3

One must, therefore, exercise extreme care on an exclusively raw food diet.
While it can be a beneficial therapeutic regimen over the short term, it must be
practiced with restraint over the long term (when followed as a daily regimen).
The best option is, once illness is cured, combine cooked food with a generous
helping of raw vegetables.

6
Indications and Contraindications of the Grape
Mono Diet

Diets in general, and the Grape Cure in particular, appear to be universally
helpful and harmless. In practice, this may not be so. Regimens, diets, and fasts
are beneficial only for the specific conditions they aim to correct. Countless
patients and well-meaning individuals have learned this difficult truth—diets can
improve health or they can destroy it. No one diet is “good for everyone.” Every
regimen—every diet—has its own characteristics and, consequently, its own
indications and contraindications.
Patients have their own particular temperament, physical idiosyncrasies, and
disorders, and each patient must choose a diet in accord with those
characteristics to realize the benefits they hope for.
The Grape Cure—particularly the grape mono diet—has its own indications
and contraindications. Of paramount importance, understanding these principles
at the outset will spare patients from making the wrong choice.
The grape mono diet has two major contraindications: the first is a
disproportionate physiological sensitivity to acids; the second is failure to
understand the nature of the healing crises triggered by the cure.
We shall take up each of these in turn here, but an extra note of caution is
warranted on the issue of healing crises: During the course of this cure, various
detoxification crises will almost certainly occur. Initially, they are beneficial;
after a time, they can be harmful. The patient must learn to recognize when this
dividing line is reached and stop the cure. An understanding of the different
phases of a diet is key in determining this point. See also Destructive Healing
Crises and Urgent Signs to Stop Fasting.

PHYSICAL SENSITIVITY TO ACIDS
Foods contain varying proportions of acid and alkaline substances (the latter are
known also as bases). Many acid foods can be directly identified by their sharp
taste: grapefruit, vinegar, and yogurt, for example. Other foods are not acid in
themselves, but they acidify the body when digested or during the course of
transformations they undergo at the cellular level. Included among these
acidifying foods are meats, grains, white sugar, beans, fats, coffee, and wine.
Other foods contain primarily base substances and are known as alkalizing
foods: vegetables, potatoes, bananas, and almonds, for instance.
We all naturally eat foods that are acid, acidifying, and alkalizing. But
depending on how much of each food group we ingest, the body can become
acidified—a little, a lot, or not at all.
To function properly, the human body should maintain a pH of 7.3. The pH is
a scale used to measure the acidity or alkalinity of a substance. The scale ranges
from 0 to 14, with 0 indicating absolute acidity and 14 absolute alkalinity. The
blood’s pH of 7.3 is therefore nearly neutral, but tipping toward alkaline.
The human body seeks a stable pH, but the level is constantly modified by
dietary factors as well as by stress, vitamin deficiencies, physical activity, tissue
oxygenation, and more. Lifestyle therefore exerts a strong influence on pH. But
overly large variations in the acid/alkaline balance will cause illness.
All vital processes both within and around the cells occur by virtue of
enzymatic activity. This activity relies on the pH of the immediate cellular
environment. In other words, each enzyme has an ideal pH for optimal
performance. If pH is altered, an enzyme’s activity is hampered, slows down, or
can cease entirely. Illness and even death may result.
The body therefore strives to maintain pH as close to the ideal as possible.
The three primary processes used to achieve this are:
1. Directly neutralizing food acids with alkaline substances carried in by
the same foods. One acid and one base (alkaline substance) equal one
neutral salt. For this to work, however, foods must contain enough of the
required substances. In addition, only those acids present in the digestive
tract will be neutralized in this way, not those produced in tissues at the
cellular level.
2. Using oxidation to neutralize acid in tissues. Oxidation transforms acids

