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Medical consultations and the monitoring of laboratory studies are of utmost importance. Through this means, the Gerson physician can be kept up to date as he assists the patient in adjusting the various medications and the diet, and evaluating the body's response to the therapy. Continued communication with the Gerson physician also keeps the patient abreast of advances in the Gerson program.
Medical guidance is provided to the Gerson patient through your Gerson hospital's consulting office. Telephone and fax numbers will be provided through the hospital office.
Note: Time does not usually allow correspondence in writing regarding test result information. Please use the telephone consultation program.
Monitoring of blood and urine values on a continual basis is important. These laboratory tests should be repeated about every six weeks, depending upon the severity of the disease process. In the early stages with the debilitated patient, every four weeks is recommended. Before you leave the Gerson hospital your doctor will suggest a time for your next tests to be done. Copies of results should be sent to your Gerson consulting doctor.
These laboratory studies must include:
These studies are monitored primarily to screen for possible infections, determine time to introduce the dairy proteins, and evaluate general organ functions such as kidney, liver and pancreas.
A single laboratory result is not definitive. A series of three results may show a trend. Routine laboratory studies have been shown not to be valid during or just after a healing reaction. The chemistry of the blood can be altered during the healing reaction. Wait at least seven to ten days after the healing reaction has cleared to have new laboratory tests done.
Note: factors for adjustment and modification of diet, medication, enemas, etc.:
Required items for 3 month supply - Several days in advance of departure, please arrange with the hospital office for your order. Please take inventory of items before departure.
| Item | Qty. | Description |
| Syringes | 90 | 3cc with 22 or 23 gauge |
| needle x 1" | ||
| Needles | 90 | 25 gauge x 1" |
| Crude Liver | 27 | 10cc bottles for injection |
| Vit. B-12 | 1 | 30cc bottle for injection |
| Thyroid | 1 | grain (32.4 mg), 1000 |
| count tabs | ||
| Lugol's | 1 | bottle of 1/2 strength |
| Lugol's solution | ||
| Penicillin | 1 | bottle of 100 tablets |
| Potassium | 12 | bottles, 100 grams each |
| Compound | ||
| Potassium | 1 | bottle |
| Gluconate |
| Item | Qty. | Description |
| Acidol | 5 | bottles of 100 caps each |
| Niacin | 1 | bottle of 1000 tabs, |
| 50 mg. each | ||
| Pancreatin | 1 | bottle of 1000 caps, |
| 325 mg. each | ||
| Liver Caps | 1 | bottle of 1000 caps, |
| 500 mg. each | ||
| Ox-Bile | 1 | bottle |
| Ion Min | 1 | bottle Ion Min |
| Clay powder | ||
| Enema Buckets | 2 | extra enema buckets |
| Castor Oil | 1 | pint |
| Castile Soap | 1 | bar of soap |
| Flaxseed Oil | 8 | bottles |
| Foley Food Mill | 1 | two quart size |
Non-required but recommended items:
When you return home, you will probably be administering your own injections. During your stay at The Gerson Therapy Center, injections are administered by your medical staff. Learn how to give your own injections by observing, experiencing, and asking questions.
2. Bottle: Remove protective metal covers from rubber stopper.
3. With alcohol swab, clean tops of bottles.
4. Keep needle and syringe sterile (do not touch).
5. Turn B12 bottle upside down and push syringe needle through stopper. Pull out 0.1 cc (just a few drops, to the first small line on the barrel of the syringe). Withdraw needle from B12. Draw 300 of air into syringe. Turn the crude liver bottle upside down and push needle up through center of stopper. Keeping the liver extract bottle in an upside-down position, push some air into the crude liver bottle and pull some liver extract out, repeating this process until you have pulled out 3cc of liver extract (pull plunger to first line below 3cc marking to allow for B12).
6. Remove and discard needle. It is now too dull for injection use.
7. Screw new needle into syringe. (Use 25 gauge 5/8", or 1" needle.) Gently tap the side of the syringe to gather bubbles to the top of the syringe. When bubbles are gathered, press plunger until a tiny bit of fluid spurts from the needle. Syringe is now ready to be used. (Put needle cover on loosely.)
