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 2Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comContents
About This Book ............................................................... ............................................ 12
An Important Message to the Reader ............................................................... ......... 13
  
 Chapter 1
The Story Begins ............................................................... ................................................ 15
   Chapter 2
The Therapy Moves On ............................................................... ..................................... 20
Chapter 3
Knowing the Enemy ............................................................... ........................................... 23
Toxicity  23
Deficiency  24
Chapter  4
The Body’s Defenses ............................................................... .......................................... 26
The Immune System  26
The Enzyme System  27
The Hormone System  28
The Essential Organs  28
The Mineral Balance  29
Chapter 5
Breakdown of the Body’s Defenses ............................................................... ................... 31
Chemical Agriculture  31
Drugs  34
Food Additives  35Copyright © 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 3Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comAspartame  36
MSG (Monosodium glutamate)  36
Transfats  37
Fluoride  38
Nicotine and Alcohol  40
Cosmetics  40
Immunization—Vaccination  42
Electro-Magnetic Fields  43
Stress—the Enemy Within  44
Chapter 6
Diseases  of  Modern  Civilization ............................................................... .................... 46
Part I 
Defeating the Killers  47
Cancer  47
Heart and Circulatory Disease  50
The Role of Cholesterol in Heart Disease  51
Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)  53
Diabetes  54
Part II
Confronting Chronic Conditions  56
Chronic Immune-Deficiency Diseases  57
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome  57
Multiple Sclerosis  58
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)  59
Hepatitis B & C  60
Collagen Diseases  60Copyright © 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 4Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comSystemic Lupus Erythematosus  61
Rheumatism; Arthritis  62
Scleroderma  63
ASSORTED ENEMIES OF HEALTH
Asthma  63
Allergies and Food Intolerance  64
Addiction  65
Hyperactivity  67
Depression  67
Crohn’s Disease  69
Migraine  69
Endometriosis  70
Morbid Obesity  71
Osteoporosis  73
Teeth  75
Fibromyalgia  78
Part III
Diseases Difficult to Cure with the Gerson Therapy:  79
Diseases Not Curable by the Gerson Therapy:  80Copyright © 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 5Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comChapter 7
Restoring the Body’s Defenses ............................................................... .......................... 84
Chapter 8
Why Does The Gerson Therapy Work? ............................................................... ........... 87
Chapter 9
The Gerson Household ............................................................... ...................................... 91
Juice Machines  91
Taking Care of Your Juice Machine  92
Stove & oven—electric or gas  93
Microwave Oven  93
Pots  and utensils  94
Distillers  94
Cleaning Chemicals  95
Chapter 10
Forbidden Foods ............................................................... ................................................ 98
Forbidden Foods and Non-Food Items  99
Chapter 11
Happy Foods ............................................................... ..................................................... 102
Chapter 12
Preparing Food and Juices –the Basic Rules ............................................................... .104
The All-Important Juices  105
Apple/Carrot Juice  105
Carrot Only Juice  106
Green Juice  106
Orange (or Grapefruit) Juice  106
The Daily Routine  106Copyright © 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 6Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comBasic Recipes to Start You Off  107
“Special Soup” or Hippocrates Soup  107
Chapter 13
All About Enemas ............................................................... ............................................ 109
Basics, and How to Use Them  111
How Many, How Often? 112
The Castor Oil Treatment  113
Cleaning the Equipment  114
Possible Problems  115
Chapter 14
Medications ............................................................... ....................................................... 118
Potassium Compound  118
Thyroid and Lugol’s Solution  119
Chapter 15
Pain Control Without Drugs ............................................................... ........................... 122
Clay (mud) packs  122
Castor Oil packs  123
The “Triad”  123
Hyperthermia (Hydrotherapy)  123
Oxygen Treatments  124
Rebounding  125Copyright © 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 7Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comChapter 16
Understanding Healing Reactions ............................................................... ................. 126
Chapter 17
The Full Therapy ............................................................... ............................................. 131
Hourly Schedule  131
Annual Schedule  132
Chapter 18
Adapting the Therapy for Chemo-Pretreated
and Severely Weakened Patients ............................................................... .................... 133
Chapter 19
The Gerson Therapy for Non-Malignant Diseases ...................................................... 137
CHAPTER 20
Things to Remember ............................................................... ........................................ 139
Orthodox Cancer Treatments  139
Surgery  139
Diagnostic Surgery  140
Radiation  141
Chemotherapy  142
Breast Implants  143
Household Help  143
The Trouble With Sunshine  145
Complementary Therapies  145
CHAPTER 21
Watch Out—Pitfalls Ahead ............................................................... ............................. 148
Save Up Your Energy! 148Copyright © 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 8Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comBending the Rules  149
Being Firm With Friends…  150
…And With Friendly Doctors  150
Flare-Ups and Mood Swings  150
Water Warning  151
Mind What You Read  151
Cutting Corners  152
CHAPTER 22
Frequently Asked Questions ............................................................... ........................... 153
CHAPTER 23
Life After Gerson ............................................................... ............................................. 162
Eating Wisely  162
The Art of Maintenance  163
CHAPTER 24
Psychological Support for the Gerson Patient ............................................................. 165
Fear Is The Enemy  166
The Role of Stress  167
First Aid for the Mind  168
Clearing the First Hurdle  169
Help Comes from the Body  170
Problems on the Path  171
CHAPTER 25
Overcoming Stress and Tension ............................................................... ...................... 173
Minding the Body  173
Matters of the Mind  174Copyright © 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 9Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comCHAPTER 26
Gerson Lab Tests Explained ............................................................... ........................... 177
The Serum Calcium Laboratory Test  177
The Serum Phosphates Laboratory Test  178
The Serum Sodium Laboratory Test  179
The Serum Potassium Laboratory Test  180
The Serum Chloride Laboratory Test  181
The Lactic Dehydrogenase (LDH) Laboratory Test  181
The Aspartate Transaminase/Serum  182
The Serum Bilirubin Laboratory Test  182
The Serum Gamma-Glutamyl  183
Transpeptidase (GGT) Laboratory Test  183
The Acid Phosphatase Laboratory Test  183
The Alkaline Phosphatase (AP) Laboratory Test  184
