Even the best medicine can cure at most 8 out of 10 diseases. The remaining illnesses can be cured only through proper nutrition.
— The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine
Food is a better remedy than drugs.
— Title of a book by the leading British nutritionist Patrick Holford.
So what can one eat? — asks a worried person newly interested in the Gerson lifestyle, after becoming acquainted with the list of forbidden products in the book The Gerson Therapy: The Miracle.
It is a question that gives much to think about.
It shows how far we have become alienated from a natural way of eating and, above all, proves that we have forgotten the immense richness of plant-based food, rightly called the “kingdom of vegetables.”
We would not be mistaken in saying that most people in the so-called developed world treat vegetables as little more than occasional side dishes to a main course of meat or fish, and eat fruit only when dessert is not being served. This is the right moment to rethink that habit and make a delightful discovery.
The fact is that plant-based food, which forms the foundation of the Gerson program, is superior to animal-based food. In addition to being lighter, cleaner, easier to digest, and more readily absorbed, it contains a delicate mixture of vitamins, enzymes, minerals, and trace elements that act together to supply a depleted body with precious nutrients. Once we eliminate foods that do not heal—meaning, in fact, that they harm—the choice of a wide range of plant products becomes obvious. One only needs to acknowledge and accept their usefulness and beauty.
Try looking at fresh, organic vegetables and fruits through the eyes of an artist. See the radiant colors and varied shapes of golden carrots, the deep red of cabbage, creamy cauliflower with its pale green stems, beige pears, multicolored apples, and translucent green grapes—the selection is enormous, and the visual impressions multiply the pleasure of eating.
There is yet another pleasant surprise awaiting the new explorer of the “kingdom of vegetables”: the discovery of the true taste of vegetables and fruits. At first, without salt and pepper, they may seem bland or, to be honest, even boring—but they truly are not. Prolonged and excessive consumption of white salt has dulled the sensitivity of our taste buds to such an extent that they can no longer convey the true flavors of any food, and ever-increasing amounts of salt are required to produce any taste sensation at all.
It takes about a week on the salt-free Gerson diet to restore paralyzed taste buds to normal function. When this happens, vegetables and fruits suddenly begin to taste far more interesting. At the same time, the sense of smell becomes stronger, helping us derive even greater enjoyment from every meal.
“Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.”
Said 2,600 years ago by Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine.
