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The film is about something called "the Gerson method" which is a method of alternative medicine that supposedly cures all ailments by detoxifying and restoring the body to its healthy state so it is able to combat illnesses naturally. Here is what the Gerson Institute's website says about it:The Gerson Therapy is a safe, natural treatment developed by Dr. Max Gerson in the 1920s. The Therapy activates the body's extraordinary ability to heal itself through an organic, vegetarian diet, raw juices, coffee enemas and natural supplements. The Gerson Therapy treats the underlying causes of disease: toxicity and nutritional deficiency. The Gerson Therapy is a non-specific treatment that effectively treats many different conditions by healing the body as a whole, rather than selectively targeting a specific condition or symptom. Over the past 60 years, thousands of people have used the Gerson Therapy to recover from so-called "incurable" diseases, including: Cancer (including melanoma, breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, lymphoma, pancreatic cancer and many others), Diabetes, Heart disease, Arthritis, Auto-immune disorders ....and many others
The film also explains what is wrong with our modern food and medicine industries. The food industry is slowly poisoning us throughout our lives according to this documentary. Processed foods are poisoning us and causing cancer, and pasteurized food is not giving us enough nutrition so we rely on the pharmaceutical industry and modern medicine. The pharmaceutical industry is supposedly manipulating other aspects of our lives so we become dependent on modern medicine so they stay wealthy. If any of this were substantially supported and at all true, I would be off in Alaska living off the land and distrusting big corporations and the government as well. However, I think there is just a little bias (sarcasm, just in case you couldn't catch it) in this documentary.
I find it hard to believe that modern medicine is failing us and hiding a cure for cancer from us all so we need their expensive drugs. Many people in medicine develop cancer or have a loved one who is afflicted or has been afflicted. They would not keep it hidden for the sake of the wallets of the people at the top of the pharmaceutical industry. Yes, eating healthy can help your body heal itself, but didn't we all learn that when we were 4 years old or so? And I believe modern medicine isn't failing as badly as the film portrays. Since modern developments like vaccinations, pharmaceuticals, and therapies like chemotherapy (all of which are condemned by the film), there have been eradication of diseases like smallpox and a dramatic increase in life expectancy in places where modern medicine is available. All around our quality of life has been increased and we no longer have to worry about our lives when we have an ailment like getting a fever, which was often fatal before modern medicine. I guess what I'm trying to say is the film exaggerates on many points and rarely makes sense as an argument.
I do think eating organic food and living a healthy lifestyle is good for you. Undoubtedly. I also, however, think someone who lives a lifestyle free from processed foods and modern medicine in Alaska is going to always be significantly healthier than someone who doesn't and lives in New York City. Although, just a hypothetical situation, it makes you wonder if following a strict diet and refraining from being treated with modern medicine when you're ill will actually be worse for you. It seems like a ridiculous paranoia of doctors and food companies to me. Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, but there is more than one side to every story and I think we should be skeptical of one side being the "truth" before we blindly accept claims made by those like the people who made this documentary.
