How Nutrition Heals Cancer
Dr. Gerson’s program of nutrition heals is
an alternative approach to treating cancer where all the body systems are
restored to full function, killing the cancer cells and bringing restoration to
the liver and body.
The following nutritional diet for treating
cancer has been developed by Max Gerson, M.D. This nutritional diet has become
an alternative option for fighting cancer.
Proper nutrition is a primary reason for the
Gerson Therapy’s effectiveness against cancer and other chronic illnesses.
Along with nutrition, one must also do coffee enemas to rid the body of toxins.
See coffee enemas.
The Gerson therapeutic program of treating
cancer is often considered a natural, holistic, or alternative option.
The therapeutic goal of
metabolic therapies such as Dr. Gerson’s alternative approach to treating cancer
is to rebuild and revitalize all of the body’s life-sustaining functions,
thereby helping to stop and reverse cancer or to prevent a recurrence.
The Gerson nutrition program has been
proven for reversing acute and chronic degenerative diseases such as
It is quite well known and highly respected
in the industrialized countries of Europe and Asia.
Three-quarters of the nutritional foods which should be consumed to bring
restoration to the body include the following:
All kinds of
fruits, mostly fresh and some prepared in different ways
prepared fruit juices
vegetables freshly prepared,
in their own juices
either raw or finely grated, such as carrots, cauliflower or celery
Some dried fruits and
vegetables are permitted but no frozen ones.
Potatoes are best when
baked; the contents may be mashed with nonfat yogurt or salt-free soup. They
should never be fried and preferably boiled in their jackets.
Salads of green leaf or
mixed with tomatoes, fruits, vegetables, etc.
Bread should contain whole
rye or some (up to 20%) whole wheat flour, or these may be mixed; it should be
refined as little as possible.
Oatmeal should be used
freely. Buckwheat cakes and potato pancakes are optional, as are brown sugar,
honey, maple sugar and maple candy.
No baking powder or baking
soda may be used, even in cooking.
Milk and milk products,
such as pot cheese and other kinds of cheese which are not salted or spiced,
buttermilk, nonfat yogurt and butter may be used but very limited when you reach
the maintenance level of treating cancer.
Cream and ice cream should
be reduced to a minimum or restricted to holidays. Ice cream is “poison” for
The remaining one-fourth
of the dietary regimen during maintenance of treating cancer, which allows for
personal choice, may consist of
one likes best.
Nicotine should be
avoided. Liquors, wine and beer should be reduced to a minimum in favor of
fresh fruit juices. Coffee and tea should be cut to a minimum with the
exception of the following herb teas: peppermint, chamomile, linden flower,
orange flower, and a few others.
Salt, bicarbonate of soda,
smoked fish and sausage should be avoided as much as possible, as should sharp
condiments such as pepper and ginger.
Fresh garden herbs should
be used -- onions, parsley leaves, chives, celery and even some horseradish.
As for vegetables and
fruits, they should, I repeat, be stewed in their own juices to avoid the loss
of minerals easily dissolved in water during cooking. It seems that these
valuable minerals are not so well absorbed when they are out of their colloidal
All vegetables except
mushrooms and cucumbers may be used.
Especially recommended for
their mineral content are carrots, peas, tomatoes, swiss chard, spinach, string
beans, brussel spouts, artichokes, beets cooked with apples, cauliflower with
tomatoes, red cabbage with apples, raisins, etc.
The best way to prepare
vegetables is to cook them slowly for one and one-half to two hours, without
water using stainless steel waterless cookware. You may also use some
stock of “Hippocrates” soup (see recipes)
or else onions or sliced tomatoes may be added to the vegetables. This also
will improve the taste.
Spinach water is too
bitter for use. It generally is not liked and should be drained off. Onions,
leeks and tomatoes have enough liquid of their own to keep them moist while
cooking. Beets should be cooked like potatoes, in their jackets and with
Wash and scrub vegetables
thoroughly, but do not peep or scrape them.
Stainless steel waterless
cookware must be tightly covered to prevent steam from escaping. Covers must be
heavy or close fitting. Do not use pressure cookers.
Cooked vegetables may be
kept in the refrigerator overnight. Warming the cooked vegetables, you may heat
slowly with a little soup or fresh tomato juice.
to alternatively treat cancer through nutrition and coffee enemas. According to
the Gerson protocol I had to change almost everything about my nutrition and how
I was preparing food.
at the same time I knew that what Dr. Gerson recommended is very much like our
parents and grandparents prepared food.
knew that cancer was not as prevalent as it is now. Could there be a
correlation between nutrition and the preparation of food and cancer?
as a Metabolic Healing Procedure
“Enzymes”, by Dixon and
Webb gave evidence of the problems caused by sodium penetration. 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 inhibitor, or blocking substance. With the penetration of
sodium into the cell, and therefore into tissues, often the enzyme function is
inhibited and the normal tissue activity becomes disturbed or at worst, blocked.
