THE GERSON DIET

by Dr. Lawrence Wilson

All information in this article is for educational purposes only. It is not for the diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure of any disease or health condition.

Dr. Max Gerson, MD lived about one hundred years ago and was a famous cancer specialist who pioneered the use of coffee enemas and carrot juice, among other things. He developed a program to heal chronic illness, and wrote an excellent book that documented his work entitled A Cancer Therapy – Results of 50 Cases.

Dr. Gerson’s dietary recommendations actually varied from case to case. Unfortunately, many people, including myself at one time, just decide to follow his strictest cancer diet, and it is not a healthful diet at this time, for most people. For this reason, I am writing this article as a warning to please avoid the strictest Gerson diet, as it leads to problems and is not needed or helpful today.

WHY IS THE GERSON PROTOCOL DANGEROUS TODAY?

The main reason is that the bodies are far more yin than they were in the 1920s through the 1950s, when Dr. Gerson lived. This is due to:

1. A lot more ionizing radiation thanks to A-bomb tests, and other sources of radiation such as nuclear power plants, nuclear accidents, and radiation from other sources.

2. A much more mineral-depleted food supply is far more yin.

3. The widespread use of pesticides, herbicides, insecticides and hundreds of other toxic chemicals everywhere in the environment, even on organic food.

4. Much higher levels of toxic metals in the environment, particularly mercury from thousands of coal-burning power plants around the world. Plants in the USA and Europe are not too bad, but elsewhere scrubbers are not used and the plants spew soot and toxic metals into the air that travels everywhere.

5. Much more electromagnetic pollution from cell phone towers, smart meters, cell phones, computers, televisions, portable phones, wifi and other sources. Many people do not realize that these are all recent inventions.

As a result, the Gerson diet, which is very yin, is not as helpful today, and I am told that their results with cancer are not as good as they once were. Please be careful.

THE GERSON DIET PROTOCOL

The diet that many people follow and attribute to Dr. Gerson involves a lot of raw food, many glasses of vegetable and fruit juice daily, very little animal protein or perhaps none at all, and some supplements that are harmful, as well. I will explain the problems with each of these in more detail.

1. Raw food. This is extremely yin in macrobiotic or Chinese terminology. Uncooked food tends to be very yin, and this is one of its main problems today.

In addition, I find that most everyone cannot absorb enough minerals from raw food because the minerals are locked up in the tough vegetable fibers. This is true even if one takes a digestive aid.

Other problems with raw food is that most people cannot eat enough of it, as the fiber fills up the stomach quickly. Also, it is not as clean as it used to be for various reason. To read more about this, read Raw Food on this site.

2. A lot of juices. These are also extremely yin. That is, they are cold, expanded, raw, watery and broken apart. They are rich in nutrients, which is excellent, but their yin quality damages the body a lot at this time in history. Also, they often are not very good food combinations, so they upset digestion in many cases.

The worst are fruit juices. These are the most yin, and are very bad, in my experience. Vegetable juices are better, and 10-12 ounces of carrot juice daily is excellent, in fact. More than this is not needed and much too yin, no matter what other benefits it may have.

3. Low animal protein. Animal protein is much more yang, and therefore is helpful at this time in history with all the yin influences around us. Advanced cancer patients have trouble digesting meat, but the rest of us need it. Eating animal protein daily is helpful and sometimes necessary to get well, I find.

Please do not believe all the websites and ‘authorities’ that say that meat is poison and to avoid it. Good quality chicken, turkey and lamb, especially, are excellent. A little beef is good, too, although some of it is hybridized and less healthful for some people. For information about the problem of vegetarian diets today, which are very yin, please read Vegetarian Diets on this site.

4. Be careful with supplements. Do not just take large doses of any supplement. One that is somewhat toxic, sadly, is Iodoral or Lugol’s solution. The Lugol’s and Iodoral slowly seem to build up in the liver, and eventually affect one’s health negatively, no matter what other benefits they provide.

I agree with Dr. Gerson that we all need more iodine. However, I much prefer using kelp, a natural food and a much safer product. It also contains many trace elements that most people badly need.

BE CAREFUL WITH TOO MUCH COFFEE AND TOO MANY ENEMAS

I am a staunch supporter of doing coffee enemas daily. However, I find that three tablespoons of coffee is, at times, much too much coffee. I recommend one or two tablespoons of organic coffee.

Also, I so not suggest ever doing more than 4 coffee enemas daily. Dr. Gerson used up to 6 daily. However, dr. Gerson did not have other products available to him, as we do today, and the new products, such as TMG, GB-3 and others seem to reduce the need for so much coffee and for so many enemas. For much more about coffee enemas, please read Coffee Enemas on this site.

For more information about Dr. Gerson, please read The Cancer Pioneers and Dr. Gerson on this site.

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