8. Clean injection area well with alcohol and cotton.
Locating Injection area: Locate the ridge of your hipbone (iliac crest) where your side pants seam runs, roughly in the middle of your side. Measure down the width of two fingers and back one inch (1"). That is where the needle goes. The needle should go through the fatty tissue into the muscle. Alternate sides with each injection.
Hanson's Modification of Classic Method of Locating Upper Outer Quadrant
9. Spread skin and push needle in.
11. Pull needle out and rub area with alcohol for 30 seconds. If bleeding occurs, press cotton to wound. It will stop bleeding very shortly.
12. Break needle and disassemble syringe. Keep broken needles in a small cardboard box. Tape box shut when full and discard.
13. Clean open liver and B12 bottles with alcohol and store in refrigerator. Protect with fresh baggie after each use. Store unopened liver extract bottles in refrigerator.
Check the local yellow pages for health food stores and co-ops. Call and ask if they supply organically grown produce. They may know where you can go.
Contact OFPANA, Box 1078, Greenfield, MA, 10301, (413) 774-7511. Ask them for the names, addresses, and phone numbers of the organizations in your area (OCIA, CCOF, TILTH, etc.) Ask about distributors, growers, and possible retailers.
Order the Organic Wholesaler's Directory And Yearbook from Community Alliance with Family Farmers. It has an in-depth list of organic wholesalers by State. Once you contact the wholesalers, you can learn who their retailers are. You can contact them at Box 464, Davis, CA 95617, (916)756-8518.
Americans For Safe Food, Center for Science in the Public Interest has an organics mail order list available, should you need to order organic produce through the mail. You can contact them at 1875 Connecticut Ave NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20009, Tel: (202) 332-9110, Fax: (202) 265 4954,
Get certification! If produce is not clearly marked with a printed label, it is probably not organic. Demand proof.
It is just as important to use organic coffee as to use organic fruits and vegetables. If organic coffee is not used, any toxic material in the coffee such as pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or chemical fertilizer will be readily absorbed rectally direct into the blood system. Harbor House Coffee (Organic Coffee), 12586 Foothill Blvd., Box 1879, Clearlake Oaks, CA 95423. Telephone (707) 998-4654, Toll-free: 1-888-902-6333.
The following checklist will be found useful in arranging a household to accommodate the Gerson patient. Most items may be purchased locally at a general department store, health food store or gourmet shop.
[¯] Liquid warmer: low temperature burner plate
[¯] Second refrigerator (optional)
[¯] Orange juicer, reamer type
[¯] Blender: can be used instead of rotary food mill with some recipes
Stainless steel pots and pans with tight fitting lids
[¯] Pyrex or Corningware baking dishes with covers
Note: Teflon and other inert non-stick surfaces are not allowed. Absolutely No Aluminum! (Aluminum-clad stainless steel pots are OK). No Pressure Cookers!
[¯] Vegetable brushes: for scrubbing and cleaning vegetables
[¯] Plastic cutting boards (assortment of sizes)
[¯] Rotary food mill: for milling special soup (can use blender)
[¯] Sixty minute timer: for juices
[¯] Wire bristled brushes: for cleaning juicer parts
[¯] Glass measuring cups: 1 Cup and 4 Cup
[¯] Oven thermometer: for checking oven temperature
[¯] Funnels: for filling jars and bottles
[¯] Strainers: for coffee, tea
[¯] Colander: (a perforated bowl) for straining coarse vegetables
[¯] Mixing bowls: a set of convenient sizes
[¯] Grater: To grate food fine to coarse
[¯] Knives: Various sizes including 2-3 paring knives
[¯] Measuring Spoons: for measuring small amounts
[¯] Potato masher: Of solid wood or heavy wire for mashing foods
[¯] Soup ladle: For serving soups
[¯] Apple corer: to remove apple cores
[¯] Garlic press: for crushing garlic
[¯] Thermoses: for soup, juices, tea
[¯] Kitchen scale: 10 or 25 lb.
[¯] Glass storage jars: dry coffee, potassium solution, etc.
