However, the cooking temperature, so very 
important for the correct preparation of vegetables, is more diffi cult to control on these stoves. Microwave Oven
Because of its speed and apparent efficiency, this gadget has spread to countless kitchens 
in the U.S. and elsewhere, without its serious health hazards becoming known. Since many 
microwave ovens carry an “Underwriter Laboratory” guarantee of safety, the general public is 
led to believe that these ovens are safe to use. But that is not the case. Research carried out in Switzerland and elsewhere has shown that microwaves cause 
harmful chemical reactions in food, damaging nutrients, producing unnatural molecules and 
making natural amino acids toxic. The heat is uneven; it doesn’t reach the middle of solid food, 
but produces ‘hot spots.’ Liquids can overheat and cause severe burns when the food is removed. To make things worse, these ovens emit radiation into the kitchen area even when not in use and 
“cook the cook” (It is an interesting fact that for health reasons microwave ovens were banned in 
the former Soviet Union as far back as 1976!) If you own one, get rid of it. If it is not removable, 
unplug it, and be not tempted to use it under any circumstances. Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author .Page 9 4Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comPots  and utensils
Any contact of food with aluminum causes small amounts (with some vegetables, e.g. tomatoes, large amounts) of aluminum to be dissolved and released into the food. This metal is 
highly toxic; it causes brain damage and is believed to play a role in causing Alzheimer’s. Discard any and all aluminum items and don’t allow aluminum foil to come into contact with 
food. Use stainless steel pots, preferably with heavy “waterless” bottoms; or glass (Pyrex) or 
enameled cast iron pots. Stainless steel cooking utensils or wooden spoons are best; also silver 
flatware, if available. Small amounts of colloidal silver, released from silver forks, spoons and 
knives are valuable stimulants for the immune system. Do not use pressure cookers: they work at a very high temperature that damages nutrients, 
and one of the basic Gerson rules is to cook food very slowly, at a low temperature, to avoid such 
damage. The glaze used on some crockpots is toxic—best steer clear of them. Distillers
Surprising though this may sound, Gerson patients don’t drink water. There are two reasons 
for this. On the one hand, their daily intake of 13 glasses of freshly made organic juices and fluid-
rich soup, salads and fruit provides them with all the top quality nutritious liquid they need. On 
the other hand water would only dilute their already deficient digestive juices, without supplying 
any nutrients. However, water is used in the Gerson Therapy in cooking, to make soups, teas, and 
of course enemas, and it is vitally important to ensure the purity of this water. There are various 
filter systems in the market, including reverse osmosis (R.O. ), which can only be used if the local 
water supply is guaranteed free from highly harmful fluoride. ( see Chapter 5., Pg. 24, pp. 6 ) The 
safest way to ensure freedom from impurities, toxic chemicals and above all fluoride, is to set up 
a home distiller. Many kinds of distillers are available in various price ranges. Choice must depend on cost 
and on the amount of water the household may need. The patient alone will use up 2-3 gallons 
in every 24-hour period; more, if other family members also eat Gerson food and/or wish to use 
enemas. A distiller needs an electric connection and an extra water faucet; many patients install theirs 
in the laundry room or the garage. The machine needs to be detached and cleaned every 3 days. Seeing the sludge left behind will convince anyone of the need to purify water as thoroughly as 
possible. Distillation works by heating water to the point of it becoming steam, which is run through 
a tube that causes it to cool and condense back into water. Since minerals, various impurities and 
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author .Page 9 5Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comadditives do not turn into steam, they stay behind, leaving the cooled, condensed steam free from 
harmful components. However, volatile liquids, such as benzene fractions, also boil away, and 
get condensed back into the purified water. To remove such items, all distillers should contain a 
small tube of carbon pellets, so that when the condensed water drips back into a fresh container, 
it passes through the carbon filter, which removes the unwanted volatile items. It is sometimes claimed by health professionals that distilled water “removes minerals from 
the body” and shouldn’t be used. But they are wrong. The minerals found in water are generally 
inorganic and are therefore poorly absorbed or downright harmful, e.g. sodium or calcium. On the 
other hand, the patient is virtually flooded with the easily absorbed organic minerals contained in 
the large amount of juices drunk throughout the day; the “loss” of minerals contained in tap water 
is actually a gain. Cleaning Chemicals
Cleanliness is of course all important in the Gerson household, but, as stated before, special 
care must be taken not to use toxic products. Here are the ones to avoid:
Chlorine : this is not only bleach, but also a powerful disinfectant, able to kill or control all 
kinds of germs.. For that reason it is present in almost all kitchen cleansers (also in swimming 
pools and in tap water!). Chlorine is harsh and unsafe, able to displace iodine from the thyroid 
gland and must be avoided. There are a few kitchen cleansers that do not contain chlorine—try 
to find one. You can also produce your own by mixing malt vinegar with water, half and half, 
and decanting it into a spray-pump bottle to clean glass or polish kitchen surfaces—but keep off 
wood. Plain soap and hot water are also recommended. To remove lime scale, soak a piece of cotton in white vinegar, wrap it around the faucets in 
your kitchen or bathroom, and leave for 30 minutes. Wash off with soap and water. Clean stainless steel pans with olive oil. The result is stunning, but use the oil sparingly and 
be careful to clean it all off. Solvents : paint solvents, grease or glue solvents are all toxic and damaging to the patient. If 
one has to be used, take it outside and don’t allow it to evaporate in the kitchen. . Dishwasher soap : Most dishwashers are equipped with two wash cycles followed by one 
rinse cycle. Since the Gerson Therapy does not involve the use of greasy food or baking dishes, 
it is best to use one wash cycle and ensure that the soap is cleared by using two rinse cycles. That 
way the dishwasher soap should be completely eliminated, with no toxic residue remaining on 
dishes. Laundry soap & bleach :  If the laundry is washed in a washing machine, more or less the 
same applies as to dishwasher soap. You can use any appropriate soap and even add bleach, if 
needed—as long as it is inside the machine and the patient doesn’t smell it. (If he can smell it, 
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author .Page 9 6Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comhe is getting some into his system.) Then make very sure that the laundry is thoroughly rinsed, 
possibly running a second rinse cycle. Fabric Softeners :  These should be avoided, whether in liquid form or as drying sheets. Either 
way they leave a chemical film, which never washes out completely. They are also irritating to 
sensitive individuals, e.g. asthma sufferers. As a harmless alternative, add 1⁄4 cup of distilled white 
vinegar to the wash cycle. This is said to soften your clothes and also get rid of static cling. If you are washing delicate items (marked: ‘hand-wash’), use a mild soap and wear rubber 
