The Story Behind Max Gerson (1881-1958)
Max Gerson became a doctor in Germany in 1907. He developed his diet and detoxification treatments for cancers in a round-about way. He initially began experimenting with diet to treat his own recurrent migraine headaches. He developed a diet based on fresh fruits and vegetables that was successful in stopping his own headaches, but when he resumed his normal eating habits, the headaches returned.

When he shared this diet with a patient who suffered from skin tuberculosis, the diet cured his headaches and his skin healed too. Gerson began to treat other patients with skin tuberculosis and other chronic diseases such as arthritis, heart disease, chronic sinusitis, ulcers, colitis, high blood pressure, and psoriasis.

In 1928, a woman with cancer came to Gerson and asked him to treat her. Up to this time, Gerson had not treated any cancer patients and knew little about cancer. The woman insisted, Gerson instructed her on his diet regime and she responded well. Other cancer patients came to Gerson for treatments, some experiencing tumor reduction and/or cancer retardation, until 1933 when Gerson was forced out of Germany by Hitler.

Gerson moved to Vienna, then Paris and then to America. He began treating patients in his New York clinic in 1938 with diet, detoxification and mineral supplementation.

Gerson believed that cancer was a chronic degenerative disease. Because he had observed that impaired liver function always predated the appearance of cancer, he believed that the key to recovery was to restore proper function of the liver. This was done through detoxification. Gerson also believed it important to restore a proper sodium/potassium balance as well as provide oxygen to the cells.

• low protein
• low fat
• low sodium (no salt)
• high in potassium and vitamins

Patients are instructed to eat fresh, organic fruits and to drink fresh, organic juices around the clock. To flood the body with oxidizing enzymes, cancer patients drink an eight-ounce of either carrot, green leaf, or raw calf's liver juice every hour. Juices must be fresh pressed (the oxidizing enzymes are easily destroyed by light and air).

Five glasses of fresh carrot juice contain approximately 220,000 to 275,000 IUs of carotene, a precursor to vitamin A. (4-5 carrots per glass of juice)

Various studies show that large doses of Vitamin A can reduce cancer incidence but excess vitamin A stored in the liver and can cause liver damage. Carotene is nontoxic although large doses can cause the skin to turn orange, a condition called carotenosis. Researchers have also found a lack of vitamin A in tumor tissue.

A typical daily diet:

• Breakfast - oatmeal with fruit
• Lunch and Dinner - salad, vegetable soup, cooked vegetables and a baked potato
• Snacks - fresh fruits and vegetables
• some patients can have limited portions of pot cheese, nonfat yogurt or salt-free buttermilk.

Packaged foods are not allowed. This includes refined, bottled, bleached, powdered, frozen, smoked, salted, canned and artificially colored food products. Drugs (Pain relievers), caffeine (except for enemas), alcohol and tobacco are also prohibited.

Increased bile flow is important in ridding the body of toxins. Bile emulsifies fats so they can be more readily digested. Bile also contains many of the waste products that have been detoxified by the liver.

The liver cleanses the blood of toxins. It also reactivates enzymes that help cells use oxygen in respiration and helps pancreatic enzymes that digest proteins (including proteins that make up cancer cells).

Without the detoxification of these organs, toxins would build up and could poison the patient. Coffee enemas were frequent. Some patients took coffee enemas as often as every two hours.

• vitamin and mineral supplements
• raw calf's liver injections (not part of Gerson's Therapy today)
• potassium solution
• iodine solution
• thyroid extract
• pancreatic extracts
• linseed oil
• vitamin C

Raw liver juice is high in vitamin A

Patients received high levels of potassium from the fresh juices in Gerson's diet. Potassium supplements along with a low sodium diet was also given to lower the concentration of sodium within the cells and increase the level of potassium. Cancer cells readily take up potassium and additional potassium increases the alkalinity of the cell resulting in cell death. (Normally there is a high concentration of potassium on the inside of a cell and high sodium levels outside the cells)

Iodine deficiency has been linked to breast cancer incidence.

Thyroid extract was given along with iodine (Lugol's solution) to damage cancer cells. According to Gerson, these were absorbed by cancer masses along with potassium and the oxidizing enzymes. This combination made it impossible for cancer cells to ferment and they would die.

Pancreatic extracts are given to aid digestion. This is also the reason that the diet is low in protein. Heavy digestion of proteins utilizes certain enzymes that the immune system could be using to break down cancer cells. Improper digestion can also result in toxins.

Gerson realized that his patients needed some fats and so he added two tablespoons of linseed oil to the daily diet. Linseed oil is rich in a type of essential fatty acid that reduces blood viscosity. Low blood viscosity is associated with reduced tendency to metastases.