Max Gerson

Great discoveries are often the result of chance, or in other words a happy coincidence. The Gerson therapy was established thanks to seemingly random events. But it would never have seen the light of day if not for one very important factor, which was the inquisitive young doctor Max Gerson.

Already as a child Max Gerson was very curious about the world. As a young doctor he experimented a lot and looked for answers to questions that troubled him. The turning point in his professional life turned out to be frequent and debilitating migraine headaches. As a scientist, he looked into all available knowledge about migraines, sought the help of eminent doctors and professors, but no one was able to help him. The only clue was an article he found describing the story of a woman cured of migraines by changing her diet. Dr. Gerson had nothing to lose, so he began to test on himself variations of diet and observed how his body responded to the changes. The cure for his migraines proved to be a salt-free vegetarian diet. Gerson soon began to recommend this diet to his patients, in order to treat their migraines. A big surprise for him was the fact that patients come back to him not only healed of their migraines but also other serious ailments, such as skin tuberculosis. After examining many patients with this disease, Gerson came to some groundbreaking conclusions concerning treatment by diet. Namely, he noted that by changing diet, not just one disease was treated, but the whole body.

The way the Gerson therapy works is based on the body’s natural ability to regenerate and return to its proper physiological balance. The first necessary precondition is to cut out all toxic substances acting on the body. Pesticides, preservatives, air pollution and electronic smog are just some examples of substances that have a harmful effect on our bodies. For this reason, the Gerson diet is based solely on ecological products devoid of all chemical pesticides and artificial fertilizers.

Another very important element of the Gerson diet is the provision, along with organic food, the greatest possible amount of vitamins, enzymes, trace elements and minerals. It is precisely these substances that are essential to recovery of good health. For this reason, every day the Gerson diet has one consume approximately 9 kg of fruits and vegetables. Most of these are served in the form of freshly squeezed juices. This involves the use of a special juice extractor, along with a press. This method ensures one obtains juice with the highest nutritional value and a high plant enzyme content. Juices are also easier to digest compared with raw fruits and vegetables, and in addition are tasty and easily consumed in this form by patients.

The third key element of the Gerson therapy is detoxification. Toxins driven out of the body’s cells enter the bloodstream and arrive in the liver – the organ responsible for detoxifying the body. In the case of large amounts of toxins, the liver becomes overloaded and the consequence may be autointoxication of the organism and hepatic coma. For this reason, Dr. Gerson introduced coffee enemas to his therapy, which form an integral and necessary part of the treatment. The use of coffee enemas increases the activity of the substance involved in capturing and eliminating toxins from the liver. The amount of enemas is proportional to the amount of juices consumed.

Gerson’s therapy is a complex method of purifying the body, which eliminates the problem underlying various health problems or dysfunctions. The reason for this is the treatment of the organism as a complex whole, rather than focusing on a single organ or system. The effectiveness of the Gerson method, however, depends on many factors and is not a panacea for all ills. What is important is both the moment the therapy is applied and the degree to which the patient follows its recommendations.