[¯] Jar for coffee concentrate with 1 C calibration marks
[¯] Pill container: with 6 sections
[¯] Herbs and Spices (see permitted spices, p. 242 in A Cancer Therapy: Results of 50 Cases)
[¯] Drip ground organic coffee
[¯] Organic rolled oats (old fashioned)
[¯] Crude raw brown sugar (organic dried cane sugar)
[¯] Dried fruits (soak before cooking)
[¯] Flaxseed oil (in black bottles)
[¯] Unsulphured blackstrap molasses
[¯] Toothpaste (Chloresium, Tom's, Shaklee, Waleda, unfluoridated, and without baking soda)
[¯] Shampoo (natural shampoo, no artificial coloring or proteins added. Some brands: Nature's Gate, Tom's, Shaklee)
Pollutants and toxins in the living environment need to be eliminated. Check your home and eliminate as many contaminants as possible:
[¯] Urea formaldehyde insulation
[¯] Synthetic materials in rugs, draperies, bedding and clothing (use natural fibers)
[¯] Onions, 20/week (purchase 25 lb. sack)
[¯] Beets, 5 branch tops for juice and bottoms for eating
[¯] Celery Root, 2 roots (if available)
[¯] Lettuce, 15 heads (red leaf, green leaf, oakleaf, butter leaf, etc.)
[¯] Parsley root, 2 bunches (if available)
[¯] Various vegetables, in season
[¯] Apples 40 lbs. (pippins or granny smith apples)
[¯] Distilled water, 15 gallons
Note: Depending on regional water supplies, various forms of water purification may be purchased or leased at considerable savings over purchased bottled water. Various combinations of distillation, carbon filtration, and reverse osmosis should be considered. Consult regional authorities.
Gerson patients need pure water, especially for coffee enemas. Most cities have bottled water businesses that deliver purified and distilled water to homes. Water can also be purified at home with reasonably priced equipment that may be purchased or rented.
Water purification equipment is everywhere now. You can get reverse osmosis units, distillers, carbon filters and more from just about anyone. People go door to door selling all sorts, sizes and combinations. Fluoride can only be removed by distillation. You should only use reverse osmosis if your tap water is not fluoridated.
Maybe you've seen the guy who takes a glass of your regular tap water and tests it with a "special chemical" that causes gobs of white grungy looking stuff to appear and settle to the bottom. Now he informs you that you can get all that poison out with a carbon filter, and he proves it by filtering your water and repeating the test. Voila! No grunge.
In a well researched article in their Consumer Reports: 1992 Buying Guide Issue, Consumers Union (CU) staff members explained that the "special chemical" is doubtless a flocculating agent that causes harmless minerals in water to precipitate. Unscrupulous sellers use this bogus water test to convince potential buyers of the unpotability of tap water in their homes.
In fact, your tap water may be teeming with hazards, none of which would be recognized by such a "test." According to CU writers, there are more than 70,000 recognized water contaminants ranging from industrial or agricultural wastes to heavy metals and radon. Microbes are also known to flow from the household tap. If your municipal water supply is fluoridated, it is imperative that you use distilled water for all patient intake: soup, cooking, teas and coffee for enemas and drinking after castor oil.
For the Gerson household, it is probably unnecessary to carry out lab tests for contaminants because of the demand for really pure water. However, friends and relatives interested in water quality issues may wish to use one of these CU listed labs:
These tests are expensive, ranging easily up to $200.
CU writers were most concerned about lead, radon, and nitrate as water contaminants. There are good reasons to remove added fluorides and chlorine, as well.
The big surprise is that no single form of water purification, tested by CU was able to remove all contaminants; not distillers; not reverse osmosis units; and not carbon filters.
In order to get really pure water, it's necessary to combine techniques. You have two choices:
For practical purposes, distillers are better at organic health hazards than reverse osmosis units, but they miss the volatile ones like benzene, carbon tetrachloride and trichloroethylene. These minor differences disappear when either type of water purification is coupled with carbon filtration.
Only carbon filtration is able to remove chlorine, benzene, carbon tetrachloride, trichloroethylene, and radon. Carbon filters sound pretty good so far, but they fall apart when they get to the inorganic health hazards.