The Alanine Transaminase, Serum  185
The Total Serum Cholesterol Laboratory Test  185
The Lipoprotein/Cholesterol  186
Fractionation Laboratory Test  186
The Serum Triglycerides Laboratory Test  186
The Serum Protein Electrophoresis Laboratory Test  187
The Serum Creatinine Laboratory Test  187
The Serum Uric Acid Laboratory Test  188
The Glucose, Fasting Blood Sugar  188
(FBS) Laboratory Test  188
The Serum Iron And Total Iron- Binding Capacity Laboratory Test  189
The Erythrocyte (Red Blood Cell, RBC) Count  190
The Total Hemoglobin (HgB)  190
Laboratory Test  190Copyright © 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 1 0Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comThe Hematocrit (Hct)  191
Laboratory Test  191
The Erythrocyte Indices Laboratory Test  191
The Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR)  191
The Platelet Count  192
The Leukocyte (White Blood Cell, WBC) Count  193
The White Blood Cell Differential  193
The Routine Urinalysis  194
CHAPTER 27
CASE HISTORIES OF RECOVERED PATIENTS .................................................... 195
Highly aggressive Lymphoma  196
Endometriosis Turning into Cervical Cancer  197
Breast Cancer  197
Breast Cancer with Liver Metastases  198
Breast Cancer Recurrence After Chemo and Radiation  198
Melanoma  199
Recurrent Melanoma  199
Colo-Rectal Cancer with Liver Metastases  200
Pancreatic Cancer  200
Prostate Cancer  201
Prostate & Bone Cancer, and a case of Lung Cancer  201
Astrocytoma  202
Nicotine Addiction  203
Esophageal Cancer  203
A Whole Family Recovers: Breast and Prostate Cancer, and Pleurisy  204
Ewing’s Sarcoma  205Copyright © 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 1 1Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comCHAPTER 28
Gerson Therapy Recipes ............................................................... ................................. 206
Introduction  206 
Dips  208
Appetizers  209
Dressings  213
Salads  217
Soups  234
Vegetables and Potatoes  242
Desserts  282
Recommended Reading ............................................................... ............................. 286Copyright © 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 1 2Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comABOUT THIS BOOK
There is a split right down the middle of modern medicine. One half, boosted by dazzling high 
technology, shows brilliant results in handling acute diseases and emergencies. The other 
half, dealing with chronic degenerative conditions is lagging behind, unable to offer more than 
symptomatic treatment for the most widespread distressing conditions, ranging from cancer, heart 
disease and hypertension to diabetes, arthritis, morbid obesity and many more. It is assumed that 
these and other “diseases of modern civilization” are both inevitable and incurable. This book contradicts all such assumptions. As a complete guide to the theory and practice 
of the Gerson Therapy, developed over eighty years ago by Dr. Max Gerson, M.D., (1881-1959), 
it shows that the increasingly denatured, nutritionally empty, toxic modern diet is the main cause 
of today’s worsening health crisis. “ Healing the Gerson Way”  offers the solution, in the form of 
a brilliant, precision-built nutritional program that eliminates the underlying causes  of disease, 
leading to lasting cures. This program is best known for its success in curing many types of cancer, 
but it also has an excellent track record with a large number of other degenerative conditions. These days cancer researchers all over the world produce results that mirror one or another 
of Dr. Gerson’s discoveries, developed over many years of clinical practice. Unfortunately such 
partial insights are of little use. The Gerson Therapy, as a proven method of healing contains 
them all—and more. It is up to the individual, who wants to improve or regain his or her health, 
to explore and make use of it. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The group photo on the cover page of this ebook was taken by Neil Montanus at Charlotte 
Gerson’s 85th Birthday Party, in San Diego, California. Neil Montanus, a former professional 
photographer at Eastman Kodak Co., is a renowned for his portraits of famous people such as 
President Gerald Ford, Walt Disney, and Sybil Sheppard. Neil Momtanus can be reached at mon
tanus@rochester.rr.com. The people in the photo were Gerson patients and friends of Charolotte 
Gerson who flew in from all over the world to celebrate.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 1 3Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comAN IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO THE READER
The book you are holding in your hand can be your most precious tool to maintain and improve 
your health if you are fit and well, or to regain it if you are ill.
You find here all the guidance you need for either purpose. But there are a few points that 
need emphasizing, should you choose the Gerson Therapy for healing yourself. In your own 
interest please take them to heart and bear them in mind. The Gerson Therapy is a finely tuned precision instrument, whose every component plays an 
important role and affects all other parts. It must be practiced in its entirety, without omitting a 
single detail. To do otherwise not only undermines the healing power of the therapy, but can also 
cause you further health problems. Do not embark on the Gerson Therapy on an experimental basis, thinking that you can 
always drop it if you find the program too demanding. The program is demanding, intensive and 
extended, a far cry from the pill-popping instant ways of conventional medicine. But unlike the 
latter, instead of suppressing symptoms, it can truly heal and offer a healthy future. The choice is 
yours. Study this book and find out exactly what it means to undertake the therapy, and please, in 
your own best interest, only embark on it if you are committed to staying on it until you are fully 
and truly healed. All over the world there are people who did just that, and who returned from life-threatening 
diseases to radiant health and a life more abundant. You are more than welcome to join them. As you read this book, you will find many references to Dr. Max Gerson’s epoch-making work, 
“A Cancer Therapy—Results of Fifty Cases,”  which first appeared in 1958, one year before the 
author’s death. It is now in its sixth edition and has been translated into four languages. Needless 
to say, in the years since its inception medical technology and research have made enormous 
progress, offering possibilities that in Dr. Gerson’s day would have been hard to imagine. For 
that reason today’s reader may find parts of “A Cancer Therapy” dated or no longer relevant. However, what has remained topical and more relevant than ever is Dr. Gerson’s startlingly 
original approach to the causation, treatment and healing of cancer, which is totally different from 
current oncological practice. The organism’s breakdown of law and order on the cellular level, 
resulting in cancer, is the same today as it has ever been, and the Gerson Therapy’s ability to deal 
with that breakdown also remains unchanged. It should also be remembered that besides being a practicing physician, Dr. Gerson was also 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 1 4Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.coman eminent scientist, closely involved in the debate in the US Congress on policies for cancer 
treatment, and was acknowledged for his brilliance by Nobel Laureate Dr. Albert Schweitzer. His papers met all the traditional requirements for evidence-based medicine; today’s modern 
scientific approaches have started to shed some light onto why and how his therapy worked. 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 1 5Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comCHAPTER 1
The Story Begins
“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.” 
