson gives numerous seminars at conventions
In fact, to become a more valuable aide, Charlo tte enrolled in and
organize d by the Gerson Institut e that are held periodic ally in many. of
comple ted a formal course for medica l assistan ts, which qualified her to
the importa nt cities around the United States and Canada , 111clud111g
help in patient nursing work at the Gerson clinic. When Dr. Gerson was
Honolulu, Hawaii; and Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmon ton,
absent lecturin g, consult ing, or on vacation, she carried out his tele
Victoria , and Vancou ver, Canada .
phoned instruc tions regardi ng the clinic's patient s.
The Gerson Therap y message has been carried to people on n �merous
After the young woman married and became Charlo tte Gerson Straus
televisio n shows, includin g twice on Oprah Winfrey 's program s 111 Balti
she spent a numbe r of years in her husban d's import/export enterpr ise :
. more and Chicago, before Oprah joined her nationa l TV network.
which caused her to become familia r with many busine ss techniq ues.
Charlotte Gerson has appeared on Christia n Broadca sting, Trinit� Brnad
However, the marriage eventu ally ended in divorce.
casting, PBS, cable stations , and national radio. For example, she is 111ter
When Dr. Gerson died in 1 959, Charlo tte carried on by publicizing his
. viewed frequen tly by Gary Null, on WBAI, by the syndicated radio
last, classic book, A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases. From public
column ist Dr. James Winer, and for magazin e articles.
deman d and the need to dispose of three thousa nd copies, she proceeded
With an associat e in 1 977, she supervi sed the establis hment of the first
to lecture on the Gerson Therapy. Such lecturing, locally at first and later
Gerson Therap y hospita l in Tijuana , Mexico. Her specific goal then '. as it
nationa lly, was what gained initial broad distribu tion for the Gerson title
is now, was applyin g and teachin g the Gerson Therapy to everyone 111ter-
and its healing program .
ested in surviving life-thre atening diseases . .
As a result, Charlotte Gerson has been invited to speak on the Gerson
To accomplish her task, she helps to train physicia ns, nurses, kitchen
Therapy at several hundred organiz ations involved with aspect of health.
staff, and patient s, and others so that they learn the elemen ts of nutn
A few of them include :
tional treatme nt. Some one hundre d holistic physicia ns 111 the Umted
States and many more located around the world have been trained by
The Cancer Control Society-every year for twenty-five years-in
Charlot te Gerson and the Gerson Institut e to practice the Gersm1
•
Arlingt on, Virgini a, put on by the clinical journa l publish ing house
the receptio nists who respond to potenti al patient s' questio ns, and even
Mary Ann Lieber t, Inc., of Larchm ont, New York
the hospita l's passeng er van drivers. For the past five years she _ has wnt
Interna tional Associa tion of Cancer Victors and Friends-ten cities
ten most of the news articles for the bimont hly Gerson Healzng News-
•
About the Authors xv
XIV About the Authors
meth ods of
letter, and she has created many articles for publication in health maga Medi cine "for inform ing the Amer ican public on altern ative
zmes. heal ing."
Achieve-
Her stamina and capacity to perform are not Charlotte Gerson's only And he has received two prestigious Jesse H. Neal Editorial
for creati ng the best
amazing characteristics. At age seventy-nine, she looks like a much ment Awards from the Amer ican Business Press, Inc.,
States maga
younger woman. By faithfully following the Gerson Therapy program for series of maga zine articles published in any audit ed Unite d
prevention, Charlotte never needed to wear eyeglasses or contact lenses, zine in both 1 97 5 and 1 976.
in the
has all of her own teeth, exhibits absolutely no liver spots (age spots) , suf As a medic al journ alist who researches and writes exclusively
meth ods, Dr. Mort on
fers from no arthritis or osteoporosis, and shows a smooth, unblemished areas of holist ic medic ine and altern ative healin g
with, Oprah
complexion. Because she refuses to use hair dye or any other kind of cos Walk er has been highli ghted by, or appeared as a guest
Raph ael, Merv Griffi n, Mike Doug las, and
metic, the hair on her head is white, her skin appears fair and alabaster, Winf rey, Jay Leno, Sally Jessy
severa l dozen other televi sion
her body remains strong and well proportioned, and her mind stays Regis Philb in and Kathi e Lee Gifford, plus
appea rance s. For ex
acutely sharp. Charlotte Gerson gracefully grows older, but she is a true talk show hosts-a minim um of two thous and media
shing Grou p),
reflection of her father's medical philosophy. ampl e, discussing his book The Power of Color (Avery Publi
show. Avery
he recently was featur ed on the early morn ing NBC's Today
(subd ivisio n) with the title "A
Publi shing has given him his own impri nt
has issued twelve of
Morton Walker, D.P.M., a former practicing doctor of podiatric medicine Dr. Morto n Walker Healt h Book ," and this publisher
for seventeen years, has for the last thirty years worked full-time as a pro his books unde r that impri nt.
fessional freelance medical journalist. He has had seventy-three books is
sued by major trade publishers, including Bantam Books, Simon &
Schuster, Prentice Hall, Kensington Books, Avery, G. P Putnam's Sons,
E .P Dutton, Macmillan, M. Evans, Keats, Arco, Devin-Adair, Hampton
Roads, and more. Twelve of his book titles have become 1 50 000- to
'
2,000,000-copy best-sellers.
Dr. Walker has produced 2,250 clinical journal or magazine articles for
about fifty periodicals, including monthly columns for Health Produ9ts
Business, Townsend Letter for Doctors 6 Patients, Healthy 6 Natural,
Nutrition Science News, Explore Professional Journal, a British mag:Z ine,
and two Australian magazines. His works have been reprinted in eleven
languages in thirty-nine countries, and the numbers contin�e to grow.
The result is that twenty-three medical journalism awards and medals
have come his way. Dr. Walker was recognized with the 1 992 Humani
tarian Award from the American Cancer Control Society, which named
him "the world's leading medical journalist specializing in holistic medi-
.
cme. "
He received the 1 98 1 Orthomolecular Award fro� the American
Institute of Preventive Medicine for his "outstanding achievement in or
thomolecular education."
Dr. Walker was presented with the 1 979 Humanitarian Award from the
1 ,250 physician members of the American College for Advancement in
Preface
Dr. Max Gerson dedicated his life to the mastery of this scourge
of cancer and all should honor his great work.
