The Cancer Diet
Getting an Immunological Head Start at Home
If you are able to begin your treatment program at home, before your trip to St Andrews Clinic for vaccine-based immunotherapy, it is to your advantage to implement the immune-kickstarting dietotherapy ASAP.
Your cancer diet is informed and inspired by the work of a legendary German doctor, Max Gerson, M.D., (although this is NOT the “Gerson TherapyTM”). “Diet” in the German sense of the word is everything pertaining to lifestyle, including the menu; but it also includes how the foods were grown, harvested, prepared, and served. These instructions will help as a guide to set up your home for healing. Note: the success of your immunotherapy depends in great part on your success with the cancer diet.
Because your cancer diet is plant-centric, you will need to consume larger portions and more frequent servings than would normally be eaten.
During your preparatory time, please observe the following:
Please take only flax oil for salad dressing. You can add it to cooked foods, like potatoes, but it is not suitable for cooking.
Please discontinue red meat for the duration of your therapy. Also, because protein restriction stimulates immunities, please temporarily suspend consumption of fish, fowl, dairy and legumes, which will be reintroduced at St Andrews Clinic.
Please discontinue table salt, and all hidden sources of sodium (processed and canned foods, the foods of many restaurants).
Please avoid manufactured foods, whether they are canned or frozen; fresh-frozen fruits and vegetables without preservatives are okay.
Please avoid alcohol, bleached flour, white sugar, candy, cakes, pastries, coffee, and green and black tea.
Please avoid all forms of pollution, including smoke, outgassing new carpets and upholstery, fresh paint, cleaning fluids, solvents, sealants, hair dyes, etc.
PLEASE HAVE ALL THE VEGETABLES AND FRUITS YOU CAN EAT
PLEASE REMEMBER THAT ORGANICALLY GROWN FOODS ARE BEST
Note: Although Gerson was concerned about berries and pineapple, the last half century of phytochemical research has vindicated them. Additionally, the medical importance of herbs and spices avoided by Gerson has been solidly established, opening the way for curries, southwestern foods, etc. As in the case of fruits and vegetables, herbs and spices should be organically grown.
I. Setting Up Your Healing Household
CLEAR IT
Please remove all pesticides, herbicides, solvents, adhesives, scented cleaners, paints, etc., from living quarters. Please remove salt, oils, processed foods, aluminum, Teflon, and cast-iron cookware from the kitchen.
CLEAN IT
Please wash everything with "free and clear" detergents; clean drapes, floors, and walls. Please do not apply fresh paint, lay new carpets, or obtain new upholstery (they outgas), just clean what you have.
STOCK IT
Bring in the health-promoting essentials:
Juicer : We have tested and are satisfied with 2 machines. The Jack LaLanne Power Juicer is fast and easy to use for under $100. The much more efficient, albeit much slower, wheatgrass-capable Omega 8008 (or higher) is about $300.
Purified water: For home installation, units that combine reverse osmosis with activated-carbon filtration are cost-efficient and effective.
Organically grown foods: Certified organic vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts and seeds have been shown to have higher nutrient content than their commercial counterparts. Fish, fowl, eggs and dairy should likewise bear a label showing organic certification.
Safe cookware (no aluminum or cast iron): Glass, ceramic, stainless steel, and green nonstick.
Sharp knives
Vitamin supplements
Love and grit
II. Immunotherapeutic Cancer Diet
1. Juices hourly throughout the day to the capacity of the individual (see sample schedule below).
2. Vegetarian Meals (see sample menu, below).
3. Dairy, eggs, fish, fowl, nuts, seeds and legumes will be added once you begin Coley Fluid under medical supervision. For your kickstart, your anticancer immunities will be better served by a 2-week restriction of all of these protein sources.
4. Special foods:
- Brewers yeast: 2-4 Tbsp/day.
- Flax oil: 2-4 Tbsp/day.
5. Supplements (Please note that not all patients will use all of the following supplements. The list is presented here for planning purposes.)
- Probiotics: Take first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.
- Vitamin A & D: Serve in/with orange juice.
- Acidol Pepsin & Pancreatic Enzymes: Just before meals.
- Niacin: Begin with 50 mg 3 times daily with meals. Please note that a reddening flush of the skin, sometimes with itching and a sensation of heat, will probably occur several times. There is no harm in this; it is simply the opening of blood vessels allowing the flush. Increase by 50 mg per meal each day until you reach 150 mg. At that point, the next day you will switch over to twice daily, with only breakfast and dinner, starting at 250 mg each meal. Continue to increase at 50 mg per meal per day until you reach 1500 mg twice daily with breakfast & dinner. Please do not use extended-release, slow, or no-flush niacin, or niacinamide. Use only pure vitamin B3 in the form of nicotinic acid.
