Max Gerson / Inflammation
Max Gerson, was one of the earliest cancer pioneers to address the connection between cancer and inflammation. (Gerson’s emphasis on inflammatory response is largely based on the work of G. von Bergman). Gerson believed that body's ability to create an inflammation, in response to a particular stressor, such as cancer, was of critical importance in one's healing process, stating “a normal body can kill cancer by producing an inflammation.” In his book, A Cancer Therapy - Results of Fifty Cases, he wrote: "... slices of tissue, taken from malignant rat tumors or human cancer tissues, are killed fast in an inflammation exudate simply because the specific metabolism of the cancer cell cannot be maintained in those surroundings." (page 43) "There is no other way but to kill these [cancer] cells, to dissolve and absorb them. I believe the surest way to achieve this end is to restore to the body its ability to produce non-bacterial inflammatory reactions." (pages 125-127)
So long as the body is able to produce a health inflammatory response, things are not critically bad (even though that inflammation, over time, produces all kinds of problems). A relatively healthy body can produce a healthy inflammatory response and, while that is not preferred—what is preferred is that there are no things that cause the body to produce an inflammation—it is far better than a condition where the body cannot produce a proper inflammatory response at all. If the body is under long-term attack, producing a chronic, low-level inflammatory response, 24/7, it begins to lose it’s ability to produce such a response in the future. So, avoiding stress factors that produce chronic, low-level inflammation protects you both in the short-run and the long-run
Below is a chart listing the difference between Normal Serum and Inflammation Fluid:
Normal Serum Inflammation Fluid
Oxygen pressure 117 mm Hg 6 mm Hg
Sugar content 100 mg % 6 mg %
Lactic acid content 10 mg % 125 mg %
Bicarbonate content 25.10-3 molar 8.9.10-3 m
pH 7.48 6.29
Of interest here is that the sugar content and the lactic acid content (dextrorotatory lactic acid) of the two fluids are reversed: the Inflammation Fluid contains 1/16 the amount of sugar and 12.5 times the amount of dex-lactic acid as the Normal Serum. Thus, to support the body’s production of inflammatory fluid, and provide it with the raw materials it needs, it is especially important to supply the body with large amounts of dex-lactic acid. Dex-lactic acid is also needed to neutralize the outpouring of lev-lactic acid produced by cancer cells. We also see that the Inflammation Fluid is low in glucose: it's important to surround the cancer cells with a low glucose medium to cut off its main fuel supply.
I bring up this issue because the intake of dextrorotatory lactic acid is featured in many cancer protocols, including that of Waltraut Fryda (who uses it to neutralize the lev-lactic acid produced by cancer cells, and thus restore the overall pH balance of the body), and Johanna Budwig (whose program includes the ingestion of one cup of sauerkraut juice per day).
Gerson's overall aim was consistent with the oxidative approach first put forth by Otto Warburg. Gerson writes: "The ideal task of cancer therapy is to restore the function of the oxidizing systems in the entire organism. This, of course, is difficult to accomplish. It involves the following: 1) detoxification of the whole body, 2) providing the essential mineral contents of the potassium group, 3) adding oxidizing enzymes continuously as long as they are not reactivated and built in the body (in the form of green leaf juice and fresh calf's liver juice). This will create a near normal condition of the oxidizing system in the body, to which malignant cells with the fermentation system cannot adapt." (Gerson, p. 7)
While I agree with most of Gerson's root theories I do not find his program practical or implementable. Not only does the program involve the intake of too much fructose, it is too costly, too interfering, and too time- and energy-consuming (especially all that time it takes to produce and consume 12+ cups of fresh juice per day). For instance, here is something from Gerson's Book, Fifty Cases:
"Here is a record of the average quantity of intake of some patients in the course of one year; a very great part of which is converted into juices.
1800 pounds of carrots
1300 pounds of apples
35-450 pounds of calf’s liver (juice)
145 heads of red cabbage
400 heads of lettuce
125 pounds of green peppers, etc., etc."