-The Honorable United States Senator
Claude Pepper (D-Florida)
Togy of nearly any illness, whether acute or chronic, when its occur
his book offers readers a documented means for reversing the pathol
He invited a witness, a refugee scientist, now a resident of New York, learn now how to deal successfully with cancer, many millions of persons
Dr. Max Gerson, and Dr. Gerson placed on the stand, in quick succession, now living in this country are condemned to die from cancer. A hundred
five patients. They were chosen to represent the principal prevailing types million dollars is little more than a token payment for America to make,
of cancer, and in each instance they showed that the Gerson treatment in order to avert such a sweep of death, and they can then point to the
had had what is conservatively called "favorable effect on the course of Gerson dietary approach as a most promising field Of research . . . .
the disease." That in itself is remarkable, but it is the more so because Dr. Dr. Gerson was an eminent if controversial figure in pre-Hitler
Gerson's treatment consists mainly of a diet which he has evolved after a Germany. He was bound to be controversial because he was challenging
lifetime of research and experimentation. To say that Dr. Gerson has been established practice in treating tuberculosis by diet. He has been assistant
curing cancer by a dietary treatment is medically impermissible, for the to Foerster, the great neurologist of Breslau, and for years assistant to
reason that there must be five years without recurrence before such a Sauerbruch, one of the great physicians on the Continent. The
statement is allowed. Dr. Gerson has cured tuberculosis and other Sauerbruch-Gerson diet for skin tuberculosis is well-known to European
illnesses with his diet, but in the U.S.A. he has only been working on can medicine, and the account of it is part of accepted medical literature. Dr.
cer for four and a half years . . . . Gerson told the Pepper Committee that he had first come upon his di
Yet anything that offers even a possibility of treating successfully at etary theory in trying to cure himsel f of migraine headaches. Later he
least some of the four hundred thousand existing cancer cases in this treated others, among them a man with skin tuberculosis as well. Dr.
country is stirring news, no matter how conservatively it is formulated. Gerson was an acknowledged dietary authority in Weimar, Germany, and
There would be no Pepper-Neely bill to appropriate a hundred million was responsible for the German army of his time being placed on dehy
dollars for cancer research if the existing research were coping with the drated, rather than canned food.2
·
need.
. . . I have spoken about this carefully and abstractly, which underplays
some of the shock and delight of the experience yesterday at the hearing
of the Pepper Committee. It is one thing to talk about chemistry and diet PUBL IC RES PONS E TO THE B ROAD CAST
and vitamins and other factors in medical science. It is another to see, as Raymond Gram Swing contin ued with his network radio broadcast and
the Committee yesterday saw, a seventeen-year-old girl, who had a tumor brought in some additional news too. After he ended, the telephone switch
at the base of the brain, which was inoperable, and which had paralyzed board lit up at the Ameri can Broadc asting Corporation in New York City.
her. Yesteday, she walked without assistance to the witness chair, and told People called in from all over the nation to learn about the Gerson
clearly aboµt her case and her treatment. Therapy. But other, darker, more powerful commercial and political forces
There was a sturdy man, who had been a sergeant in the army. He had had been listenin g as well . .
had a malignant tumor, also at the base of the brain, which had been op The execut ive directo rs of pharm aceutic al compa nies produc ing cyto-
erated on but needed deep X-ray treatment, and this he could not receive
toxic agents for cancer treatm ent-m ember s of the PMA-threate ned to
because of the danger to the brain. Yesterday he was the picture of health r,
cancel all radio advert ising contracts for their drugs sold over the counte
as he testified, and quite naturally he was proud of his remarkable recov
ery. an annual loss in revenu e for ABC amoun ting to tens of million s of dol
There was a woman who had had cancer of the breast which spread. lars. Within two weeks of that fateful radio broadcast which apprise d peo
Yesterday she was well, and testified with poise and confidence. ple of a potent ial cure for cancer, after thirty years at the same job
A few cases showing such improvement cannot, of themselves, affect Raymond Gram Swing was fired from his positio n as a newsca ster for the
the outlook of the medical profession. But they are attested facts and not ABC network.
Aukes, and as such they have to be accounted for. And there are many, You might also wish to know what happe ned to the Senate 's 227-page
of
many more cases which could have been cited. Pepper-Neely antica ncer bill of 1 946-Docum ent No. 8947 1 . By efforts
the lobbyis ts working with four senato rs who were also medica l doctor s,
It would seem to· be the business of medical research to leap on such
facts and carry every hopeful indication to a final conclusion . . . . the bill was defeat ed. Today, Document No. 8947 1 is stored in boxes and
So the advocates for the Pepper-Neely bill can argue that, unless we gathers dust in the archiv es of the U.S. Govern ment Printin g Office .
Preface XXlll
XXll Preface
9 5 ,600 cases ex
Meanwhile, since the Pepper-Neely bill was buried, the number of peo 4. Colon /recta l cance r show s up with a minim um of
s, 6 per
ple getting cancer each year has worsened beyond what anyone could pected in 1 999. Among the populace of the United State _
rs durm g
have predicted. According to Reno, Nevada, oncologist, homeopath, and cent will be diagn osed with colon and/or rectal cance
and gene ral lifest yle
internal medicine specialist W Douglas Brodie, M.D., H.M.D., in his their lifeti mes. But improved diet, nutri tion,
book Cancer and Common Sense, the annual incidence of cancer has in could reduce that proportion to 1 . 5 perce nt.
creased from 402,000 in 1 946 to 1 .9 million in 1 996. 3 Thus, during a half ry," repor t offi
century since the defeat of Senator Pepper's proposed anticancer legisla "In spite of all the advan ces in chem other apy and surge
esota , a main man
tion, the yearly occurrence of cancer among the American populace has cials of First Circle Medi cal, Inc., of Minn eapo lis, Minn
, "over 1 ,800,0 00
more than quadrupled.4 Worse still, medical journalist and author Michael ufacturer of antim alignancy hyperthermia equip ment
mina ted lung,
Culbert points out even more graphically that at the stroke of midnight, patie nts in Nort h Ame rica, Europe and Japan with disse
prost ate, breas t [cancer] and me1anoma die each year." .
upon our ringing in the twenty-first century, every forty-five seconds rstan dably raise
As you read our book , three ques tions you may unde
thereafter a U.S. citizen is destined to die from cancer. That number adds
up to about 1 ,900 Americans per day.5 are:
Oncologists informed about nutrition estimate that diets filled with t the anti
�ruits and vegetables instead of fats and animal proteins-along with tak • Why didn' t the U.S. Sena te over half a century ago adop
mg greater amounts of exercise, more stringent weight control, and avoid canc er budg etary meas ure that came before it?
ng clown
ance of cigarette smoke-could reduce cancer incidence by up to 40 •
Wasn 't the prevention of or treat ment for Ame rican s comi
percent. This program would a mount to nearly 4 million fewer worldwide with cancer vital enough?
the Ger-
cases of malignancies per year. •
Why weren 't antic ancer experts reque sted to at least test
nted with the op-
Thus, dietary and lifestyle improvements among Americans as advo son Therapy back then when senat ors were prese
cated by Dr. Max Gerson more than fifty years ago would be particularly portunity?
effective as the means to prevent occurrence of the four most frequently cant, estimated
occurring life-threatening malignancies in the United States. According Finally, are you awar e of the follow ing addit ional , signifi
s reside nts get
statis tic? Avera ging between the numb ers of Unite d State
to the November 3 0, 1 998, issue of Newsweek magazine:6 it's like�y that
ting cancer in 1 946 and those so victim ized this year,
39,697 ,000 Ame rican s could have been prevented
from contractmg the
l. Prostate cancer strikes with a minimum of 1 84,5 00 cases predicted
icatio n of the Gerson
in 1 999. Among American men today, 1 7 percent will be diag scourge or saved from cancerous death s. Appl
y unde rtakm g. It
nosed with prostate cancer during their lifetimes. But improved Therapy may have accomplish ed that_ particular worth
diet, nutrition, and general lifestyle would reduce that proportion can do it even now.
CHARLOTrE GERSON
to 1 3 .6 percent. Bonita, California
2. Breast cancer hits with a minimum of 1 80,300 cases estimated for MORTON WALKER, D.PM.
· 1 999. Among American women today, 1 4 percent will be diag Stamford, Connecticut
nosed with breast cancer during their lifetimes. But improved diet,
nutrition, and general lifestyle would reduce that proportion to 7
percent.
