Foods For The Gerson Diet
"Let food be your medicine, and medicine be your food"
The two most important aspects of the Gerson approach to healing are freshness and purity. All of the foods ingested on the Gerson Therapy must be fresh, organically or biologically grown, and consumed in their most natural form.
We strongly recommend that the patient does not add to or change the dietary guidelines without the advice of a certified Gerson Therapy practitioner. While many patients have used appropriate, compatible additions or adjuncts to the diet that have helped their healing process, there are many others who have failed to heal because they made too many "minor modifications" to the Gerson Therapy protocol. The Gerson Therapy has been shown to be successful in achieving remission and cure in many different diseases when used as directed; modifications may or may not affect the outcome of your particular condition, but significant alteration without medical advice from someone knowledgeable about the biochemical basis of the Gerson approach may reduce one’s chances for recovery.
Desirable Foods
* Patients with collagen related illnesses must avoid citrus juices and fruits. For all others, citrus juice is optional. Only one citrus juice a day is allowed and may be replaced for a carrot and apple juice.
Asparagus
Mangoes
Apples
Melons
Apricots
Oatmeal
Artichoke
Onions
Arugula
Beets and tops
Oranges*
Broccoli
Parsley and parsley root
Brown sugar
Peaches
Horseradish (grated, not bottled)
Pears
Cabbage, red & leaves (smaller
Pepper, green and red Bell pepper
quantities–gas producing)
Plums
Carrots
Potatoes
Cauliflower
Radishes (not the leaves)
Celery Knob or stalks
Raw fruit
Chards, all kinds
Rhubarb
Cherries
Rice brown (if allowed)
Chicory
Romaine
Chives
Cilantro
Rye bread (unsalted, non-fat)
Corn (ONLY if allowed by physician)
Spices
(small amounts only): allspice, anise, bay leaves,
Currants
Coriander, dill, fennel, mace, marjoram, rosemary, sage,
Eggplant
saffron, tarragon, thyme, sorrel, summer savory.
Endives
Spinach (cooked only)
Escarole
Squash
Flax oil (organic, not high lignan)
Sweet potatoes
Fruit dried unsulphured as raisins,
Swiss chard
peaches, dates, figs, apricots and prunes
(stewed or pre-soaked only)
Tangerines
Fruits fresh (except all berries and pineapple)
Tomatoes
Garlic
Vegetables (except mushrooms, leaves of: carrots,
Grapefruit*
radishes, spinach and mustard green)
Grapes
Vinegar (wine or cider)
Green beans
Watercress
Honey
Yams
Juices, freshly pressed, as prescribed
Yogurt, non-fat, organic Horizon, Brown Cow, 7 Stars
Kale
(after the sixth week on the Gerson Therapy
Leeks
or as allowed by the physician)
Lemons*
Occasionally Allowed Foods
Breads made from whole rye --
Sweeteners: maple syrup (grade B) or honey or unrefined blackstrap molasses may be used at 1‐
2 teaspoons a day maximum.
Brown or wild rice – once a week
Yams and sweet potatoes – once a week
Banana – ½ a week
Organic popcorn – a holiday treat
only
Prohibited Foods
Alcohol
Ice cream
Animal fats
Legume-based food products
Avocados
Manufactured (processed) foods
Baking soda
Margarine or oil based spreads
Berries
Meats
Bicarbonate of soda in food,
toothpaste or gargle
Mushrooms
Black tea and other non-herbal teas
Mustard
Bottled
Nut butters and any other source of dietary fats
Butter
Nuts and seeds
Cake
Oils and fats, and any foods that contain them. except flaxseed oil, as specifically prescribed
Candy
This includes corn oil, olive oil, canola oil, vegetable oil
Canned
Cheese
Pineapples
Chocolate
Preserved; refined, salted, smoked, and sulfured foods
Cocoa
Protein powders or supplements, including barley or Coconuts
algae based powders
Coffee as a regular beverage
Proteins and high-protein foods
Commercial beverages
Salt, table salt, sea salt, celery salt, Creamvegetable salt, Bragg Aminos, Cream and other dairy fatstamari, soy sauce, "lite salt" or salt substitutes
Cucumbers
Seafood, and other animals
Epson salts, sodium-based baking powders, Soy and soy products and anything with "sodium" in its name
Spices, pepper, paprika, basil and oregano
Fluorine in toothpaste
Spinach (raw) (allowed cooked only)
Frozen foods
Sprouted alfalfa and other bean or seed sprouts
Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils’
White flour
Olean, Olestra or other "fat substitutes"White sugar
The following is an explanation for some of the foods on the Prohibited List.
Salt and Sodium
Salt and sodium in all forms, including table salt, sea salt, celery salt, vegetable salt, Bragg Aminos, tamari, soy sauce, "lite salt", baking soda, Epsom salts, sodium-based baking powders, and anything with "sodium" in its name, as well as salt substitutes.
Oils and Fats
Oils and fats, and any foods that contain them. This includes corn oils, olive oils, canola oils, and all other vegetable oils except flax-seed oil as specifically prescribed; butter, cheese, cream and other dairy fats; all animal fats; all margarines or oil-based spreads; coconuts and avocado; all hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils; Olean, Olestra or other "fat substitutes"; nut butters; and any other source of dietary fats, except as naturally occurring in allowed foods.
Proteins and High-Protein Foods
Proteins and high-protein foods, such as meats, seafood, and other animal proteins; nuts and seeds; soy or other legume-based food products; all protein powders or supplements, including barley or spirulina and chlorella, unless specifically used when prescribed for protein supplementation.
Outside of these three categories, there are other foods that must be "off-limits" until the patient is completely healed, and in some cases, even after full recovery. Almost all packaged, prepared ("convenience") foods (frozen, bottled, or boxed) must be forsaken for health reasons. Restaurant food will almost always be unacceptable, both because it is rarely organic, and almost always cooked with added salt, fats, and other additives inappropriate to the Gerson diet.
Patients new to the Gerson Therapy often comment that Gerson’s list of prohibited foods is much longer and more restrictive than other "natural" or "holistic" approaches to healing and wellness. The Gerson approach looks at everything that goes into, or on, the body as important to the healing process. It is through this attention to detail that we are able to accomplish healing even in some extremely advanced cases, or in diseases that are otherwise not curable.
We have, whenever possible endeavored to provide a brief explanation why the various foods are not allowed on the diet.