Gerson Therapy (Gerson dietary regime, GDR, Gerson method, Gerson treatment)

"A state of the art, contemporary, wholistic and natural treatment which assists the body's own healing mechanism," according to the Gerson Institute, in Bonita, California. The Gerson Therapy involves sodium restriction, potassium supplementation, extreme fat restriction, periodic protein restriction, and coffee enemas. The institute promotes the Gerson Therapy as a preventative lifestyle and a virtual panacea. German-born Max B. Gerson, M.D. (1881-1959) originated the method in the 1920s. His book, A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases, first published shortly after his death, is the acknowledged "bible" of the Gerson Therapy. The fifth edition of the book includes the following statements.

 * "In man, there are electrical potentials outstanding in the life of the cells. They are especially accumulated in the nervous system, which is ultimately our 'spiritual organ'...." (p. 12)

 * "In the nutritional field, observations for centuries have shown that people who live according to natural methods in which plants, animals and human beings are only fragments of the eternal cycle of Nature do not get cancer." (p. 14)

 * "...[N]ot one factor alone or a combination of single factors is [therapeutically] decisive, but what is decisive is how they influence the whole body, mind and soul in their entirety." (p. 18)

 * "Above all we must realize that there is nothing in heaven or on earth that does not exist in man himself. We can say, therefore, that the system which governs the human being itself is 'Great Nature.'" (p. 49)

 * "In order to deal with the harmful things which we have to use to our disadvantage, the Lord gave us an alchemist (stomach) not to absorb the poisons that we eat together with the good nourishing food, but to separate it from the favorable substances." (p. 49)

 * "For the things that one does for the prolongation of one's life are ordained by Great Nature." (p. 49)