3. Lung cancer happens with a minimum o f 1 7 1 ,500 cases antici References for the Preface
pated for 1 999. Among everyone in this country today, slightly 1. Gerson, M. A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases, 6th ed. Bonita,
more than 7 percent will be diagnosed with lung cancer during Calif.: The Gerson Institute, 1 999.
their lifetimes. Still, improved diet, nutrition, and general lifestyle 2. Quoted in Dego, G. Doctor Max: The Story of Pioneering Physician Max
(especially eliminating exposure to tobacco smoke) would lower Gerson's Acclaimed Cancer Therapy and His Heroic Struggle to Change the
that proportion to just 0. 3 5 percent.
XXIV
Preface
Way We Look at Health and Healing. Barrytown, N.Y: Station Hill Press,
1 997,
pp. 5 1 3-5 1 6.
3 . Brodie, W D. Cancer and Common Sense: Combining Science and
Nature to Control Cancer. White Bear Lake, Minn.: Winning Publica
tions
I NT RO DUCT IO N
'
August 1 997, p. 46.
4. Rugo, H.S. "Cancer. " In Current Medica l Diagnosis
and Treatment 1 997,
36 th ed., ed. by L.M. Tierney, S.]. McPhe e, and M.A.
Papadakis. Stamford '
Conn.: Appleton and Lange, 1 997, p. 69.
5 . Culbert, M. Medica l Armageddon. San Diego, Calif.:
C and C Com-
munications, 1 99 5.
6. Cowley, G., with Underwood, A., Springen, K., and
Davis, A. "Cancer
and diet: eating to beat the odds: what you need to know." Newsweek,
November 30, 1 998, pp. 60-66.
Tin New York City, Mitchell Gaynor; M.D., understood a lot about
he chief of medical oncology at the Strang Cancer Prevention Center
sparing people from being struck by malignancies. ". We've seen the fu ally practiced allopathic medicine, since the goal of the Gerson Therapy is
ture," says Dr. Gaynor, "and the future is food."! to restore all essential organs.
Although the significance of consuming nutritious, whole, and natural
foods for health and healing was originally developed and taught by Dr.
Max Gerson about sixty years ago, we have finally awakened to the truth
of his teachings. It is a reality that improvements in diet, nutrition, and SYNOPS I S OF THE G E RSON TH ERAPY
general lifestyle are the wave of the future for beating degenerative dis NUTRJTION P ROG RAM
eases of all types.
Best represented by its dietary component, the Gerson Therapy recom
mends a low-fat, salt-free program of food consumption to supply the
body's cells with easily assimilated nutrients for strengthening one's nat
TH E U N DE RLYI N G NUTRlTIONAL CONCEPT ural immune defenses. To prevent or correct most of the fifteen hundred
known degenerative diseases, the Gerson Therapy offers an ideal way
OF D R. MAx G E RSON to eat. In our modern society of processed packaged foods frequently
Dr. Gerson's therapeutic program seeks to regenerate an ailing body containing preservatives, additives, dyes, and sometimes outright carcino
and bring it back to health by flooding the sick patient with nutrients and gens, all forced upon us by accompanying massive amounts of media pro
adopting other modalities. The nutrients come from raw juices plus raw paganda and advertising, the Gerson Therapy admittedly presents a
and cooked solid organic vegetarian foods generously consumed. Inas difficult dining program to follow. Yet if a sick person is serious about re
much as the underlying nutritional concept of Dr. Max Gerson-proven covery, then adopting the Gerson therapeutic technique does assure the
by clinical studies cited in our text-is that an oxygen deficiency in the restoration of wellness.
blood contributes to degenerative diseases, his treatment invariably At the core of the Gerson Therapy is its diet, which includes organi
brings about a doubling of circulatory oxygenation. cally grown fresh fruits and vegetables and thirteen glasses of freshly
The Gerson Therapy also stimulates metabolism, eliminates toxins, squeezed juices daily, taken at hourly intervals. The organic fresh fruits
and restores sluggish waste-removal functions of a patient's liver and kid and vegetables provide the patient with elevated levels of minerals, en
neys. Thus, by using liberal amounts of high-quality nutrition, increasing zymes, beta carotene, vitamins A and C, and other antioxidants that scav
the patient's oxygen availability, reinvigorating the entire organism with a enge free radicals, as well as naturally occurring phytochemicals that
well-function ing metabolism, and improving cellular detoxification , one's scientists have discovered are true preventers of chronic degenerative dis
suppressed immune system, imperfect physiology, muddled mind, and eases. These foods are recommended to contain no residual pesticides
dysfunctional brain and other essential organs are encouraged to regener and fungicides.
ate toward homeostasis once again. No meat is allowed. On the Gerson therapeutic program, all animal
Dr. Gerson's healing program is advantageous for overcoming nearly protein is omitted for the person who is ill during the first six to twelve
every pathology and far superior to cancer chemotherapy. Statistically, for weeks of treatment, and it's kept to a minimum thereafter. 2
instance, chemotherapy boa�ts an overall remission rate on average of 1 2 The diet is largely fat-free but includes some nonfat and unflavored yo
percent (7 percent for colon cancer and 1 percent for pancreatic cancer) gurt, nonfat and unsalted pot cheese, cottage cheese, and churned butter
for patients first seen at early and intermediate stages of their illnesses, milk wheIJ available (otherwise use nonfat yogurt) , as well as flaxseed oil.
but the Gerson Therapy offers remission success on average for up to 42 Research put forth by the seven �time Nobel prize candidate Johanna
percent of its participating, largely terminal cancer patients. Budwig, Ph.D., of Freudenstadt-Dietersweiler, Germany, shows that the
What's more, the Gerson Therapy nutrition program works perma omega-3 fatty acids in flax kill human cancer cells in tissue cultures with
nently, in a surer manner than all other known therapies, including cyto out destroying normal cells in the same culture. 3
toxicology (chemotherapy) , immunology, pharmacology, roentgenology Before Dr. Budwig published her groundbreaking works, Dr. Gerson,
(radiation therapy) , and other usual procedures provided by convention- first in Germany, then in Austria, and finally in the United States, was
4 T H E GERSON THERAPY In troduction 5
applying nutritional knowledge he had gleaned about fats and oils for his TESTIMONY B EFORE T H E U N ITED STATES
patients' illnesses. Today, the Gerson Therapy menu plan is being used
by the American Cancer Society (ACS) . Yes, the very same ACS which S ENATE BY D R. MAx GERSON
once had condemned Dr. Gerson and blacklisted his therapeutic diet. In our preface, we reprinted the unmodified text broadcasted by Raymond
Moreover, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the American Heart Gram Swing in his American Broadcasting Corporation news program of
Association (AHA) both encourage the use of a modified version of the Wednesday, July 3, 1 946, describing the appearance earlier that same day of
Gerson eating program. Max Gerson, M.D., before the Pepper-Neely subcommittee of the United
Believing cancer to be a systemic rather than a localized disease, as States Senate's Foreign Relations Committee in Washington, D.C. Relative
was an erroneous but popular notion among health care professionals in to this description of his dietary treatment for cancer and other degenera
the 1 93 0s and 1 940s, Dr. Gerson emphasized the rebalancing of a pa tive illnesses, what follows are the most pertinent portions of what Dr.
tient's entire physiology. His writings indicate he intended that the ther Gerson stated during his testimony:5 ·
But we can regain the lost defense and healing power if we return as References for the Introduction
close as possible to the laws of nature as they are created. Highly concen
1 . Cowley, G. with Underwood, A.; Springen , K.; Davis, A. "Cancer and
trated for speedy reaction, they are laid down in the dietetic treatment.
diet: Eating to beat the odds: what you need to know. " Newsweek, November
The first cat1cer patient (bile ducts) was treated in 1 928 with success.