gloves. Dry Cleaning: As this is done outside the home, it doesn’t directly affect the patient. However, when dry-cleaned items are brought home, it is wise to leave them outdoors without 
their plastic covers, to let them air and get rid of any remaining chemical. Aerosols and sprays: Do not use any of these. Once the spray is distributed in the air, it 
is impossible to avoid inhaling it. Obviously the toxic pesticide sprays are the most dangerous. However, any cleaning chemical (window cleaner, oven cleaner) that is sprayed will go into the 
air and be breathed in. If a window cleaner is used, just pour a little on a cloth and wipe the window clean without 
spraying. Oven cleaning is not much of a problem, since the Gerson food is clear of fats and doesn’t 
cause deposits on the oven walls. The Bathroom: Chlorine-containing cleansers should not be used in the bathroom. Disinfect 
with 3% commercial hydrogen peroxide. Choose mild soaps for personal use and avoid spray 
deodorizers. Men should use spreadable shaving soaps, not products sold in aerosol cans or 
sprays. Avoid after-shave lotions and underarm deodorants. (see Chapter 5.on cosmetics, Pg. 26, pp. 5 .) Only use plain white unscented toilet paper. Living area:  Many kinds of toxic damage can be caused inadvertently in the living room. One possible culprit is furniture polish, which c ontains solvent and must be banished. Carpet 
cleaning presents another potential hazard..  Do not use (or allow cleaning services to use) 
chemical cleaners, only soapy solutions. Very serious toxic damage has been caused by new carpeting, most of which is impregnated 
with toxic pesticides or other chemicals to resist staining, etc. If it is absolutely necessary to install new carpeting, track down non-toxic kinds. Several 
manufacturers have been sued for their carpets causing allergic reactions in sensitive people. As 
a result non-toxic carpets are now being produced. An even more dangerous process is termite extermination. Some exterminators use a whole 
house cover and spread gas throughout the building. When the covers are removed, fresh air is 
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author .Page 9 7Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comallowed back in, but a lot of poison is left behind in upholstered furniture, carpets and drapes. It 
takes some six months or so to outgas! There are other, non-toxic methods available:  find out 
about the freezing approach. Living room areas are often routinely treated to “air fresheners” via sprays or a chemical 
solid. Do not use either. Whole house painting: No part of the inside of the house should be painted while the patient 
is recovering. Walls may be washed down with mild soap; stains can be removed with a non-
toxic cleanser. The house may not look perfect; but for the time being the patient’s recovery must 
be given absolute priority. Outdoor garden sprays; agricultural pesticides: Some areas of daily life are beyond the 
caregiver’s control. One of these is having neighbors who spray their gardens with pesticides. If 
and when this happens, make sure that all windows are closed; use the room air cleaner and ozone 
generator to protect the patient. A similar problem is caused by pesticide spraying of agricultural 
areas in the vicinity. In one such case the recovering patient had a serious reaction and suffered a 
recurrence, until she moved away (to live with her sister) for the time being. There she recovered 
again. Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author .Page 9 8Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comCHAPTER 10
Forbidden Foods
“A McDonald’s ‘Breakfast for Under a Dollar’ actually costs much more 
than that. You have to factor in the cost of coronary bypass surgery.”
         George Carlin
Just as some foods, brilliantly combined in the Gerson protocol, are great healers, others are 
strictly excluded from the patient’s diet. In his classic book, A Cancer Therapy—Results of 50 
Cases,  Dr. Gerson gives a long list of “Forbidden Foods.” Actually, “Forbidden Items” would be 
a more accurate title, since the list is not limited to foodstuffs only. Newcomers to the Gerson 
program are understandably puzzled by some of these prohibitions, banning foods that are 
routinely eaten and even considered wholesome by the average “normal” citizen, so let’s see why 
they must be excluded. Rules and regulations are easier to follow if we know the reasons behind 
them. In fact, today’s list of banned substances is longer than Dr. Gerson’s original one. Since 
he wrote his book half a century ago, many changes have occurred that make healthy living 
increasingly difficult. The huge development of the food industry with its vast range of additives, 
freely used in the ever wider assortment of convenience foods, has changed people’s eating habits 
for the worse, exposing consumers to the ill effects of what are politely called food cosmetics. One of the worst, the highly toxic sugar substitute Aspartame, sold as Nutra-Sweet, Spoonful, 
etc., is contained in some 5,000 processed foods found on grocery shelves. Last but far from 
least, all processed foods contain salt, the very substance that causes tissue damage syndrome and 
stimulates tumor growth. (see Chapter 5. pg. 22, pp. 4 )
  Added to this, the products of industrial agriculture carry heavy residues of toxic pesticides, 
herbicides, fungicides, growth promoters, hormones, antibiotics, and any one of the 10,000 
substances allowed to be used by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), supposed to be 
harmless. And indeed some of these substances tested singly  may prove to be harmless, but in 
combination with others, which is how people consume them in the real world, they add up to a 
poisonous cocktail. Let’s remember, all these chemicals are toxic and damaging to the liver, the 
very organ which the Gerson therapy endeavours to heal and restore. Hence these are the two basic rules for Gerson patients: all processed foods,  whether 
they are canned, jarred, bottled, frozen, salted, refined, sulphured, smoked, pickled, irradiated, 
microwaved or otherwise treated, must be strictly avoided. Secondly, only fruits and vegetables 
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author .Page 9 9Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comcertified as “ organic ” must be used, for they are free of agricultural poisons and are grown in 
healthy soil, which contains all the necessary vitamins, enzymes, minerals, trace elements and 
micro-organisms that are needed for optimum health. Admittedly, these days even organically 
cultivated soil does not contain the same level of useful minerals as it did even fifteen years ago, 
but the great amount of organic food and juices that a Gerson patient is given daily makes up for 
the deficiencies. As for the forbidden items, the harmful effects of tobacco and alcohol are too well known to 
need explanation. Next, sodium (salt) and fats of all kinds, except Flax Seed Oil, must be avoided. This, of course, brings into the group of forbidden foods many items that contain one or both of 
these two banned substances, e.g. avocadoes are rich in natural oil= fat. If you bear in mind the 
ban on fats and salt, the following list will make sense without detailed explanations. To simplify matters even further, let’s repeat loud and clear: only foods that contribute to 
health and healing are allowed; all else is banned. Forbidden Foods and Non-Food Items
All processed foods (see above)
Alcohol
Avocados
Berries (except currants)
Bicarbonate of soda in foods, toothpaste and gargle
Bottled and canned commercial beverages (soft drinks) 
Cake, candy, chocolate, all kinds of sweets (high sugar and fats, no nutritional value)
