Gerson therapy
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Gerson Therapy is a controversial, holistic, nutrition-based therapy. Developed by German-born physician Dr. Max Gerson (1881-1959), believers in the therapy say it is effective for most chronic (degenerative) diseases. Unapproved for medical treatment of cancer in the United States due to the lack of medically agreed upon supporting scientific data, Gerson therapy has been a touchstone of medical nutrition politics for several generations in the US.
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[edit] Method
Supporters say that the therapy is based on hyperalimentation, enzymes and detoxification, with some vitamin, mineral and biological supplementation.[1] Gerson's belief is that toxic chemicals in the environment poison humans. He says denatured food grown on depleted soil, poisoned with pesticides, highly processed, and preserved with hundreds of dangerous chemicals causes disease. Reversal of the diseases calls for the elimination of the disease-causing conditions, and rebuilding of the damaged organism over the course of 6-18 months.
Gerson believed that hyperalimentation (increased nutrient status) could be accomplished through the consumption of 13 eight-ounce glasses of fresh, organic juices daily, supplemented by three large, organic, vegan meals, and numerous fruit and vegetable snacks throughout the day. Advocates of the therapy believe that the supposed flood of nutrients enables the body to begin ridding itself of accumulated toxins of a lifetime but that the overload of toxins in the bloodstream hitting an already-compromised liver can cause hepatic coma and death. Gerson developed his now-famous coffee enemas with the intent of stimulating the liver to produce bile, thereby flushing the undetectable toxins from the liver and making it ready to filter more from the bloodstream. He believed that chronic pain is most often the result of accumulated "toxicity" and that removing the toxins in this manner would provide instant pain relief of even the most persistent and acute pain. Gerson also used supplements to replenish deficiences in minerals such as iodine and potassium) and to improve weak thyroid, pancreas and digestive processes.
Gerson prohibited nearly all animal products and all fats and oils except for flax-seed oil. All foods had to be fresh and organically grown, nothing could be processed, preserved, canned, bottled, boxed, frozen. The diet is salt-free, and avoids all supposed sources of "toxicity", including tobacco, alcohol, fluoride, pesticides, food chemicals and all pharmaceuticals.
[edit] Development
Gerson originally developed his therapy in an attempt to defeat the debilitating and excruciatingly painful migraine headaches he suffered as a young medical student and resident which he said his professors thought he would suffer from for the rest of his life. Gerson wasn't satisfied with this, and he set out to find his own solution. His curiosity piqued by a reference in an 18th century Italian medical text, Gerson began to explore dietary modification as a solution. He embarked on an elimination diet to find out what was causing his headaches and believed he had winnowed out those items that gave him trouble. According to Gerson, as long as he diligently avoided the foods he had identified as "migraine" foods, the young man had no more migraines.
Gerson's methods have been adapted throughout the years by other alternative practitioners. They assert that there are approximately 1,500 chronic diseases that are deemed "incurable" by mainstream medicine and claim that the Gerson therapy documents success with nearly 99% of them.[citation needed] However, no data has been published to define how many enter any of the clinics, what their actual medical history is, or what their actual outcome was after treatment.[citation needed]
The therapy as practiced today is different from what Gerson himself recommended: raw liver juice and raw fermented milk were part of his treatment, yet do not appear to be recommended now.[2]
[edit] The Gerson therapy today
Dr. Gerson's daughter, Charlotte Gerson, has continued working with the therapy along with the Gerson Institute she founded in 1977. In the intervening decades, Charlotte Gerson has powered the formation of many clinics in areas such as Mexico, Arizona, Indiana, California, Hawaii, Japan, as well as the training of hundreds of Gerson therapy practitioners.
Though illegal in some States of America[citation needed] advocates of the Gerson therapy say it is rapidly gaining adherents around the world.
[edit] Evidence
The therapy has not been extensively tested. The American Cancer Society reports that "[t]here is no reliable scientific evidence that Gerson therapy is effective in treating cancer, and the principles behind it are not widely accepted by the medical community. It is not approved for use in the United States." [1] The Guardian has reported that the main clinic of the Gerson Institute in Mexico charges $4900 per week for the therapy. [2] The therapy is also declared illegal in the US when sold as a cancer cure, due to the lack of scientific data as to its efficacy. According to the National Cancer Institute, in 1947 they, "reviewed 10 cases submitted by Dr. Gerson. However, because the patients were also receiving other anticancer treatments, the NCI could not determine whether the patients' condition was due to the Gerson therapy or another treatment." [3]
The Gerson Institute points observational studies[3] and case reports collected by Gerson himself as evidence of the efficacy of the treatment.[4] In his book Gerson defines the "Results of 50 Cases" but does not present the total of patients received the treatment,[clarify] nor what the medical history of these patients was. This leads to the conclusion by some scientists[citation needed] that Gerson's work is the result of "cherry picking" successful cases (placebo effect, natural remission).
Gerson believed that the reversal of the natural sodium-potassium balance in the body had to be corrected before chronic disease could be healed, hence the low-sodium, high potassium nature of the diet. In fact, this supposed correction is probably harmful, sometimes even fatal when taken to extreme levels. He failed to scientifically show that animal protein and animal fat were two of the most potent promoters of cancer growth.[citation needed]
[edit] Safety concerns
It is believed that coffee enemas contributed to the deaths of three people in the United States.[5] The diet may not be nutritionally adequate, as well.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ The Gerson Institute - Alternative Cancer Treatment.
- ^ http://www.westonaprice.org the section on 'Diet and Recovery from Chronic Disease.'
- ^ The Gerson Institute - Alternative Cancer Treatment.
- ^ The Gerson Institute - Alternative Cancer Treatment.
- ^ Hills, Ben. Fake healers. Why Australia’s $1 billion-a-year alternative medicine industry is ineffective and out of control.. Medical Mayhem. Retrieved on 2008-03-06. “Kefford is particularly concerned about cancer patients persuaded to undergo the much-hyped US Gerson diet program, which involves the use of ground coffee enemas which can cause colitis (inflammation of the bowel), fluid and electrolyte imbalances, and in some cases septicaemia. The US FDA has warned against this regime, which is known to have caused at least three deaths.”
- ^ Clinic Practice Guidelines, page 196.
