Part 3 of detoxing articles

[Guest guest]

I finally found part 3 of those detoxing articles! Here it is:

From: "Patty" <faussettdp@...> Date: Fri Nov 17, 2000 12:45 pmSubject: Managing Toxicity, Part 3

http://www.gerson.org/healing/articles/managingToxicity.htm

Managing Toxicity(part 3 of 3)(From Gerson Healing Newsletter Vol. 15, No. 4, July-Aug., 2000)

by

[This is Part 3 of a 3 part series of articles by Ms. ] I find that most health conscious people have tried various detoxification diets. In fact most of my patients will tell me that of course they have detoxed many times before. When I ask them if they had a discharge of their toxicity I am usually met with a blank stare. You see the idea of cleansing is so far removed from our understanding of health that when in fact the body does try to cleanse itself, or release toxins, we panic and perceive the symptoms as disease and take various preparations to "cure" ourselves. A healthy body with a high vitality has a natural capacity to throw out toxicity; much like a centrifugal force which flings toxicity to the outside. At these times, when the cleansing is active we may experience mucous discharge, fever and other symptoms of infection along with aching joints, nausea and diarrhea. Have you noticed how easily a child can throw up a fever and yet 24 hours later be right as rain? A child with high vitality can release toxicity and heal himself. The body does not create an immune response to its own toxicity. Instead it packages toxins away "safely." However, when you have worked on raising the vitality (through diet and juicing) this toxicity is released into the blood stream creating an environment which "invites" our hygiene officials in (bacteria/viruses) that act as a catalyst to a generalized immune response. We get the response we need - fever, inflammation, mucous discharge - which not only deals with the pathogenic organisms but anything in the body that shouldn't be there and ensures that it is discharged to the outside. However, the normal response with an "infection" is to go to the doctor for a prescription to stop the symptoms, to stop the cleansing and to stop the immune response in its tracks. Over the years, if you throw enough spanners in the works, your machine will grind to a halt and you will get no more symptoms of fever, discharge or acute cleansing. At this point the body is holding so much toxicity that disease will manifest at the chronic degenerative stage. We tread a dangerous path in our "hygienic" society, which uses vaccination programs (specifically for the normal childhood illnesses), and indiscriminate use of antibiotics. Such practices thwart the body's requirement to develop a healthy active immune system. Consequently disordered immune patterns are now emerging even in our young (10% of children world-wide now suffer with asthma with a doubling in the last 15 years) and we are fast becoming dormant to our own tumors (http://www.trufax.org/vaccine/mmr4.html). So how do we manage the release of toxicity? You may remember from my last article the equation: The rate of release of toxicity from the cells must equal their rate of removal to the outside. This is the first rule because a toxic bloodstream poisons the body and can weaken the liver. You also need to know what toxins you are likely to release - whether it will be from medical or recreational drugs, chemicals from the workplace/agriculture/other, and will need to have some idea of how "stuck" your body is - in other words over how many years and how much medication have you taken to inhibit the cleansing and healing response. A good question to ask yourself - "When was the last time I had a fever or an acute discharge (i.e. mucous release)?" If you have been on long-term medical drugs (particularly the cortico-steroids) then the healing will be much slower and more difficult to attain. Momentum also comes into the equation. As toxicity is reduced, the vitality rises and the body builds a momentum. It doesn't happen overnight but after a process of what I call loosening and releasing. Doctor Gerson refers to cycles of healing and detoxification that he observed in his patients. Each patient followed their own unique cycle of discharge and healing as the vitality increased over the months and years until eventually the body was totally cured. I have a good example to share with you. Sally, in her late 30s, was in good health and helping her partner on the Gerson Therapy. She decided to take some of the juices and adopt the vegetarian diet to keep him company. Although she was not absolutely strict (sneaking off for the odd cappuccino and piece of chocolate cake) there was a definite improvement in overall vitality. 18 months later, still maintaining the change in life-style, around the equinox (21st September) she suffered the worst "flu" she had ever experienced. There was tremendous mucous elimination and in addition she was noticing "flare-ups" of previous old injuries dating back to childhood. Sally knew that she was experiencing a healing crisis. Momentum ebbs and flows, like the tides, and there are periods of greater release and greater healing, but the critical factor is the maintenance of that momentum through the diet over a long period of time. You have to be patient and allow the body the time that it needs to heal itself. It is interesting that in many traditional medicines the changes in the geomagnetic forces at the times of the autumn and spring equinox are factored into the health equation. It is known both in traditional and modern medicine that changes in symptoms occur around these times - in Western society it is called an exacerbation of the disease but in other cultures it is observed to be a crisis which depending on its management can either worsen or improve the health picture. I have often wondered whether the term "spring cleaning" comes from our forgotten knowledge of the cleansing cycles. Once the vitality is raised to a critical point, then detoxification will occur. You need to know what you can do to support this process. If you have observed specific patterns of illness in your own case then it is likely that the healing/cleansing symptoms will occur in these areas and it is wise to have in your medicine cupboard specific herbs that you know will support those organs/glands and the immune system through the crisis. This does not apply to Gerson patients who will need to seek the advice of a Gerson practitioner to assist them through the healing flare-up. It is also helpful to be able to differentiate between the different types of symptoms in order to know what to do.