Cheese
Cocoa
Coffee for drinking (except as used in the castor oil treatment)
Cosmetics, hair dyes, permanents (see Chapter 5, pg. 26 )
Cream
Cucumber (poorly digestible)
Dried fruit if sulphured or glazed with oil
Drinking water (see Chapter 9, pg. 80 )
Epsom salts (also for foot baths)
Fats and oils (sole exception: Flax Seed Oil, as prescribed)
Flour (white, wholemeal, also flour products, e.g. pasta)
Fluoride, in water and toothpaste (see Chapter 5, pg. 24 )
Herbs (except permitted ones, see Chapter 12, pg. 94 )
Ice cream, sherbet (artificial flavours, sweeteners, cream)
Legumes (only occasional use in latter part of therapy)
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author .Page 100Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comMilk (also defatted or low fat)
Mushrooms (fungi, not vegetable)
Nuts (high in fats, wrong configuration of proteins)
Orange and lemon rind (contain aromatic oils)
Pickles
Pineapples (high in aromatics)
Salt and all salt substitutes
Soy and all soy products—tofu, soy milk, flour, etc. Spices (high in aromatics)
Sugar (refined white)
Tea (black and green if containing caffeine; black tea is high in natural fluoride)
Dr. Gerson’s total ban on soy and all soy products may sound surprising at first,  since soy has 
the much-publicized reputation of being an ideal vegetarian food, high in protein, low in fat and 
cholesterol, moreover much consumed in the Far East, where cancer incidence is considerably 
lower than in the West. However, the truth behind this commercially motivated publicity is very different (soy is very 
big business in the US, where 60% of supermarket foods contain some form of it). In fact soy 
is high in oil and contains at least 30 allergy-causing proteins, which can cause severe damage 
to susceptible individuals. Soy also contains phytic acid, which blocks the uptake of important 
minerals; enzyme inhibitors, which annul the healing power of the vital oxidizing enzymes 
contained in the juices, and a clot-promoting substance, which causes red blood cells to clump 
together—ample justification for the total exclusion of soy from the Gerson protocol. PLEASE NOTE: Two “home-grown” foods, which became fashionable some twenty years 
ago and are considered wholesome and nutritious, must not be used by Gerson patients. They are 
sprouted seeds and wheatgrass juice, and our experience has shown that unfortunately both have 
harmful side effects. Sprouts were  eaten in large amounts by two Gerson patients at our hospital instead of the 
usual salads at lunch and dinner; within a short time both developed recurrences of their primary 
diseases, i.e., lupus, viz. cervical cancer, after being symptom-free for months. Other lupus 
patients, getting sprouts from the hospital kitchen in their salads and juices, stopped responding 
to the treatment and even got worse. Shortly afterwards researchers discovered that sprouts contain immature proteins, called I-
canavanine, which suppress the immune system. At the Gerson hospital sprouts were immediately 
banned, and the earlier problems disappeared at once. All past patients were also advised to stop 
using sprouts in their diet. Wheatgrass juice contains many valuable nutrients, but it is difficult to digest, tends to 
irritate the stomach and, also because of its strange taste, can only be taken in 1 ounce portions. Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author .Page 101Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comUsed as a rectal implant it can cause serious irritation. Besides, the Gerson green juice, consisting 
of salad greens, chard, a little green pepper, some red cabbage and an apple per 8 ounce glass 
(see Chapter 12, pg. 90 ) is highly digestible, contains similar nutrients, and can be enjoyed in 
four 8 ounce portions a day, without unpleasant side effects—an excellent reason for not using 
wheatgrass juice. Temporarily Forbidden until permitted by Gerson practitioner
Butter, eggs, fish, salt-free defatted cottage cheese, meat, yogurt and other fermented milk 
products. Forbidden Personal & Household Items
Cosmetics (see Chapter 5, pg. 26 ), pesticide sprays, aerosols of all types, fresh paint, new 
carpeting, chlorine bleach, ointments, perfumes, wood preservatives, all chemical cleansers (see 
Chapter 9, pg. 81 .) Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author .Page 102Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comCHAPTER 11
Happy Foods
“Even the highest medicine can cure 
only eight or nine out of ten sicknesses. The sicknesses that medicine cannot cure can be cured only by foods.”
   The Yellow Emperor’ s Classic of Internal Medicine (Chinese, circa 400 B.C.) “Food is better medicine than drugs.”
    Title of book by leading British nutritionist Patrick Holfor
So what IS there to eat?—asks the startled newcomer to the Gerson way of life, after reading 
the list of forbidden foods in the preceding chapter. That is an important question to ponder, 
because it shows how alienated one can become from a natural way of eating, and above all from 
the huge range of available plant foods, rightly called the Vegetable Kingdom (which in this 
instance includes fruits, too.) It is a fair guess that the majority of people in the so-called developed 
world regard vegetables as no more than incidentals that accompany a main course of fish or 
meat, while fruits are only considered if there is no dessert on of fer. Well, this is the moment to think again—and to make some delightful discoveries. The fact is that the plant foods that are the basis of the Gerson regime are much superior to 
animal-based ones. Besides being lighter, more pure, and easier to digest and absorb, each one 
contains a subtle mixture of vitamins, enzymes, minerals, and trace elements, which work in 
synergy, i.e., in cooperation, and supply the depleted organism with valuable nutrients. It is only 
when the non-healing—in fact harmful—food items are excluded that the wide range and variety 
of plant foods becomes clear. And it is not just their usefulness but also their beauty that needs to 
be acknowledged. Try to look at a display of fresh organic fruits and vegetables with the eyes of 
an artist, note the glowing colors and varied shapes of golden carrots, deep red cabbages, creamy 
cauliflowers with their light green collars, beige pears, multicolored apples, translucent green 
grapes—the range is vast, and eye appeal adds a great deal to the enjoyment of the produce. There is another happy surprise that awaits the novice explorer of the Vegetable Kingdom: 
the discovery of the true flavor of vegetables and fruits. At first, without salt and pepper, plant 
foods taste bland and, frankly, boring. Yet they are neither. But a lifetime of excessive use of salt 
deadens the taste buds of the tongue, until they are unable to convey the true taste of any food, 
and even the salt intake has to be increased all the time to have any effect. On the salt-free Gerson 
regime it takes a week or so for the paralyzed taste buds to recover, but once that happens, fruits 
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author .Page 103Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comand vegetables suddenly begin to taste more interesting. At the same time one’s sense of smell 
also becomes more acute and contributes to the enjoyment of every meal. “Let your food be your medicine, and let your medicine be your food ,” said Hippocrates, the 
father of modern medicine some 2500 years ago. We might add: and let your medicine consist of 
happy foods only. Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author .Page 104Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comCHAPTER 12
Preparing Food and Juices –the Basic Rules
“A first-rate soup is more creative than a second-rate painting.”
