Probably the best known dietary approach to cancer treatment, Gerson is a demanding regime of immune boosting and detoxification through diet and enemas.

Gerson Therapy focuses on the role of minerals, enzymes, hormones and other dietary factors in restoring health and well being. It is a natural treatment that boosts your own immune system to heal itself.

Drinking glasses of freshly prepared juices daily, having a vegetarian diet of organically grown fruits and vegetables and eating whole grains are part of the daily regime. Coffee or chamomile enemas are recommended on a regular basis to detoxify the body. Various supplements and enzymes are modified to meet the specific needs of an individual patient.

Dr. Gerson’s Therapy became known in the 1930s as he was successful in treating a type of skin tuberculosis. He originally developed his diet to treat his own migraine headaches but then went on to use it with many other chronic and systemic diseases, including cancer. Gerson believed that cancer disturbed the body’s normal balance of sodium to potassium. This is usually already disturbed by today’s modern diet. His therapy called for foods low in sodium (salt) and yet high in potassium, vitamins A and C and oxidising enzymes. His priority was to eliminate the excess sodium in the body as this he believed was responsible for altering the cells’ chemistry and allowing cancerous tumours to grow.

Science:

Five-year survival rates of melanoma patients treated by diet therapy after the manner of Gerson: a retrospective review

Opinion piece critiquing “Living Proof” book:Living proof and the pseudo-science of alternative cancer treatments

Cautions: The Gerson regimen can be rigorous and difficult to follow. It’s important that if a patient with cachexia has chosen to follow this regimen, they are monitored for adequate protein intake and blood sugar control, which can be compromised by the intake of fruit juice.

Supplier of Gerson medications and literature: 01525 875739. Advice on Gerson Therapy: 001 619 685 5353 U.S 1-888-4GERSON. See other Gerson organisations listed in this directory.

The Gerson Institute – Founded in 1978, the Gerson Institute was created to spread awareness of the Gerson Therapy with a global source of information, licensing, training and patient support for treating the underlying causes of disease: toxicity and nutritional deficiency.

For more research and science on Gerson Regimen, visit CancerChoices