into nonacidic substances and into wastes for elimination—for instance,
carbon dioxide (CO2) and water, which are expelled by the lungs and
kidneys. Sufficient oxygen, vitamins, and trace elements are required for
oxidation to occur.
3. Employing the anti-acid defense system known as “buffering power.”
This method neutralizes acids by deacidifying them (buffering them) with
alkaline minerals drawn out of the tissues themselves (instead of from food,
as in the first method). All tissues are subject to this extraction—bone, nail,
skin, cellular fluid, and so on. Most affected are tissues rich in alkaline
minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, and zinc.
Buffering is integral to the body’s function and does not cause serious
problems unless called upon too often or too heavily. But if day after day—or
several times a day—the body resorts to its buffer system, alkaline reserves will
be depleted. Prolonged theft of these minerals will cause damage, as they are
pillaged not from a special reserve, but from the tissues themselves. The result is
demineralization of the body. Initially, this is betrayed by minor symptoms like
hair loss, fragile nails, less tone, dry and chapped skin and lips, dental caries,
cold sores, rectal and urinary burning, colds and chronic sinusitis, and insomnia.
These may be followed by more serious disorders and lesions including eczema,
pulmonary problems, depression, rheumatism, sciatica, headaches, irritability
and increased nervous sensitivity, low blood pressure, and immune deficiencies.
As a general rule, people with a robust, expansive, ruddy, congestive, hot
temperament generally have a high capacity for oxidizing acids and good
mineral reserves to buffer them, because their bones have a higher concentration
of minerals. Conversely, people with a nervous, withdrawn, cold, phlegmatic
temperament oxidize acids poorly, and have smaller mineral reserves available to
buffer the acids.
Of the two types, the first processes acids well; such people neutralize acids
easily and even transform them into alkaline minerals using their powerful
oxidizing capacity. This can be discerned in such individuals by increased
alkalization of their urine following consumption of acidic foods like lemons, for
example.
The second group metabolizes acids poorly. By ingesting acidic foods too
often or in large quantities, they accumulate acids that attack their tissues,
forcing alkaline minerals out of them. Furthermore, they are deficient at

oxidizing these acids and transforming them to alkaline substances. Unlike the
preceding group, their urine shows a rise in acidity when they eat acid foods.
We begin to see the danger here of trying to determine the alkalizing effect of
a diet by analyzing the food content alone, or by measuring its effect on urine.
Any attempt to determine the impact of a diet on a specific individual must
consider also the metabolic capacity of that person’s body to process the acids it
ingests.
In fact, if grapes are considered an alkalizing influence, it is because they
contain more alkaline minerals (potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron)
than acid minerals (phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine). However, in addition to
minerals, grapes contain acids that must be neutralized as well, and these must
enter into any calculations. Do grapes contain enough alkaline minerals to
neutralize all the acids?
The urinary pH test is meant to answer this question. This test is easy to
perform, requiring only litmus paper or pH Test Strips, which are more accurate
and easier to read. (See the resources section on page 160 for information on
ordering pH Test Strips.) To perform the test, hold a strip in the flow of urine for
a second or two, just long enough to moisten it. The acid of the urine reacts with
the paper, causing it to change color. By matching the paper with the indicator
scale on the color chart, the urine’s pH is obtained. A pH of 7.0 is neutral, 6.5
and lower is acid, and 7.5 and above is alkaline.
The concept underpinning this test is the belief that if the body absorbs excess
alkaline or acid substances, it will expel them in the urine, where they can be
measured. Consequently, if urine becomes more alkaline (a pH higher than 7.3)
after eating, the supposition is that the food provides more alkaline minerals than
the body needs and it allows the excess to be expelled. Conversely, urine
supposedly becomes more acidic when food brings in too much acid and the
excess is expelled.
Because the consumption of fruit generally causes an alkaline urine pH, it is
mistakenly believed that fruits are alkalizing—mistakenly, because this urinary
pH reveals the alkalinity of the urine and not that of body tissues.
As observed by Dr. Paul Carton, urine can be alkaline following the
consumption of acid foods for two very different reasons: because the acids were
oxidized and gave off numerous alkaline substances or because the body
surrendered alkaline substances in an attempt to neutralize the acids.1 In the first
case, the increase in alkaline pH is a healthy response, corresponding to a real