The three categories of symptoms

Toxic symptoms - When you feel "poisoned". This indicates elimination of toxicity from the cells is occurring more quickly than elimination to the outside.

The symptoms include: Brain/mental level - headaches, foggy/heavy head, loss of concentration, disorientation. Mood swings, extreme irritation Nervous irritation as old toxins/drugs return to the circulation and affect nerve endings. Joint and muscle aches and pains/inflammation To do: The coffee enema is the only method of effectively releasing this toxicity.

Detoxification symptoms - These occur most specifically at gut level and the symptoms are associated with huge amounts of toxicity being released from the liver into the duodenum. The strongly toxic and alkaline bile can make a patient feel extremely nauseous, vomit bile and be unable to eat or drink. It can also cause diarrhea. Sometimes increased amounts of toxicity are released following an enema as the coffee enema stimulates this release. This is a real telltale sign of increased liver activity and detoxification and is a positive sign.

To do: You may take an additional enema (Gerson patients must seek advice from their practitioner) Drink peppermint tea and gruel. Peppermint tea will increase stomach acidity and therefore help to neutralize the bile and the gruel will "mop up" toxic bile and be soothing on the digestive tract. Gruel can be added to the vegetable juices at these times, as it will help to keep them down. Also take gruel before and after the enema as this will help to counteract the effects of the toxic bile.

Healing reactions - These occur when the body is returning to old injuries/illnesses (bacterial/viral or physical trauma) and discharging the toxicity so that the vitality may rise for true healing to occur. At these times the body will get rid of old scar tissue, heal old fractures and eliminate toxic residue through the skin, mucous membranes, liver, kidney and colon. These reactions are hopefully accompanied by inflammation, fever and general malaise, which is self-limiting. Usually a few days prior to a healing crisis the general energy/vitality seems much higher and the crisis that follows can last from 3 -10 days.

Fever: It is not a good idea to suppress a fever. Try to let it run its course but keep a check by taking the temperature every half an hour. Remember the saying " if you suppress the fever, you prolong the illness." If the temperature rises above 40°C (104°F) then you will need to take an aspirin-based medication (not acetaminophen which is damaging to the liver). Drink a little warm gruel before taking the medication. Other ways of reducing the temperature (if it becomes too intolerable) are:

Have a tepid bath Take a cool water enema Take cool drinks Sponge the forehead and nape of the neck with a cool, damp cloth (witchhazel can be used on the cloth - not with Gerson patients) General sponging down of the body with cool, damp cloths.