Abraham Maslow
 Assuming that your kitchen is now fully equipped for your healing Gerson routine and that 
you have banished from your home all forbidden foods and substances, the moment has come to 
find out about the all-important task of food preparation. The rules are simple, but they must be 
observed faithfully to secure the best results. All food must be organic and as fresh as possible. Ideally we should be able to gather fresh 
living food from our own organic gardens; unfortunately this is not an ideal world and we must 
compromise. The next best thing is to shop frequently for salad and leaf vegetables in smallish 
amounts, so there is no need to keep them for any length of time. Apples, pears, oranges and root 
vegetables can be stored for a while without significant loss of quality. The two most important basic rules of food preparation are the following :
1) All foods must be prepared with great care in order to preserve nutrients as much as 
possible. Cooking must be slow, using low heat; high temperatures alter nutrients 
in vegetables and cause them to be less easily absorbed. Vegetables should not be 
peeled—valuable nutrients are contained in or immediately underneath their skins—
only washed or scrubbed well. Except for potatoes, corn and whole beets, which have 
to be boiled in sufficient water, vegetables are cooked with the minimum of water 
or soup stock (see below), or on a bed of sliced onions and tomatoes, which release 
enough moisture to keep the vegetables from burning. Remember that oxidation, 
with loss of nutrients, sets in as soon as you cut into a vegetable or fruit: only start 
chopping when you are ready to cook. 2) Food must be tasty, varied and enjoyable, to make up for being very different from the 
so-called “normal” Western diet. Variety helps to stimulate appetite. It also supplies a 
wide range of minerals and trace elements, needed by the body to heal. Remember the 
importance of eye appeal! Salads in particular can be made truly tempting by mixing 
green leaves with chopped tomatoes and multicoloured peppers, adding radishes and a 
scattering of chives. (For further ideas, see Chapter 28 )
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author .Page 105Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comA small vase of flowers on the dining table can work wonders in making the meal taste even 
better. The Gerson diet strikes a fine balance between raw and cooked foods. The ample main meals 
may suggest to some patients that much of their food is cooked. But this is not the case. Meals 
begin with huge helpings of raw salad and end with raw fruit, and the daily ration of 13 glasses 
of freshly made juice is as raw as can be. Cooked foods are necessary: Dr. Gerson’s experience 
showed that patients do not digest well if given only raw foods along with the juices. In fact, 
cooked foods provide additional variety and enable patients to eat more than they would on an 
exclusively raw diet. They also supply soft bulk, which promotes the digestion of the raw foods 
and juices. The most popular item on the list of cooked foods is the “Special Soup” or Hippocrates 
Soup that helps to detoxify the kidneys and is highly comforting, especially in cold weather. All 
cooked foods serve as a kind of “blotting paper” in the stomach, helping to deal with the constant 
intake of large amounts of juice. Even so, cooked foods only account for some 3 to 4 pounds of 
the patient’s daily consumption, while raw foods, mostly made into juices, represent some 17 
pounds! The All-Important Juices
Only four kinds of juice are used in the treatment of all categories of patients, except for   a 
few minor exceptions. The basic juices are:
• Apple/Carrot juice
• Carrot only juice
• Green juice
• Orange juice
Occasionally, for special cases, a different juice may have to be substituted. For example, 
diabetics receive grapefruit juice instead of orange juice, since grapefruit contains less sugar. Also, sometimes a fruit juice, such as apple juice is given to patients with collagen diseases who 
should not drink citrus juice. Apple/Carrot Juice
Use approximately 8 ounces each of carrots and apples. Wash and brush (do not peal), grind 
to a pulp and place in cloth supplied with the press type juicer to press. Serve and drink immediately. Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author .Page 106Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comCarrot Only Juice
Proceed as above, but use only carrots. Green Juice
Use Romaine, red leaf lettuce, endive, escarole, 2-3 leaves of red cabbage, young inner beet 
tops, Swiss chard, a quarter of a small green pepper, watercress. Add one medium apple when 
grinding. Procure as many of these materials as possible. Do not use substitutes, such as spinach or 
celery, if some of the above items are not available. Grind the material to a pulp and place in cloth for pressing. This juice must be drunk immediately, since its enzymes die quickly. Orange (or Grapefruit) Juice
Use only a reamer type juicer, electric or hand operated. Do not squeeze the peal of the fruit. The aromatic oils contained in the skin are harmful and would interfere with the treatment. The Daily Routine
The typical average daily menu of the Gerson patient is as follows:
 BREAKFAST: a large plate of oatmeal cooked in distilled water and sweetened with a little 
organic honey or pre-soaked unsulphured dried fruit. An 8-ounce glass of freshly squeezed orange 
juice. Some additional raw or stewed fruit. Optional: a slice of organic, unsalted, toasted 100% 
rye bread. LUNCH: a large plate of mixed raw salad with flax seed oil dressing. 8-10 ounces of 
the “special soup.” Baked, boiled, mashed or otherwise prepared potato. 1-2 freshly cooked 
vegetables. Raw or stewed fruit for dessert. DINNER: Follows the same order as lunch but is varied with different vegetables and fruit 
for dessert. PLEASE NOTE: Either at lunch or dinner, after the patient has consumed the necessary 
foods,  he or she may eat a second slice of organic, unsalted, 100% rye bread. However, bread 
should NOT satisfy the appetite or take the place of essential foods. Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author .Page 107Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comBasic Recipes to Start You Off
For a full range of Gerson recipes, please see Chapter 28 . The following instructions are only 
meant to introduce the most fundamental items of the patient’s essential daily menu. BREAKFAST : For one person, put 5 ounces of rolled oats into 12 ounces of distilled water. Start cold, bring to a boil, let simmer for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile squeeze 
orange juice, add prescribed medication(s) (see Chapter 14 ). Serve the oatmeal with pre-soaked 
unsulphured dried fruit, e.g. apricots, apple rings, prunes, raisins and mango. Or use raw or 
stewed apple or stewed plums, or fresh fruit in season, e.g. peaches, nectarines, grapes or pears. (No berries!) Up to two teaspoons a day of permitted sweeteners (raw honey, maple syrup, spray-
dried cane juices sold as Sucanat and Rapadura, or unsulphured molasses) may be used. LUNCH :  For the salad, cut up, slice and mix varied lettuces, such as red lettuce, Romaine, 
escarole, salad bowl and endive. Add to the mixture chopped green onions, radishes, a little 
celery, some tomatoes, cauliflower florets, slices of green pepper and watercress. Dressing:  mix 
1 tablespoonful of flax seed oil (during the first month of the therapy; afterwards reduce to 2 
teaspoonfuls) with apple cider or red wine vinegar, or lemon or lime juice; add garlic to taste. “Special Soup” or Hippocrates Soup
(to be eaten twice daily throughout the treatment.) To save time and effort, prepare enough for two days, i.e., 4 portions. It will keep in the 
refrigerator overnight for the next day. These are the ingredients :
1 medium celery root if available. If not, 3-4 celery branches, i.e., pascal 
1 medium parsley root (rarely available, may be omitted)
2 small or one large leek (if not available, use 2 small onions instead)
2 medium onions
garlic to taste—may also be squeezed raw into the hot soup instead of cooking it
a small amount of parsley
1 1⁄2 pounds of tomatoes (or more, if desired)
1 pound of potatoes. To prepare : wash and scrub vegetables and cut into slices or 1⁄2 inch cubes. Put in lar ge pot, 
add water to just cover vegetables, bring to the boil, then cook slowly on a low heat for 1 1⁄2 to 
2 hours, until all the vegetables are soft. Pass through food mill, to remove fi bers. Let soup cool 
before storing in refrigerator. Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author .Page 108Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comPLEASE NOTE : Many spices are high in aromatic acids, which are irritants and are likely to 
counteract the healing reaction. This is why only the following mild spices are permitted, to be 
used in very small doses: 
Allspice, anise, bay leaves, coriander, dill, fennel, mace, marjoram, rosemary, sage, saffron, 
tarragon, thyme, sorrel, summer savory. In addition, chives, onion, garlic and parsley may be 
used in larger amounts. Two herb teas, chamomile and peppermint, are frequently used by Gerson patients. For details 
please see Chapter 13  and Chapter 16 . Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author .Page 109Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comCHAPTER 13
All About Enemas
To the uninitiated the coffee enema is the most surprising and apparently bizarre element of 
the Gerson Therapy. Critics like to attack and ridicule it, without bothering to find out its purpose 
and function. Yet without this simple tool of detoxification the Gerson method wouldn’t work. Before going into details, let us make clear why this is so. 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 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. It was this recognition that prompted Dr. 
