The Gerson Miracle (2004) - full transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING]

NARRATOR: These scenes before
your eyes would have been

incomprehensible 100 years ago.

What has become
daily normal life

is no longer synchronized
with the blood

that flows through our veins.

Seen from these actual
NASA satellite pictures,

we have illuminated the night
in the macabre celebration

of our progress.

Toxins kill, whether
quickly or slowly,

over a period of years, cloaked
to the disguise of old age.



Warm air moves north and
airborne transport of dioxins

eventually reaches the
once pristine Arctic.

Arctic peoples are showing
major health problems

from bioaccumulation of dioxins.

30 million gallons
of crude oil spilled

into the pristine waters of
Alaska's Prince William Sound.

The Exxon Valdez oil
spill was like the Russian

nuclear Chernobyl accident.

They are considered
historic disasters.

Over 30 million gallons of
oil from individual consumers

in the form of automobile
runoff enters the ocean

every week, the exact equivalent
of the Exxon oil spill.

In our oceans, PCBs and over
200 other hazardous compounds

are first consumed by
microscopic organisms



called zooplankton.

And from there the
poisons travel up

the food chain to polar
bears, seals, and whales,

and then to people.

One-thousandth of one-millionth
of a gram of dioxin

can cause harm to the body, yet
humans are now, inadvertently

consuming three to 600
times that amount every day

from the Arctic to Antarctica.

Trees, the very living
organisms that clean the air

and produce the oxygen
we breath are sliced off

at the ground with
the most careless

abandon as if there's
a limitless supply,

In North America alone,
we have intact only 2%

of our wilderness
areas of a century ago.

At one point, it had been said
that a tree squirrel could jump

from tree to tree
following the hardwood

coniferous forest belts from the
east coast to the west coast.

Global human populations have
become a problem, only because

of our collective
consumption at the expense

of environmental
sustainability and

the illusion of
instant economic reward

feeds the self destruction.

We are refusing to live
in harmony with nature

and our bodies are
the alarm clock.

In the late 1940s, the incidence
of cancer was one in 16.

Today it is one in two in
industrialized nations.

Cancer, cancer cells
are essentially

parasitic and immortal.

They do not develop special
functions, merely developing

their own blood vessel network
to syphon nourishment away

from the normal cells, then
grow to such an abnormal state

that they will kill
their own host.

In addition to this
ugly killer, a plethora

of other chronic diseases
is dramatically rising.

Shockingly, now the chance
of each of us getting cancer

or some other chronic disease
at some point in our lives

is almost assured because
of two key factors

that are the underlying cause,
deficiency and toxicity.

This discovery was at the
core of a young MD's research.

His name was Dr. Max Gerson.

As a boy in Germany,
in the late 1800s,

Max loved to play in the forests
and gardens of his grandmother,

fascinated by what he observed.

He watched with great
interest whenever

chemical fertilizer was applied
while planting potatoes.

He'd noticed the earthworms
adverse reactions

to these toxins and they
would call out and away.

Day by day he gained insight
into the relationships

between plants and the nutrients
they gained from the soil.

Young Max concluded from these
and many later observations

that the soil and
all that grows in it

is not something
distant from us.

That it must be regarded
as our external metabolism,

which produces the nutrients
for our internal metabolism.

Therefore, the soil must
be cared for properly

and must not be
depleted or poisoned,

otherwise these changes would
result in serious degenerative

diseases in animals and humans.

Under a microscope,
actively, cells

known as chloroplasts
busily undertake the process

of manufacturing chlorophyll.

The miraculous process
of photosynthesis begins.

These live cells and
enzymes in vegetation

are the nucleus of what we need
to ingest to heal a sick body

or maintain a healthy one.

Prior to receiving his
doctorate as a medical student,

Max Gerson suffered from severe
and repeated migraine headaches

leaving him essentially
unable to function for days.

After two years
of experimenting,

Dr. Gerson was able to eliminate
his migraines completely

by eating only certain
raw fruits and vegetables,

apples were a staple.

Cooked vegetables
were also included,

minus the fat, salt,
and spices, and alcohol

present in the standard
heavy German diet.

By 1918, word was spreading
about the Gerson Migraine Diet.

But on one occasion, a patient
returned with an observation.

Not only had the
migraine been relieved,

but his skin tuberculosis
also disappeared.

The astounding news
spread like wildfire.

In April 1924, famous
lung specialist,

Dr. Ferdinand
Sauerbruch offered to do

a clinical trial
with 450 curable skin

tuberculosis patients.

At the commencement
of the study,

Sauerbruch said to
Gerson, privately,

that if even one patient
showed improvement

he would believe every
word of Gerson's treatment.

446 out of 450 patients
recovered over 99%.

Doctor Gerson and
his wife Gretchen

had three daughters,
Joanna, Gertrude,

and the youngest, Charlotte.

Of all the children, Charlotte
took a special interest

in her father's work
even as a youngster,

much to the delight of
everyone, especially her father.

By the late 1920s,
Dr. Gerson's fame

had spread throughout Europe,
especially after he cured

Dr. Albert Schweitzer's
wife, Helena,

of pulmonary tuberculosis
and Schweitzer's

daughter's skin disease.

When Dr, Schweitzer was 75
years old, he came to Dr. Gerson

with diabetes and
was also cured.

Between 1933 and World War
II Gerson and his family

fled Nazi persecution,
eventually

settling in New York.

Dr. Gerson's seven siblings
died in the holocaust.

Throughout the '40s,
Dr. Gerson's success

at his New York clinic
stunned the medical community,

but also evoked the
dark forces within it.

Dr. Gerson was curing
patients with cancer

and as a consequence, he
testified before the United

States Senate on July
the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd,

in 1946, along with five of
his recovered cancer patients

and the medical
records of five more.

So stunning was his testimony,
that on the evening of July

the 3rd, 1946, renowned ABC News
correspondent Raymond Graham

Swing declared on
his radio broadcast

to the entire United States that
for the first time in history

there have been discovered
the cure for cancer.

The public response
was overwhelming,

staggering, lighting up the
switchboards at ABC nonstop,

out of control,
unbelievable, but what

happened next was even more so.

Two weeks later,
Raymond Graham Swing

was fired from his
position at ABC that he

had held for over 30 years.

And the Pepper-Neely Anticancer
Bill of 1946, document no.

8947 now gathers dust in
the archives of the United

States printing office.

All during these years, Dr.
Gerson's daughter worked

intensively with her
father, now married,

she had a son Howard
and a daughter Peggy.

Charlotte encouraged
and aided her father

to publish his first book
in 1958, A Cancer Therapy,

the results of 50 cases.

Published in numerous
foreign languages

and selling in the
hundreds of thousands

this book demonstrated
to the world

the seemingly
miraculous examples

of patients with every
form of horrifying,

in advance cancers, given up
to die by their medical doctors

and surgeons.

The patients came to Dr. Gerson
with their biopsy reports,

x-rays, and other
medical records

and found cures under
Dr. Gerson's care.

Some of these patients,
almost 50 years later,

are still alive today.

Of course, although the
title is about 50 cases,

these merely serve as
representatives of thousands

of complete recoveries well
beyond the five-year survival

mark.

And the miracles of recoveries
by the countless thousands

across the world
continue to this day.

At the time of
his death in 1959,

Dr. Gerson was tracking
over 1,500 patients.

The files have been preserved
by has daughter Charlotte

who is now in her '80s.

