How It Works

The Gerson Therapy™ is a natural treatment that activates the body’s extraordinary ability to heal itself through an organic, plant-based diet, raw juices, coffee enemas and natural supplements.

How it Started, Dr. Max Gerson, M.D.

Dr. Max Gerson, M.D. developed the Gerson Therapy™ in the 1920s & 30s, initially as a treatment for his own debilitating migraines, and eventually as a treatment for degenerative diseases such as skin tuberculosis, diabetes and, most famously, cancer.

Born in Wongrowitz, Germany (1881), he attended the universities of Breslau, Wuerzburg, Berlin, and Freiburg. Suffering from severe migraines, Dr. Gerson focused his initial experimentation with diet on preventing his headaches. One of Dr. Gerson’s patients discovered in the course of his treatment, that the “migraine diet” had cured his skin tuberculosis. This discovery led Gerson to further study the diet, and he went on to successfully treat many tuberculosis patients. His work eventually came to the attention of famed thoracic surgeon, Ferdinand Sauerbruch, M.D.

Under Sauerbruch’s supervision, Dr. Gerson established a special skin tuberculosis treatment program at the Munich University Hospital. In a carefully monitored clinical trial, 446 out of 450 skin tuberculosis patients treated with the Gerson diet recovered completely. Dr. Sauerbruch and Dr. Gerson simultaneously published articles in a dozen of the world’s leading medical journals, establishing the Gerson treatment as the first cure for skin tuberculosis.

Dr. Max Gerson and Charlotte Gerson sitting on bench

At this time, Dr. Gerson attracted the friendship of Nobel prize winner Albert Schweitzer, M.D., by curing Schweitzer’s wife of lung tuberculosis after all conventional treatments had failed. Gerson and Schweitzer remained friends for life, and maintained regular correspondence. Dr. Schweitzer followed Gerson’s progress as the dietary therapy was successfully applied to heart disease, kidney failure, and finally – cancer. Schweitzer’s own type II diabetes was cured by treatment with Gerson’s therapy.

In 1938, Dr. Gerson passed his boards and was licensed to practice in the state of New York. For twenty years, he treated hundreds of cancer patients who had been given up to die after all conventional treatments had failed.

In 1946, Gerson demonstrated recovered patients before the Pepper-Neely Congressional Subcommittee, during hearings on a bill to fund research into cancer treatment. Although only a few peer-reviewed journals were receptive to Gerson’s then “radical” idea that diet could affect health, he continued to publish articles on his therapy and case histories of healed patients.

In 1958, after thirty years of clinical experimentation, Gerson published A Cancer Therapy: Results of 50 Cases. This medical monograph details the theories, treatment, and results achieved by a great physician. Gerson died in 1959, eulogized by long-time friend, Albert Schweitzer M.D.:

“…I see in him one of the most eminent geniuses in the history of medicine. Many of his basic ideas have been adopted without having his name connected with them. Yet, he has achieved more than seemed possible under adverse conditions. He leaves a legacy which commands attention and which will assure him his due place. Those whom he has cured will now attest to the truth of his ideas.”

Quote from Dr. Max Gerson "In the hand of the physician, nutrition can be the highest & best remedy"

How it Works

The Gerson Therapy‘s™ all-encompassing nature sets it apart from most other treatment methods because it restores the body’s incredible ability to heal itself, rather than treating only the symptoms of a particular disease. By addressing the root causes of most degenerative diseases – toxicity and nutritional deficiency – the Gerson Therapy™ effectively treats a wide range of different ailments.

An abundance of nutrients from copious amounts of fresh, organic juices are consumed daily, providing your body with a super-dose of enzymes, minerals and nutrients that is easily assimilated. In addition, raw and cooked solid foods are generously consumed. These substances then break down diseased tissue in the body, while coffee enemas aid in eliminating toxins from the liver. Oxygenation is usually more than doubled, as oxygen deficiency in the blood contributes to many degenerative diseases. The metabolism is also stimulated through the addition of thyroid, potassium and other supplements, and by avoiding heavy animal fats, excess protein, sodium and other toxins.

With generous, high-quality nutrition, increased oxygen availability, detoxification, and improved metabolism, the cells – and the body – can regenerate, become healthy and prevent future illness. Always work with a Gerson Practitioner to develop and monitor a personalized protocol.

Diet

The Gerson Therapy™ diet is plant-based and entirely organic. The diet is naturally high in vitamins, minerals, enzymes, micro-nutrients, and extremely low in sodium, fats, and proteins. In addition to the Gerson juices, patients eat three full plant-based meals, freshly prepared from organically grown fruits, vegetables and whole grains. A typical meal will include salad, cooked vegetables, baked potatoes, Hippocrates soup and juice, with fresh fruits, vegetables and other snacks available in-between meals and juices.

Juices

Fresh-pressed juice from raw foods provides the easiest and most effective way of providing high-quality nutrition. By juicing, patients can take in the nutrients and enzymes from nearly 15 pounds of produce every day, in a manner that is easy to digest and absorb.

Every day, a typical patient on the Gerson Therapy™ consumes multiple, 8 oz. glasses of three main juices: carrot, carrot-apple and the Gerson green juice. These juices are prepared hourly from fresh, raw, organic fruits and vegetables, using a two-step juicer or a masticating juicer used with a separate hydraulic press.

Detoxification

Degenerative diseases render the body increasingly unable to excrete waste materials adequately, commonly resulting in liver and kidney failure. The Gerson Therapy uses intensive detoxification to eliminate wastes, regenerate the liver, reactivate the immune system and restore the body’s essential defenses – enzyme, mineral and hormone systems.

Coffee enemas are the primary method of detoxification of the tissues and blood on the Gerson Therapy™, always taken in-ratio with the daily volume of juice.

“The moment a patient is put on the full therapy, the combined effect of the food, the juices and the medication causes the immune system to attack and kill tumor tissue, besides working to flush out accumulated toxins from the body tissues. This great clearing-out procedure carries the risk of overburdening and poisoning the liver—the all-important organ of detoxification, which, in a cancer patient, is bound to be already damaged and debilitated.” (Charlotte Gerson, Healing the Gerson Way)

Coffee enemas accomplish this essential task, assisting the liver in eliminating toxic residues from the body. The Gerson Therapy™ also utilizes castor oil to stimulate bile flow and enhance the liver’s ability to filter blood.

Supplements

All medications used in connection with the Gerson Therapy™ are classed as biologicals, materials of organic origin that are supplied in therapeutic amounts. The supplements used on the Gerson Therapy™ include: a specific Potassium compound, Lugol’s solution, Thyroid hormone, Pancreatic Enzymes and Niacin. Each supplement serves a specific biological purpose and is not intended as a substitute for nutritional intake.

Gerson Institute

Gerson Institute

How it works

How It Works

How it Started, Dr. Max Gerson, M.D.

How it Works

Diet

Juices

Detoxification

Supplements

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