- CoQ10: 300 mg 2/day (with breakfast & dinner)
- Vitamin E: d-alpha tocopheryl succinate 1,000 IU 2/day (with breakfast and dinner).
- Alpha-lipoic acid: 600 mg 2/day.
- Acetyl-l-Carnitine: 500 mg 2/day.
 
SAMPLE MENU
 
BREAKFAST
1 glass orange juice
Oatmeal (without milk) with fruit
Supplements
LUNCH & DINNER
1 glass juice
Salad (raw vegetables)
2 Cups Hippocrates' Soup
Large baked potato
Cooked vegetables
Brewer’s Yeast, Flax Oil
Dessert: fruit, stewed or raw
Supplements
III. Sample Schedule
IV. Juices & Juicing
CARROT-APPLE JUICE (= 8 oz juice)
- 3 large carrots (16 oz)
- 1 large green apple (6 oz)
GREEN DRINK (= 8 oz juice)
- 1 medium apple
- 1/4 green pepper
- 4 leaves watercress
- 2 leaves red cabbage
- 2-3 small inner leaves chard
- 4-5 leaves escarole
- 1/4 head romaine lettuce
Note: A simplified quick green juice = 1/2 Head Romaine lettuce + 1 apple.
Preparation of Juices
Citrus Juices: Squeeze with a reamer type juicer of glass, plastic, porcelain; electric citrus juicers are fine. Or you can peel the citrus and run it through your Lalanne or Omega juicer.
Making juice for the day: People have long been instructed to make each of their juices fresh every hour, and to drink them immediately. Although the idea of immediate freshness is appealing, and the juices do taste best this way, many people will simply avoid the therapy because of this requirement. Or they will do it their own way. During our follow-back interviews of cancer survivors, we learned that quite a few of them made their juices in batches, storing them in jars in the refrigerator. If you choose to emulate their winning behavior, we only recommend that you keep your juice fresh by adding 1/4 tsp vitamin C (ascorbic acid) per quart of juice (see chart below - and yes, we said 1/4 tsp, so ignore the level in the chart). It is instructive that the historical record reveals that Dr Gerson himself sent formerly bedfast, recovering patients back to school or the workplace with thermoses of carrot-apple juice. Not only was this necessary and beneficial for the patients, it was Gerson's best advertisement.
Please note: The following once-a-day juicing schedule medications are not prescribed for everyone; the schedule is presented here only for the purpose of batch juicing. Please do add the ascorbic acid (pure vitamin C).
Carrot Juice (2 quarts)
5-6 lbs carrots
6-8 green apples
Green Juice (1 quart)
3-4 green apples
Small handful of watercress
8 small leaves chard
1 lg head romaine lettuce
1 small green pepper
1” wedge red cabbage
Small handful of escarole
V. Food Preparation
All vegetables should be carefully cleaned. Scrub, don’t peel, because important nutrients are in and right under the skin.
All vegetables should be cooked slowly over low flame, with little or no added water. Slow cooking is very important in order to preserve the natural flavor of the vegetables while making them easily digestible. A stainless steel "flame tamer" can be helpful to prevent burning. A little of the Hippocrates' Soup can be used, or tomatoes, apple slices, or chopped onion can be placed at the bottom of the pan to give up more fluid. Pots should have tight-fitting lids to prevent escape of steam. A trick for making a pot’s lid tight is to add a circle of waxed paper under the lid. Please don't use pressure cookers.
Baked vegetables should be slow cooked in a "low" oven (200-250° F) for 2 to 3 hours, in a covered casserole with a tightly fitting lid. This method of baking is virtually waterless. Use onions, tomatoes, or sprinkle vegetables with lemon to add moisture when necessary.
Stewed vegetables are cooked in a heavy pot with tightly fitting lid on top of the stove over a Low flame, slowly, with little or no added liquid.
Simmered vegetables are cooked on the top of the stove over a low to medium flame in a tightly covered pan with a small amount of liquid. The temperature is kept just at the boiling point.
Boiled vegetables e.g., corn potatoes, artichokes, etc. are cooked on the top of the stove in a heavy pot with a tightly fitting lid. Place the washed vegetables (do not peel) in pot, cover with cool water. Cook over medium heat, slowly bringing the liquid to a boil (bubbles breaking on the surface and steam given off). Lower the flame as much as possible, keeping the liquid boiling. Adjustable "slow cookers" and "crockpots" are fine, and can be augmented with a timer.