   
-  Albert Einstein
Some of the greatest scientific discoveries resulted from a sudden insight or inspiration that 
came unexpectedly, like a bolt from the blue. Others were made after long years of patient, 
painstaking effort. But the most fascinating achievements are the ones that grew out of a series of 
apparent coincidences, leading to an astonishing outcome. The Gerson Therapy belongs to this 
last category. It came into being because one exceptional man, the German-born physician Dr. 
Max Gerson, possessed the ability to ask the right questions at the right time, and seek for the 
answers with the utmost scientific rigor. His story helps us to understand how the life-saving 
therapy that bears his name came into being. Already as a small boy Max Gerson showed some scientific curiosity. He liked to play in 
the garden of his grandmother, who grew flowers as well as fruits and vegetables for her table. On one occasion, when she decided to try out some new artificial fertilizer, which was supposed 
to produce bigger and better crops, Max watched with consternation that the earthworms were 
leaving the beds treated with the new chemicals and migrated to the beds treated with the old, 
time-honored natural substances. Young Max concluded that there must have been something 
harmful and disturbing in the new chemicals, which the earthworms couldn’t stand, and which 
made them flee to the natural environment. He never forgot this early experience. Upon graduating from high school, Max decided to become a physician and went on to study 
at the universities of Breslau, Wuerzburg, Berlin, and Freiburg. Throughout his studies and for 
the rest of his life he remained eternally curious, always playing with possibilities, wondering 
‘What would happen if…’ As a young doctor, working as assistant to Professor Ottfried Foerster 
in Breslau , he ordered the finest rose bushes from Holland, planted them and changed their 
fertilizer, their food, and—by installing light filters—even the amount of sunshine they received. With these methods he succeeded in changing the colors of the roses. This taught him that nutrients and light could change the metabolism of a living plant. But he 
had no idea how to apply this discovery to human beings, let alone to healing them. It took his 
own serious health problem, his recurring severe cluster migraines, to show him the way ahead. The migraines were so devastating and recurred so frequently, that he was desperate to do 
something about them. His teachers and professors, whom he had consulted, had been unable 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 1 6Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comto suggest a treatment. They had said that he’d feel better when he got to be in his mid-fifties. But the young doctor couldn’t envisage life for the next 30 years with those migraines which 
sometimes kept him in bed, in a darkened room, with violent pain and nausea, for two or three 
days a week! There had to be a better answer, and he was determined to find it. To start his search, he read everything apparently relevant that he could find. Nothing positive 
turned up. He visited a number of professors as a patient and found no help. It was by accident (if 
we believe in accidents) that one day he came across a paper describing how a woman, suffering 
from migraines, was helped when she using himself as a guinea pig. He abandoned his normal 
choice of food and tried out several different diets. It changed her diet. DIET! Nobody had taught 
him anything about diet; nor had his teachers ever mentioned the possibility that any chronic 
disease was connected with diet. But, as always, he was willing to experiment, even took him a 
while and a number of failures before he established that a salt-free vegetarian diet kept him free 
from the pain and nausea of migraines. That was when he started to use dietary treatment in his practice. When patients came to his 
office in Bielefeld suffering from migraine, he told them frankly that according to all the medical 
texts there was no cure for this problem—but that he himself had been suffering from it, until a 
change of diet had brought him relief. He suggested that the patients try the same method. When 
these patients returned to see him some 3-4 weeks later, they regularly reported that they were 
free from migraines—as long as they adhered to the strict dietary rules and didn’ t cheat. This experience made Dr. Gerson to refer to his method as the ‘Migraine Diet,’ the single 
treatment for a single complaint, as specified in conventional medicine, until something happened 
to change his view. One day a migraine sufferer consulted Dr. Gerson and was urged to adopt 
the ‘Migraine Diet.’  He did. But when he returned a month or so later, he had something 
extraordinary to report: yes, his migraines were gone, but the skin tuberculosis ( lupus vulgaris)  
he had been suffering from was also healing. Dr. Gerson was skeptical:  “No, you couldn’t have 
had lupus, it must have been something else, lupus is incurable,” he declared. But the patient 
produced the results of laboratory tests, which proved that indeed there had been tubercle bacilli 
in the tissues of his lesions. Dr. Gerson was stunned. He couldn’t see a connection between 
migraine and lupus, so why did both conditions heal? This was another decisive moment in his 
life when he had to ask a question and find an answer. To start with, he asked his patient whether 
he knew other lupus sufferers, and if so, to send them to him for treatment, free of charge. Some 
came and were cured. and Dr. Gerson had to accept that his migraine diet could also heal the 
reputedly incurable skin tuberculosis. His remarkable results reached the ears of the famous lung tuberculosis specialist, Ferdinand 
Sauerbruch, of Munich, Germany. He put 450 of his ‘incurable’ lupus patients on Dr. Gerson’s 
diet, saying that if Gerson could stop the progress of the disease in a single patient, he would 
believe everything the young doctor claimed. The Gerson diet not only arrested the disease 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 1 7Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comprocess, it actually cured 445 of those seriously ill patients. Sauerbruch’s response was to publish 
‘his’ results in numerous scientific papers. But Dr. Gerson was not satisfied. He reasoned that if skin tuberculosis (TB) responded 
positively to diet, why would not other forms of TB do so? What about the killer disease lung 
tuberculosis, and kidney-, bone-, encephalitic and other forms of the disease? He started to treat 
such patients, too, with his diet, among them the wife of Dr. Albert Schweitzer, and found that 
they also recovered. More importantly still, many of those patients also had other problems along 
with their TB: high or low blood pressure; allergies, asthma, kidney disease and more. These 
diseases also disappeared with the ‘migraine’ diet! At this point it became very clear to Gerson that he was no longer healing a disease with 
dietary changes: the patients’ metabolism and immune system were responding, which meant that 
he was healing the whole body, and this opened the door to curing all ‘incurable’ chronic diseases. From that moment onwards his path led him in a totally different direction from that of orthodox 
medicine. His patients were now healed, not drugged. The first big step toward healing cancer came in 1928, when a lady called him to her bedside. In Dr. Gerson’s own words, “I asked her what was wrong, but on the phone she didn’t want to 
tell me.” When he arrived at her home, the patient told him that she had been operated for cancer 
of the bile duct; now she was jaundiced, ran a high fever and needed help. Dr. Gerson told her 
that he didn’t know how to treat cancer, but she insisted, quoting his success with TB cases. Then 
she asked him to look at a big book that was lying on her table, open at the chapter called “The 
Healing of Cancer.” In this book on folk medicine, Dr. Gerson recalls, “there was something 
about Hippocrates who lived 550 years [sic] before Christ. …. He had the idea that the patient has 
to be detoxified with a special soup and with some enemas.” 