Gerson some 70 years ago to incorporate the coffee enema in the program, for he realized that 
without this additional means of detoxification the liver was in danger of becoming comatose, 
which could severely damage or even kill the patient. How the coffee enema prevents this will be 
explained fully in this chapter. Generally speaking, any kind of enema introduces a substance into the rectum in order to 
empty the bowel, or to administer nutrients or drugs. It is a medical procedure of great antiquity: 
Hippocrates, the Greek “father of modern medicine” prescribed water enemas for several 
conditions some 2600 years ago. In India, enemas were recommended for inner cleansing by 
Patanjali, author of the first written work on yoga, in around 200 B.C. According to tradition, the 
ibis, a sacred bird of Ancient Egypt associated with wisdom, used to administer itself an enema 
with its long curved beak. Closer to our own time, a lady in the court of King Louis XIV of France 
is reported to have taken an enema under her voluminous skirts, and “Le Malade Imaginaire,” 
i.e., The Hypochondriac, in Moliere’s play of the same title, enjoyed an enema on stage. It is 
only in recent times, and mainly in English-speaking countries, that this simple and safe cleansing 
method had fallen into disuse. The use of coffee  as enema material began in Germany towards the end of World War I. (1914-1918).The country was blockaded by the Allies, many essential goods—among them 
morphine—were not available, yet trainloads of wounded soldiers kept arriving at field hospitals, 
needing surgery. The surgeons had barely enough morphine to dull the pain of the operations, but 
none to help patients endure the post-surgical pain; all they could do was to order water enemas 
to be used. Although owing to the blockade coffee was in short supply, there was plenty of it around to 
help the surgeons stay awake during their long spells of duty. The nurses, desperate to ease their 
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author .Page 110Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.compatients’ pain, began to pour some of the leftover coffee into the enema buckets, figuring that since 
it helped the surgeons (who drank it), the soldiers (who didn’t) would also benefit from it. And 
indeed the soldiers reported pain relief. This accidental discovery came to the attention of two 
medical researchers, Professors Meyer and Huebner, at the University of Goettingen in Germany, 
who went on to test the effects of rectally infused caffeine on rats. They found that the caffeine, 
travelling via the hemorrhoidal vein and the portal system to the liver, opened up the bile ducts, 
allowing the liver to release accumulated toxins. This observation was confirmed seventy years 
later, in 1990 by Dr. Peter Lechner, oncologist surgeon at the District Hospital of Graz, Austria, 
after running a six-year controlled test on cancer patients following a slightly modified version of 
the Gerson Therapy. In his report1 he quotes independent laboratory results, identifying the two 
components of coffee that play the major role in detoxifying the liver. (see Chapter 8, pg. 75 )
Dr. Gerson became aware of the benefits of enemas early on in developing his treatment, and 
they have remained a cornerstone of his therapy to this day. It is important to realize that while 
the patient is holding the coffee enema in his or her colon for the suggested 12-15 minutes, the 
body’s entire blood supply passes through the liver every three minutes, i.e., 4-5 times in all, 
carrying poisons picked up from the tissues. These are then released through the bile ducts, due 
to the stimulation of the caffeine. However, in order to leave the body, these toxins still have to 
travel through the small intestine (25-27 feet), through the colon (4-5 feet), and out via the rectum 
and the anus. Naturally on this long trip a small amount of the released toxins is re-absorbed into 
the system and can cause the patient discomfort, especially in the early phase of the therapy, when 
detoxification had only just started. This is the reason why, in the beginning, five or even more 
enemas are taken daily, to keep up the elimination process, and why the more rapid Castor Oil 
Treatment (see below) is also part of the program, for the average patient. Important warning : although high colonics have become fashionable among some 
celebrities, they must not be used by Gerson patients. Already Dr. Gerson had stated this very 
clearly, and we can only reiterate his conclusion. These are the reasons behind the ban:
In high colonics up to 5 quarts of water is forced into the whole length of the large intestine, 
under pressure that can easily distend it. When the water is released, it washes out the fluids, 
enzymes, minerals and other nutrients from the colon, together with the friendly bacteria which 
are vital for good digestion. This can increase the risk of a mineral imbalance. On the other hand, high colonics don’t serve the all-important reason for the use of coffee 
enemas, namely the opening of the bile ducts, which helps the liver to release toxins and 
cleanse itself. On no account should anyone make the mistake of thinking that high colonics are 
interchangeable with coffee enemas. So much for the history and the theoretical background. Now let us see the practicalities. Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author .Page 111Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comBasics, and How to Use Them
The basic components of the coffee enema are these:
1) Organic, medium or light roast drip ground coffee,
2) Filtered, or if from a fluoridated source, distilled water,
3) Enema equipment. The equipment must be carefully chosen, as not all products on the market are suitable. The 
earliest type, the combination syringe, is a rubber hot water bottle, complete with appropriate 
tubing and rectal or vaginal tip. This works well for occasional use or travel, but it is difficult to 
clean. Other rubber bags, not “combination syringes,” have a much wider opening, which makes 
them easier to clean. However, they don’t stand up well to constant use. Most popular among Gerson patients is the plastic bucket, which has an easy to read register 
of ounces, viz. of a quart. This shows how much of the coffee the patient has introduced into 
the rectum. The bucket is easy to clean and has only one drawback: if dropped or cleaned too 
vigorously, it can break and must be replaced. That risk is avoided by choosing a stainless steel bucket, now available at the relatively 
cheap price of about $30, including the needed attachments. It is unbreakable, easy to clean, even 
with very hot water, which shouldn’t be used with the plastic bucket. The rubber tubing needs to 
be replaced occasionally. The only disadvantage of this type is that, not being transparent, one 
cannot check how far the enema process has progressed. The standard mixture for one enema consists of 3 rounded tablespoons of organic , medium or 
light roast drip grind coffee, and 32 ounces of filtered or distilled water. The procedure is to bring 
the water to a boil, add the coffee, let it boil for three minutes, then turn down the heat and let it 
simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Let it cool, then strain through a cloth-lined strainer. (A piece 
of clean white linen or nylon can be used.) Check the amount left after straining and replace the 
water that has boiled away to restore it to one quart. For patients on the therapy it is best to prepare the whole day’s requirement at once, rather 
than cooking each portion separately every four hours. In other words, a coffee concentrate is 
produced, saving much time and effort. This is how it is done: take a pot which holds at least 3 
quarts, put in about two quarts of filtered or distilled water, bring to a boil and add 15 rounded 
tablespoons of coffee, which will be enough for 5 enemas; then proceed as above. After straining 
the liquid, take 5 one-quart jars or juice bottles, and pour the same amount of the concentrate into 
each, then add enough water to make up the volume to 8 ounces. The standard mixture for one enema, i.e., 8 ounces of coffee concentrate and 24 ounces of 