Potatoes: Aim for 2 large baked potatoes per day. We bake ours in a casserole with an onion added, covered, at 250 degrees for about 3 hours. Another way to bake them is in a crock pot. For a change you might substitute potatoes boiled in their jackets, or mashed (with a little soup).
Bread: Grain is not considered a vegetable. Please do not replace vegetables with bread; and please don’t make a meal of bread. Occasional consumption of saltless whole grain bread after finishing juices, soup and vegetables is okay for those with strong appetites who are still unsatisfied after consuming all prescribed foods.
Oatmeal: Oatmeal can be made in a variety of ways (3 examples below). Choose the one that best matches your taste.
1. Place 1/2 Cup rolled oats, dry fruit, and 1 Cup water to soak overnight in the fridge. In the morning, heat the soaked oats and fruit on the stove. They should be ready to eat in about 5 minutes.
2. Bring 1 Cup of water to boil. Add 1/2 Cup rolled oats. Lower heat and cook to desired consistency. Add more water if a saucier kind of oats is desired (about 5-10 minutes).
3. Bring 1 Cup of water to boil. Add 1/4 Cup cracked oats. Lower heat and cook to desired consistency (at least 20 minutes).
VI. Hippocrates’ Soup
Recipe #1: For one person use a 4-quart pot, chop, do not peel, the following vegetables, cover with purified distilled water. Simmer slowly for 2 hours, then put through food mill:
1 medium celery knob | 1-1/2 lbs tomatoes |
1 medium parsley root | 2 medium onions |
Garlic as desired | 1 lb potatoes |
2 small leeks | A little parsley |
Recipe #2: Step One: Hippocrates Soup Stock: For two people use a large (4-5 quart) pot. Clean vegetables, chop, do not peel. Cover with purified water. Simmer slowly for about 3-4 hours, then strain. Toss out the exhausted vegetables. Makes about 4 quarts of soup stock (2 days worth).
Soup Stock
1 Cup celery knob | 1 Cup parsley root |
3 Cups leeks | 3 Cups onion |
A handful of fresh thyme | Garlic as desired |
Recipe #2: Step Two: Add The fresh vegetables.* Makes 4 servings. Serving size: 2 Cups
The Soup
1 quart of the above soup stock, strained | |
1 Cup leeks | ½ Cup onion |
½ Cup tomatoes | 2 Cups potatoes |
½ Cup parsley root | 1 Cup carrots |
½ Cup celery root (okay to infrequently substitute stalks of celery, chopped) |
Add the chopped vegetables to the stock, simmer slowly, until the potatoes are done. It can be served after being ground through a Foley food mill (the traditional way), put through a blender, or eaten as a chunky stew. Use within 3 days.
*Note: The basic idea is to consume 1 Cup of the soup stock and 1 Cup of fresh vegetables 2 times per day. The medicinal ingredients of “Hippocrates Soup” are leeks, celery root, and parsley root. The potatoes are for calories and protein. The onions and tomatoes are added for flavor! The flavor is optional. The following suggestions are very different in flavor, they are simply suggestions to get you started. Have fun with this — experiment! Enjoy!
Italian Tomato Soup: Per 1 Quart soup stock add: 1/2 Cup of sliced potato, celery, and green beans. Allow to simmer til tender. Add: 1/2 Cup sliced zucchini, bell pepper, tomato, 1 clove garlic, fresh onion. Soak sun dried tomatoes in stock then blend in blender and add to soup. Herbs: basil, oregano, rosemary.
Oriental Soup: Slice vegetables very thin, julienne: celery, bell pepper, zucchini. Add sliced Jerusalem artichoke, mung bean sprouts, sliced cabbage. Add lemon juice and garnish with green onions and fresh cilantro.
Orange Soup: To Soup Stock, add sweet potato, potato, squash, and carrots. Add a little cumin and ginger. And just before serving add the juice of one orange.
Broccoli Soup: To stock add broccoli stems, potato, apple, celery, and onion. Grind in blender, return to heat and add broccoli tops ‘til just tender.
VII. Detox & Pain Control
Coffee Enemas: An important part of your protocol is frequent detoxification of tissues and blood by coffee enemas, which cause stimulation of enzyme systems of the gut wall and liver and promote excretion of toxic bile.
Chamomile Tea: A soothing and relaxing tea. It can be taken orally, sipped hot as any other herbal tea, sweetened with a bit of honey and lemon. It is sometimes used as an enema to soothe the colon; sometimes alone, and sometimes combined with the coffee enemas.