Only distillers or reverse osmosis units will take out arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, fluoride, lead, nitrate, and selenium.
If you are in a locale that is not serviced by a reputable water company, e.g.: Culligan, you may have to purchase equipment. Your costs may run from $500 to $1,400 for either of the effective combinations. Also, bear in mind that your costs won't end with your purchase.
Distillers typically draw 1500 Watts, and electricity is expensive. Extrapolating CU writers' numbers, it looks like five gallons of water will cost $1.50 on the utility bill. For patients, the electricity cost alone may run approximately $30 per month.
Carbon filters are replaced frequently, on the order of every six months for high volume usage. Replacement costs run from $5 to $100.
Reverse osmosis units allow up to 80% of water to flow by the membrane and down the drain. When it's time to replace the membrane, usually once a year, costs range from $45 to $234.
If, after reading the above, you still want to own your own gear, we recommend that you use the CU ratings guide to make good choices within a reasonable budget.
On the other hand, you may choose to rent. Many companies rent and maintain an under-the-sink combination reverse osmosis and carbon filtration unit. The customer pays no replacement costs for filters or membranes. A test light signals when the unit needs servicing. Most units make plenty of water, allowing up to five gallons per day when needed.
Water companies can be found in the Yellow Pages and most offer a filtration service.
The quality of tap water almost everywhere, is less than acceptable for the Gerson Therapy. Fortunately, purification units are available, affordable, and effective.
The following is an example of one way to arrange your schedule to do the Gerson Therapy at home. This schedule was set up for a regular day on full therapy including 13 juices and 5 coffee enemas. Whoever is doing the kitchen work should allow about 10-15 minutes to prepare a juice and to clean up the juicer, so start making the juices about 15 minutes before the hour. Juices are followed in this list by the medications (in parentheses) which may be added. Please do not exceed daily total medication levels prescribed by your physicians.
If at all possible, have someone at home organize things before you leave the Gerson hospital. They will need to:
| Daily Schedule - Example (Morning) | |
| AM | Morning |
| 7:00 | Rise and shine |
| 7:15 | Coffee Break (Be sure to eat a bite of fruit before enema) |
| 7:45 | 1) Start oatmeal and coffee concentrate |
| 2) Make citrus juice (Lugol's and potassium) | |
| 3) Sort medications for the day | |
| 8:00 | Eat breakfast (Orange juice + meds) |
| 8:30 | 1) Wash the vegetables and fruits that you will use for the day's juices and meals |
| 2) Strain the coffee | |
| 3) Start the Special (Hippocrates) soup (see recipe, pg. 5.3.1) | |
| 9:00 | Green juice (potassium) |
| 9:30 | Carrot-Apple juice (Lugol's and potassium) |
| 10:00 | Carrot-Apple juice (Lugol's and potassium) |
| 11:00 | Carrot juice (2 Liver tablets) Prepare potatoes and vegetables for lunch |
| 11:15 | Coffee Break |
| Daily Schedule - Example (Afternoon) | |
| PM | Afternoon/Evening |
| 12:00 | 1) Green juice (potassium) |
| 2) Prepare lunch | |
| Salad | |
| Start vegetables and watch that they do not burn | |
| 1:00 | Special (Hippocrates) soup (see recipe, pg. 5.3.1) |
| Eat lunch | |
| Carrot-Apple juice (Lugol's and potassium) | |
| 2:00 | Green juice (potassium) |
| 3:00 | Carrot juice (w/2 Liver tablets) |
| 4:00 | Coffee Break + Carrot juice (w/Liver tablets) |
| 5:00 | Carrot-Apple juice (2 Liver tablets) |
| 6:00 | Green juice (potassium) |
| Prepare dinner, salad, potatoes, vegetables, carrot apple juice, etc. | |
| 7:00 | Eat dinner + Carrot-Apple juice + Meds |
| 8:00 | Coffee Break |
| Put together a fruit plate to nibble on through the night | |
| 10:00 | Coffee Break (Be sure to eat some fruit first) |
| AM | Late Night/Early Morning |
| 3:00 | Coffee Break, if ordered by physician. (Eat first) |