The Gerson Therapy was developed by Dr Max Gerson (1881-1959) and first used in the 1920's as a treatment for an incurable form of TB, where he achieved phenomenal results. it must be understood from the outset that the Gerson Therapy is an extreme diet therapy used primarily by people who already have a chronic illness. It is however occasionally used in a preventative context.

The basic idea of the Therapy is to stimulate the body's own immune defences to do what they normally do in a healthy body, whilst readjusting the balance of the molecules and atoms within the cells, returning them to levels normally found in healthy cells.

Once both parts of this Therapy are fully established the theory is that a diseased body will be restored to full health. There is no doubt that this therapy has had notable successes, especially given that patients have often tried and failed with all available orthodox treatments first.

In the case of cancer, diseased cells have been known to liquefy, which in itself creates a further problem. The process of breaking down tumours can be so effective that large amounts of toxins are released by the diseased cells into the blood stream. However, the largest detoxification organ, namely the liver, is often seriously impaired when cancer is in the body and so it needs to be cleansed and stimulated to deal with the extreme levels of toxins.

One method of achieve this is to stimulate the lever with up to five coffee enemas per day for a limited period, whilst using castor oil every other day. This causes the liver to expel its waste via increased levels of bile juices into the intestine.

The Therapy is arduous. A sixteen hour day spent juicing and making and using the coffee enemas is not unusual; and a period of two years to fully cleanse the body is not uncommon. Again, the theory that it takes a long time for the body to go through the multistop cancer process, and so it takes an equally long time to restore full working healthy order.

Patients frequently experience "healing reactions" when large amounts of toxins are released into the blood system.

Dr Max Gerson was described by Dr Albert Schweitzer as "one of the most eminent geniuses in medical history". He originally published "A Cancer Therapy - Results of Fifty Cases" over fifty years ago. His work is now pioneered by his 80 year old daughter Charlotte, who stresses that it is applicable to a host of diseases, not merely cancer, and that even healthy people should consider a period on the Therapy from time to time merely as a precautionary detox.

The Therapy aims to provide optimum nutrition consisting of a deliberate over abundance of minerals, enzymes and vitamins, whilst avoiding the toxic pesticides and herbicides of normal food by using only organic versions.

The basic principles of the Therapy are:

The use of only organic food to avoid pesticide and herbicide toxins.
No animal fat or protein in the first eight weeks. Both milk and soya are banned to avoid the body receiving fats and protein, both of which have been found to "feed" cancer cells.
To pulses (lentils, beans and again soya) to be consumed as they can prevent mineral uptake because of their phytic acid content.
All water used for cooking or rinsing must be provided from distilled or reverse osmosis sources.
Water must not be drunk as it dilutes the power of the juices. A little peppermint tea is allowed.
Neither plastic nor tin foil may be used as it may contaminate food.
The diet is limited to freshly made juices of vegetables, fruits and leaves, consumed within 20 minutes of preparation to avoid losses in enzyme effectiveness. Large quantities of raw fruit and vegetables are also consumed, along with some lightly steamed vegetables, stewed fruit, potatoes and oatmeal.
The aim is to exclude sodium, whilst maintaining potassium intake. Fresh juices provide more easily absorbed and digested nutrients, whilst not taxing the bodily systems. The use of hourly juices over the length of the day also avoids calorie and thus insulin surges, and actually limits the total number of calories consumed per day.
Organic, in season fresh vegetables and fruit are the ideal.
Absolutely essential to the diet therapy are:

Apples - raw
Carrots - raw and lightly cooked
Potatoes - baked, mashed or in potato salad
Sweet potatoes - but only once per week
Fresh fruit - apart from apples, eat grapes, cherries, mangoes, peaches, oranges, apricots, grapefruit, banana, tangerines, pears, plums, melons, papayas (pears and plums may be stewed).
Dried fruit - apricots, dates, figs, peaches, raisins, prunes.
Absolutely forbidden are:

All things bottled, canned, frozen, preserved, refined, salted, smoked and sulphured.
Bicarbonate of soda in food, toothpaste and mouthwashes.
Alcohol
Salt
Avocado - too much fatty acids
Basic, oregano (aromatic oils can cause difficult reactions)
Berries (except red, black and whole currants)
Biscuits, cake, chocolate, cocoa
Coffee (any sort), tea
Cucumbers
Fats and oils (except flaxseed)
Mushrooms
Nuts (too much fatty acids/fats)
Peas (sulpured), lentils, beans, seeds (phytic acid/enzyme inhibitors)
Pickles
Pineapples
Refined flour
Soft drinks, fizzy and fruit juices (preserved)
Soya (fat content and phytic acid)
Spices
Sugar (including sweets)
Tap water
Forbidden for first eight weeks: all dairy, eggs, meat and fish.

The type of juices is also crucial. Centrifugal juices simply do not get the full volumes of minerals, vitamins and enzymes out. Gerson recommended a heavy press juicer that involves two stages and a double press.