gain in alkaline substances in the body. In the second case, the presence of
alkaline substances in urine betrays a loss of alkalizing minerals from the tissues
as they attempted to neutralize acids. In the first case there is a gain, a
replenishment of alkaline minerals, and increased health. In the second, there is a
loss, a depletion of mineral content, and a reduction in health.
People who are sensitive to acids, for whom the grape mono diet is
contraindicated, are in this second group. The Grape Cure diet is especially
dangerous for them, as it will deplete their mineral content. Grapes—like all
other fruits—contain acids, in lower concentration than many other fruits, but
still present in sufficient quantity to increase the acid content of anyone on the
mono diet who eats just this one food.
Acid Sensitivity and the Grape Cure:
Is the Cure Suitable for You?
The Grape Cure will be favorable for you if you are not sensitive to acids, meaning:
You are an expansive, ruddy, congestive type who is resistant to cold and fatigue
You do not suffer from acidification problems
Your urinary pH is normally 7.0 or higher
A generous consumption of fruits will:
• alkalize your urine
• increase your vitality
• banish health problems
The Grape Cure is contraindicated for you if you are sensitive to acids, meaning:
You are a withdrawn, rather thin, pale, nervous type who tires quickly
You are suffering or have suffered from various acidification problems
Your urinary pH is acid: 6.5 or lower
Your urine pH is alkaline and you have problems with acidification
A generous consumption of fruits will:
• acidify your urine
• reduce your vitality

• cause the appearance of new disorders and increase those that
already exist

The Grape Cure is equally as beneficial for those individuals who metabolize
acids well (cleansing them of toxins and restoring mineral balance) as it is
contraindicated and dangerous for people who are sensitive to acids.

HEALING CRISES
People often boast of the benefits of the Grape Cure that restored them to health,
while others report bitterly that this same cure destroyed their health. And those
who suffered are not only people who are sensitive to acids! A change of health
status can also develop as a consequence of the detoxification crises (healing
crises) triggered by the cure.
To understand why healing crises can help in some cases and harm in others,
we need to understand, phase by phase, the process that occurs during diets in
general, including in the Grape Cure.
The Phases of a Diet
Consider the case of Mr. X.
Phase I. Mr. X overeats and rarely does any physical exercise. He burns off
what he eats inefficiently and has overloaded his body with toxins. His vital
force is insufficient to meet the demands of his lifestyle. Illnesses related to this
overloading appear: headaches, inflammation of the respiratory tract, and
arthritic pains.
Phase II. Aware of his condition and the health problems engendered, Mr. X
undertakes a diet. The reduction in food intake means his body does less work to
digest the food. This means Mr. X’s vital force is now more than he needs to
complete any other work he must do. In reality, the strength of this force has
remained the same, but his energy seems greater because his body’s workload
has been reduced. His eliminatory organs are the first to benefit from this
restoration of available energy and they increase their activity.
Phase III. The diet has lasted long enough for his body to eliminate most of
the wastes it has stored up; Mr. X is relieved of toxins. His health problems have
disappeared due to this cleansing, prompted by the diet cure. The intake of
nutrients provided by the diet—or his physical reserves, in the event of a fast—
are still sufficient to meet the needs of his body with its reduced workload (only
minimal digestive and eliminatory work to do). Mr. X therefore feels a renewed

sense of wellbeing. He feels light, in top form, and clear-headed. In fact, the vital
forces and the diet are well balanced with his body’s needs.
Phase IV. If Mr. X continues the regimen over the long term, his nutritive
reserves (in the case of a fast) or food intake (with diets) will eventually become
insufficient to support normal organ function. The physical slowdown that
results will provoke an increase in waste production, as foods are poorly
transformed and poorly eliminated. The toxins released by cellular activity will
again exceed his body’s capacity to eliminate them, as his energy will again
subside.
Phase V. If the cure is not ended now, Mr. X’s body, deprived of essential
nutrients (vitamins, trace elements, minerals, amino acids, and so forth), will
become severely deficient. Physical functions will continue to slow down or
come to a halt, and lesions will appear (osteoporosis, chapped skin, and the like).
These additional disorders appear, no longer caused by excess but instead by
deficiency.
Phase VI. If the cure were to continue beyond this point, Mr. X. would risk
starvation and death.
Beneficial Healing Crises
Beneficial crises take place during phase II, when the vital force is strong
enough to actively cleanse the body. The crises are intense but generally of short
duration, lasting from several hours to one or two days. They usually resemble
disorders from which the patient has suffered in the past. In fact, these healing
crises are a continuation of past efforts, however incomplete, to rid the body of
toxins encumbering its internal cellular environment. These efforts were never
completed, perhaps for lack of energy, or they may have been aborted by antisymptomatic medications.
Healing crises are desirable, helping the body to rid itself of toxin surpluses.
Although they’re disagreeable to experience, after a crisis has passed, the patient
feels much better.
Several healing crises can follow in succession—interspersed by calmer
periods—each taking a different form (headaches, pimple outbreaks, feelings of
heaviness, fatigue, or reactivations of old disorders), as the layers of waste
become “unglued” from the deeper tissues and seek exit from the body.
The State of WellBeing