water, making a total of 32 ounces, has to be warmed to body temperature and poured into the 
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author .Page 112Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comenema bucket, having first clamped the tube shut, to stop the liquid from running out. Before 
starting the enema, a small amount of the solution should be released, to clear the tube of air. It is 
a good idea to eat a small piece of fruit, to get the digestive system going, especially before the 
first morning enema. This will provide a little glucose, to raise the low blood sugar after a night’s 
sleep. The more relaxed the patient is, the easier the enema experience will be. That requires 
comfort. Unless a couch or folding camp bed is available, an enema “nest” is made on the 
bathroom floor, with a large soft towel or blanket as its base, covered with an enema mat or a soft 
polyester shower curtain against accidental leaks or spillage, and a pillow or cushion for the head. The bucket is placed at approximately 18 inches above the body, hanging from a hook or standing 
on a stool. The coffee should not flow in too fast or with too much pressure. About 2 inches of the 
tube’s tip is lubricated with Vaseline and gently inserted some 8-10 inches into the anus, and the 
clamp on the tube is released, to let the coffee flow in. The patient lies on his or her right side, legs 
pulled up in the “fetal position,” relaxed and breathing deeply. When all the coffee is absorbed, it 
should be held in for 12-15 minutes, before evacuating.) Many patients enjoy the relaxed comfort of enema time—“Upside Down Coffee,” as some 
call it—and use it to listen to soothing music, meditate or read. One young lady, recovering from 
a brain tumor on the Gerson program over some two years, first read all the main classics, then 
switched to philosophy, followed by mathematics, and subsequently became so well read that she 
won a top scholarship! She also made a full recovery. How Many, How Often? Most ‘regular’ patients, i.e., those not pre-treated with chemotherapy, nor very debilitated, 
are on a four-hourly enema schedule (6 am, 10 am, 2 pm, 6 pm and 10 pm), concurrently drinking 
the prescribed 12-13 glasses of juice. This is absolutely essential. Although the enema reaches 
only part of the colon, it inevitably removes some of the minerals from it, so that without the 
mineral-rich juices an electrolyte imbalance could result. In general, three juices per enema is a 
good guideline. There are times when the four-hourly schedule needs breaking, adding extra enemas to the 
daily routine. Temporarily doing so does not necessitate extra juices. Enemas are excellent pain 
relievers: if a patient is in severe pain, there is nothing wrong with taking one before the four 
hours are up. Also, Dr. Gerson suggested that in some cases, when very large tumors are broken 
down and being absorbed, the patient should take an additional enema during the night, around 
2 or 3 am, to avoid waking up in pain, with a headache, or even in a semi-comatose state in the 
morning. Some patients even take enemas every two hours to control pain, gas, or other kinds of 
discomfort. Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author .Page 113Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comIt is important to remember that coffee enemas do not interfere with the normal activity of the 
colon, producing daily bowel movements. Occasionally patients worry about that, yet their fears 
are groundless. Once the liver and the digestive system are fully restored, normal elimination 
takes over, even in those who had previously suffered from constipation. The Castor Oil Treatment 
As we explained above, the toxins released from the liver by the all-important coffee enema 
still have a long way to travel, down the 25-27 feet long small intestine, then through the 4-5 feet 
of large intestine, before they can leave the body via the anus. In the course of this evacuation it is 
unavoidable that some of the released toxins get re-absorbed. It takes time—sometimes too much 
time—to expel from the body the accumulated residues of years of faulty eating, plus the toxic 
breakdown products of tumors. Time being of the essence on the program, particularly in the case 
of seriously ill patients, Dr. Gerson saw a real need to speed up the elimination process in order 
to reduce the re-absorption to a minimum. To achieve this, and also to clear accumulations in the 
small intestine, which the enema cannot reach, he added the castor oil treatment to the intensive 
therapy. This consists of taking castor oil by mouth as well as by enema, to speed up and reinforce the 
release of toxic residues from the intestinal tract. The patient is awakened at about 5 a.m. to take 
2 tablespoonfuls of castor oil, followed immediately by 1⁄2 to 2/3 cup of regular black coffee (not 
enema coffee or concentrate), sweetened with 1⁄2 teaspoonful of Sucanat or other organic dried 
cane sugar. (Diabetics do not take sugar in this coffee.) People who object to sweetened coffee 
need to understand that the sugar is necessary to activate stomach peristalsis and counteract low 
blood sugar.. Breakfast is taken as usual. Five hours after the oral administration of the oil, at 10 
a.m., a castor oil enema is taken, instead of the normal coffee enema. This is how the castor oil enema is prepared, using a second enema bucket  exclusively 
reserved for this treatment:
Put 4 tablespoonfuls of castor oil into the enema bucket. Add 1⁄4 teaspoonful of ox bile powder 
and stir well to mix thoroughly. Prepare the regular enema mixture of 8 ozs of coffee concentrate, 
plus 24 ounces of purified or distilled water. Warm to body temperature. Get hold of a cake of 
mild toilet soap (NOT detergent), e.g. Lux, Camay or similar, immerse it for a few moments in 
the coffee and rub some of the soap, but no soap chips, into it. Next, mix the slightly soapy enema 
coffee into the castor oil with the ox bile and stir well, to emulsify the solution as well as possible. You may use an electric stirrer, but the somewhat emulsified oil will still rise to the top while you 
are trying to take the enema. In fact, most patients find it impossible to stir the solution vigorously 
enough to keep the oil mixed into the coffee on their own; they need a helper to do that. When the 
coffee plus castor oil is all infused, try to hold the solution for a little while, but you are unlikely 
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author .Page 114Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comto succeed. It doesn’t matter, release when necessary. This enema does its work very fast. The castor oil treatment is taken every other day for the first 4-5 months of the intensive 
therapy, and then slowly reduced. Please Note: patients pre-treated with chemotherapy must 
not use the castor oil treatment. Patients react to the castor oil treatment in widely different ways. For many it is just a mild 
inconvenience—due to the powerful cleansing effect of the oil, on castor oil days it is wise to 
stay close to the bathroom. Others find the taste and weak smell of the oil off-putting. This can 
be mitigated by eating a small piece of fruit before taking the oil, or having half an orange handy 
and sucking it immediately afterwards. Some patients simply add the oil to the cup of coffee, 
then use a straw or a glass tube, inserted into the oil, to get it into the back of the mouth, followed 
immediately by the coffee to chase it down. This is the only occasion in the Gerson program when patients are made to drink  coffee. It 
is done in order to activate the stomach muscles and move the oil out as fast as possible, so that 
the patient is not nauseated for hours while the oil remains in his or her stomach, but is able to 
enjoy breakfast and the juices that follow. A few patients have tried to substitute peppermint or 
some other herb tea for the coffee, but undoubtedly coffee works best and should be taken, even 
by those who don’t normally drink it. Cleaning the Equipment
Like all other tools of the Gerson program, the enema bucket has to be kept clean. But since 