Hot and cold packs:The castor oil pack is a warm pack and will: Release congestion from mucous membranes (respiratory, colon), so it is useful to place a pack over these areas to assist the elimination of catarrh and infected mucous Increase elimination in the liver - particularly useful when you get liver "pangs" caused by spasms in the bile ducts Release toxic accumulation in muscles (toxins often release into the muscles and cause contraction and tension with pain of the affected muscles). The castor oil pack will release any area of spastic pain and tension. You can keep the castor oil pack on the area until the pain is reduced. A minimum of 90 minutes is required to release congestion in the tissues. The pack can be re-used.

The clay pack is a cool pack and will: Reduce swellings from hot inflammations (tumor sites, swollen joints, fluid retention) Absorb toxins from the surrounding tissue Clay accelerates healing on open and internal wounds through these methods of reduction and adsorption. You should not leave this pack on for longer than 2 hours and it should not be re-used, as it will be saturated with toxic bi-products. Do not stop your juicing, diet or enemas through this process. Many people go "off the track" at these critical times through confusion about what is happening and why. I hope that I have given you a few useful pointers and the confidence to manage your own healing successfully.

About the Author: is the author of Get a Life: the detoxification diet made easy! (ISBN 0-646-31829-2) explains the art of detoxification in simple terms, shows you how to assess your own vitality and adjust the speed of your detoxification. Included are many recipes and menu plans to help you. It is available through some bookstores or from the author direct. has a practice in the Brisbane area, offers consultations by post or telephone and is also a Gerson therapist. She holds regular workshops and lectures on the topic of detoxification. She also runs courses for students and practitioners of natural therapies. Ms. is a member of the Gerson Institute's Board of Directors. E-mail: kathryn@...

[Guest guest]

Managing Toxicity(part 3 of 3)(From Gerson Healing Newsletter Vol. 15, No. 4, July-Aug., 2000)

by

[This is Part 3 of a 3 part series of articles by Ms. ] I find that most health conscious people have tried various detoxification diets. In fact most of my patients will tell me that of course they have detoxed many times before. When I ask them if they had a discharge of their toxicity I am usually met with a blank stare. You see the idea of cleansing is so far removed from our understanding of health that when in fact the body does try to cleanse itself, or release toxins, we panic and perceive the symptoms as disease and take various preparations to "cure" ourselves. A healthy body with a high vitality has a natural capacity to throw out toxicity; much like a centrifugal force which flings toxicity to the outside. At these times, when the cleansing is active we may experience mucous discharge, fever and other symptoms of infection along with aching joints, nausea and diarrhea. Have you noticed how easily a child can throw up a fever and yet 24 hours later be right as rain? A child with high vitality can release toxicity and heal himself. The body does not create an immune response to its own toxicity. Instead it packages toxins away "safely." However, when you have worked on raising the vitality (through diet and juicing) this toxicity is released into the blood stream creating an environment which "invites" our hygiene officials in (bacteria/viruses) that act as a catalyst to a generalized immune response. We get the response we need - fever, inflammation, mucous discharge - which not only deals with the pathogenic organisms but anything in the body that shouldn't be there and ensures that it is discharged to the outside. However, the normal response with an "infection" is to go to the doctor for a prescription to stop the symptoms, to stop the cleansing and to stop the immune response in its tracks. Over the years, if you throw enough spanners in the works, your machine will grind to a halt and you will get no more symptoms of fever, discharge or acute cleansing. At this point the body is holding so much toxicity that disease will manifest at the chronic degenerative stage. We tread a dangerous path in our "hygienic" society, which uses vaccination programs (specifically for the normal childhood illnesses), and indiscriminate use of antibiotics. Such practices thwart the body's requirement to develop a healthy active immune system. Consequently disordered immune patterns are now emerging even in our young (10% of children world-wide now suffer with asthma with a doubling in the last 15 years) and we are fast becoming dormant to our own tumors (http://www.trufax.org/vaccine/mmr4.html). So how do we manage the release of toxicity? You may remember from my last article the equation: The rate of release of toxicity from the cells must equal their rate of removal to the outside. This is the first rule because a toxic bloodstream poisons the body and can weaken the liver. You also need to know what toxins you are likely to release - whether it will be from medical or recreational drugs, chemicals from the workplace/agriculture/other, and will need to have some idea of how "stuck" your body is - in other words over how many years and how much medication have you taken to inhibit the cleansing and healing response. A good question to ask yourself - "When was the last time I had a fever or an acute discharge (i.e. mucous release)?" If you have been on long-term medical drugs (particularly the cortico-steroids) then the healing will be much slower and more difficult to attain. Momentum also comes into the equation. As toxicity is reduced, the vitality rises and the body builds a momentum. It doesn't happen overnight but after a process of what I call loosening and releasing. Doctor Gerson refers to cycles of healing and detoxification that he observed in his patients. Each patient followed their own unique cycle of discharge and healing as the vitality increased over the months and years until eventually the body was totally cured. I have a good example to share with you. Sally, in her late 30s, was in good health and helping her partner on the Gerson Therapy. She decided to take some of the juices and adopt the vegetarian diet to keep him company. Although she was not absolutely strict (sneaking off for the odd cappuccino and piece of chocolate cake) there was a definite improvement in overall vitality. 18 months later, still maintaining the change in life-style, around the equinox (21st September) she suffered the worst "flu" she had ever experienced. There was tremendous mucous elimination and in addition she was noticing "flare-ups" of previous old injuries dating back to childhood. Sally knew that she was experiencing a healing crisis. Momentum ebbs and flows, like the tides, and there are periods of greater release and greater healing, but the critical factor is the maintenance of that momentum through the diet over a long period of time. You have to be patient and allow the body the time that it needs to heal itself. It is interesting that in many traditional medicines the changes in the geomagnetic forces at the times of the autumn and spring equinox are factored into the health equation. It is known both in traditional and modern medicine that changes in symptoms occur around these times - in Western society it is called an exacerbation of the disease but in other cultures it is observed to be a crisis which depending on its management can either worsen or improve the health picture. I have often wondered whether the term "spring cleaning" comes from our forgotten knowledge of the cleansing cycles. Once the vitality is raised to a critical point, then detoxification will occur. You need to know what you can do to support this process. If you have observed specific patterns of illness in your own case then it is likely that the healing/cleansing symptoms will occur in these areas and it is wise to have in your medicine cupboard specific herbs that you know will support those organs/glands and the immune system through the crisis. This does not apply to Gerson patients who will need to seek the advice of a Gerson practitioner to assist them through the healing flare-up. It is also helpful to be able to differentiate between the different types of symptoms in order to know what to do.

The three categories of symptoms

Toxic symptoms - When you feel "poisoned". This indicates elimination of toxicity from the cells is occurring more quickly than elimination to the outside.

The symptoms include: Brain/mental level - headaches, foggy/heavy head, loss of concentration, disorientation. Mood swings, extreme irritation Nervous irritation as old toxins/drugs return to the circulation and affect nerve endings. Joint and muscle aches and pains/inflammation To do: The coffee enema is the only method of effectively releasing this toxicity.

Detoxification symptoms - These occur most specifically at gut level and the symptoms are associated with huge amounts of toxicity being released from the liver into the duodenum. The strongly toxic and alkaline bile can make a patient feel extremely nauseous, vomit bile and be unable to eat or drink. It can also cause diarrhea. Sometimes increased amounts of toxicity are released following an enema as the coffee enema stimulates this release. This is a real telltale sign of increased liver activity and detoxification and is a positive sign.

To do: You may take an additional enema (Gerson patients must seek advice from their practitioner) Drink peppermint tea and gruel. Peppermint tea will increase stomach acidity and therefore help to neutralize the bile and the gruel will "mop up" toxic bile and be soothing on the digestive tract. Gruel can be added to the vegetable juices at these times, as it will help to keep them down. Also take gruel before and after the enema as this will help to counteract the effects of the toxic bile.

Healing reactions - These occur when the body is returning to old injuries/illnesses (bacterial/viral or physical trauma) and discharging the toxicity so that the vitality may rise for true healing to occur. At these times the body will get rid of old scar tissue, heal old fractures and eliminate toxic residue through the skin, mucous membranes, liver, kidney and colon. These reactions are hopefully accompanied by inflammation, fever and general malaise, which is self-limiting. Usually a few days prior to a healing crisis the general energy/vitality seems much higher and the crisis that follows can last from 3 -10 days.

Fever: It is not a good idea to suppress a fever. Try to let it run its course but keep a check by taking the temperature every half an hour. Remember the saying " if you suppress the fever, you prolong the illness." If the temperature rises above 40°C (104°F) then you will need to take an aspirin-based medication (not acetaminophen which is damaging to the liver). Drink a little warm gruel before taking the medication. Other ways of reducing the temperature (if it becomes too intolerable) are:

Have a tepid bath Take a cool water enema Take cool drinks Sponge the forehead and nape of the neck with a cool, damp cloth (witchhazel can be used on the cloth - not with Gerson patients) General sponging down of the body with cool, damp cloths.

Hot and cold packs:The castor oil pack is a warm pack and will: Release congestion from mucous membranes (respiratory, colon), so it is useful to place a pack over these areas to assist the elimination of catarrh and infected mucous Increase elimination in the liver - particularly useful when you get liver "pangs" caused by spasms in the bile ducts Release toxic accumulation in muscles (toxins often release into the muscles and cause contraction and tension with pain of the affected muscles). The castor oil pack will release any area of spastic pain and tension. You can keep the castor oil pack on the area until the pain is reduced. A minimum of 90 minutes is required to release congestion in the tissues. The pack can be re-used.

The clay pack is a cool pack and will: Reduce swellings from hot inflammations (tumor sites, swollen joints, fluid retention) Absorb toxins from the surrounding tissue Clay accelerates healing on open and internal wounds through these methods of reduction and adsorption. You should not leave this pack on for longer than 2 hours and it should not be re-used, as it will be saturated with toxic bi-products. Do not stop your juicing, diet or enemas through this process. Many people go "off the track" at these critical times through confusion about what is happening and why. I hope that I have given you a few useful pointers and the confidence to manage your own healing successfully.

About the Author: is the author of Get a Life: the detoxification diet made easy! (ISBN 0-646-31829-2) explains the art of detoxification in simple terms, shows you how to assess your own vitality and adjust the speed of your detoxification. Included are many recipes and menu plans to help you. It is available through some bookstores or from the author direct. has a practice in the Brisbane area, offers consultations by post or telephone and is also a Gerson therapist. She holds regular workshops and lectures on the topic of detoxification. She also runs courses for students and practitioners of natural therapies. Ms. is a member of the Gerson Institute's Board of Directors. E-mail: kathryn@...

[Guest guest]

http://www.gerson.org/healing/articles/managingToxicity.htm

Managing Toxicity(part 3 of 3)(From Gerson Healing Newsletter Vol. 15, No. 4, July-Aug., 2000)