Peppermint Tea: Helps with nausea. Sip as much as desired throughout the day and evening. During reactions, drink as much as possible.
Pain Triad: The pain triad becomes progressively more effective as the body undergoes detoxification. It can be used at bedtime to assist in going to sleep for those patients with substantial pain.
Triad Dosage & instructions: The triad should be used sparingly. Please do not exceed 6 doses in a 24 hour period unless prescribed by your physician. 50 mg niacin + 500 mg ascorbic acid + one 5-grain aspirin ( one standard tablet).
Recipes for Coffee & Teas
We recommend S. A. Wilson's specially selected and roasted coffee, which is higher in active ingredients than all other organically grown coffee (http://sawilsons.com). This is because Wilson's beans are chosen for their high active-ingredient levels, and are then roasted only enough that they can be ground. This results in a blond coffee that smells like peanuts and is not at all palatable for drinking; however, the light roasting process preserves the medical benefits of the beans. The darker the roast, the less medical benefit. Regular-roast coffee requires 3 heaping Tbsp per dose. Wilson's requires only 2 Tbsp per dose.
Coffee Concentrate for Enemas (yield 10 doses)
Combine 2 measuring cups of Wilson's coffee (2 heaping Tbsp/dose) and 10 cups distilled or purified water in a large pot.
Place over high heat, uncovered.
Bring to a rolling boil for 5 minutes or until foam is visibly decreased.
Tightly cover, lower the heat, and simmer for 30 - 60 minutes. When it is completely extracted by simmering, Wilson's coffee darkens to a tan that, interestingly, lightens as it sits.
Strain – Please do not filter coffee through paper, because the medical elements are associated with filterable microfibers, and paper filters remove almost all of them.
Replace water that has boiled away by rinsing grounds and straining into container of concentrate. You should finish with 10 cups.
To use concentrate: Combine 1 Cup concentrate + 3 Cups purified water (warm enough to make solution slightly warmer than body temperature, 103-104°). For instructions for administering coffee enemas, see below. This special coffee will produce a green stain if spilled and allowed to dry on a white surface such as porcelain; however, this is nothing to worry about. Like the brown stain of roasted coffee, it is difficult to remove from light fabrics.
Chamomile Tea
This recipe can be used either as a tea to drink, very soothing, comforting — or as part of an enema to soothe the colon.
4 Tbsp Chamomile flowers, dried
1 Quart distilled water
Place flowers in boiling water and allow to boil for 5 minutes, strain.
Peppermint Tea
Follow instructions for chamomile tea (above) but replace chamomile with 4 Tbsp dried peppermint leaves.
VIII. Coffee Enema Procedure
Coffee enemas accelerate the liver’s removal of toxins from the blood and tissues, promote healing, and relieve pain.
Supplies:
Plastic enema bucket with plastic hose (hot-water bottle/douche equipment can be used)
Coffee (1 cup concentrate + 3 cups warm water)
Pad to place under you while taking enemas
Vaseline
Soap for cleaning
Peroxide for sterilizing
Taking a coffee enema:
1 Pour warm coffee in your bucket/bag. Hang bucket/bag 18-24” above your body.
2 Lie on the right side, with legs gently drawn up. Insert tube only 1-3” into rectum. Use the plastic ring (or pinch the tube with your fingers) to control the speed of flow. Take it slowly, especially at first.
3 Once the coffee is in the colon, hold for 10-15 minutes. Leaving the tube in place in the rectum while holding the enema can alleviate “leaking” and gas problems by allowing the coffee to go back up the tube and return to the rectum once the pressure is relieved.
4 Let coffee out into toilet. Note: be sure to close the anal sphincter after each movement (like the Kegel exercise).
5 Keep your bucket/or bag clean at all times. Wash with soap and rinse with peroxide daily.
Notes: Intestinal spasms and cramping can be caused by strong irritation to the intestinal tract and lead to problems with the enemas. It becomes difficult to instill the full 32 oz. of coffee solution, difficult to hold the enema the full 10-15 minutes or, on the other hand, the enema becomes trapped and cannot be released. Following is a list of possible remedies which have proved useful to others:
Check the enema technique: Be sure that the tip of the enema tube is inserted securely past the anal sphincter (usually one to two inches). Do not try to force the tube into the colon. The temperature of the enema solution should be only slightly higher than body temperature, i.e. 100-103ºF. During high fevers, even body temperature coffee is too cool and may shock the intestine. If the temperature is too cold, cramping can result. Don’t raise the enema bucket too high. If the flow is too rapid, it can set up counter-spasms. About eighteen to twenty-four inches is a good bucket height. If spasms occur, immediately lower the bucket to allow the flow to back up a few inches to relieve the pressure. After 20—30 seconds slowly start raising the bucket toward the original level. The flow can also be controlled by pinching the tube with your fingers or adjusting the plastic ring to a partially closed position. It may take some time to get the enema completely instilled, but this is acceptable.