Charlotte carries on
the work of her father

through the establishment at the
Gerson institute in California

and a hospital in
Tijuana, Mexico.

She loves to reminisce
about Dr. Gerson's legacy.

CHARLOTTE GERSON: We have
some letters here of Albert

Schweitzer and uh, they had
a very active correspondence,

my father, Dr. Gerson
and Albert Schweitzer,

and his family and uh patients.

And uh, he also
expressed, in this letter

he expressed his, uh, admiration
of this specific uh, cancer

research that Dr. Gerson did.

Of course, all the
letters are in German

and I'm trying to
translate some.

Uh, as well as,
uh, the remarkable

results that he saw, not
only with cancer patients,

but with his wife
who had tuberculosis

and their daughter
who had a very

indecipherable skin disease.

One of the things
Schweitzer did was he

gave Dr. Gerson a gift of
a uh, carved crocodile.

Actually, this is
an elephant's tusk

and uh, the natives
in Africa made it

and uh, this was uh,
a gift to Dr. Gerson

by Albert Schweitzer.

NARRATOR: Many of the famous
whose life was snuffed out

prematurely by, usually,
cancer, who contributed so much

to society,
undoubtedly would still

be alive today had they either
known of the Gerson Therapy

or followed through with it.

CHARLOTTE GERSON: And we have
seen so many patients who

were returned to
creativity and long lives

after being told that they had
three or six months to live.

NARRATOR: Charlotte established
the Gerson Institute in 1977,

in San Diego, California for the
purpose of educating the public

and patients alike
about the therapy

and highly effective ways
with seminars, luncheons,

consultations, follow-up
care for recovering

patients, mailings of books,
booklets and media kits.

The list of activities at
the Institute are as varied

and numerous as the
patients themselves.

In addition to the
Gerson Institute,

the hospital in Tijuana,
Mexico was established

over 27 years ago to
treat patients for cancer

and other chronic diseases.

Laws in virtually
all the United States

prohibit any other
treatment for cancer

other than radiation,
chemotherapy, and surgery, even

though they are usually
ineffective at best

and completely
ineffective at worst.

Chemotherapy, for example,
does not cure cancer at all.

It usually, merely poisons
and kills the patient

instead of the cancer.

On this particular day,
two medical doctors

from Czechoslovakia
consult with Anita Wilson

who is executive director, about
the possibilities of opening

a hospital Czechoslovakia.

ANITA WILSON: You bruise
the immune system.

You rid the body of
those years and years

of accumulated toxins
from the way we've eaten

and the way we've lived.

I've been so impressed with
the international interest

in this work.

Not a day goes by that
we don't hear something

from a patient or a
physician or a group

of people perhaps
interested in starting

a clinic or support group.

NARRATOR: Many of the staff
at the Gerson Institute

have had personal experiences
of the potent effectiveness

of the Gerson Therapy.

Carol Beard, president
of the Gerson Institute.

CAROL BEARD: I first met
Charlotte Gerson in 1975.

My daughter was nine
years old at that time

and had suffered
from asthma attacks.

Almost every other
month she had an asthma

attack that lasted seven days.

When I heard about the Gerson
Therapy it sounded good to me

and made sense.

I went home and practically
threw everything out

of the cupboards, changed
our way of eating,

and Debbie never had
another asthma attack.

In 1999, I started
getting sick and um,

experiencing a lot of
pain, chronic fatigue.

In high school, I was one of
those dieters, uh anorexic

and bulimia, bulimia when it
wasn't really written about.

I think I destroyed
my digestive tract.

The doctors couldn't uh,
diagnose me, but exactly,

they said um, irritable
bowel syndrome.

They weren't sure.

They finally gave me a CAT scan.

I had to fight for that.

It took about a year
of arguing to get

a CAT scan, which revealed
uh some lesions and tumor

on my liver.

Um, they said that one was
suspicious of metastases,

but they didn't think so.

They wanted to wait and see.

Well, I knew about
the Gerson Therapy,

so I decided I would
just go on the therapy.

And a year later,
that same tumor,

the one that they thought
could be metastases,

was gone, totally gone.

And my energy was back.

The pain had left
as soon as soon

as I started eating the foods.

I was just um, just
the way to go for me.

I used the medical
doctors as a diagnosis

and knew already what
I was going to do.

Several interesting things
about the Gerson Therapy,

but one I'd like to mention
is the healing reactions.

I was 16 in a
automobile accident.

When I was 16 years old
my face hit the windshield

and I had over 150
stitches in my face.

After being on the
therapy for about a year,

I noticed one day when
I was rubbing my nose

that I could feel the
bone on the right side

for the first time.

Prior to that there had been
a lot of scar tissue and lumpy

bumpiness right in this area.

And I could feel the bone.

The scar tissue dissolves
along with tumors.

It's the body's
reaction to healing.

NARRATOR: Another staff member,
Susanne Brunt, Charlotte

Gerson's niece, at
one time was diagnosed

with inoperable cervical cancer.

SUSANNE BRUNT: I did
the therapy 19 years ago

and so I can sit here and
say that I'm a success.

NARRATOR: Many
recovered patients visit

the Gerson Institute
regularly to donate

their time to encourage others.

Paul Scelsi.

PAUL SCELSI: I was diagnosed
with prostate cancer in 1990.

Through the rectal exam,
the sonogram, and a biopsy,

it determined that
I had three sections

of the cancer, malignant cancer
in the bod-- in the prostate.

They wanted to take the
prostate out the next day.

I told them that--
don't call me.

I'll call you.

I didn't want that removed.

I then searched for Cancer
agencies, alternative cancer

agencies, and uh, found Gerson.

And I talked with
Gerson Institute

and went to the
hospital in Mexico

and talked with the
doctors and the patients.

After three months, I found
that I was losing weight

very readily, lost 27 pounds.

And after 18 months,
my P-- my PSA

showed 0.06, which to me was
the end of the treatment.

I was cured.

The doctors thought I was great.

He said I had a better
PSA than he did.

I'm not an easy one to get along
with because I'm a maverick.

You can tell me something,
but I don't believe you,

and so, you know,
a doubting Thomas.

I put my hand in.

Yeah, okay, now I believe you.

The Gerson Institute,
they gave me my life back.

NARRATOR: Dr. Gerson discovered
early in his research

that vegetables and fruits
was produced to flood the body

with nutrients that
have been lacking

within the human organism for
so very long, sometimes for

decades.

A particular type
of juicing method

must be utilized,
however, implementing

a grind and press device.

When the vegetables
are inserted,

it is pulverized to the
point that the fibrous cells

in the vegetable are
ripped open leaving

a mush that falls onto a
cloth ready to be pressed.

Once the pressure of
approximately one ton

is applied, all the vegetables,
available nutrients,

and living enzymes flow out
giving a potent concoction

of nutrients.

When juice is drunk, it
can enter the bloodstream

almost as fast as alcohol.

This juicer was originally
designed in the 1930s

by a scientific researcher
named Dr. Norman Walker.

Dr. Walker maintained
that when we provide

live organic nutrients to our
bodies on a consistent basis

the result would be not
only vibrant health,

but ideal longevity of
approximately 120 years of age.

Dr. Walker died on June 6,
1985, at the age of 117.

The effectiveness of
the juicing is obvious.

An enormous amount of
nutrition can be captured

in a glass of juice in
minutes and within a few

more minutes be flowing within
the veins of the patient.

If this same amount
was eaten, it

would take hours of digestion
and much of the nutrients

and enzymes within the
food would be burned

up in the digestion effort.

