Max Gerson, M.D. was born October 18, 1881 in Wongrowitz, Germany. He attended the universities of Bresslau, Wuerzburg and Berlin, and graduated from the University of Freiburg. Dr. Gerson, who suffered from severe migraines, discovered that a change in diet prevented the onset of these crippling headaches.

His outlook on the nature and treatment of degenerative disease shifted dramatically when a patient of his whom had been following the Gerson "migraine diet" was cured not only of migraines, but of skin tuberculosis as well. Dr. Gerson published his findings on skin tuberculosis in a dozen of the world's leading medical journals, establishing the Gerson Therapy as the first cure for this disease.

Through his work with tuberculosis, Dr. Gerson attracted the friendship of Albert Schweitzer, M.D. In 1931, after nine months on the therapy, Mrs. Helene BresslauSchweitzer (1879-1957) was cured of lung tuberculosis. Dr. Schweitzer himself came to Dr. Gerson at age 75 depressed and weary with advanced adult onset diabetes. In a few weeks Dr. Schweitzer was completely off his heavy insulin dosage. He returned to Africa, invigorated and full of optimism. This great humanitarian worked past age 90 and was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize for his medical missionary work. Schweitzer followed Gerson's progress over the years, seeing the dietary therapy successfully applied further to heart disease, kidney failure and cancer.