30, 1 998, pp. 60-66. .
Seven favorable cases followed out of twelve and remain free of symptoms
2 . Walters, R. Options: The Alternative Cancer Therapy Book. Garden City
up to seven years.
Park, N.Y.: Avery Publishin g Group, 1 992, pp. 1 89 , 1 90 . .
My experience leads me to believe that the liver is the center of the
3 . Budwig, J . Flax Oil as a True Aid against Arthritis, Hear.t lnfarctwn,
restoration process in those patients who improve strikingly. If the liver is
Cancer and Other Diseases. Vancouver, B.C ., Canada: Apple Publ ishmg, 1 994.
too far destroyed, then the treatment cannot be effective.
4. Moss, R.W Cancer Therapy: The Independent Consumer's Guide to Non
Aware of the imperfection of this as well as any other theory, I shall try,
Toxic Treatment and Prevention. New York: Equinox Press, 1 992, p. 1 89 .
nevertheless, to explain the end results of the Gerson diet. It is
5 . Gerson, M . Testimon y during hearings o n Senate Bill 1 87 5 , conducted
condensed in three surpassing components:
July 1 , 2, 3, 1 946 by Senator Claude Pepper ( 0-Florid a) , for the Pepper-Neely
1 . The elimination of toxins and poisons and returning of the
Subcommittee of the Foreign Relation s Commit tee, the 79th Congress of
displaced "extracellular" Na (sodium) -group, connected with toxins, poi
the U.S. Senate, July 3 , 1 946.
sons, edema, destructive inflammation from the tissues, tumors, and or
gans where it does not belong, into the serum and tissues where it
belongs-gall bladder with the bile ducts, connective tissue, thyroid,
stomach mucosa, kidney medulla, tumors, and so forth.
2 . Bringing back the lost intracellular K (potassium) -group combined
with vitamins, enzymes, ferments, sugar, and so forth, into the tissues and
organs where they belong: liver, muscles, heart, brain, kidney cortex, and
so forth; on this basis, iodine, ineffective before, is made effective, con
tinuously added in new amounts.
3 . Restoring the differentiation, tonus, tension, oxidation, and so
forth, by activated iodine, where there were before growing tumors and
metastases with dedifferentiation, loss of tension, oxidation, loss of resis
tance, and healing power.
H ow TH E G E RSON
TH E RAPY WORKS
Chapter One
H OW NUT RI T I O N H EALS
Gerson' s book, Dr. Hoshino followed its instructions and on his own pro effects in the body that will directly oppose and so alleviate the symptoms
ceeded to follow the Gerson Therapy. of disease. Applying chemotherapy for cancer is the perfect example of
Today, with a decent interval of almost nine years having elapsed since disease-oriented medicine in practice. 1
Dr. Hoshino's diagnosis, he and his oncologist have declared th_e patient Patient-centered medical practice develops its healing procedures by
"cured" of both colon cancer and liver metastases. Here is the letter seeking out everything that can possibly be done to optimize the health of
Charlotte Gerson recently received from Professor Yoshihiko Hoshino, a given unique individual. An orientation like this, also defined as " func
M.D., Ph.D.: tional medicine" by health professional educator Jeffrey Bland, Ph.D., of
Gig Harbor, Washington, demands decisions based on judgments by
As you know, I suffered from colon cancer and n)etastatic liver cancer in holistic physicians, chiropractors, homeopaths, naturopaths, acupunctur
1 992 and recovered from them by use of the Gerson Therapy. I have writ
-.ists, some nurse practitioners, nutritionists, and other types of healers. It
ten a book introducing Gerson Therapy to medical consumers in Japan.
also requires close personal participation by the patients themselv� s . The
My book was published in August 1 998 and is the first about Gerson .
Therapy written by a medical doctor in Japan. It has caused a big sensa doctor frequently devotes as much time teaching a patient as adm1111ster
tion among Japanese people, because using the Gerson program twelve ing treatment. Even if the patient has only subclinical � ymptoms, as man
.
additional cancer patients also were cured. My book not only tells of my ifested by irregular laboratory tests, an effort is made m patient-centered
recovery but also includes the stories of these twelve Japanese who no medicine to accomplish three specific physiological responses:
longer suffer from cancer.
1. Harmonize the person's biochemistry.
-2. Elevate the workings of a suppressed immune system.
3. Correct the malfunctioning of essential organs.
H EALI NG BY A POWE RFUL NUTRITIONAL
T H E RAPY Prescribing the right homeopathic remedy is a perfect example of
patient-centered medicine in practice. 2
In applying the techniques of healing, all health practitioners acknowl _
The Gerson Therapy is another example of how one might put to use
edge a coi-nmon truth: there exists just one science of human immunol
patient-centered medicine. It is the best in sel f-h�lp health care, espe
ogy, which possesses specific laws of biochemistry. In the profession of _ illnesses. The Gers�n
cially for the reversal of really serious degenerative
medicine, however, two opposing factions or principles of practice con
Therapy mostly utilizes nutrition to achieve all three com ponents of holis
tend with one another. Disease-oriented orthodox medicine and patient .
tic, biological, patient-oriented medicine. It is the ultnnate m natural
centered holistic medicine agree only on the current facts of biochemistry
healing and a powerful antidote to the highly unnatural lifestyle that pre
and immunology but hardly on anything else.
vails in all modern industrial societies.
Disease-oriented medical practice directs its efforts to finding the gener
In the following sections of this chapter,- we offer a general discussion
alized formulas for treating types or classes of people with similar symp
of the pathological changes within the tissues and cells typically p�esent
toms. Classification of patients into groups or categories is indispensable
in cancer. And the description of such alterations from normal physiology
for finding a treatment. In order to uncover the therapy that works best,
will offer insights into abnormalities present in some of the other degen-
single- or double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials are frequently
erative diseases.
employed. Whatever is found wrong with a patient's physiology, the allo
Since he first introduced it around 1 926, there has been no place in the
pathic (drug-using) physician attempts to correct the health problem with
allopathic medical community for Dr. Max Gerson's powerfully healing
FDA-approved pharmaceuticals, chemotherapeutics, surgery, immunother
nutritional therapy. For instance, among the four deciding votes cast by
apy, radiation therapy, or other forms of high technology. Disease-oriented
legislators to defeat the U.S. Senate's 1 946 Pepper-Neely anticancer Bill
medicine is a system primarily employing drugs in an attempt to produce
No. 1 875, those voting negatively were four p.icians turned senators. At
\
14 T H E GERSON THERAPY How Nutrition Heals 15
the time, treating people with diet to eliminate their degenerat ive dis As part of our preface we stated that in the United States every year, a
eases was just too excessivel y simple. Doing so removed a great deal of minimum of 1 .9 million people are diagnosed with some type of malig
decision- making power from the medical professio n; conseque ntly, those nancy (excluding skin cancer and in situ cervical cancer) . And we cited
four physician s who were U.S. senators at the time voted to kill Senator holistic oncologist, internist, and homeopathic physi1cian W Douglas
Claude Pepper's bill. So cancer patients then and later became victims of
Brodie, M.D., H.M.D., of Reno, Nevada, who states that at least 700,000
the shortsigh ted vote for special interests.