Dr. Gerson required his patients
to drink one eight ounce

glass of juice 13 times a day.

As you could see, an
entire day's worth of juice

is equivalent to
an enormous amount

of food, which weighs in as
little as over 20 pounds a day.

But they don't just drink juice.

In addition, the patients
also enjoy a cornucopia

of delicious organic
foods that exceed

their wildest imaginations.

Not only is the food
colorful and tasty,

but serves as a
complement to the juices.

And this once again,
an organic medication

straight from the
table of mother nature.

But just eating
different is not enough.

To heal a seriously ill
patient, nutrition is only half

of the equation, resolving
the accumulated toxicity

in the body is the second half.

Gotta die from something.

NARRATOR: As detrimental
to health as a cigarette

symbolizes, there's a
Pandora's box of poisons

and stresses on the
body that are just

as bad, if not worse
than cigarette smoke,

found in day to day life.

The lifestyles we now live have
us dying while we are still

alive and seem to be healthy.

It is slow, relentless.

Realizing this, Charlotte Gerson
included a chapter about it

in a book about
the Gerson Therapy

that underlines,
in layman's terms,

the principles of
the Gerson Therapy.

Within one section of the
book, environmental stressors

that can lead to
cancer are underscored.

Types of these hits are in
the most surprising places.

Our exposure to toxins
in today's environment

borders on the absurd.

It is practically
impossible to avoid.

It is analogous to dodging
bullets in a hail of gunfire

from multiple machine guns.

Not only are there
poisons we ingest,

but stressors such as electric
magnetic fields and microwave

radiation that interfere
with the body's

own electrical
circuitry and rearranges

molecular structuring causing
damage sometimes irreversibly

to the brain and other organs.

A typical example of daily toxic
ingestion or precursor hit,

would be when you get
into your automobile

prior to even
starting the engine.

You will have already
ingested dioxins

given off from the dashboard
to the fancy fake leather seat.

Suppose you continue
your journey

and stop at a motel
for the evening.

Perhaps you chose
a non-smoking room.

However, someone else has
taken the parking spot

in front of your room
and left their car

idle for a short time,
even for a few minutes.

A nightmarish mix of airborne
toxins in the car exhaust

have slipped into your room
from the space under the door.

Once inside, from the
power switch activating

electromagnetic fields to the
microwave radiation leaking

from the oven as it prepares
your plastic wrapped,

heavily salted and preserved
nutritionless instant dinner

to the carcinogenic chemicals
in the soap on the bathtub rim,

you're inundated with hits.

The soap and shampoo are
just the start, however.

But what will be absorbed
through your skin

once you turn on the
bathtub faucet, which

will provide chlorinated
and fluoridated

water to help you get clean.

Chlorine and fluorine help
destroy the thyroid gland.

The toilet seat has been
sanitized for your protection.

But what does that mean?

The residual toxins in
the chemical cleaning

process of the seat
will be reabsorbed

by contact once you sit down.

The toilet paper will also smear
chemicals from solvents to dyes

into your bloodstream.

The towels use chemical
detergent residues

that will be activated once they
hit the moisture of the skin.

At the bathroom sink,
you may actually

drink the chlorinated water
from a cheaply manufactured

plastic cup that allow serious
toxins from the plastic

itself into the water.

The freshly painted
wall and its vapors

are nothing compared
to the plywood

and the continuing emission
of formaldehyde gasses.

Over to the lamp to get
a cup of coffee to relax.

It is coffee that has
been sprayed with chemical

poisons grown inorganically.

The artificial sugar
and the artificial cream

adds a nice touch to the mix.

The good news is that you're
not going to use a cell phone

to receive or place a call.

If it was a cellphone,
repeated lengthy uses

have shown to interfere with and
challenge the neurotransmitters

of the brain.

The amount of radiation
from the TV will be small,

but when the TV set is
discarded or incinerated,

it'll come back to you via
the air, water, or food.

This room contains
a brand new carpet.

The outgassing of chemicals
for the next six months

is extremely hazardous to
body tissue if inhaled.

As we finally turn off
the light to sleep,

the electromagnetic field from
the clock next to your head

will almost imperceptibly
influence the slumber

and dreams one hopes to have.

Even the film to
make this movie uses

extremely poisonous chemicals in
its manufacture and processing.

As ridiculous as this
scenario may sound,

it is one more hit for
your body to fight.

The good news is that
most of these toxins

can be removed with
strict adherence

of the Gerson Therapy, but how
is this fully accomplished?

The answer is organic coffee.

Dr. Gerson discovered that if a
patient drank more than a pint

of juice a day, the powerful
enzymes would dislodge poisons

in the body cells systems.

And this is where the
coffee comes into play.

Once the poisons are
dislodged into the bloodstream

and absorbed by the
liver, the liver

can become overwhelmed
and even damaged

unless it gets some help.

Dr. Gerson found that an organic
coffee solution introduced

rectally stimulates the
bile ducts in the liver

to essentially dump
captured free radicals

and pathogenic poisons into
the colon for expulsion

through the rectum.

When coffee enemas are
utilized in conjunction

with juice drinking, it is
detoxification at its finest.

The immune system will
now have the upper hand

in destroying cancer or other
degenerative conditions.

But how does one
make a coffee enema?

It starts on your kitchen
stove with a quart

of distilled water.

Three tablespoons of drip
brown coffee are dropped in.

After a few minutes, the
burner is turned down.

And coffee is left to
simmer for 15 minutes.

Once the coffee is done, it is
strained into a measuring cup.

Additional water may be added to
make up for water loss in steam

in making the coffee.

Coffee enemas are best taken
in a relaxing atmosphere

to ensure maximum effect.

Once the coffee cools
to body temperature

it is poured into
the enema bucket.

A tiny plastic stopper
at the end of the hose

is slid back to release
the air in the tube.

It is then slid back in place
to stop the flow of coffee

until rectal insertion
is accomplished.

The hose clamp is readjusted
to at least eight inches

from the end of tube for rectal
insertion to that length.

Once the coffee solution
drains into the patient,

it is retained in the
colon for 12 to 15 minutes.

During this time, the liver has
a chance to absorb the coffee's

caffeine and other agents.

Simultaneously,
the liver in turn

excretes poisons into
the colon for expulsion.

Charlotte Gerson is not only
responsible for keeping alive

her father's
principles of healing,

but guarding the integrity
of those fundamentals

and their application
over the years.

Hundreds of holistic
physicians in the United States

and around the world have
been trained by Charlotte

and the Gerson Institute.

Unbelievably, it is illegal
in the United States

to treat and cure a diseased
patient in a hospital

with Gerson Therapy.

Because of this,
Charlotte had no choice

but to establish a hospital
27 years ago in Mexico.

Because Charlotte resides
in Southern California,

it is easier for her
to drive regularly

to advise and encourage
the endless numbers

of patients that arrive at the
hospital in Tijuana, Mexico.

Under the care of a staff of
physicians and nutritionists,

most patients who come in
with inoperable cancers

and with no hope of recovery,
leave within one to four weeks

to continue the
treatment at home.

And usually on
leaving the hospital,

they're well on their
way to recovery.

Many patients experience the
disappearance of their tumors

while at the hospital.

And the patients pour in
from around the world.

In the making of this
film, one camera man

accompanied Charlotte
on a random day

without any patient
at the hospital

aware of what was going on.

The hope was that at
least one of the patients

would not be shy and would
agree to appear on camera.