Light massage: Gently work from the lower right abdomen upward to the ribs, across to the left side, then down the left side. The procedure can relieve cramps and dislodge a "stuck" coffee.
Heat over the abdomen: Can be applied by a heating pad. This has a calming effect on the irritated, hyperactive intestinal tract.
Lower the dosage: This can be accomplished by either using less coffee concentrate in each enema or by using only part of a prepared enema.
Caution: If you run into chronic problems, discontinue enemas until you arrive at CHIPSA and meet with the physician.
IX. Vital Signs
Now is time to get into the habit of taking your temperature and pulse upon rising each morning. Set your thermometer and a clock next to your bed. Bring this record with you. It will help the physician making an assessment of your current metabolic status.
Date:
Time:
Temp:
Pulse:
Notes:
X. Supplies List
The following items will get you started on the diet. Other items will be added to your regimen after you arrive.
Juicer: Despite the traditional use of only the Norwalk or K&K juicers with separate grinder and press, we have found the LaLanne and Omega juicers to be adequate to the task.
Citrus reamer type-juicer, manual or electric.
Organic Coffee: Coffee should be roasted as little as possible (avoid dark roast, because about half of the medical chemicals in coffee are destroyed by dark roasting). Organic coffee is widely available. We always recommend (http://sawilsons.com), but it will take a few days to arrive — so in the interim, the above guidelines will help you find a short-term substitute.
Enema Gear: Enema buckets with accompanying tubes are sometimes available at health food stores —hot water bottle/ enema douche bags which can be used (available at pharmacies). Buckets are also available here: (http://sawilsons.com).
The following list of supplements may not apply to everyone; they represent our toolbox: We have found suitable supplements at COSTCO, Trader Joes, health food stores, and online vitamin suppliers (we have had a good relationship with Vitacost.com).
Probiotic: 1 capsule first thing in AM (We use Jarrow-Dophilus®, a Jarrow Formulas probiotic containing, L. rhamnosus, L. casei, L. plantarum, L. acidophilus, B. longum, B. breve, Pediococcus acidilactici, and Lactococcus diaceytylactis).
Vitamin A & D: Liquid ampules contain Vit A 6000 IU + Vit D 400 IU. Serve in orange juice with breakfast. Capsules are an okay substitution if necessary.
Acidol Pepsin: 2 capsules with meals. (Acidol® (Key Company): Betaine HCL 260 mg, Pepsin 1:3000 230 mg, Raw pancreas 60 mg.
Niacin: 1500 mg twice a day (use straight vitamin B3, NOT sustained-release or flush-free).
Pancreatic Enzymes 1200 mg/ meals (We use Pancreatin® Lipase, Amylase, Protease)
Vitamin E: 1000 IU w/ breakfast and dinner (D-alpha tocopheryl succinate)
Alpha-lipoic acid: 600 mg bid
Acetyl-l-Carnitine: 500 mg bid
CoQ10: 300 mg w/ breakfast and dinner
Brewer’s Yeast: 4 Tbsp per day (Lewis Labs® or Kal®
Flax Oil: 2 Tbsp per day. (Cold pressed flaxseed oil. Keep in freezer.)
Grocery list for an entire weekBe sure to buy organic. Check
your local health food stores
and food co-ops.
Carrots, 50 lbs
Apples 40 lbs (pippins or granny smith apples)
Potatoes, 25 lbs
Onions, 5 lbs
Oranges, 1O-15 lbs
Tomatoes, 10- 15 lbs
Leeks, 2-4 bunches
Beets, 5 branch tops for juice and bottoms for eating
Green Peppers, 8 weekly
Celery, 2-3 bunches
Celery root, 2 roots
Romaine lettuce, 20 good size
Chard, 4 bunches
Endive, 3 heads
Lettuce, 1-5 heads (red leaf, green leaf, oak leaf, etc).
Watercress, 2 bunches
Escarole, 2-3 heads
Parsley, 1 bunch
Parsley root, 2 bunches
Lemons
Vegetables, in season/ meals
Garlic, 1-5 bulbs
Coffee, 3-5 Lbs
Distilled/purified water, 15 gallons
Oatmeal
Dried unsulphured fruits
Peppermint tea
Chamomile tea
Ascorbic acid
Toilet paper
Peroxide