He told the patient once again that he was unable to treat her, but at her insistence he agreed 
to try, and wrote down a treatment plan for her—essentially the same as his treatment for TB. As 
he records it, “I tried—and about six months later the patient was cured! She was up and about 
in the best condition. She sent me other cancer cases. One had metastasized glands around the 
stomach—also cured! The third case was also cured! Later in Vienna he tried again, treating six cases, but all six failed. He was shocked and 
discouraged, but “…once it was in my head and my hands and my heart, I could no longer 
separate myself from that problem.” 1 
Some years later Gerson settled in the U.S. In order to obtain his license to practice, he first 
had to pass a medical exam; then he was unable to find a hospital where he could treat patients. And yet, he said, “I couldn’t get the first three cases out of my mind. I kept thinking, it must be 
possible. It would be a crime not to do it.”
He studied all the medical literature and research material he could find and discovered 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 1 8Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comthat there was a difference between patients suffering from general chronic diseases and those 
suffering from cancer. Later he described this difference by specifying that “the chronic disease 
patient has a weak, damaged liver; the cancer patient has a toxic liver.”  He also found that the 
cancer patient could not completely digest and assimilate fats and oils, whose undigested residues 
were picked up by the tumor tissue, which grew and thrived on them. After years of trial and 
error, amassing direct experience at the sickbed, he arrived at developing a remarkably effective 
treatment that worked even for terminally ill patients. Gerson’s startlingly original ideas and new methods did not fit into the allopathic medical 
system. He wrote a number of articles on his work and on patient outcomes and submitted them 
to several medical journals; all were refused with various excuses. Subsequently, patients who 
inquired about Gerson at the American Medical Association (AMA) were told that his method 
was ‘secret,’ as ‘he refused to publish.’
The Board of Censors of the New York Medical Association wrote to Dr. Gerson five times, 
asking him to submit records proving his work. Five times he patiently assembled more of his 
records and on occasion even presented some of his recovered patients. His only request was that 
the Board publish their findings. They never did. Wanting to ensure the continuation of his work, Dr. Gerson was anxious to train other doctors 
and/or assistants in the practice of his Therapy. On several occasions young medical doctors, 
not yet established in their practice, would approach Gerson and ask to be accepted as assistants 
to learn the treatment. Always ready to pass on his experience to a keen young colleague, he 
accepted such offers. The ‘assistanceship’ never lasted more than 4-5 days. After that time, the young doctor would, 
in embarrassment, explain to Dr. Gerson that he had received serious threats, should he continue 
to work with him: he would be banned from hospital associations, no other doctors would send 
him patients and he would be unable to practice. Having a great deal of debt on his shoulders 
from his medical schooling, he could not afford to be forced into such a situation and, sadly, had 
to give up working with Dr. Gerson. (Similar situations occur these days, too, when a not yet 
sufficiently established doctor wishes to visit the Mexican Gerson clinic to study the Therapy, 
and his superiors explain to him that such a move would jeopardize his career development. This 
explains why there are so few doctors trained in the Gerson protocol.) Undeterred by all the obstacles he had to contend with, Dr. Gerson carried on with his work, 
perfecting his treatment as he went along. Since despite all his efforts he was prevented from 
publishing his work in medical journals, he eventually gathered his material and wrote it up in his 
last book, which is also his lasting medical testament. A few years ago we received some amazing information from a well-known health writer 
and publicist in New York. He was collecting material for his work and wanted to publish Dr. 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 1 9Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comGerson’s testimony, given in 1946 before a Congressional committee, under the sponsorship of 
Senator Claude Pepper. The researcher traveled to Washington D.C. to look for the report of 
the testimony in the Congressional Record, which, as an official U.S.Government document, is 
not supposed to be altered or tampered with. He knew that the testimony took up several pages, 
including Dr. Gerson’s answers to a number of questions about his work, and his presentation of 
five of his recovered patients, who had originally been sent home to die of terminal cancer. The 
researcher inspected the Congressional Record and found only an empty space under the date 
where the testimony should have appeared. Against all the rules it had been removed without 
explanation. P.S. Orthodox ‘scientific’ medicine routinely rejects studies based on a small number of 
subjects (less than 250) irrespective of their merits. Here is a relevant quote, not unconnected 
with Dr. Gerson’s story:
“The small number of subjects used exposed the study to the ridicule that medical science 
has been using for over hundred years to flay experiments that do not fit its bias. ‘What were the 
controls?’ ‘Where are the statistics?’ ‘How do you know the patients didn’t get better because 
of something else?’ ‘Statistically the mathematics don’t hold up.’ ‘Did they really control all the 
variables?’ ‘How do you know that drugs aren’t just as good?’ ‘Pacemakers work just as well.’ 
‘What we have already is good enough if used right.’2 
References:
1. Gerson, M. A Cancer Therapy—Results of 50 Cases . Appendix II, PP. 403-405. 6th Edition. The Gerson Institute. Bonita, California. 1999. 2. Glasser, R.J. The Body is the Hero. P.242. Random House. New York. 1976.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 2 0Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comCHAPTER  2
The Therapy Moves On
Newcomers to the Gerson way of healing sometimes express the view that a therapy developed 
some sixty years ago and left unchanged ever since must surely be obsolete—after all, 
medicine has made huge progress since Dr. Gerson’s death in 1959. This criticism is wrong on all 
counts. For one thing, human physiology and the nature of chronic disease have not changed, and 
therefore the Gerson approach to healing has not become obsolete. On the contrary: recent 
worldwide research has come up with results that confirm and justify Dr. Gerson’s choice of 
methods and materials. Furthermore, over the years, far from remaining stagnant and unchanged, 
the therapy itself has been enriched with carefully chosen additions in the spirit of Dr. Gerson, 
who was never satisfied with the results he obtained, no matter how excellent or dramatic they 
were: he felt that they could always be improved. Since his death, the work of healing has become increasingly difficult. Air, soil and water 
are globally polluted, food grown on impoverished soil has lost a major portion of its nutritional 
value, besides being heavily processed and adulterated with chemical additives. Worse still, the 
use of drugs, both prescribed and over-the-counter, has vastly increased. So have certain self-
destructive habits—smoking, alcohol abuse, so-called recreational drugs—that have become 
part of the modern lifestyle. As a result people are more severely toxic and their bodies more 
damaged. Accordingly, we noted early on at the Mexican hospitals that the results obtained with Dr. 