When the bulk of wastes have been eliminated, a period of wellbeing sets in
(phase III). This is the result of achieving a new balance in the various forces
present. This stage must not be mistaken for balanced health that can be
maintained permanently. In reality, this is not balanced health, nor can it be
maintained in this fashion over time. It is a result of the diet—not a normal
routine that can be continued for years, but rather a restrictive therapeutic
regimen that, precisely because of its therapeutic and restrictive nature, should
not be continued indefinitely. This is an unstable, temporary balance brought
about by the cure. It will come to an end, to be followed by phase IV if the cure
is continued or by a second state of balance when eating is resumed.
Destructive Healing Crises
When the cure has reached phase III of wellbeing, the patient has exhausted the
effects of the diet for the time being. The regimen must be stopped at this point
by gradually resuming a normal, balanced diet, adapted to the physical capacities
of the dieter over the long term. Therapy is replaced by good health practice.
Unfortunately, people often remain on the therapeutic diet, believing it to be
an optimum regimen because it made them feel so good for a short time.
However, because it is a diet that lacks several important nutrients, their bodies
will function poorly (phases IV and V). They may seek to recapture the
wellbeing they experienced in phase III by continuing or even increasing the
restriction of the diet.
As body functions slow down and organs cannot perform their jobs, digestion
degrades, nutritive substances are not properly broken down, and eliminations
are reduced. Wastes accumulate, increased by a weakened metabolism. The
internal cellular environment builds up waste deposits, the blood thickens, and
the organs become congested, prompting a reappearance of illnesses spawned by
this buildup. The individual following the cure may view this condition from a
mistaken perspective and hail the symptoms as a healing crisis. But these
symptoms are not at all like healing crises that took place in phase II; they are
health disorders caused by excess wastes clogging tissues—back to phase I.
Thinking of them as healing crises is a mistake; they are not the result of
intense efforts to rid the body of toxins (as the vital force is quite diminished and
not capable of this); they result from the tissue congestion that happens when
wastes exceed the body’s elimination capacity! Rather than healing, they are
destructive crises. Their characteristics are the opposite of those in phase II; the
manifestations of this congestion are not short and intense; they are weak and

long lasting. They persist and get worse if the cure is continued.
If the individual stubbornly continues on this course on the premise that a new
healing crisis will bring on a new phase of wellbeing, he or she will exhaust all
strength reserves and more deficiencies will appear. A person on this path—
whether through stubbornness or poor guidance—can destroy good health (phase
VI).
Beneficial or Destructive?
Beneficial healing crises are short, followed by improvements in health disorders and a
general sense of wellbeing. The cure can be continued.
Harmful healing crises, or “false” crises, repeat or persist for more than a day or two. They
bring about a reduction of vitality and are not followed by improvements in health disorders.
Stop the cure.