While a minimum of sodium
is needed by the body for normal function, this inorganic substance is also
considered to be an extra-cellular mineral, since it must remain outside of body
cells in their fluids.
Potassium is the
intracellular miners, since it is needed for metabolism within body cells. When
the extra-cellular/intracellular balance is disturbed, health problems start
from the damage to the cells.
vegetarian nutrition, plant material of all kinds contains quite adequate
amounts of sodium to satisfy our needs.
problem is that, in the course of canning, bottling, preserving, freezing, and
all other forms of food processing, as well as during the usual procedure of
cooking, potassium is depleted and salt (sodium chloride) is invariably added to
The addition of sodium
constitutes an excess. The body is normally able to excrete excess sodium
through the kidneys and feces.
When the body becomes
overwhelmed daily, year after year, with huge amounts of excess sodium, there
comes a point when the body’s ability to excrete this excess is reduced or
there is to much sodium in the body a person’s
the liver, are damaged.
The result is symptoms of
illness and the creation of disease dysfunction.
The first thing Dr. Gerson
did in treating cancer was to eliminate all added salt (sodium) from his own and
his patients’ diet. He then added salt-free vegetarian diet a freshly pressed
glass of organic vegetable juice taken hourly, thirteen times a day.
the body’s sodium/potassium tissue balance became one of Dr. Gerson’s key
metabolic healing procedures.
diligently followed this alternative nutritional regime, my body began to be
restored and energy and vitality followed shortly thereafter.
learned to enjoy the natural flavor of food. It has become a treat to
experiment with the natural flavors without the salt and other seasonings.
Nutritional Supplements to
Treat Cancer and other Multiple Health Problems
Dr. Gerson helped his
patients’ damaged body functions by adding certain digestive enzymes, plus
thyroid and iodine, to activate the immune system.
Furthermore, because many
individuals were so seriously depleted, he added potassium to an already high
potassium diet. He also supported the individuals’ livers with liver powder
capsules and liver injections and helped produce adequate red blood cells with
extra vitamin B12. See blood
It is important to note
that with the full application of the Gerson Therapy, all the body systems are
restored to full function.
Gerson’s healing program for treating cancer is a total metabolic approach, not
a single treatment for a specific symptom of a disease. His alternative
protocol includes nutrition and detoxification of the liver.
Around every cancer tumor
or arthritic joint, in most chronic viral conditions such as genital herpes, and
in other long-standing pathologies, it has been discovered that there is lost
The individuals’ tissues
which have lost potassium do gain sodium and swell with too much water.
sick cell potassium, and it gets well. Then restrict animal protein, and it
becomes even healthier.
By restricting sodium and
substituting elevated amounts of potassium by eating fresh fruit and vegetable
diet, Dr. Gerson was able to bring about absorption of cellular edema. The
swellings disappeared by eliminating the tissue damage syndrome that surrounds
not only tubercular tissue but also tumor tissue.
began to think clearly about the rationale of what Dr. Gerson was saying about
nutrition and the detoxification of the liver it made sense.
begin to understand how my body would heal itself. It is an alternative
approach to treating cancer that made sense. The Gerson therapy allowed me to
incorporate good nutrition into our daily life style. My health as well as the
health of my family improved.
now attest to the wonderful health changes not only for myself but also for my
Gerson therapy of treating cancer creates a physiological situation in which
distressed cells slowly return to normal. What brings this about is the
un-spiced low-sodium, high-potassium diet required by the Gerson therapy.
Gerson nutritional diet
works therapeutically – nothing else known in
naturopathic, homeopathic, or other form of medicine achieves these same
beneficial effects in damaged cells.
repeat, this nutritional diet developed by Max Gerson, M.D., is a primary reason
for the Gerson Therapy’s effectiveness against cancer and other chronic
It is an
alternative choice that cleanses the liver through nutrition and detoxification.
For more details and
information, please acquire Dr. Max Gerson’s books.
Gerson Therapy, Charlotte Gerson and Morton Walker
Therapy: Fifty Cases, Max Gerson
Protein Restriction, metabolism, and metabolic speedup and
how it affects the immune system and the fight
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