Gerson’s strict therapy were not as good and dramatic as the ones he had recorded. Moreover, 
some of the original medications had been altered, while others were no longer available or 
useable. For example, Dr. Gerson used crude liver extract (Lilly) to boost his patients’ liver 
function. Today’s liver extract is much more refined, and presumably not as effective. He also 
used freshly prepared, raw calves’ liver juice, to help repair the damage caused by pesticides to 
the patient’s liver. This can no longer be done, for it was found that even the young livers from 
the best available sources were infected with campylobacter, a bacterium that can cause diarrhea, 
abdominal pain, fever, nausea and vomiting. To make up for the resulting deficiencies, several new items and procedures have been added 
to the Gerson protocol. One of them is Co-enzyme Q-10 , which replaces some of the contents 
of the raw liver juice, boosts the immune system and enables the body to resist certain infections 
and types of cancer. Another is defatted  colostrum , the first fluid that is secreted into a mother’s 
breast (or into the equivalent gland of all vertebrate animals) to feed the new baby. This valuable 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 2 1Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.commaterial helps to set up and organize the new infant’s immune system, and it does the same to 
strengthen the flagging defense system of immune-deficient patients. Pancreatic Enzymes have been an essential medication from the very beginning. Dr. 
Gerson used them to attack, break down and digest tumor tissue. To help today’s more severely 
damaged patients, the therapy has been reinforced with increased amounts of pancreatin at higher 
concentrations. Also, Wobe-Mugos tablets, containing a range of immune-supportive and anti-
tumor substances, prove to be helpful. One of the functions of this medication is to destroy the 
external coating of cancer cells, so that they can be recognized and destroyed by the precisely 
targeted elements of the therapy. Gerson doctors are also using Artificial Fever Treatment ( hyperthermia)  to generate improved 
immune function and to speed up healing reactions. This treatment involves the use of Laetrile, 
also known as Vitamin B 17, derived from apricot pits. Developed by Ernest Krebs, Sr., M.D., with 
his son, Ernest Krebs, Jr., Ph.D., Laetrile contains a cyanide fraction which is able to attack and 
destroy cancer cells without harming healthy cells. It has also been found that an intravenous 
injection of Laetrile raises the temperature of tumor tissue by as much as one full degree—a great 
bonus, since tumor tissue cannot survive in elevated temperatures that normal body tissue easily 
tolerates. To enhance this effect, the patient is immersed in a hot bath ( hyperthermia), which 
further raises the total body temperature, causing the patient to develop a ‘fever.’ In its totality 
this treatment promotes tumor destruction, pain reduction, and improved well-being. (Of course 
an entire tumor is not immediately destroyed by one treatment!) Please note:  While Laetrile can be helpful in reducing tumor masses as well as pain, 
particularly bone pain, it does NOT restore body systems and organs, nor does it help to carry off 
toxins. It is a useful addition to the therapy, but it is NOT a cure. Another helpful addition to the Gerson protocol is Ozone , used via rectal insufflation, or as 
peroxide, applied as a skin rub. Accordingly it is available in two forms, Hydrogen Peroxide or 
Ozone gas. In either case it kills germs and viruses, destroys cancerous tissue, oxygenates the 
blood supply and thereby all the organ systems, and converts harmful free radicals into excretable 
compounds. Hydrogen peroxide, in liquid form at 3% or lower concentration, as sold in drug 
stores, is rubbed all over the patient’s body once or twice a day, to be absorbed into the system 
through the pores. If hydrogen peroxide is only available in higher concentration, it must  be 
diluted to 3% or below. It must never be used internally. Room Ozone generators are routinely used in Gerson clinics and are recommended to 
patients living at high altitudes (above 3000 feet), and/or in areas where toxic sprays have been 
used, or where there is a great deal of industrial air pollution. Inhaling ozonated air is refreshing 
and energizing, and has even been seen to improve patients’ mood. An innovation in the field of diet affects certain patients who are lactose-intolerant, i.e., 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 2 2Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comunable to tolerate the defatted and pre-digested milk proteins, such as. yogurt and cottage cheese 
that are normally added to the protocol after 6-10 weeks. In these cases vegetarian protein-rich 
materials, such as Spirulina, are used. Grapefruit Seed Extract : since patients’ immune competence is generally low, great care 
is taken to protect them from catching colds or, worse still, flu. This extract, which has antiviral 
and antibacterial properties, was recently added to the program and has been found useful. Taken orally and used as a gargle, it can ward off a cold, if taken at the very first suspicion of 
trouble. Another excellent preparation is the homeopathic Flu Solution, by Dolisos America, Inc. 
(www.dolisosamerica.com )
Tahebo or Pau d’Arco : This is the inner bark of the Andean pine tree, traditionally used 
for healing purposes by many tribes in the South American Andes. Made into tea, it has been 
used, in addition to the Gerson treatment, on a number of patients, who found it a valuable extra, 
increasing their well-being and even helping to reduce tumors. Tahebo consists of thin woody 
splinters, which have to be stteped for 5-10 minutes in simmering distilled water and strained 
before serving. As this remedy is being used by a number of tribes, it is known as Tahebo, Pau 
d’Arco or Lapacho. Selenium : This chemical element has been found by several researchers, including Dr. 
Schrauzer of the University of California at La Jolla, and Professor Harold Foster of Victoria, 
B.C., Canada, to be an important stimulant for the immune system. For that reason it is in cluded 
in the Gerson treatment of many patients. The GKI Treatment : The intravenous glucose-potassium-insulin (GKI) drip was developed 
by famous heart specialist Dr. Demetrio Sodi-Pallares. The glucose and insulin provide the energy 
needed to transport the potassium across the cell membrane into the tissues. Since the Gerson 
protocol is high in both glucose and potassium from the juices and the potassium salts, only a 
small amount of insulin (3-5 mg) is used, administered subcutaneously (injected under the skin). Chromium Picolonate : It has been found that chromium, in the form of picolonate, stimulates 
the production of insulin by the pancreas. Capsules or tablets of 200 mg of this substance have 
been added to the protocol, particularly for diabetics, to help alleviate their defi ciency. These are just some of the items added in recent times to the basic Gerson program in order to 
increase its effectiveness. Needless to say, they must be proven to be “non-toxic.” Prior to making 
them available to patients, Charlotte Gerson tries them out on herself. Since she is very sensitive 
to any toxic substance, she can usually tell immediately if any new item is of questionable safety. Only when she is satisfied that they are safe are they cautiously administered to a few patients, 
whose response is than carefully evaluated. By testing promising innovations and possible 
additions with extreme caution, it can be ensured that the Gerson Therapy does its work well 
under today’s increasingly difficult 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 2 3Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comCHAPTER 3
Knowing the Enemy
The Gerson approach to health and sickness is so different from the usual medical procedures 
that it is important to understand its basic principles thoroughly. Once that has happened, the 
therapy’s theory and practice become totally clear and display their profound logic. In fact, many 
recovered patients admit that they chose the Gerson program in the depths of a life-threatening 
health crisis, because it made sense and held the credible promise to cure them. (We only wish 
that those who condemn and dismiss the therapy out of hand took the trouble to find out just what 
they are attacking.) The therapy’s aim is to deal with the cause of disease, not with its symptoms, and its focus is 
on what it sees as the two major enemies of health, namely toxicity and deficiency . Both are the 
result of today’s de-natured, artificial lifestyle; both are to some extent connected to the modern 
Western diet and to our polluted environment. Let us take a close look at them. Toxicity
To start with the absolute necessity of life, namely the air we breathe, it is contaminated with 
the exhaust fumes of road traffic, the invisibly tiny particles that fly off tires and nestle in our 
lungs, the residues of aircraft fuel descending from the sky, plus the poisonous fumes of countless 
industrial procedures belching out of factory chimneys or from the neighborhood dry-cleaning 
establishment. Water, another basic essential of life, is just as bad, contaminated with chlorine 
and fluoride and with the residues of a wide variety of drugs, which resist all existing purification 
techniques (except distillation). Industrial and agricultural run-off contaminates rivers and lakes. The latest addition to environmental pollution is electrosmog, the invisible but constantly 
thickening electromagnetic fields surrounding us everywhere. Indoors they are produced by TV 
sets, refrigerators, computers, microwave ovens and cellular phones. By interfering with the 
natural electromagnetic fields of the human body, they have a harmful impact on health. Outdoors 
radio masts serving cellular phones are causing serious concern: clusters of diseases, mainly 
cancer, have been found in the vicinity of newly erected masts. ( see Chapter 5, pg.28, pp.3 )
Over to food. Here toxicity starts in the soil and in the plants that grow in it. Highly poisonous 
pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and other chemicals used in commercial agriculture, often till 
the day of harvesting, leave residues on the plants that become our food. Many of these poisons 
are systemic, meaning that they permeate the produce and cannot be removed by washing. Unless we eat only organically grown foods, our daily intake is richly laced with a cocktail of 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 2 4Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comagrochemicals, whose cumulative effect has never been tested. And as if all this were not bad 
enough, in the course of food processing vast numbers of chemical additives are introduced, 
many of which are unsafe—and worse. Their purpose is to extend shelf life, almost indefinitely; to make the product look more 
attractive, and to substitute artificial flavors for the missing natural ones. Food cosmetics, as 
they are ironically called, solely serve the profit-centered interests of the manufacturers and have 
nothing to do with healthy nutrition. On the contrary. But the dangers of food additives should not 
blind us to the fact that the first major culprit of the average modern diet is salt (sodium), the very 
substance that is hardest to avoid. Despite official warnings against its overuse, salt consumption 
in the Western world is alarmingly high, causing the body to retain water in the cells, leading to 
edema. Salt also puts an unreasonable burden on the kidneys, raises blood pressure, deadens the 
taste buds so that more and more is needed to produce an effect, and interferes with the digestive 
process. Salt, as we shall see later, also plays a dangerous role in the cellular process leading to 
cancer. Since meat is a valued staple item of the modern diet, it may sound surprising that excess 
animal proteins behave as toxins in the body. But the fact is that the human organism with its 
long intestinal tract is not designed to cope with a diet high in animal proteins. (By contrast the 
intestinal tract of carnivores, such as lions and other big cats, is short, hence the waste products 
of the digested meat are quickly eliminated.) The ideal diet for humans should be predominantly 
plant-based, with a minimum of animal protein. Today the opposite applies. Yet as we go through life, we become less able to digest animal proteins, so that its poorly 
digested, incompletely broken down parts linger on in the body as toxins. The animal fats 
contained in almost all meat, poultry and dairy produce are also inadequately digested as the body 
ages and its enzymes no longer function efficiently. Last but not least, food animals are raised 
on unhealthy food, treated with hormones, antibiotics and synthetic growth promoters. Whatever 
they are forced to consume remains in the meat, eggs and milk products that finally land on our 
tables, adding to the already heavy toxic load we are unwittingly carrying. The body attempts to get rid of all these harmful substances to protect itself. Unfortunately 
in addition to the massive burden of toxins it needs to deal with, it is also up against the problem 
of deficiency. Deficiency
Just like toxicity, this enemy of good health also starts in the soil. For well over 150 years 
artificial fertilizers have been used increasingly in commercial agriculture, providing the soil with 
three major minerals, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK). They do not provide the fifty or 
so minerals and trace elements, which are essential to keeping the soil healthy and fertile, rich in 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 2 5Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comenzymes and micro-organisms that characterize naturally fertilized, humus-rich land. As a result 
the impoverished soil can only produce deficient, nutrient-poor plants, which become our equally 
deficient daily food. This is then further depleted by processing. All canned, jarred, boxed, smoked, pickled, 
bottled and otherwise preserved items are drained of their few remaining nutrients and damaged 
by high heat and preservatives. They lack vitamins and enzymes. The latter, vitally important for 
good digestion, are destroyed at a temperature of over 140o Fahrenheit, and can only be supplied to 
the body by fresh raw fruits and salads. However, few people eat enough of these to get adequate 
enzymes needed for a healthy system. By now it should be clear that the two main enemies of good health, which the Gerson 
program attempts to tackle as a first priority, namely toxicity and deficiency, add up to a single 
vicious circle. If our food were truly nutritious, our bodies would be better able to deal with 
toxicity. But it is not. As a result, sooner or later the degenerative process sets in, opening the door 
to serious chronic disease. Obviously, both enemies of health have to be dealt with in order to initiate healing and to 
restore the body’s natural defenses. This is the subject of the following chapters.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 2 6Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comChapter  4
The Body’s Defenses
The human body is a wonderful living precision instrument, whose every part is closely 
connected to every other part. Each of its trillion cells has its own intelligence, function and place 
in the total system. It is no exaggeration to say that the body is a living miracle, whose potential 
is far from being fully understood. Despite the rapid development of high technology research, 
scientists are only just beginning to unravel the enormous complexities of life on the cellular 
level. The body, left to its own devices and given the right conditions, functions in order to survive 
and remain in the state of homeostasis, i.e., a state of dynamic equilibrium. In this state the human 
organism maintains stability while adjusting to changing conditions. As soon as this stability 
becomes endangered, several built-in defense systems spring into action. Let us now explore 
these sophisticated systems in depth. The Immune System
All through Nature, millions of living organisms prey on others. This applies to the human 
body, too, as it is daily exposed to attacks by germs, viruses and parasites that carry disease. Its 
main protector is the immune system, which has in recent times gained some recognition among 
the general public, mainly through advertisements offering some preparations “to strengthen the 
immune system.” Irrespective of whether these work or not, people buy them without knowing 
anything about the immune system—what it consists of or even where it is located. Yet the subject 
deserves attention. The immune system is not a single organ or a single gland: its parts are located all over the 
body. Several organs, such as the liver, the brain and the pancreas are so important that they have 
their own immune mechanism, the reticulo-endothelial system, which gives them extra protection. Then there is the lymphatic system, which transports excess fluid from body tissues into the 
bloodstream. The lymph itself is a straw-colored liquid, containing cells which fight infection. The system consists of some 700 nodes in a normal person, distributed all over the body. Unlike 
the bloodstream, circulated through the pumping action of the heart, the lymph is moved round 
the body by muscular action. However, the main basic component of the system is located in the bone marrow, where the 
white blood corpuscles are formed. When they are released, they are not complete. Some wander 
to the thymus gland, where they are completed, and released as T-lymphocytes. Others drift to 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 2 7Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comthe spleen and lymphoid tissue and mature into B-lymphocytes. All of them have the job to ingest 
germs, viruses, malignant cells or toxic substances, killing or otherwise neutralizing them. As all other parts of the organism, the immune system is made up of cells that need to be 
nourished. They require a full complement of minerals, enzymes and vitamins in their natural 
form that is easily assimilated. Pills and drugs cannot cover that need—sometimes they are not 
absorbed at all. Here, as in the rest of the body, the need is for fresh, living, organic substances to 
nourish and maintain this essential life-preserving system. The Enzyme System
Enzymes are generally poorly understood by the lay person. According to one authoritative 
definition, they are “complex proteins that are capable of inducing chemical changes in other 
substances without being changed themselves.” 1 Everything that happens in the body, from taking 
a breath in order to supply oxygen to the blood to digesting food, and then on to combining 
digested foods with oxygen in order to produce energy—hundreds of such processes require 
enzyme activity. The body must build its own enzymes, since it cannot utilize the ones found in raw foods 
or animal products. In order to produce the hundreds needed, the organ systems require specific 
minerals as catalysts. (Catalysts are substances that speed up a reaction without themselves being 
altered.) Researchers Dixon & Webb2  did a detailed study into how the body builds enzymes. They found that in most of the enzymes they studied, the body needed potassium as a catalyst, 
while sodium acted as an enzyme inhibitor, i.e., blocking substance. Other research came up 
with the finding that the body is unable to build enzymes from dead or processed foods. If it 
doesn’t receive fresh living nutrients, such as the Gerson Therapy supplies, serious difficulties 
will arise, particularly in patients already facing major health problems—poor digestion, poor 
appetite, constipation, diarrhea and painful gas. The pancreatic enzymes are not doing their job of 
attacking tumor tissue, the oxidizing enzymes are not producing adequate energy—to name just 
a few deficiencies. The reason why enzymes, especially pancreatic ones are able to attack and destroy tumor 
tissue while digesting foods is this: they recognize tumor cells as ‘foreign,’ needing to be 
eliminated. However, the basic function of these same enzymes is to digest proteins. Since the 
average diet is high in animal proteins, most of the pancreatic enzymes are used for digestion, and 
little—if any—is available to destroy tumor tissue, allowing the latter to grow and spread. Clearly, inadequate enzyme activity is one of the major problems sick people, especially 
cancer patients must contend with. The answer lies in providing them with toxin-free, i.e., 
fresh organic food, and speeding up their intensive detoxification by means of coffee enemas. Moreover, supplying extra doses of digestive and pancreatic enzymes is an integral part of 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 2 8Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comGerson protocol, alongside fresh juices with their high oxygen content. The Hormone System
Hormones are substances produced in certain glands that release them directly into the 
bloodstream and are therefore called endocrine, i.e., ductless glands. Most people associate 
hormones specifically with sexual function, yet there are many others playing significant roles 
in the body, e.g. insulin, thyroxin, adrenaline and more. Hormones, especially thyroxin and 
adrenaline, regulate the entire metabolism. The thyroid deserves special attention, as it is an important part of the immune system. Among its many other functions it regulates body temperature, including fever. If and when the 
organism is invaded by germs or viruses, the immune system responds by producing excess heat, 
namely fever. We must remember that most germs and viruses, and even tumor tissue, do not 
tolerate elevated temperatures, which healthy cells can easily bear. Hence the well functioning 
thyroid helps to restore health, provided it is supplied with iodine, which it needs in order to 