HOW LONG SHOULD THE DIET BE CONTINUED?
Deciding how long a diet should last is complicated further: some individuals,
even before they start the cure, can already be in phase IV (congestion due to
devitalization) or in phase V (congestion due to deficiencies). This often
becomes apparent when a patient suffering from devitalization and deficiencies
embarks on an overly strict and rigorous cure. The weak nutritive intake—or the
absence of any nutrient intake, in the event of a fast—taxes their scant resources.
They rapidly find themselves suffering from malnutrition, their bodies incapable
of functioning correctly. For people who metabolize acids poorly, a fruit cure
(lemon, grape) or a fruitarian diet has this effect. These diets will propel these
individuals directly to phase IV or V, with subsequent loss of vitality and onset
of malnutrition.
In the cases cited above, the question is not “When should I stop the diet?” but
“What diet should I choose?” Such individuals should not begin a restrictive
diet; they should opt immediately for a revitalizing regimen—which is to say, a
balanced diet rich in a variety of nutrients—to help them regain their energy and
correct their deficiencies. Paradoxically, such a diet can still help them clear
toxins by promoting improved function so the body can break down and
eliminate wastes that are burdening it. Logically, the visceral organs can fail to
perform their tasks—burdening the internal cellular environment with an excess
of waste—as much by overexertion and overeating as by loss of vitality and

nutritive deficiencies.
Unfortunately, no absolute rule will allow one to determine with certainty
whether an individual following a cure is experiencing a phase II healing crisis
(and thereby may continue the cure) or has reached phase IV or V, the stages of
false crises. To determine how long a diet should last, one must consider not
only the elements of the diet itself, but also the patient’s lifestyle, the kind of
food eaten prior to the cure, past illnesses, and any physical weaknesses. By
careful observation of these factors, the level of waste congestion and the body’s
potential for clearing these wastes can be ascertained. Keeping these factors in
mind while observing the cure’s progress, one can identify which phase of the
cure the patient is experiencing.
If doubts persist, one should not hesitate to resume a normal diet to observe
how the body copes. If the person following the cure is in phase IV or V, the
crisis will end; vitality will return, and the general condition will improve. If the
individual is going through phase II of the cure, a resumption of regular eating
habits will bring no relief. If this is the case, the individual should return to the
diet.
In case of doubt, Hippocrates recommended alternating the use of opposing
therapeutic agents, thereby banishing narrow-minded and sectarian tendencies
and appealing to vigilance and an open mind. He wrote:
Man’s regimen is designed for the dry to be moistened, the wet be dried, that
things be divided, separated, and brought together so that health is procured
by a host of contrary things. . . . When the strict diet causes harm, one must
change to a nourishing regimen and change it fairly frequently, with this in
mind, from one thing to another. . . . Often indeed medicine must do one
thing at one time, and the next moment do the contrary.2
The dangers posed by poorly guided cures should not provide an excuse to
avoid diets in general—or Grape Cures in particular—but should prompt us to
embark on them fully informed. Too many miraculous healings have been
obtained for these healing procedures to be abandoned.
This information concerning healing crises appears to be diametrically
opposed to what Brandt espoused, insofar as she sometimes recommended
following her diet “until the patient has been reduced to a veritable skeleton.”
Other authors from the early twentieth century—and even those from earlier

eras—have recommended perseverance “to the very end,” and their personal
experiences seem to justify their assertions. Current wisdom, however, warns
against the will to maintain a harsh diet until a cure has been effected. Why is
this so?
It could be that this difference does not stem from ignorance about the healing
processes, but rather from the vast difference between the physical capacities of
modern humans and those of the early twentieth century. There are several levels
of meaning here.
In our time, we meet fewer and fewer of those “forces of nature”—individuals
of imposing and resistant physique, capable of undergoing any ordeal without
incurring much damage. The sedentary habits and overeating that characterize
our era have made our bodies lazy and weak, and heavily diminished our
resistance. When we must deal with a diet, our scant vital forces are insufficient
to perform the tasks of autolysis and elimination imposed by the diet.
On the other hand, modern food is subject to numerous refining processes that
often leave it poor in vitamins, trace elements, and other valuable substances.
The resulting deficiencies starve the tissues of substances like vitamins that
support autolysis by stimulating enzyme activity. Because the body’s reserves
are reduced, autolysis quickly reaches its limits and stops.
The twenty-first-century human being will rapidly reach phases IV and V,
suffering malnutrition and vitality loss, and despite a determination to stick with
the diet, will not have the physical resources to do so.
Another point to consider is the degree of chemical pollution to which modern
bodies are subjected. Air pollution, water pollution, soil contamination,
insecticides, herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, preservatives, food colorings,
pharmaceutical medications . . . all contribute to a new kind of poisoning. