What Is The Gerson Therapy? An Interview by Jane Thurnell-Read

The Gerson Therapy is a specific type of nutritional therapy that has for many years had a lot of success helping people with cancer and many other diseases. I asked Stephen Gamble, a Gerson Therapy Consultant based in Leicestershire, UK to tell me more about it.

What is the Gerson Therapy?

“The Gerson therapy is a nutritional detoxifying therapy developed by Max Gerson, MD. He was working in Germany in the 1920’s and had a lot of success treating TB. Then a lady came to him with cancer, she asked him to treat her cancer with the therapy. He was afraid to as he had no experience with cancer, but she said she would take full responsibility. He was successful, and word spread.

"He was Jewish and had to flee Germany at the beginning of the Second World War. He moved to France, then England and then finally settled in New York. His most famous patient was Albert Schweitzer who had developed advanced diabetes. Gerson cured Schweitzer of this ailment within a few months. Gerson died in 1959 at the age of 78.

“The Gerson Therapy works to detoxify the cells by putting in what the body is lacking. This is accomplished by using organic juices and food – cooked and raw. One of the major aspects of the therapy is to restore liver integrity – to enable the body to heal. This is where we are working initially, because the liver has many different functions vital to the healing process. Organic juices are used because they are easily absorbed. In people with compromised immune function the digestive system is usually under-functioning. The nutrients from juices are easily absorbed into the blood stream in 15-30 minutes. We use organic food because pesticides add to the toxic burden, and we’re trying to clear toxicity out of the cells.

“We are flooding the cells with potassium and other essential nutrients. Usually the sodium levels in the cells are greater than they should be, and this is displacing the potassium; the potassium is mainly outside the cell and the sodium is mainly inside the cell – they’ve changed places. The blood count won’t always show there’s a problem, but tissue analysis shows there is.

“The toxins are attracted to sodium and so follow the sodium out of the body when people are on the Gerson Therapy. Nutrients follow potassium into the cells. The water within the cell has its own structure, which becomes distorted when the cell is toxic. When the cells are detoxified the water molecules line up in a much more uniform pattern to allow molecules to move in and out of the cells as they should.

"As the therapy causes the removal of toxic substances from the tissues into the blood stream, liver toxicity was a problem in the early days, as the liver has to filter out all the toxins in the blood. So Dr Gerson had to find a way to assist the liver to release these toxins to the outside, he found a way to do this by using coffee enemas. This method of liver detoxification is completely safe when used in context with the Gerson Therapy."

Who can benefit from it?

“It can help most diseases including type 2 diabetes (not type 1), heart disease (narrowing of the arteries and so on), arthritis, and, of course, people with tumours. The therapy doesn’t have a great deal of success helping people with leukaemias but often has good results with melanoma. Sometimes patients have other symptoms and these often clear up too. The treatment is non-specific and designed to start the healing process.

“The therapy helps to restore the immune system, and inflammation will occur as part of the healing process. We have to be careful with brain tumours – inflammation inside the brain can be dangerous, so there are some brain tumours we will not treat.”

What happens in a typical session?

“I take a complete case history and ask to see specific lab tests. I won’t take anyone who hasn’t had the lab tests done – via their GP [Community Doctor] or oncologist – this gives me information on how to proceed with the patient care.

“We explain to the patient what’s involved. A maximum of 13 juices – half a pint at a time [0.28 litres, 0.6 US pints] and up to 5 coffee enemas a day may be recommended. If the patient has had chemotherapy, we will start with less. When the body starts to detox, the chemo comes out of the cells, so we need to proceed more slowly.

"Castor oil enemas are also used if the patient hasn’t had chemotherapy or been on long term steroid use. If they have, I will only recommend use castor oil treatment after 9-12 months when the blood tests are looking better.

“For the diet there’s no meat or fish, and no dairy for the first 4-6 weeks. After that I may introduce yoghurt and other suitable protein foods. If you give the body too much protein it won’t release the sodium. Fruit and vegetables contain small amounts of protein. Honey and maple syrup are allowed in small quantities right from the beginning. The only oil I use is flaxseed oil and then only 1-2 tablespoons per day. Dr Gerson experimented with different oils and found all oils, except for flaxseed oil, helped tumours to grow. Flaxseed oil proved to be an extremely valuable addition to the therapy in helping to build healthy cells. A typical meal may include Hippocrates soup, jacket potatoes, cooked vegetables and salad. We don’t use strong spices as they’re stressful on cells, but some herbs are allowed. You can make a delicious salad dressing with flaxseed oil, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice and some herbs. Garlic is very good – it’s a mild antibiotic.

"Special thick-bottomed stainless steel cookware is highly recommended in the place of non-stick pans, which are toxic. Only pure water is used – distilled water, or reverse osmosis.

“I run training days to teach prospective patients how to make juices, prepare and cook the foods and all other aspects of the therapy. The therapy can be labour intensive and patients will need to know what equipment they will need, and how they follow the therapy in their own homes.

"I also use some supplements such as niacin [vitamin B3], which dilates blood vessels so that absorption is better, and pancreatin – that helps to digest food, tumours and even scar tissue from old injuries such as operation sites. Other supplements may be used to fully maximise the bodies’ own healing potential.

“I write out a clear schedule for them to follow – what they need to do at what time each day.”

How often is a consultation needed?

Initially consultations are once a month. As the patient progresses, the gap between follow-up consultations widens. I review the case history and lab results at every consultation. Support is provided between consultations by phone, email or fax. It takes an average of two years to heal.”

How can a Gerson Therapy Consultant be found?

“If you go to the Gerson web site, you can find a Gerson Therapy Consultant. There are consultants in several countries."

You can also email Stephen, or visit his web site. Find a Gerson therapist by checking out our international listing.