Charlotte and the cameraman
were not disappointed.

The first patient
that they saw was

Alejandra, who
graciously allowed them

to enter her hospital room.

She seemed in very good spirits.

CHARLOTTE GERSON: We have a
biopsy from March of last year

and uh, it shows uh, ray three
of four, uh, cancer at site two

and uh, after only about two
weeks under Gerson Therapy,

there is no malignant cells
showing in the current biopsy.

Very exciting.

I'm very happy.

Very, very, happy to know
about the Gerson Therapy.

Um, after only two
weeks on the therapy

I find, after the
pathologist report

that I'm free from cancer now.
So--

CHARLOTTE GERSON:
It's fantastic.

It's been a blessing.

CHARLOTTE GERSON:
You can stay well

and if you ever want to
you can have children.

Yes.

I can have children and I've
been given new life now.

And I plan on staying
on the therapy

for the rest of my
life, moderately,

but yes, it has saved my life.

CHARLOTTE GERSON:
What's your problem?

What brings you here? -I have
um, primary peritoneal cancer,

cancer of the peritoneum.

CHARLOTTE GERSON: And
you were swollen or what

did you ask your doctor?

I was in Alaska
where I'm from and um,

I was diagnosed with
um-- or I had pain.

I had pain in my stomach.

CHARLOTTE GERSON: You
were diagnosed how?

Did you have a biopsy?

Well, no.

I flew to the Mayo
Clinic and I was--

have uh-- regimen
of tests and um,

they found malignant
cells and ascites.

I had ten pounds of
ascites in my abdomen.

CHARLOTTE GERSON: The
name of the doctor?

It was um, Dr. Rao.

CHARLOTTE GERSON: Dr. Rao?
-Yes.

CHARLOTTE GERSON:
And he did a biopsy

and then he was able to tell
you what the problem was.

He ordered a biopsy
and the pathology

came back with um, carcinoma.

CHARLOTTE GERSON: OK.

And uh, you had ascite
tissue swelling?

I had 10 pounds of malignant
ascites in my abdomen.

CHARLOTTE GERSON:
And they told you it

wouldn't go away very easily.

They said that the
ascites would not go away

unless it was tapped,
that the chemotherapy

could also dry it up.

CHARLOTTE GERSON: I see.
OK--

And that was several
doctors that told me that.

CHARLOTTE GERSON: But
you didn't have chemo?

I did have chemo.

CHARLOTTE GERSON:
You did have chemo?

Yeah.
CHARLOTTE GERSON: How much?

FEMALE PATIENT: Um, one course.

CHARLOTTE GERSON: One course.

And then when did you come here?

Um, after I was finished with
my chemo and it didn't work.

And they wanted me to have
surgery and more chemo,

and more surgery,
and more chemo.

CHARLOTTE GERSON:
Then you came here.

And how long did it take
for it to come down?

Um, I have lost
eight centimeters

off my stomach in the
first day that I was here.

CHARLOTTE GERSON: The first day?
Wow.

And it's been about two
centimeters a day sense then.

CHARLOTTE GERSON: Ever sense.

NARRATOR: There were
other patients improving

dramatically that day.

Not all wanted to have a
movie camera pointed at them,

but nonetheless, they conveyed
their deepest joy in how

they were steadily improving.

To Charlotte, this day was
a typical and normal one.

To the cameraman, it was like
being witness to a miracle.

Whatever you call
it, it is working.

The cases of full
recoveries have

become a dizzying mix of joyous
celebration and curiosity.

But despite the
success and statistics,

each and every person who
was forced to stare cancer

in the eye wants reassurance,
reassurance that what they have

can very possibly be defeated.

Always seeking new
ways to cheer up,

empower, and restore hope
to the supposed hopeless,

Charlotte address several
prevalent type of cancer

in booklets.

Within the pages
of each booklet are

personal biographies and the
medical records of recoveries.

Many of these patients were
so sick with other maladies

that cancer was the
least of their worries,

but their living
nightmares were transformed

into beautiful dreams.

Many former patients stay in
touch with Charlotte Gerson

and form lifelong friendships.

One of these people
is Debbie Wagner.

Debbie was--

Diagnosed with ovarian cancer
nine years ago, stage 3B.

Um, my dad had told me
about the Gerson Therapy

and I did research.

And I was planned to do chemo.

And my dad had
told me about this.

And during the
research, I found out

that the best way
to cure yourself

is to do it the healthy way, not
put more poisons into your body

that would kill you.

And that's what chemo did.

And it kills your body, the
good cells and the bad cells.

Where the Gerson Therapy, it
rebuilds all your good cells

so that it will be able to
digest all the bad cells

and get rid of them.

Um, I did the therapy and uh,
it's nine years and I'm cured.

I have not had any
recurrences of cancer.

I was uh, given the
diagnosis from my doctors.

And then when they
told me that I

had uh, ovarian cancer,
they had told me

I had six to nine
months to live.

And you know, I didn't want
to go against the doctor

when I have-- when
you have panic attacks

you believe in you doctor.

But I believed in the
Gerson Therapy more.

And I went for it.

And when I go down
to UCLA, and that's

who did all my blood work
and my MRI's, to check

to see if everything was OK.

I'd go into my doctor
and he'd just look at me

and he'd say I just
can't believe you're

one of my cancer patients.

I don't have cancer
patients that

come in with all the umph
and enthusiasm that you have

and the energy you have.

And that just really made
me feel good every time

I went in there.

And seeing the patients
that were in there,

I did not look like a
normal cancer patient.

And to me, I have Charlotte
and the Gerson Therapy

to thank for that, because I
just-- if I would have done

the chemo the way I was supposed
to, I truly, truly, in my heart

just don't think I'd be here.

When I was diagnosed
with cancer,

I knew of three
other ladies that

had the same cancer I had
and um, they also were

given the six to nine months.

And the longest one of them
made it and it was nine months.

And they all three
did the chemo.

And I'm the only one
here nine years later

and I turned down chemo.

I'm Santese.

I'm Debbie's daughter.

Uh, I was 12 years old when my
mom was diagnosed with cancer.

One of the girls that I grew
up with, we took our summer

and made my mom's
juices every day

and helped my mom when she
was doing the coffee enemas.

You know, we'd go in there
and play cards with her

to try to get her
mind off of it.

And she would-- she'd do
her coffee enemas at night

and she wouldn't
be able to sleep,

so she'd wake me up at
like 2:00 in the morning

and say let's go to Walmart.

I'm uh, Steve, Deb's husband.

Um, when I first
came into Deb's life,

it was um, several years
ago and when we first

met I was so touched with--

NARRATOR: There is, for
Charlotte, the reluctance

to get emotionally
attached to any single case

since there have been thousands.

But occasionally,
a phone call will

leave her effervescent
with cheer, as in the case

recently in Colorado.

12-year-old Stephanie was
diagnosed six and one half

years ago with wilms'
tumor, a kidney

cancer seen only in children.

Her parents agreed to
do immediate surgery.

The surgeons removed the right
kidney, but during the surgery,

it was discovered that the
cancer had spread to the vena

cava, the principal
vein draining

the upper portion of the body.

But the claw of the cancer
had not ended there either.

It was discovered that the lungs
too were riddled with cancer.

And more horrifying still,
was that the revelation

that the cancer had made it all
the way to the right chamber

of her heart.

The surgeon then
opened her sternum

and started with removing
the tumors from her lungs.

From there, he
moved to her heart

and in open heart
surgery, removed the tumor

from her right heart chamber.