manufacture its vitally important hormone—thyroxin, Unfortunately these days iodine is in short 
supply. Chlorine in the water supply is able to remove it from the thyroid. Fluoride, a dangerous 
toxin, is even more powerful in blocking this important hormone. In addition, as a consequence 
of commercial farming methods, the soil contains too little iodine, thus producing iodine-
deficient plant foods. In recognition of all this, the governments of many countries have made it 
compulsory to add iodine to ordinary table salt, on the grounds that as the public uses a great deal 
of salt, everybody was bound to consume some iodine with it. High salt consumption, on the other 
hand, is now known to be unhealthy and is, in fact, officially discouraged—resulting in a serious 
shortfall of iodine even in people on a good diet. Other enzyme inhibitors include food additives such as preservatives, emulsifiers, coloring 
agents, artificial flavors and many other so-called food cosmetics, plus pesticides and other 
agricultural poisons in our food supply. Some pesticide residues have even been found to inhibit 
the production of male sperm. The hormone system, an important part of the body’s defenses, is 
itself under severe attack. The Essential Organs
Certain organs, such as the liver, the pancreas, the lungs, the kidneys, the heart and the brain, 
are called ‘essential.’ And while they certainly deserve that name, one should not assume that 
for instance the colon is not essential! The same applies to the small intestine, the bone marrow, 
the spleen, even the appendix, which is part of the immune system. In fact there is nothing non-
essential in the body.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 2 9Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comIn the course of healing it is therefore extremely important to deal with all the body systems. Since the liver plays a major part in healing the body, the Gerson Therapy pays particular attention 
to restoring its functioning as quickly and as thoroughly as possible. The liver is an amazing organ: 
the only one in the body that is able to regenerate and re-grow, if parts of it are removed. It is 
involved in most bodily processes; all physiological activities begin and end in it. Often described 
as an organ of detoxification, which it certainly is, the liver has many more functions—dozens, if 
not hundreds, which even the high technology facilities of modern medicine have not been able 
to define. According to Dr. Gerson, each new generation of liver cells takes about five weeks to come 
into being. He assumed that it would take 12 to 15 generations of new cells to form a totally new, 
healthy liver. Thus he arrived at specifying a period of 18 months to fully heal and restore the liver 
of even advanced cancer patients and, with it, the whole organism. Unfortunately that is no longer 
a valid model. In the past fifty years or so, owing to deterioration of the environment and of the 
food supply, people have become much more seriously damaged than those whom Dr. Gerson 
had treated. Even more seriously a percentage of cancer patients choosing the Gerson Therapy 
have been pre-treated with chemotherapy, which means more damage to their systems. Therefore 
nowadays it takes two years, not 18 months, to recover fully; those pre-treated with chemotherapy 
may take even longer to detoxify and heal. The Mineral Balance
In order to function well and keep its defenses fighting fit, the body needs a large number—
some 52 or so—minerals. On the Gerson Therapy this requirement is amply fulfilled by the 
generous supply of fresh organic juices, made from produce grown on rich soil. However, Dr. 
Gerson also recognized that two minerals, sodium and potassium, were mainly involved in 
creating mineral imbalance in the body. Over millennia the human body has become a ‘potassium animal,’ needing some 90% 
potassium vs. 10% sodium in its diet—the approximate percentage found in natural, fresh, organic 
vegetarian foods. Yet these days the average modern diet is far removed from these proportions; 
instead, it is overloaded with sodium, which the body must excrete. Excess sodium is an enzyme 
inhibitor, as described by Dixon & Webb3.It has also been shown to stimulate tumor growth and 
produce edema, as the body ties it up with water to reduce its toxicity . To remedy this situation, Dr. Gerson introduced large amounts of potassium to the patient’s 
diet, in addition to the naturally potassium-rich food: up to 40 teaspoonfuls a day of a 10% 
solution for the first two to three weeks, in addition to the naturally potassium-rich diet. This 
resulted in an immediate reduction of edema, ascites, and pain. He also noticed that adding any 
other minerals, such as magnesium, calcium, iron etc., disturbed the patient’s mineral balance 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 3 0Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comand caused damage. His main warning was against adding calcium to the diet. Calcium, he 
discovered with his close friend, top biochemist Rudolf Keller, belonged to the sodium group of 
minerals and stimulated tumor growth.4 Even in cases of severe bone destruction by tumor tissue, 
or in osteoporosis, the Gerson treatment with its high level of well-balanced minerals is capable 
of achieving bone restoration. In the light of all this, it is easy to see why mineral balance is an 
important component of the body’s defenses. References:
1. Taber’ s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary , F.A.Davis Company, 1993
2. Enzymes , Malcolm Dixon & Edwin C.Webb, Academic Press, Inc. N.Y .1964
3. Ibid. 4. Dr. Max Gerson, A Cancer Therapy—Results of 50 Cases , P.210. Gerson Institute, San 
Diego, 2002   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 3 1Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comChapter 5
Breakdown of the 
Body’s Defenses
In the previous chapter we explored the body’s multiple defenses, which under ideal 
circumstances enable it to maintain its dynamic equilibrium known as homeostasis. However, 
if we consider today’s high level of ill health in the developed world, it becomes clear that those 
sophisticated defense systems are unable to do their work and homeostasis can no longer be taken 
for granted. To understand why this has happened, we need to consider the problem from a wide 
perspective.
_OceanofPDF.com_Healing_the_Gerson_Way_-_Charlotte_Gerson.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        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 2Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www. thegersonway. comContents
About This Book. 12
An Important Message to the Reader. 13
  
 Chapter 1
The Story Begins. 15
   Chapter 2
The Therapy Moves On. 20
Chapter 3
Knowing the Enemy. 23
Toxicity  23
Deficiency  24
Chapter  4
The Body’s Defenses. 26
The Immune System  26
The Enzyme System  27
The Hormone System  28
The Essential Organs  28
The Mineral Balance  29
Chapter 5
Breakdown of the Body’s Defenses. 31
Chemical Agriculture  31
Drugs  34
Food Additives  35Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007.
The main focus of the Gerson Therapy is to eliminate the underlying causes of disease and not just treat the symptoms.
What is the main focus of the Gerson Therapy?
The author of the book "A Cancer Therapy—Results of 50 Cases" is Dr. Max Gerson.
Who is the author of the book "A Cancer Therapy—Results of 50 Cases"?
The Gerson Therapy does not focus on suppressing symptoms, but rather on eliminating the underlying causes of disease and promoting the body's natural healing processes.
What is the Gerson Therapy's approach to treating disease?
The purpose of the Gerson Therapy is to provide a comprehensive and holistic approach to healing, addressing the root causes of disease and promoting the body's natural defenses.
What is the purpose of the Gerson Therapy?
The Immune System is a vital component of the Gerson Therapy, as it is a crucial part of the body's defenses and plays a central role in the healing process.
What is the significance of the Immune System in the context of the Gerson Therapy?