by

[This is Part 3 of a 3 part series of articles by Ms. ] I find that most health conscious people have tried various detoxification diets. In fact most of my patients will tell me that of course they have detoxed many times before. When I ask them if they had a discharge of their toxicity I am usually met with a blank stare. You see the idea of cleansing is so far removed from our understanding of health that when in fact the body does try to cleanse itself, or release toxins, we panic and perceive the symptoms as disease and take various preparations to "cure" ourselves. A healthy body with a high vitality has a natural capacity to throw out toxicity; much like a centrifugal force which flings toxicity to the outside. At these times, when the cleansing is active we may experience mucous discharge, fever and other symptoms of infection along with aching joints, nausea and diarrhea. Have you noticed how easily a child can throw up a fever and yet 24 hours later be right as rain? A child with high vitality can release toxicity and heal himself. The body does not create an immune response to its own toxicity. Instead it packages toxins away "safely." However, when you have worked on raising the vitality (through diet and juicing) this toxicity is released into the blood stream creating an environment which "invites" our hygiene officials in (bacteria/viruses) that act as a catalyst to a generalized immune response. We get the response we need - fever, inflammation, mucous discharge - which not only deals with the pathogenic organisms but anything in the body that shouldn't be there and ensures that it is discharged to the outside. However, the normal response with an "infection" is to go to the doctor for a prescription to stop the symptoms, to stop the cleansing and to stop the immune response in its tracks. Over the years, if you throw enough spanners in the works, your machine will grind to a halt and you will get no more symptoms of fever, discharge or acute cleansing. At this point the body is holding so much toxicity that disease will manifest at the chronic degenerative stage. We tread a dangerous path in our "hygienic" society, which uses vaccination programs (specifically for the normal childhood illnesses), and indiscriminate use of antibiotics. Such practices thwart the body's requirement to develop a healthy active immune system. Consequently disordered immune patterns are now emerging even in our young (10% of children world-wide now suffer with asthma with a doubling in the last 15 years) and we are fast becoming dormant to our own tumors (http://www.trufax.org/vaccine/mmr4.html). So how do we manage the release of toxicity? You may remember from my last article the equation: The rate of release of toxicity from the cells must equal their rate of removal to the outside. This is the first rule because a toxic bloodstream poisons the body and can weaken the liver. You also need to know what toxins you are likely to release - whether it will be from medical or recreational drugs, chemicals from the workplace/agriculture/other, and will need to have some idea of how "stuck" your body is - in other words over how many years and how much medication have you taken to inhibit the cleansing and healing response. A good question to ask yourself - "When was the last time I had a fever or an acute discharge (i.e. mucous release)?" If you have been on long-term medical drugs (particularly the cortico-steroids) then the healing will be much slower and more difficult to attain. Momentum also comes into the equation. As toxicity is reduced, the vitality rises and the body builds a momentum. It doesn't happen overnight but after a process of what I call loosening and releasing. Doctor Gerson refers to cycles of healing and detoxification that he observed in his patients. Each patient followed their own unique cycle of discharge and healing as the vitality increased over the months and years until eventually the body was totally cured. I have a good example to share with you. Sally, in her late 30s, was in good health and helping her partner on the Gerson Therapy. She decided to take some of the juices and adopt the vegetarian diet to keep him company. Although she was not absolutely strict (sneaking off for the odd cappuccino and piece of chocolate cake) there was a definite improvement in overall vitality. 18 months later, still maintaining the change in life-style, around the equinox (21st September) she suffered the worst "flu" she had ever experienced. There was tremendous mucous elimination and in addition she was noticing "flare-ups" of previous old injuries dating back to childhood. Sally knew that she was experiencing a healing crisis. Momentum ebbs and flows, like the tides, and there are periods of greater release and greater healing, but the critical factor is the maintenance of that momentum through the diet over a long period of time. You have to be patient and allow the body the time that it needs to heal itself. It is interesting that in many traditional medicines the changes in the geomagnetic forces at the times of the autumn and spring equinox are factored into the health equation. It is known both in traditional and modern medicine that changes in symptoms occur around these times - in Western society it is called an exacerbation of the disease but in other cultures it is observed to be a crisis which depending on its management can either worsen or improve the health picture. I have often wondered whether the term "spring cleaning" comes from our forgotten knowledge of the cleansing cycles. Once the vitality is raised to a critical point, then detoxification will occur. You need to know what you can do to support this process. If you have observed specific patterns of illness in your own case then it is likely that the healing/cleansing symptoms will occur in these areas and it is wise to have in your medicine cupboard specific herbs that you know will support those organs/glands and the immune system through the crisis. This does not apply to Gerson patients who will need to seek the advice of a Gerson practitioner to assist them through the healing flare-up. It is also helpful to be able to differentiate between the different types of symptoms in order to know what to do.

The three categories of symptoms

Toxic symptoms - When you feel "poisoned". This indicates elimination of toxicity from the cells is occurring more quickly than elimination to the outside.