Americans die from cancer annually.
Dr. Gerson plodded on and continued bringing sick people who con
Almost every health care professional and most medical consumers now
sulted him back from the brink of death. Now, with the pioneer gone
know that the cause of over 70 percent of malignancies is in some way re
these past forty years or more, his daughter and the Gerson Institute carry
lated to what we eat. Denatured food, in fact, is a main source of breast
on with their task of educating the public.
and colon/rectal cancer as well as of lung cancer in nonsmokers. Every year
more medical and scientific evidence accumulates revealing that what we
take in as food has tremendous influence on whether we will develop can
T H E G E RSON T H ERAPY . l s D E FACTO cer and whether we can cure it once mal ignant disease symptoms arise. 3
RECOGN I ZE D BY TH E U . S . GOVE RNMENT This is a tremendously exciting field of scientific inquiry that the con
ventional medical community is just now beginning to investigate seri
A s we alluded t o i n our introduct ion, the most revolutio nary and ously. Yet, probably half a century ahead of his time, during an active
promising field of medical research against degenerative diseases is that of professional life spanning forty years, from 1 9 1 9 in Bielefeld, Germany, to
chemoprevention: the use of micronut rients or macronut rients, phyto 1 9 59 in New York City, one modest physician developed the food and nu
chemical s, nutraceu ticals, and other organic compone nts often found in trition answers for cancer and other degenerative diseases. Max Gerson,
foods that can prevent, stop, or retard the process of illness. By the begin
M.D., however, was unmercifully vilified, harassed, and persecuted in the
ning of 1 995, the National Cancer Institute was pursuing forty new or es United States by the AMA, especially its journal editor, Morris Fishbein,
tablished studies in the area of nutrition that involved enzymes, fiber, fat, M . D., and his physician-politician cohorts.4
micronut rients, vitamins, and phytoche micals. After a 1 946 patient demonstration before a committee of the U.S.
By 1 999, the forty abstracts summariz ing those same 1 99 5 beginning Senate that received national media attention, Dr. Gerson was attacked
investigat ions on cancer and nutrition had been completed and sent to editorially in the pages of the Journal of the American Medical Association
the U.S. governme nt's American Associatio n for Cancer Research . These (JAMA) . Reasons for the attack were related to· prevailing domestic med
studies are currently providing critical informati on on the substance s ical politics and the various financial policies being enforced at the time
needed to be added to or eliminate d from the human diet to combat can by longtime AMA politician, JAMA editor, and nonpracticing physician
cer. You probably are not surprised that nearly all of the components of
Morris Fishbein, M.D.
the Gerson Therapy do play leading roles among these phytoche mical in Why has it taken organized allopathic medicine so long to appreciate
gredients . By such adoption , the Gerson Therapy is, in effect, recognize d the connection between diet and cancer?
as a viable treatmen t against cancer and most other degenerative diseases. Why have oncological pioneers like Dr. Max Gerson been denigrated,
It's a de facto recognitio n by the United States, but without lawful au
been stigmatized, and had their hearts broken when they've attempted to
thority and literally unofficia l. Still, the Gerson Therapy' s compone nts are use nutrition as a therapeutic tool?
very much in evidence and being utilized to save lives. They even form At least for the first of these penetrating questions, the authors of this
the foundatio n for advisorie s given by profit makers of the cancer industry book can figure out four particular answers:
such as the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, the
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Clinic, and many pharmaceutical companie s merg 1. In the United States, advances in medical technology maintain
ing nutrient manufact urers into their corporate structure s. prejudicial leads over any othi. means of treatment. As a nation
16 THE GERSON THERAPY How Nutrition Hea ls 17
that symptom atic cancer won't develop in his or her lifetime. However, 20. I ngest i ng food addi tives
21. Mercury toxicity from any source
since one out of three (approac hing one out of two) North America ns or 22. Toxi c metal syndrome
Europea ns do currently come down with cancer, the odds are high that 23. Dental am algam f i l l i ngs
malignancy in some form will strike you or a loved one. 24. Dental root canals
According to the multiple-hit theory, all cancers arise from at least two 25. Dental cavitations (jawbone spaces left b y poor tooth extraction)
26. Dental metals o f a l l types
changes or "hits" to cellular genes. These double hits build up and inter
27. Steady use o f street drugs
act over time. Eventua lly, a breaking point is reached (the proverbial 28. Steady use of prescription drugs
"straw that broke the camel's back") and cancerous growth is switched on. 29. Steady use of non prescription drugs
The hits will likely come from one of the precursor carcinogens we have 30. Nerve i nterference fields
cited in Table 1 - 1 . 31. Diet o r n utrit i o n a l defic iencies
32. Cons u m ption o f synthetic " nonfoods"
Most critical are the number and types o f carcinogenic hits, their fre
33. Chronic physical or menta l stress
quency, and their intensity. Some of the carcinogen hits are cancer "initia 34. Destructive negative e.motions
tors" while others are cancer "promot ers. "4 35. Depressed t h � i d acbon
. . .
42. Free radical pathol ogy 2. Add i ctions 28. H igh blood pressure
46. Genetic pred isposition 6. An kylosing spondyl itis 32. I nferti I ity
49. Alcohol consu m ption 9. Cancers and leukemias 35. Liver c i rrhosis
10. C a n d i d iasis 36. Lyme d i sease
11. Chemical sensitivities 37. Lupus erythematosus
12. Chronic fatigue syndrome 38. Ma cu lar degeneration
Any of the precursor carcinogens (often referred to by oncologi sts as 13. Constipation 39. M i gra i n e
.
procarcznogens) can be a tumor initiator or a promote r. Potentia lly cancer 14. Cro h n 's d i sease 40. Mononuc leosis
ous changes begin in a damaged cell's DNA (deoxyrib onucleic acid) after 15. Cushi ng's syndrome 41. M u lt i p l e sclerosis
the second devastating procarcinogenic hit. Uncontrolled growth in a dam 16. Depression/pa n i c attacks 42. Obesity
17. D i abetes 43. Ocular h i stoplasmosis
age� cell follows in due course, progressi ng to an eventually noticeab le 44.
18. E m p hysema Osteomye l itis
malignan t lesion with a mass or tumor that may invade other tissues. 19. Endometriosis 45. Osteoporosi s
I � the first step toward cancer developm ent, initiation , the procarcino 20. Epi le psy 46. P h lebitis
gemc hit may produce large numbers of toxic agents, known as free radi 21. F i broids 47. Premenstrual syndrome
cals, which set up a pathological process that damages the cell's DNA 22. Fi bromya lgia 48. Psoriasis
23. Gen ita l herpes 49. S h i ngles
when the liver sets up an enzymat ic reaction known as Phase One. This re 24. Gout 50. Stroke
acti� 1� causes the procarcinogen to convert into a full-fledg ed carcinoge n. 25. Heart and artery d i seases 51. Tuberc u l osis
Add1b�nally, the liver produce s Phase Two enzymes to cart off the danger 26. Hemorrhoids 52. U lcerative c o l i t i s
ous �es 1 due that Phase One enzymes leave behind. The liver plays a vital
role 1 1'. the process of cancer formatio n, simultan eously initiating carcino velopment of new blood vessels, called angiogenesis, so that malignant
. in-
genesis and neutralizi ng it. vasion of surrounding tissue may then take place.6
In the second step toward cancer formatio n, promotio n, the liver's neu
tr� liz� tion may not be up to par and a damaged cell alters its pattern of
m1tos1s {n ormal cell division ) . It begins to divide volumino usly. That is
. T H E G E RSON D I ETARY T H E RAPY FOR
when the 1 �mune sys tern g es to work, recogniz ing these cells as foreign
�
and destroymg them; 1f. 1t fails, however, the damaged cell can spawn a tu-
F I FTY-TWO I LLN ESSES
morous lesion. Each of the factors listed i n Table 1 - 1 that can contribute t o cancer
.