The procedure took
10 and a half hours.

For the next four years,
little Stephanie's ravaged body

endured a total of 16 surgeries
and massive amounts of drugs,

chemotherapy and radiation.

But the powerful
forces of cancer

returned again and
again with a vengeance.

Now, even her liver
was invaded by cancer

and both lungs
were also reclaimed

by the seemingly immortal
and unstoppable disease.

By this time, Stephanie
was a bald skeleton,

drained and reduced to
the weight of a feather.

The doctors at Valley
Children's told us

that, um, she's not
going to be able to,

um-- the cancer was back and
she's not going to make it.

STEPHANIE: So my mom, she heard
about this alternative stuff.

So first, we went down
to Tijuan-- Tijuana

and met Mrs. Gerson and
learned more about the diet.

And so, we went back home.

And then, I think it
was January something,

we were down at the Gers--
Gerson and um, and we--

we were doing the
diet for-- there

for about two/three
weeks I think.

I had come down there sick
my-- myself with candida,

and um, uh, like the second
week I started noticing

that all the juices and uh,
coffee breaks and all that

stuff that um, I
was feeling better.

I wasn't-- I had regular
yeast infections all the time

and they were clearing up,

Yeah, then we
started on the diet,

then I started feeling
better after having

being hypoglycemic.

And just felt
better, more energy.

And um, the food, at first I
thought it was kind of weird

because it wasn't-- it didn't--
well, it kind of looked weird.

And the soup didn't
taste that good at first,

But after like a week, it
started tasting better.

And so, we went back
home and um, let's see.

And we've been
doing the treatment

and-- for two years about, yeah,
two years since this January.

NARRATOR: From that
point on, hope returned

and life began to change
for the entire family.

Even the dog was happy again.

For now, this is
obviously not a report

of a totally cured patient.

Stephanie has a long way to go.

But the poisons are
now being excreted

and her body is building itself
back up with powerful enzymes

and nutrient forces.

She is on the road to recovery.

But where Stephanie's orthodox
medical doctors had only

given her six months
to live two years ago,

she has now astounded them and
of course, confounded them.

STEPHANIE: Here, come on, boy.

Let's go.

I have been feeling lots better.

I've been having more energy
when I was on the is diet.

I am on the diet.

And I feel very healthy and
stronger and much better

than I did.

NARRATOR: This past spring,
rosy-cheeked Stephanie

and her little sister
visited Charlotte.

Charlotte observed that they
ran around playing and enjoying

life as though the
scourge of cancer

had never visited
this resilient child.

For many patients like Stephanie
that are under Gerson Therapy

care, an in-depth series
of laboratory tests

are taken to adjust
the therapy precisely

to the needs of the patient.

There are also nontoxic
non-pharmaceutical supplements

called biologicals
that are utilized

in a greater or lesser
measure depending

upon the patient's condition.

One of the most
important of these

is a natural potassium
mix of potassium

gluconate, acetate,
phosphate, in equal amounts,

that Dr, Gerson put
together after doing

nearly 300 experiments.

It is extremely beneficial
to restoring the potassium

in the body's cells systems that
was lost due to most people's

unrelenting use of inorganic
sodium such as found in table

salt and hidden within
everything from processed

foods to toothpaste.

Table salt is a poison and
even though iodine is needed

by the body, adding
it to table salt

destroys most of that value.

The use of inorganic
sodium causes

displacement of potassium
found naturally in human cells

leaving them vulnerable
to attack by diseases.

Dr. Gerson's
potassium supplement

is dissolved in a quart
of distilled water

and incorporated in small
amounts in the juices.

When it comes to
fats in the diet,

Dr. Gershon
painstakingly searched

until he found only one answer
for that need, flax oil.

Robert Gaffney, president of
omega flax oil production.

Welcome to our plants
here at Omega Nutrition.

We're located in
Bellingham, Washington.

And um, it's a pleasure
to show you around.

Here comes uh, one of the
vehicles that deliver it.

Our plant facility is a brand
new, rebuilt from uh, basically

from the ashes of a fire
that we had in 1996.

So this is the newest,
most sophisticated

oil facility in North America.

And uh, basically it's
uh, what it would be

is a micro processing facility.

NARRATOR: Flax seeds
are cold pressed

to the temperature of less
than 90 degrees fahrenheit.

The pressed and
ground flax seeds

essentially, the
leftovers, are used

for fertilizer and animal food.

Dr. Gerson stressed
that flax oil

is to be ingested raw and cold.

It is not a cooking oil.

Flax oil delivers nutrients
to the body's cells

effectively as well
as activating enzymes

within the body to help destroy
cancer and other diseases,

a true miracle oil.

ROBERT GAFFNEY:
The Gerson Clinic,

with all of the good work that
Max Gerson did in the past,

really understood the
value of a flax oil

that wasn't a uh, anything
that-- actually, they educated

us more than we could
even educate them

on the value of the
benefits of how flax

oil really their modalities.

NARRATOR: The use of these
natural holistic supplements

on the Gerson Therapy
is part of customization

to the specific degenerative
condition of the patient.

There are many holistic
approaches to healing.

The Gerson Therapy
utilizes some of them

in the recovery process.

None, in and of themselves
can, for example, cure cancer.

But they can sometimes
fortify Gerson's Therapy's

effectiveness when
it comes to helping

the body recover, whether from
the common cold or cancer.

Today, over half the medical
physicists in the US and Canada

argue alternative therapists
despite the efficacy

and in the United
States, especially.

It is estimated that our
understanding and acceptance

of holistic medicine
is still 75 years

behind the rest of the world.

The only area of
which established

orthodox medicine in the
United States is superlative

is in the cost.

Medically, we trail many
third world countries.

Our medical system is
collapsing under the load

of so-called incurable, chronic,
and degenerative diseases

that Doctor Gerson
cured nearly three

quarters of centuries ago.

The foundation of
the Gerson Therapy

is fresh organically grown
vegetables for juices, salads,

and delectable entrees, in
conjunction with organic coffee

for detoxification.

It is imperative
that patients have

access to such food choices.

The organic food market
has increased to almost 20%

annually for the
past seven years,

mainly as a result
of the economic law

of supply and demand.

Mass produced commercially grown
fruits and vegetables produced

with chemicals and
sprays are fertilized

with only three
minerals, nitrogen,

phosphorus, and potassium.

But the plant, like the human
body, needs over 50 more.

As a consequence of this
tiny mineral contribution

in the fertilization process
of commercially grown crops,

the plants are sick and must be
kept on life support with more

toxic chemicals until market.

This process is now
repeated in the consumer

in simplified terms.

On the other hand,
organically grown food

is raised with natural
fertilizers of decaying matter

and supplied with the minerals
required for healthy plants,

which in turn, enables the
plans to fight off disease

and resist pests naturally.

In a beautiful reflection
of this process,

in simplified
terms, the consumer

now will reap the benefits of
the same natural protection

by eating these plants.

But discerning consumers want
to be reassured that what they

are buying is truly organic.

Meet Wes Yamamoto,
foreman of an organic farm

growing citrus and vegetables
in Southern California.

Here at MK Ranch, we've been
expanding our organic program.

And we find it's very important
to, you know. uh, provide

sustainable agriculture
to the community around us

and throughout
the United States.

I know that in the
past um, people

had different uh, perspectives
of what was truly organic

and we would have some
growers come in and say well,

they're groves were
organic, but basically

just by virtue of-- of neglect.