the anus, rectum and colon are  not sterile, the equipment need not be sterilized. After each use the 
bucket has to be rinsed with hot soapy water, running it through the tube as well, and then rinsed 
again thoroughly to remove the soap. Two or three times a week it is wise to put a cup of 3% 
hydrogen peroxide (from the supermarket or drug store) into the bucket with the clamp closed, 
and let it stand overnight to kill any germs or impurities. Rinse it out before the first use in the 
morning. CAUTION: If you keep the plastic tube attached to the bucket, it will eventually become 
loose and even slip off, treating you to an unwanted coffee shower. Check the fit frequently and if 
necessary, cut an inch or so from the loosened end of the tube and replace the tight part. You can 
prevent accidents by removing the plastic tube every time before running hot water through the 
bucket, so that it shrinks back to its original size and remains tightly in position. The bucket reserved for the castor oil treatment is also cleaned as above, but with generous 
use of hot soapy water, in order to get rid of any oily residues. Wipe the inside of the bucket with 
a piece of absorbent paper to finish the cleaning. Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author .Page 115Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comPossible Problems
Many patients learn the enema routine without difficulty and get to enjoy the feeling of 
lightness and added energy yielded by the practice. Others, however, experience difficulties, 
which need to be eliminated. In the following we list some of the problems that may arise. Patients may arrive at the hospital with a massive accumulation of stools in their colon, caused 
by the use of heavy pain-killing drugs, including morphine. These tend to paralyze peristalsis (the 
alternate contraction and relaxation of the intestine, by which the contents are propelled onward), 
causing severe constipation. As a result, these patients are unable to take in a quart (32 ounces) of 
the coffee solution, let alone hold it in. The answer for them is to take whatever amount they can 
comfortably accommodate, stop, and hold this as long as possible, even if only for a few minutes; 
then release, and take the remaining coffee solution. Again, hold it and release after 12-15 
minutes. As a rule, after two or three days, when the colon has been cleared of old accumulations, 
the enemas can be taken and held without difficulty. Some patients may suffer from gas retention, which stops the enema from getting into the 
colon. When that happens, a small amount—say 6-10 ounces—of the coffee can be infused, after 
which the bucket is lowered to the patient’s level, allowing the coffee to flow back into the bucket. This often releases the gas, causing some ‘bubbling’ in the bucket. Next the bucket is raised again, 
and after the clearing of the gas the enema can continue more easily . The patient is supposed to take the enema lying on his/her right side, in order to help the 
coffee solution to get into the transverse colon from the descending colon. But as a result of 
surgery, arthritis or tumors, the right side may be too painful to lie on. In such a case the patient 
has to lie on his/her back, with the legs pulled up, and proceed from that position. If a patient suffers from severe irritation of the colon, a small portion of the coffee concentrate, 
say  2-4 ounces, can be diluted with chamomile tea instead of water. The smaller amount of coffee 
will still help to detoxify the liver, while the chamomile tea soothes the colon. There is no time 
limit for the use of chamomile tea. In case of severe diarrhea, an enema of chamomile tea only is 
used for gentle cleansing morning and evening
To prepare chamomile tea , put 1 ounce of the dried flower heads into a glass dish, add 1 
pint of boiling water, cover the dish and stand it in a warm place, letting it infuse for 15 minutes. Strain, cool and store it in a stoppered bottle for a maximum of three days. Increase amounts in the 
above proportion, as required. Chamomile is one of the herbs most used in the Gerson Therapy, 
both as an enema component and as an herbal drink. Sometimes a patient has been doing enemas for the first few days of the treatment without 
a problem, but suddenly he/she cannot get more than 8-12 ounces into the colon. This may be a 
symptom of a healing reaction or flare-up, and the solution is to take what is possible, release it, 
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author .Page 116Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comand take the rest. Even if the coffee solution has to be infused in three small amounts, it doesn’t 
matter. Flare-ups are dealt with in detail in Chapter 16 . In brief, they occur when so much bile is 
released that the intestine is unable to contain it all. The bile then overflows and backs up into the 
stomach. Since the stomach needs to be acid in order to hold and digest food, the highly alkaline 
bile produces enormous discomfort: the stomach cannot hold food or liquid, and the patient 
vomits. In itself this type of flare-up is welcome, because it clears out a lot of toxic bile—but 
in the process the stomach membrane becomes irritated and needs instant relief. To do that, the 
patient needs to drink as much peppermint tea as possible. At the same time the coffee enemas are 
reduced, since they are causing the heavy flow of bile. The correct order for the next 2-3 days is 
two chamomile enemas and only one coffee enema a day, until the nausea and vomiting clear up. Then the regular schedule can be resumed. During the flare-up, if the patient vomits and also has diarrhea, the body loses a lot of fluid, 
so dehydration must be prevented. One way is to use more chamomile enemas instead of coffee. Also, the carrot/apple and green juices can be used as rectal implants. The regular 8-ounce dose 
of juice is warmed to body temperature, by standing the glass in a warm water bath (NOT on the 
stove, and without diluting it), and gently infused into the rectum. This is not an enema,  and the 
patient should hold it until the liquid is absorbed. That may not take more than 10-15 minutes 
of lying still in bed. These infusions can be used with all the juices, even every hour, instead of 
having them as drinks—particularly valuable at times when during the flare-up the patient cannot 
even bear to look at a juice, let alone drink it. Please note: do not infuse orange juice into the 
rectum. Another problem occurs when the patient takes in the full 32 ounces of coffee solution, but 
after 12 minutes is unable to release it. When that happens, the usual reaction is to take another 
enema, expecting it to push out the first lot. But that doesn’t happen, and the patient tends to 
panic. The reason of the blockage is that the colon spasms, cramps and doesn’t release the liquid. Of course there is no danger in this: the colon could actually hold up to 5 quarts—but that is 
not the point. If the trouble is caused by cramping, the patient needs to lie down on his/her side, 
with a warm water bottle on the stomach, and try to relax. If that doesn’t put things right, a small 
amount of castor oil can be applied to the rectum; this usually promotes relaxation and release. However, if the situation lasts a little longer, including the time for the next enema, it helps to put 
2 tablespoonfuls of the regular potassium compound (see Chapter 14 ) into each enema for a few 
days. This will help to release the cramping and/or spasming. Please note:  do not use this method 
for more than 2-3 days, to avoid irritating the rectum and the colon. It is only when they are on the regular enema routine that patients realize how much waste 
material their bodies have stored over many years. Once the organism gets a go-ahead in the 
direction of self-cleansing, it does release a variety of strange, disturbing accumulations which 
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author .Page 117Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comappear in the enema returns, including a wide range of parasites. Experts claim that some 85% 
of us harbour parasites in our colon, which are best expelled. So the message is not to panic, if 
