Dietary therapy in which the body’s self-healing abilities are thought to be boosted by the consumption of large doses of enzymes and other nutrients. Gerson therapy was developed in the 1920s by Max Gerson, a medical doctor who believed that degenerative diseases such as cancer, tuberculosis, severe headaches, arthritis, and diabetes mellitus are caused by toxic, degraded food, water, and air. He believed that the increased cancer rate was due to agricultural fertilizers and food processing.
A dietary therapy promoted as a treatment for cancer, migraine headaches, and tuberculosis, consisting of limited intake of sodium, potassium, protein, and fat, and frequent consumption of fruit juices and vegetables. The treatment also includes chamomile or coffee enemas, liver extract, pancreatic enzymes, and thyroid hormone.
An alternative form of treatment for cancer based upon the principles of Naturopathy. The treatment process was developed in the 20th century by German physician Max Gerson, who had begun his career treating tubercular patients. Working during years prior to the use of penicillin to treat the disease, he observed that a diet of fresh fruits and raw vegetables seemed to lead to a cure. He then observed the efficacious nature of the diet on other diseases. He concluded that natural foods assisted the body in mobilizing its own healing powers.
Gerson’s theorizing coincided closely with that of naturopathy, an approach to medicine that largely rejects the approach of modern medicine which attacks disease-causing agents (bacteria, viruses) with specific healing agents (medicines), or attempts to remove diseased tissue through surgery. Naturopathy understands specific diseases as manifestations of the general illness of the body as a whole.