And last year,
the government uh,

set forth a NOP program, which
stands for the National Organic

Program, which set aside rules
and regulations for everybody

to abide by if they
wanted to become organic.

So that set forth a set of
uh, rules and regulations

such that, anybody who did want
to become organic would truly

be in the same uh, playing
field and would have to abide

by the same sets of rules.

We have found that uh, the
attributes of truly doing uh,

a certified organic
is uh, beneficial,

not only for the
people, but also

for the ground and et cetera.

So that's something that
uh, we truly look forward

to expand upon and to provide
for the local community

and also for the people
throughout the United States

and worldwide.

NARRATOR: By popular demand,
undoubtedly, based largely

on the discovery of the
incomparably better flavor

of fresh organic produce,
organic farmers frequently

stock popular local farm
stands with delicious samples

of their produce for
their neighbors' benefit,

before shipping their
product to a never

increasing world market.

Charlotte Gerson follows
the Gerson therapy herself

as the lifestyle of prevention.

She has known, as millions
of others have discovered,

that the principles
of the Gerson therapy

raised the bar for getting
the most out of life.

The physical senses are
at their greatest acuity

and the haze of mental
deterioration disappears.

One is resoundingly well.

Now in her '80s,
Charlotte's skin

has the quality and texture
of someone much younger.

She doesn't need reading
glasses, has an alert mind,

has no osteoporosis,
never gets sick,

and sustains
stamina, initiative,

and energy that's comparable
to someone in their youth.

Using the Gerson therapy, one
need never again worry about

dieting to lose or gain weight.

Charlotte explains.

When we are dealing
nowadays extremely

seriously with obesity,
which has become an epidemic.

Obesity is almost always
nothing but hunger

and the reason is that
foods are depleted.

They're damaged.

They are processed.

They are dead in cans and jars,
and pickled and preserves,

and so on.

So that, actually, the body
is not getting nutrition

and people are very uh,
hungry, because even

though they're full, they
are not truly nourished.

So they continually
have hunger and uh,

start eating more and more
but eating the wrong things

so that they become obese
and are still not nourished,

and are still craving foods.

NARRATOR: It has been
said that supermarkets

are like mausoleums where
the dead foods lies in state.

Once heat and
pasteurization takes place,

the enzymes are dead and the
molecular structure of food

itself changes, making it
hard to assimilate even

its few remaining nutrients.

Good health can
exude beauty and sex

appeal, not only skin deep, but
all the way through the bone.

The Gerson Therapy is
an approach to life

that galvanized the power
of each and every person

to experience life
to the fullest

and be assured of a
life free of disease

or some nagging unknown
medical condition.

For many, it also grants
them a higher vibration

or spiritual
consciousness that spans

every faith and walk of life.

Day to day life
experiences are fought

with perplexities
that can be addressed

in a negative or positive way.

Life changing success or failure
results from our reactions

to a flow stimuli.

The principles of
the Gerson Therapy

clear the mind to inspire
positive responses to stimuli.

In cases of drug
addiction, crime,

and chronic mental illness,
these afflictions too,

can be overcome.

For example, cocaine
and heroin addicts

destroy their cravings
for drugs in usually less

than 72 hours on the therapy.

The human brain is capable
of storing information

recalling it at any second.

Like books in the
library, the knowledge

imprinted in this
organ of the body

can be added to without limit
throughout limit of one's life.

The only obstacle that arrests
or commence to subtract

those books is long
term lack of nutrients

and environmental toxicity.

Dr. Gerson observed that
when nutrients are plentiful

and the body is
detoxified, the brain

is restored to normal function.

When the brain detoxifies,
calm and clarity return,

mental and emotional fog lift.

Over 2,400 years
ago, Plato wrote,

"No attempt should be
made to cure the body

without curing the soul."

The body is miraculous in
its design and flexibility.

It is a forgiving machine, even
following decades of punishment

it can rebound.

One of the first
steps we can take

is to avoid
environmental poisons,

even those we think
are insignificant.

Harmful fractions, such
as chlorine and fluorine

belong to a dangerous class
of chemicals called halogens.

These chemicals are
found in virtually

all municipal drinking water
and inflict severe damage

in the body's endocrine system,
particularly the thyroid gland.

Fluorine, a highly
toxic byproduct

of aluminum manufacturing is
very dangerous and expensive

to dispose of.

Industrial principles once
convinced the American Dental

Association that
it would prevent

cavities, an assertion that
has since been proven false.

Nonetheless, they found a way
to dispose of this product

by putting it in the
public water supply.

The only way to rid the water
of this dangerous chemical

is by steam distillation.

But there are other
semi hidden dangers

in ingestion of daily
poisons that can be avoided.

Charlotte cites one
example in particular.

CHARLOTTE GERSON: Well,
the dental amalgam

is now coming more and
more into the fore,

even while dentists
use to dispute it.

It's interesting to
note that the American

Dental Association claims
it's perfectly harmless in you

month.

However, if there is any of
the amalgam left over from what

goes into your tooth, if it's
just left in the orifice,

they're required to dispose
of it as toxic waste.

But in your mouth it's safe?

Of course it isn't.

And it's been
clearly demonstrated

that a lot of children of
uh, seizures and all kinds

of mental disturbances from
the dental amalgam and so

do adults.

NARRATOR: The danger
of illegal street drugs

in public and private schools
is heavily publicized,

but there are wolves dressed as
sheep that are welcomed as they

walk through the front door.

CHARLOTTE GERSON: The
trouble with Ritalin

is sometimes-- first
of all, it's never been

tested on children under six.

And they're giving
it now to children

in preschool and kindergarten.

If the nurse or if
the teacher feels

that the kids are restless
or causing a problem,

then they report them.

And the nurse reports
them to the doctor.

And without any further thought
they put them on Ritalin.

It does cause permanent
brain damage, even when

they quit taking the Ritalin.

And the American services, like
the Army, Navy, and Air Force,

will not accept any
person into the service

who has ever been on
Ritalin because they

are uncontrollable.

They are mentally disturbed.

NARRATOR: Rest is essential
for all living organisms.

During sleep, not only is the
nervous system replenished

like a storage
battery being charged,

but the body rids itself
of poisons in a way

that only sleep can accomplish.

That is why upon waking,
energy is born anew.

Sufficient rest is
critical for children

and with the bombardment
in daily life of hits

to their systems in modern
society, repeated lack of it

can hinder and sometimes
permanently damage

a child's brain development.

The developing brain of a child
at this time in human history

must clear a number of hurdles
in a bid for genetic normalcy.

Children are more vulnerable
to environmental pollutants

than adults because of their
size and faster metabolism.

One of the more
publicized vulnerabilities

is exposure to lead,
especially lead

from older homes or
leaded paint that

was used prior to the 1970s.

Remodeling and
sanding of older homes

produces a ticking time bomb
if the dust is breathed in.

These airborne
heavy metals, along

with numerous other chemicals
in the food and water

are now unintentionally passed
on to the next generation.

But the removal, known as
chelation, of such toxins, even

heavy metals, such as lead, is
possible with close adherence

to the Gerson Therapy.

Even the body itself can
overproduce a substance that

becomes poison in excess
in stressful situations,

if the liver is unhealthy
and unable to neutralize it.

It's called adrenalin.

Meet filmmaker, Steve Kroschel.

Steve films and performs
stunts for Hollywood films

that push the envelope and the
adrenal glands to the limit.

In an occupation
that demands split

second life or death decisions,
the adrenaline flows in excess.

And if not neutralized, can
poison the body into illness.

The potency of this
substance is profound.

When a drop of adrenaline is
secreted by the adrenal glands,

which are located like little
caps on top of each kidney.

It enters the bloodstream and
is diluted instantly to between

on to two billionths of
its original strength.

This would compare to one single
drop of ink spilled into six

million gallons of water.

The purpose of
adrenaline secretion

is to accelerate
the fight or flight

response to protect oneself
in threatening situations.

The largest gland of
the body deliver it.

When healthy, is able to
neutralize the secretions.

In today's world, the abuse
of this magnificent organ

is relentless.

Many people have liver disease
and don't even know it.

For the detection
of a liver problem

via illness, requires
the liver to drop

below 30% of its
full working capacity

before symptoms
become detectable.

One of the Gerson
Therapy's main objectives

is to restore the liver to 100%
capacity and insure its health.

Another of this
filmmaker's occupation

is showcasing wild animals
in natural habitats

for public education, as
well as for the motion

picture industry.

STEVE KROSCHEL: Working
with wildlife all my life,

I've learned about nutrition,
like this lynx here.

If he wasn't fed correctly,
he wouldn't be tame and happy,

and uh, come to me
when I call him.

We live up in the
north country here.

And uh, lynx are
found in the wild.

And I use them for education.

And uh, they're very
beautiful animals,

but if they're not fed right,
they don't have beautiful fur,

they're not friendly, and
uh, they certainly won't come

back to me when I call them.

There you go.

The Gerson therapy
has changed my life.

NARRATOR: This 43-year-old man
follows the Gerson lifestyle

as a preventative
measure and in doing so,

has acquired tremendous energy
to achieve a physical workload

equivalent to several people.

Like many others who do not
have degenerative disease,

Steve is immune to even the
slightest viral annoyances,

such as the common cold
or other discomforts,

such as headaches or other
minor health hindrances.

Because many of the animals
are carnivores at the wildlife

center, the health and
reproductive ability

must be maintained
at highest levels.

Several years ago, scientist
researcher, Dr. Francis

Pottenger ran humane
experiments with regular house

cats that lasted several years.

He divided his cats
into various groups

and fed each group differently.

Some he gave certain
cooked meats.

Some he gave raw meats.

Those that received just cooked
meats, over a few generations,

not only declined in
physical robustness,

but were plagued with illness
and had temperament problems.

Eventually, they were unable
to reproduce successfully.

The feces from the animals
receiving the cooked product

was used as fertilizer
to raise string beans,

but the beans didn't grow.

Some beans hardly even sprouted.

The house cats given
the fresh raw meat

product thrived and produced
through each generation

successfully.

Clearly, wild carnivores,
such as these,

were designed to hunt
and kill, and survive

on prey composed of flesh.

Their teeth, stomach acids,
and short digestive tract

bear this out.

Conversely, the tooth
structure of a human being

is quite different than that
of this wild wolf's teeth.

But the dissimilarities between
wild meat eaters and humans

do not end there.

The human digestive tract is
far longer and more complex,

which is consistent with
all herbivorous creatures.

Additionally, the stomach
acid and intestinal enzymes

of humans are unable to properly
breakdown or digest flesh

containing animal proteins.

Carnivores have very
short simple intestines

to excrete domesticated
to digested meat quickly,

often within two
hours, which precludes

the chance for the meat to
have time to putrefy and poison

their systems.

In a human being it
takes generally 48 hours

for meat to pass through.

Invariably, some of it
doesn't pass through at all,

but instead gets snagged
inside tiny pockets

in the colon putrefying
not for hours, but days,

months, and even years.

The toll meat eating takes on
all the essential human organs,

particularly the
pancreas gland, which

is also involved in the
digestive process is enormous.

The pancreas was never designed
to break down animal protein

or meat, instead, the pancreas
produces digestive juices

to split the molecules of
the correct kind of protein

food found only in vegetation.

And the digestion of
vegetation the pancreas then

can serve its second purpose,
producing pancreatic enzymes

to fight disease.

When meat must be
digested, the pancreas

is diverted from its
important protective purpose.

If we only eliminated animal
products from our diet,

the odds of getting cancer,
diabetes, or heart disease,

and the Pandora's box of woes
that go along with all this,

would almost vanish.

But the standard American diet,
referred to as SAD for short,

has totally flipped that
scientifically verifiable

statistic upside down.

Looking under a
microscope, it is

easy to see red blood
cells floating around free,

but after a fatty
meal of any kind,

the red blood cells stick
together like rolls of pennies.

Now these billions of tiny
cells are unable to fold over

to deliver a vital
measure of vital oxygen

to capillaries all over the
body, including the brain.

Surprisingly, some foods, like
legumes, soybeans, and soy

products, are either
deficient in nutrients

or cause health
deterioration by blocking

absorption of nutrients.

Currently, there is
popular discussion

about one subject that is of
particular interest to women.

CHARLOTTE GERSON: Osteoporosis
in the US is very widespread.

Painful, long-term,
and hunched over,

you know, broken bones, and
disability, and all that,

it's caused by milk drinking.

And the doctors give it for
supposedly curing osteoporosis

because, supposedly,
milk has calcium.

Not only that, it's also
caused by meat eating,

because meat in the body,
in the digestive process,

causes acidity phosphoric acid.

And In this kind of acidity the
body isn't able to function.

The body has to
maintain homeostasis.

It has to maintain a very
exact level of alkalinity

versus acidity, but with meat
eating and milk drinking,

the acid level
goes much too high

and the body has
to balance it out.

What does it use
to balance it out?

Calcium.

Where is it going
to take calcium?

It is not absorbable from milk.

Because in the milk with
pasteurization and all,

the enzymes are missing
and the body can't use it.

So on the contrary, that
adds to the problem.

Instead, the body needs
to use the calcium

and draws it from the bones.

The Gerson juices, particularly
the carrot juice in combination

with the green juices,
the carrot juice

is very rich in calcium, with
the enzymes of the greens

in green juices, produces the
ability of the body to restore

calcium to the bones.

We relieve uh,
osteoporosis, no problem.

With orthodox medicine,
even with the so-called HRT

and that, with all of
these things they use,

at best, they stop
the loss of bone.

They don't restore.

We restore.

I had, you know cancelled
my health insurance

when I was 34 years old.

And the reason was not that
I was very healthy only,

but the reason was that I'm
not interested in the kind

of hospital or medical
treatment that might be covered

by insurance because it's toxic,
it's drugs, it's chemicals,

and I had, you know,
more of an idea

that they might kill
you rather than help me

if I had to go into a hospital.

And over the years, I've
saved an average of $2,000

a year for 45 years.

That's roughly $90,000.

But that's not the only benefit.

When you eat organic, as
I did, and vegetarian.

I was never ill.

It's much cheaper to live
this way and to live healthy.

And not even mentioning
feeling good.

I feel good.

I have energy.

I'm able to work.

I'm able to travel and lecture
and do all kinds of things

even, now that I'm
almost 82 years old.

I'm always telling people,
women particularly,

wouldn't it be
wonderful if you never

had to worry about finding
a lump in your breast?

But if you eat healthy,
that's what happens.

As I mentioned, I'm 82.

Up until this time,
I've never ever

had a mammogram,
because I feel very

strongly that living
in this manner

that you don't risk cancer.

NARRATOR: Without Charlotte's
dogged determination and iron

will her entire life,
Dr. Gerson's battle

to share with the world this
unprecedented medical marvel

would have failed.