In the third step toward a full-blown cancer, progressi on, the tumor at or other acute and chronic debilitating illnesses may be successfully
tempts to build itself a blood supply for sustaine d nourishm ent. Then tu prevented or treated with dietary intervention. Certain foods fight off
morous invasion of surround ing tissues may take place. Clusters of cancer cancer and 0ther degenerative diseases or bring about their physiological
cells tend to release certain essential growth factors that promote this de- reversal. Every, food component incorporated into the Gerson Therapy is
•
22 THE GERS ON THERAPY
effective against a great variety of physical and mental pathological con Chapter Two
ditions.
To date, nearly ten thousand patients have benefited from the Gerson
dietary treatment. Many of these success stories are described in the
Gerson lnstitute's bimonthly Gerson Healing Newsletter. Table 1 -2 shows A B RI E F B IO G RAP HY O F
a sample of the several hundred health problems against which the Gerson
Therapy has shown verified, permanent effectiveness: D R. MAX G E RS O N
References for Chapter One
•
24 THE GERSON THERAPY A B rief Biography of D r. Max Gerson 25
that, should Max study mathematics, he would never be more than a sim under the S[)onsorship o f Senator Claude Pepper. The American Medical
ple high school math teacher. Everyone-including the new graduate Association's lobbyists who supported surgery, radiation, and chemother
himself-agreed that he should study medicine instead. apies were too well financed, however, and they caused the Senate bill's
defeat by four votes. If it had passed, this Senate bill would have sup
ported extensive research into the Gerson Therapy and could have spread
this cure for cancer in 1 946.
E DUCATION OF A H EALER
Max Gerson attended the universities of Breslau Wuerzburg Berlin
' '
and Freiburg for his medical studies. In 1 907, he completed his internship' P HYS ICIAN , H EAL THYS E LF: GERSON 1 S
in Hoechst, Main, and subsequently worked as an assistant to Professor
Albert Frankel, M.D., in Berlin. From 1 909 until the beginning of the
FI RST DI SCOVERI ES
First World War, he worked in Berlin in the Friedrichshain Hospital with While h e was a university student, Max Gerson was plagued by a major
Professor Kronig and Professor 13orottau, and for a short period at the chil health problem: he suffered from exceedingly severe migraine headaches,
dren's clinic with Professor Minkowsky. which continued throughout his undergraduate years.
As a captain in the German Army Medical Corps, Dr. Gerson was a By the time Max was a medical resident, these headaches were so
close associate for almost half a decade of the promient neurosurgeon disabling and frequent that he sometimes spent three clays a week in a
Ottfriecl Foerster, M .D . In 1 928, ten years after establishing his own prac darkened room, experiencing nausea, vomiting, eye sensitivity, and awful
tice in Bielefeld in 1 9 1 9, Dr. Gerson treated three hopelessly ill people one-sided head pain which felt as though his cranium were splitting in
suffering with cancer. One of them was dying from inoperable stomach two. He sought counsel from his medical professors only to find that they
cancer. Even surprising the diet's developer, all three recovered and went couldn't help in any way. Rather, they advised him "to learn to live with
on to tell numerous other cancer patients that successful treatment was it." The young physician felt he couldn't accept such suffering and would
at hand. Still, because Dr. Gerson recognized that some degenerative dis have to find an answer for himself.
ease patients would recover and some would not, he was careful as to Max embarked upon a search. He read numerous books and medical
whom he gave the Gerson Therapy in the next ten years. papers and consulted with many authorities, but found no direction. Fi
In 1 9 3 3 , barely escaping from capture and imprisonment in a Nazi nally he came upon a case report in an Italian medical journal about a
death camp because he was Jewish, Dr. Gerson moved his family first to woman who had suffered from migraines and found relief by changing her
Vienna, Austria, where he completed his book on tuberculosis. In 1938, he diet. No details were given, but the idea made sense to Dr. Gerson. The
was able to emigrate with his family to New York City. He passed the New severe spasms with nausea and vomiting that were affecting him, the
York State board examinations for medicine and opened a medical prac young doctor concluded, could well be caused by some foods he was un
tice on Park Avenue. He continued to develop his therapy to achieve suc able to digest. Now he had to discover what they were.
cess with all types of serious health difficulties, especially cancer. The His first thought was that every baby can digest cow's milk; his body
physician treated hundreds of patients given up to die after receiving should be able to handle it as well. Therefore, he lived on nothing but
surgery and radiation (chemotherapy had not yet been invented) . After milk for the next ten clays. His migraines nevertheless showed no im
these years of study and research, the Gerson Therapy brought really sick provement-no change whatsoever. Then it occurred to him that animals
people up to a 50 percent rate of recovery for even far advanced cancer never drink milk once they are weaned. Moreover, a human's physical
cases. (After chemotherapy was introduced into oncology, Dr. Gerson's structure is similar to that of vegetarian animals. This being true, Max's
natural healing success rate in patients thus treated was reduced.) thinking went, people with health problems should probably live on fruit,
In 1 946, Dr. Gerson became the first physician to demonstrate recov vegetables, and grain�
ered cancer patients before a United States Senate committee, which was He tried an all-apple diet-raw and baked apples, applesauce, apple
holding· hearings on a bill to find means of curing and preventing cancer juice, apple compote-and he became well, with no migraines. Slowly
26 TI-I E GERSON T H E RAPY A Brief Biogra phy of Dr. Max Gerson 27
thereafter, one food following another, he added other edibles. If some if he knew others suffering from· the same problem. Yes, the patient
thing eaten wasn't right for his body, it could cause him a sensitivity reac replied, and he sent Dr. Gerson some of his tubercul ar friends from the
tion, taking the form of migraine in as little as twenty minutes. hospital where he had been confined . After some weeks elapsed, these tu
berculosi s patients also recovered on Dr. Gerson's antimigr aine eating
plan.