Max Gerson, was one of the earliest cancer pioneers to address the connection between cancer and inflammation. (Gerson’s emphasis on inflammatory response is largely based on the work of G. von Bergman). Gerson believed that body's ability to create an inflammation, in response to a particular stressor, such as cancer, was of critical importance in one's healing process, stating “a normal body can kill cancer by producing an inflammation.” In his book, A Cancer Therapy - Results of Fifty Cases, he wrote: "... slices of tissue, taken from malignant rat tumors or human cancer tissues, are killed fast in an inflammation exudate simply because the specific metabolism of the cancer cell cannot be maintained in those surroundings." (page 43) "There is no other way but to kill these [cancer] cells, to dissolve and absorb them. I believe the surest way to achieve this end is to restore to the body its ability to produce non-bacterial inflammatory reactions." (pages 125-127)
So long as the body is able to produce a health inflammatory response, things are not critically bad (even though that inflammation, over time, produces all kinds of problems). A relatively healthy body can produce a healthy inflammatory response and, while that is not preferred—what is preferred is that there are no things that cause the body to produce an inflammation—it is far better than a condition where the body cannot produce a proper inflammatory response at all. If the body is under long-term attack, producing a chronic, low-level inflammatory response, 24/7, it begins to lose it’s ability to produce such a response in the future. So, avoiding stress factors that produce chronic, low-level inflammation protects you both in the short-run and the long-run
Below is a chart listing the difference between Normal Serum and Inflammation Fluid:
Normal Serum Inflammation Fluid
Oxygen pressure 117 mm Hg 6 mm Hg
Sugar content 100 mg % 6 mg %
Lactic acid content 10 mg % 125 mg %
Bicarbonate content 25.10-3 molar 8.9.10-3 m
pH 7.48 6.29
Of interest here is that the sugar content and the lactic acid content (dextrorotatory lactic acid) of the two fluids are reversed: the Inflammation Fluid contains 1/16 the amount of sugar and 12.5 times the amount of dex-lactic acid as the Normal Serum. Thus, to support the body’s production of inflammatory fluid, and provide it with the raw materials it needs, it is especially important to supply the body with large amounts of dex-lactic acid. Dex-lactic acid is also needed to neutralize the outpouring of lev-lactic acid produced by cancer cells. We also see that the Inflammation Fluid is low in glucose: it's important to surround the cancer cells with a low glucose medium to cut off its main fuel supply.
I bring up this issue because the intake of dextrorotatory lactic acid is featured in many cancer protocols, including that of Waltraut Fryda (who uses it to neutralize the lev-lactic acid produced by cancer cells, and thus restore the overall pH balance of the body), and Johanna Budwig (whose program includes the ingestion of one cup of sauerkraut juice per day).
Gerson's overall aim was consistent with the oxidative approach first put forth by Otto Warburg. Gerson writes: "The ideal task of cancer therapy is to restore the function of the oxidizing systems in the entire organism. This, of course, is difficult to accomplish. It involves the following: 1) detoxification of the whole body, 2) providing the essential mineral contents of the potassium group, 3) adding oxidizing enzymes continuously as long as they are not reactivated and built in the body (in the form of green leaf juice and fresh calf's liver juice). This will create a near normal condition of the oxidizing system in the body, to which malignant cells with the fermentation system cannot adapt." (Gerson, p. 7)
While I agree with most of Gerson's root theories I do not find his program practical or implementable. Not only does the program involve the intake of too much fructose, it is too costly, too interfering, and too time- and energy-consuming (especially all that time it takes to produce and consume 12+ cups of fresh juice per day). For instance, here is something from Gerson's Book, Fifty Cases:
"Here is a record of the average quantity of intake of some patients in the course of one year; a very great part of which is converted into juices.
1800 pounds of carrots
1300 pounds of apples
35-450 pounds of calf’s liver (juice)
145 heads of red cabbage
400 heads of lettuce
125 pounds of green peppers, etc., etc."