Even now, the suffocation of
this therapy is unrelenting.

Today, Gerson's name
and therapy is known

and honored worldwide
by holistic physicians,

nutritionists,
and chiropractors.

Only in the United
States is Gerson's name

still forbidden to cross
the lips of a physician.

Fortunately, for Charlotte,
her family upholds her task

and has contributed
markedly to radiating

information of the Gerson
Therapy throughout the world.

The Gerson Therapy is
unequivocally the holy grail

to curing cancer
and maladies that

now afflict most of mankind.

Charlotte's son, Howard
is helping educate people

around the world about
the Gerson Therapy

through a tax exempt
organization, as well

as radio and TV appearances.

He also authors feature stories
for the bimonthly Gerson

healing newsletter.

Howard has recently completed
an historical overview

of his grandfather's
life and work

and coordinates book
signings, with Charlotte,

like this one at
the Gerson Institute

in Southern California.

CHARLOTTE GERSON:
You can cure cancer.

You can cure any
disease or you could

just maintain good health.

MAN: Thank you very much.
My pleasure.

Nice meeting you.

NARRATOR: Charlotte's daughter,
Peggy, along with husband,

Giuliano and daughter,
Etta, who live in Italy,

also follow the Gerson protocol.

Etta, only 14, is already
an accomplished violinist

and donates her musical talents
to benefit some lecturing

programs that Peggy
puts together in Europe,

Giuliano, a poet, journalist,
lecturer, and author,

recently wrote his own
tribute about Dr. Max

Gerson's life, set as a novel.

This film would not
be complete without

a representative recovery of
the most deadly cancer of all.

Meet Patty Ainey from
British Columbia, Canada,

a successful business woman
in the shipping industry.

She remains extremely busy.

Pat radiates good health and
has a deep conviction about

certain priorities in her life.

Pat took over her
husband's shipping business

after he passed away of
lung cancer some years ago.

Ironically, he developed
cancer after Pat had recovered

on the Gerson Therapy.

But unlike Pat he refused any
kind of treatment from anyone.

In 1986 I was
diagnosed with pancreas

cancer, which was spread to my
liver, gallbladder, and spleen.

Doctors told me I
had three months

to live, to go home, get
my finances in order,

and prepare to die.

My husband just
wouldn't accept it.

I was only 46 at the
time, far too young.

So we kicked around thinking,
oh well, we're-- you know,

it was such a blow that
you just don't really start

thinking for at least a month.

And at the time, I had
been-- I was throwing

up mouth fulls of blood.

I was on the
therapy for 10 days.

The bleeding had stopped.

The pain had stopped.

Came home, did the
therapy for two years.

After three months, my
doctors here wondered

why I was still living?

They asked me if I would
have a CAT scan, which I did.

The masses and cancer had gone.

They said, I don't
know what you're doing.

We don't want to know
what you're doing.

Just keep doing it.

The doctors, at
that time, had said

I would never live to
see my second grandchild,

which he is now 19 years old.

So, we proved them wrong.

Um, I have uh, my two--
I have four grandkids now

and a granddaughter.

And I just-- last
night, they took me out.

It was my 65th birthday party.

And it was nice to have them
all together as a family

after-- I hope
they appreciate me.

At the time, I was fighting
the pancreas cancer,

we got a call from
Michael Landon.

You may remember him.

He was on Little
House on The Prairie

He had pancreatic cancer.

They gave him three months to
live, the same as they did me.

He wouldn't go down
to Mexico, but he

started the Gerson Therapy
at home with his family.

He went on to the Tonight Show
and uh, he looked wonderful.

He said he felt wonderful.

And the doctors, after seeing,
I guess him on the Tonight Show,

tried to uh, talk him
out of doing the Gerson.

So he went with the doctors
and did some procedure

that they thought would
work and he wouldn't

lose his beautiful long hair.

He phoned us after the--
after he did this treatment

and said he knew that was
the end, that he should

have stayed with the Gerson.

And there's no doubt in my mind
that he would be alive today,

if he had stayed
with the Gerson.

NARRATOR: Pat is of
Hungarian ancestry

and read with great
interest and delight

about a new Gerson hospital
in Budapest, Hungary.

This hospital is not
your ordinary hospital.

It is a medieval
castle and is devoted

to treating cancer or disease
patients with the Gerson

Therapy, exclusively.

Finally, after 75 years and Tens
of thousands of healed people,

the world, at last, is
embracing this answer to cancer.

Other hospitals are opening
in Asia and eastern Europe.

The book of mankind's
journey in history

is a ride through profound
darkness, despair, suffering,

and indescribable sadness, but
the story does not end there.

And in recorded human
history, there's

also triumph and
hope over seemingly

insurmountable
societal, individual,

and environmental illness.

As historians and
scientists go back in time,

and the fall of ancient Rome
is the result of drinking water

from leaded pipes to the secrets
of the distant past frozen

in some of the world's
greatest ice fields,

we can see a traceable legacy
of other cultures and life forms

that have arrived and survived
on earth for tens of thousands

of years.

Only now, and for some
perhaps hauntingly,

the melting ice sheets reveal
through fossilized remains,

that nothing is permanent, that
life is fragile and beautiful.

Dr. Gerson, who was the
first holistic physician

in the United States, called his
approach to medicine totality.

He was a health ecologist.

To draw the connection
as Dr. Gerson

did, of the large scale
environmental challenges

and the viability
of life hinging

essentially upon what we
pour into our cups and place

on our plates.

It's so simple,
yet profoundly hard

to grasp by modern
medicines modalities.

Quite simply, the
time has passed

in which we cannot
take for granted

the substances that we swallow.

The purity and
soundness of food has

taken on a whole new
meaning and with every meal,

we're either digging our own
graves with the silverware

or insuring a healthy,
productive life for not

only us, but our progeny.

The future of our children
today is a mystery

and the future of their
children is even more so.

Will they see the natural
world and the wild creatures

there in only as
historical snapshots?

The pivotal moment for
modern civilization is here.

Like the proverbial
canary in the coal mine

all wild creatures bear
testament to the health

of our external metabolism, our
natural world, the environment.

For each of us, eventually,
whether we already are not,

someday it will come to an end.

There will be no more sunrises,
no minutes, hours, or days.

All the things you've collected
whether treasured or forgotten

will past to someone else.

Your wealth, fame,
and temporal power

will shrivel to irrelevance.

It will not matter
what you owned or owed.

Your grudges, resentments,
frustrations, and jealousies,

will finally disappear, so too,
your hopes, ambitions, plans,

and to-do lists will expire.

The wins and losses that
once seemed so important

will fade away.

It won't matter where you came
from or what side of the tracks

you lived at the end.

Even your gender and skin
color will be irrelevant.

So what will matter?

How will the value of
your days be measured?

What will matter, is not what
you bought, but what you built,

not what you brought,
but what you gave.

What will matter, is
not what you learned,

but what you taught.

What will matter is every act of
integrity, compassion, courage,

or sacrifice, that enriched,
empowered, or encouraged

others to emulate your example.

What will matter is not your
confidence, but your character.

What will matter is not
how many people you knew,

but how many will feel the
lasting loss when you're gone.

What will matter is not your
memories, but the memories that

live in those who loved you.

What will matter is how long
you will be remembered, by whom

and for what.

A life lived significantly
is not one of circumstance

as much as it was of unfailing
dedication of choice,

a life that touched and cured
a dying and suffering humanity,

then and now.