News of Dr. Gerson's success with lupus vulgaris came to the attention
G E RSON 1 S " M I G RAI N E D I ET 11 of Professor Ferdinan d Sauerbru ch, M.D., the world-fam ous lung tuber
When he experienced further sensitivity problems from consuming culosis specialist who practiced in Munich . After conducti ng long discus
cooked foods, Dr. Gerson hypothesized that the culprit was not the cook sions on dietary concepts with Dr. Gerson, Prof. Sauerbru ch decided to
ing process but rather the addition of salt. Upon his eliminating salt from set up a clinical trial using the Gerson Therapy. During an extended pe
his diet, Max was able to eat not only cooked foods but also any kind of riod, the professor treated 450 "incurab le" skin tubercul osis patients
vegetables, potatoes, grains, and so on. He named this new program of using Dr. Gerson's method. Of these subjects, 446 recovered fully; Dr.
eating, which kept him free of head pain disturbances, his "migraine Sauerbruch was deeply impresse d. The renowned lung specialist reports
diet." It was predicated on the ingestion of fresh fruits and vegetables, on this successful Gerson dietary trial and its positive results in his auto
mostly raw but some cooked, and totally free of salt. Gerson decided that biography, Master Surgeon.
salt was the source of pathology connected with diet. Dr. Gerson was not satisfied to let the situation rest there. He reasoned
In time, patients would come to him complaining of migraines. Al that if lupus vulgaris could be healed with diet, why not other forms of tu
though there was no cure according to the textbooks, Gerson revealed berculos is, such as lung, kidney, or bone TB? He started to treat such cases
that he had been suffering from migraines himself until he had developed and found that they too responded to the dietary therapy and were cured.
and followed his antimigraine, saltless diet. One of the lung TB cases was Albert Schweitz er's wife, Helene, who
The young physician would then suggest that the patient try it out. had contract ed tubercul osis at an early age in the tropics and was in ter
Invariably, migraine patients following his eating program would return minal conditio n when she was brought to see Dr. Gerson by her husband .
for a follow-up consultation and report that they were free of headaches as Mrs. Schweitz er recovered from her disease completely and went on to
long as they didn't "cheat" on the Gerson eating program. When they live well into her eighties.
began eating salt again, they would suffer a relapse. During the course of treating these various migraine and tubercul osis
cases, Dr. Gerson found that many of the patients had been suffering
Skin Tuberculosis Is Eliminated by from other problem s, too: high blood pressure, asthma, allergies, kidney
the Gerson Therapy damage, arthritis, residual stroke, hardenin g of the arteries, and more.
These acute or chronic degenera tions also disappea red. Unquest ionably,
One of Dr. Gerson's patients returned after remaining on the antimi the Gerson Therapy worked toward correcting almost any degenera ting
graine diet for a short period and reported that his skin tuberculosis, illness.
known medically as lupus vulgaris, had disappeared along with his mi Thus, Dr. Gerson recognize d that he was no longer treating a disease;
graines. The new practitioner told his patient that lupus was an "incur he was helping the body to heal itself of nearly all dysfunct ions. Of course,
able" disease and that the skin problem must have come from something this meant that he was no longer treating symptom s but the patient's un
else. This lupus vulgaris patient, however, possessed bacteriological stud derlying problem ; he was taking a eomplet ely different direction from the
ies proving his diagi10sis. Thus, for the first time in the history of medi usual approach of orthodo x medicine : the suppress ion of symptom s.
cine, Dr. Gerson saw skin tuberculosis healing from treatment.
In light of the patient's diagnostic reports, the young doctor could hardly
believe his eyes, but he soon became convinced that his migraine diet was
helpful in the treatment of tubercular skin disease. He asked the patient
A B rief B i ography of Dr. Max Gerson 29
28 THE G ERSON TH ERAPY
Sodium/Potassium Balance as a Metabolic Healing added to the patients ' salt-free vegetari an diet a freshly pressed glass of or
Procedure ganic vegetable juice taken hourly, thirteen times a day. . Addition ally, the
doctor examine d his patients ' urine and found that dunng the first week
In the course of his work with tuberculosis patients, Dr. Gerson real on this treatmen t they often excreted from 6 to 8 grams of sodium in a
ized that one of the basic problems of disease was the loss of potassium day even on a sodium- free diet!
from tissue cells and the penetration of sodium into the cells (known in Following this salt-free program, the participa ting patients ' ankles and
medicine as tissue damage syndrome or TDS ) . The cell, in attempting legs lost their swelling (edema) and became normal once again; more�ver,
to maintain its integrity, binds the toxic sodium material with water. overabundant abdomin al fluid (ascites) decreased as well . The patients
Such a circumstance for the sick patient is recognized as edematous fl.uid ridding themselv es of so much burdens ome fluid invariab ly excreted a
retention. great deal of urine. Restoring the body's sodium/potassiu�n tiss � e balance
Six years after Dr. Gerson's death, a medical textbook coauthored by for his patients became one of Dr. Gerson' s key metabol ic healmg proce
Malcolm Dixon and Edwin C. Webb titled Enzymes (Academic Press, dures. (Please see chapter 1 0 on the Gerson saltless diet for more detailed
1 964) gave further evidence of the problems caused by sodium penetra informat ion about the human body's sodium/potassiu m balance. )
tion. The book confirmed Dr. Gerson's initial findings. These two authors
studied how the body builds enzymes, and they reported that, in most
cases, potassium behaves like a catalyst (an activating substance) in the
formation of enzymes. Sodium, on the other hand, usually acts as an in OUTS I DE STRESSORS AN D D I S EAS E
hibitor, or blocking substance. Thus, with the penetration of sodium into Dr. Gerson discovered that more difficult ies with illness develop as well
the cell, and therefore into tiss.ues, enzyme function is inhibited and the from outside stressors , before the body's defenses break down. For exam
normal tissue activity becomes disturbed or at worst, blocked. ple, foods are raised in soil containi ng artificial fertilizer s prov � ding only
While a minimum of sodium is needed by the body for normal func the three particul ar minerals : nitrogen , phosphorus, and potassm m (sym
tion, this inorganic substance is also considered to be an extracellular bolized by the initials N, P, and K) . But normal plants require somethi ng
mineral, since it must remain outside of body cells in their fluids. like fifty-two different chemica ls for good health and strong growth.
Potassium is the intracellular mineral, since it is needed for metabolism Artificia lly fertilized soil, as is employe d in truck farming, bnngs nutn
within body cells. When the extracellular/intracellular balance is disturbed, tional deficien cy to the plants growing on it. People, too, require these
health problems start from damage to the cells. In normal vegetarian nutri fifty-two minerals to be present in foods. When they are not containe d in
tion, plant material of all kinds contains quite adequate amounts of sodium the soil and thus not in our foods, we become deficient in the same way
to satisfy our needs. The problem is that, in the course of canning, bot that our plants are lacking.
tling, preserving, freezing, and all other forms of food processing, as well Furtherm ore, plants, just like people, experience deficien cy diseases
as during the usual procedure of cooking, potassium is depleted and salt and lose their defenses . Then, fungal or viral diseases and insects move in
(sodium chloride) is invariably added to foods. Additions like these con to destroy such weak and deficien t plants, and farmers are force� to spra.y
stitute an excess. The body is normally able to excrete excess sodium them with fungicid es, herbicid es, and pesticide s to avoid losmg t�1e 1r
through the kidneys and feces, but when it becomes overwhelmed daily, crops. Thus, in agricultu re worldwi de, deficien t and toxic commer cia�ly
year after year, with huge amounts of excess sodium, there comes a point raised foods cause peoples' bodies to become deficien t, weakene d, toxic,
when.the body's ability to excrete this excess is reduced or lost. Now a per and · finally diseased .
son's many enzyme systems, his or her immune system, and eventually With this basic underst anding as taught by Dr. Gerson, we may be able
the liver, are damaged. The result is symptoms of illness and the creation to see how health breaks down. And this descript ion of soil and plants
of disease dysfunction. does not include additional damage we inflict on ourselve s with ciga
As we observed earlier, the first thing Dr. Gerson did was to eliminate rettes, alcohol, antibiot ics, sleeping pills, pesticid es, fungicid es, herbi
all added salt (sodium) from his own and his patients' diet. He then cides, over-the -counte r and doctor-prescribe d drugs, and much more (see
30 THE GERSON TH ERAPY A B rief B i ography of D r. Max Gerson 31
chapter 1 ) . It becomes clear that, in order to reverse disease and restore fat-free diet, high in enzymes, also helps to dissolve atherosclerotic plague
health, we need to detoxify and intensively flood the body with live, fresh, and clear arteries, so that circulation of the blood improves, as does respi
active nutrients. ration. Now we can understand why the whole body heals; whether we are
seeing patients with arthritis, emphysema, colitis, multiple sclerosis, high
.
blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, or any other of the multitude of
acute or chronic degenerative diseases, the patients undergo healing.