the enema returns contain unusual substances: they prove that detoxification and cleansing is 
progressing well. IMPORTANT NOTE: For patients who have been pre-treated with chemotherapy, the enema 
schedule is reduced. It has become evident that such patients must be detoxified more slowly and 
cautiously, so as not to release all the remaining toxic chemotherapy residues too rapidly, which 
would add up to a dangerous overdose. Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author .Page 118Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comCHAPTER 14
Medications
For the general public, “medications” normally mean drugs, used in allopathic medicine in the 
treatment of disease. In acute cases and emergencies many drugs are life-saving and highly 
valuable. But when it comes to chronic conditions, as a rule the synthetic drugs, which are alien 
to the body, can merely alleviate, i.e., suppress symptoms without dealing with the basic cause. This process is often accompanied by severe side effects, which may require more drugs to 
control. The medications used in the Gerson Therapy belong to a totally different category. Far from 
being drugs, they are nutritional supplements, consisting of natural substances present in, and 
needed for, the normal functioning of the various body systems. Being natural, they have no 
damaging side effects. Their purpose is to make up for the deficiencies of the sick body, until it 
recovers sufficiently to cover all its needs. So pure are these substances that even if by mistake 
they are incorrectly used, in excessive or insufficient doses, they do no harm—with the exception 
of the thyroid/iodine supplementation, which must be correctly adjusted. Let us take them one by one and explore their purpose. Potassium Compound
Dr. Gerson found that the basic problem in all chronic degenerative diseases is the loss of 
potassium from, and the penetration of sodium into the cells, now known as t he tissue damage 
syndrome. The average diet in most countries, especially in the developed world, contains far 
too much salt (sodium), which eventually causes the breakdown of the healthy balance within 
the body. To correct this, Dr. Gerson added a large amount of potassium (a 10% solution of three 
potassium salts) to the already potassium-rich organic vegetarian diet, and observed that this 
enabled the sick body to release the excess sodium, together with edema, while also reducing high 
blood pressure and, in most cases, pain. To prepare the compound,  100 grams of three ready-mixed potassium salts are dissolved in 
one quart of distilled water and stored in a dark glass bottle, or in a clear one kept inside a large 
brown or black paper bag, to keep out all light. On the full intensive therapy 4 teaspoonfuls of the potassium compound are added to 
ten of the freshly prepared fruit and/or vegetable juices. This dosage is reduced after 3-4 
weeks to 2 teaspoonfuls in each of ten juices. In seriously ill patients it takes many months, even 1-2 years, to restore normal potassium 
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007. All rights reserved.
Healing_the_Gerson_Way.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        However, the cooking temperature, so very 
important for the correct preparation of vegetables, is more diffi cult to control on these stoves. Microwave Oven
Because of its speed and apparent efficiency, this gadget has spread to countless kitchens 
in the U. S. and elsewhere, without its serious health hazards becoming known. Since many 
microwave ovens carry an “Underwriter Laboratory” guarantee of safety, the general public is 
led to believe that these ovens are safe to use. But that is not the case. Research carried out in Switzerland and elsewhere has shown that microwaves cause 
harmful chemical reactions in food, damaging nutrients, producing unnatural molecules and 
making natural amino acids toxic. The heat is uneven; it doesn’t reach the middle of solid food, 
but produces ‘hot spots. ’ Liquids can overheat and cause severe burns when the food is removed. To make things worse, these ovens emit radiation into the kitchen area even when not in use and 
“cook the cook” (It is an interesting fact that for health reasons microwave ovens were banned in 
the former Soviet Union as far back as 1976. ) If you own one, get rid of it. If it is not removable, 
unplug it, and be not tempted to use it under any circumstances. Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author. Page 9 4Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www. thegersonway. comPots  and utensils
Any contact of food with aluminum causes small amounts (with some vegetables, e. g. tomatoes, large amounts) of aluminum to be dissolved and released into the food. This metal is 
highly toxic; it causes brain damage and is believed to play a role in causing Alzheimer’s. Discard any and all aluminum items and don’t allow aluminum foil to come into contact with 
food. Use stainless steel pots, preferably with heavy “waterless” bottoms; or glass (Pyrex) or 
enameled cast iron pots. Stainless steel cooking utensils or wooden spoons are best; also silver 
flatware, if available. Small amounts of colloidal silver, released from silver forks, spoons and 
knives are valuable stimulants for the immune system. Do not use pressure cookers: they work at a very high temperature that damages nutrients, 
and one of the basic Gerson rules is to cook food very slowly, at a low temperature, to avoid such 
damage. The glaze used on some crockpots is toxic—best steer clear of them. Distillers
Surprising though this may sound, Gerson patients don’t drink water. There are two reasons 
for this. On the one hand, their daily intake of 13 glasses of freshly made organic juices and fluid-
rich soup, salads and fruit provides them with all the top quality nutritious liquid they need. On 
the other hand water would only dilute their already deficient digestive juices, without supplying 
any nutrients. However, water is used in the Gerson Therapy in cooking, to make soups, teas, and 
of course enemas, and it is vitally important to ensure the purity of this water. There are various 
filter systems in the market, including reverse osmosis (R. O. ), which can only be used if the local 
water supply is guaranteed free from highly harmful fluoride. ( see Chapter 5. , Pg. 24, pp. 6 ) The 
safest way to ensure freedom from impurities, toxic chemicals and above all fluoride, is to set up 
a home distiller. Many kinds of distillers are available in various price ranges. Choice must depend on cost 
and on the amount of water the household may need. The patient alone will use up 2-3 gallons 
in every 24-hour period; more, if other family members also eat Gerson food and/or wish to use 
enemas. A distiller needs an electric connection and an extra water faucet; many patients install theirs 
in the laundry room or the garage. The machine needs to be detached and cleaned every 3 days. Seeing the sludge left behind will convince anyone of the need to purify water as thoroughly as 
possible. Distillation works by heating water to the point of it becoming steam, which is run through 
a tube that causes it to cool and condense back into water. Since minerals, various impurities and 
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007.
Because it can cause harmful chemical reactions in food, damage nutrients, and produce unnatural molecules and toxic amino acids.
Why is it important to avoid using a microwave oven?
Unplug it and do not use it under any circumstances.
What should you do if you have a microwave oven and can't remove it?
Do not use chlorine-containing cleansers. Instead, use 3% commercial hydrogen peroxide to disinfect.
What is the recommended method for cleaning the bathroom?
To open up the bile ducts, allowing the liver to release accumulated toxins.
What is the purpose of the coffee enema in the Gerson Therapy?
If you experience difficulties, do not panic. It is normal to release unusual substances in the enema returns, as it proves that detoxification and cleansing is progressing well.
What should you do if you experience difficulties with the enema routine?