The symptoms include: Brain/mental level - headaches, foggy/heavy head, loss of concentration, disorientation. Mood swings, extreme irritation Nervous irritation as old toxins/drugs return to the circulation and affect nerve endings. Joint and muscle aches and pains/inflammation To do: The coffee enema is the only method of effectively releasing this toxicity.

Detoxification symptoms - These occur most specifically at gut level and the symptoms are associated with huge amounts of toxicity being released from the liver into the duodenum. The strongly toxic and alkaline bile can make a patient feel extremely nauseous, vomit bile and be unable to eat or drink. It can also cause diarrhea. Sometimes increased amounts of toxicity are released following an enema as the coffee enema stimulates this release. This is a real telltale sign of increased liver activity and detoxification and is a positive sign.

To do: You may take an additional enema (Gerson patients must seek advice from their practitioner) Drink peppermint tea and gruel. Peppermint tea will increase stomach acidity and therefore help to neutralize the bile and the gruel will "mop up" toxic bile and be soothing on the digestive tract. Gruel can be added to the vegetable juices at these times, as it will help to keep them down. Also take gruel before and after the enema as this will help to counteract the effects of the toxic bile.

Healing reactions - These occur when the body is returning to old injuries/illnesses (bacterial/viral or physical trauma) and discharging the toxicity so that the vitality may rise for true healing to occur. At these times the body will get rid of old scar tissue, heal old fractures and eliminate toxic residue through the skin, mucous membranes, liver, kidney and colon. These reactions are hopefully accompanied by inflammation, fever and general malaise, which is self-limiting. Usually a few days prior to a healing crisis the general energy/vitality seems much higher and the crisis that follows can last from 3 -10 days.

Fever: It is not a good idea to suppress a fever. Try to let it run its course but keep a check by taking the temperature every half an hour. Remember the saying " if you suppress the fever, you prolong the illness." If the temperature rises above 40°C (104°F) then you will need to take an aspirin-based medication (not acetaminophen which is damaging to the liver). Drink a little warm gruel before taking the medication. Other ways of reducing the temperature (if it becomes too intolerable) are:

Have a tepid bath Take a cool water enema Take cool drinks Sponge the forehead and nape of the neck with a cool, damp cloth (witchhazel can be used on the cloth - not with Gerson patients) General sponging down of the body with cool, damp cloths.

Hot and cold packs:The castor oil pack is a warm pack and will: Release congestion from mucous membranes (respiratory, colon), so it is useful to place a pack over these areas to assist the elimination of catarrh and infected mucous Increase elimination in the liver - particularly useful when you get liver "pangs" caused by spasms in the bile ducts Release toxic accumulation in muscles (toxins often release into the muscles and cause contraction and tension with pain of the affected muscles). The castor oil pack will release any area of spastic pain and tension. You can keep the castor oil pack on the area until the pain is reduced. A minimum of 90 minutes is required to release congestion in the tissues. The pack can be re-used.

The clay pack is a cool pack and will: Reduce swellings from hot inflammations (tumor sites, swollen joints, fluid retention) Absorb toxins from the surrounding tissue Clay accelerates healing on open and internal wounds through these methods of reduction and adsorption. You should not leave this pack on for longer than 2 hours and it should not be re-used, as it will be saturated with toxic bi-products. Do not stop your juicing, diet or enemas through this process. Many people go "off the track" at these critical times through confusion about what is happening and why. I hope that I have given you a few useful pointers and the confidence to manage your own healing successfully.

About the Author: is the author of Get a Life: the detoxification diet made easy! (ISBN 0-646-31829-2) explains the art of detoxification in simple terms, shows you how to assess your own vitality and adjust the speed of your detoxification. Included are many recipes and menu plans to help you. It is available through some bookstores or from the author direct. has a practice in the Brisbane area, offers consultations by post or telephone and is also a Gerson therapist. She holds regular workshops and lectures on the topic of detoxification. She also runs courses for students and practitioners of natural therapies. Ms. is a member of the Gerson Institute's Board of Directors. E-mail: kathryn@...