TH E U S E OF COFFEE E N EMAS FOR
WASTE REMOVAL
Dr. Gerson further found that the cellular systems and body tissues VEGETABLE J UICE TO E N HANC E
also excreted waste products accumulated over many years from the tak
ing in of poor air, bad water, food additives, viruses, germs, and other toxic TH E E N EMAS ,
items. In order not to overload the liver, which filters these poisons out of Dr. Gerson found that the basic problem underlying all chronic disease
the blood, he found a way to open the bile ducts and help the liver to re is twofold: deficiency and toxicity. He clearly needed to address both
lease the body's accumulated poisons by means of his renowned coffee these problems in order to heal his patients. The deficiency was overcome
enemas. by the tremendous amount of nutrients available in the multiple veg
He discovered that, without such a waste-removing method, the liver etable juices, given every hour, made from organically grown produce.
was unable to handle the toxic load escaping from all dysfunctional cells Drinking such juices also helped to flush out the kidneys; but they
and could be poisoned. In terminally ill cancer patients, Dr. Gerson ob caused the sick patients' tissues to release accumulated toxins into the
served their toxicities to be so severe that he cleciclecl to apply such coffee bloodstream. These toxins were filtered out by the liver, but so much poi
enemas as frequently as every four hours. The ene.mas worked as a primary son was burdening their livers with toxicity. Dr. Gerson realized that if he
means of detoxification (for more information on coffee enemas, see did not help the body to remove these poisons rapidly, the liver became
chapter 1 2 ) . seriously damaged and such released poisons could even cause liver coma.
And his patients reported a welcome aclclitional benefit: pain relief The coffee enemas, given in the early stages as frequently as every four
quickly occurred for them as their livers released cellular toxins. There hours, relieved the liver and even, in most cases, relieved pain.
fore, another big advantage of following the Gerson Therapy's sodium-free, As the patient continues to recover, the body dissolves tumor tissue.
high-potassium detoxifying diet was that Dr. Gerson could discontinue pre Toxins from this dead tissue are released into the bloodstream. At this
scribing painkilling drugs almost at once! time, it is important to increase the coffee enemas. It often takes two to
High blood pressure, too, usually came clown in about five clays, along three months before the number of coffee enemas can be reduced to
with discontinuation of blood pressure medication. Today, we see that the three or four daily.
patient's immune system starts to function and, in some cases, a healing For over ten years now, coffee enemas have been more intensively stud
fever develops. Fever can help to destroy tumor tissue and should not be ied. For instance, Peter Lechner, M .D . , of the Second Surgical Division of
suppressed unless it goes way out of range (i.e., above 1 04. 5°F) . the Lancleskrankenhaus in Graz, Austria, became interested in the Gerson
With all its defenses restored, the body is again ·capable of destroying Therapy. � e appliG_d it to many of his outpatients and made some scie1:
tumor tissue, breaking it clown and excreting it. The most aggressive kinds tific studies on ho� the coffee enemas work. Dr. Lechner wntes m his
of malignancies-m elanomas, ovarian cancers, small-cell lung cancers, clinical report, "Coffee enemas have a definite effect on the colon which
agressive lymphomas-re treat the most rapidly. One can almost watch can be observed with an endoscope. Moreover, Wattenberg and coworkers
them melt away. Other, less aggressive tumors grow more slowly and re were able to prove in 1981 that the palmitic acid found in coffee pro
treat less rapidly: the aclenocarcinoma s (breast cancer, prostate cancer, motes the activity of the enzyme, gluthathione s-transferase, and other
·
bone metastases, etc.) disappear slowly but steadily. At the same time, the ligands by manifold times above the norm . It is this enzymatic group
32 THE GERSON THERAPY A B rief Biogra phy of Dr. Max Gerson 33
which is responsible primarily for the conjugation of free electrophile rad Therapy, all the body systems are restored to full function. Dr. Gerson's
icals which the gall bladder will then release. " healing program is a total metabolic approach, not a single treatment for
I n patients with addictions (to nicotine i n cigarettes, heroin, mor a specific symptom of a disease.
phine, cocaine, etc.) the frequent vegetable juices quickly help to over Many patients have multiple problems of illness associated with their
come cravings, while the coffee enemas help to clear away any withdrawal main life-threate ning disability-cancer as well as diabetes, heart disease,
symptoms. high blood pressure, arthritis, atheroscler osis with leg cramps, macular de
Total healing for almost any degenerative condition is not complete generation , cataracts, and so on. When the body truly heals, all of these
until the patient's liver and essential organ functions are all restored to types of health troubles involving overall physiological degenerati on dis
full normal activity. In most patients, healing like this takes at least two appear, not just a single disease entity. With true healing, one cannot heal
years on the full Gerson therapeutic program, including the ingestion of selectively-all medical difficulties improve steadily and finally go away
thirteen glasses of freshly made juices a day, organically grown vegetarian permanently.
foods, regular (but slowly decreasing) coffee enemas, and the taking of Charlotte Gerson cites the case of a patient who was sufferi1:ig from
potassium as well as digestive enzyme supplements. prostate cancer as well as regular kidney colics, high blood pressure, and
One recent patient, MB of Canton, California, suffered from widely three herniated disks resulting in severe pain and atrophy of the thigh
metastasized melanoma, had cataracts, and was unable to watch TV or muscle in his left leg. After two years on the Gerson Therapy, the man got
read with or without glasses. Besides these difficulties, MB was suffering rid of all these . problems. His prostate was clear; he had no more kidney
from advanced osteoarthritis "in all her joints," she said. Also the woman colics; without taking any drugs, his elevated blood pressure lowered to
was obese and suffered from high blood pressure and diabetes. normal and stayed there; and the damaged vertebral disks had re-formed,
MB's life was saved on the Gerson Therapy, supervised by her physi thus allowing his thigh muscles also to improve. He had been on total dis
cian. When the melanoma was gone, so were this patient's other prob ability clue to his many health problems, but this patient returned to com�
lems: she could read and watch TV, had good energy, and today at age pletely normal activity.
eighty-four is "working circles" around other family members. Even her Following the Gerson Therapy described over fifty years ago, people be
hearing has improved to the point where the family believes that "she come well in the same way in modern times.
. One patient, Mrs. CF, was told that her arteries were 90 percent clogged
hears more than she is supposed to." MB no longer requires insulin to
control her diabetes. and that she needed immediate coronary artery bypass surgery, or she
would not see the weekend! She refused to undergo the operation and ·
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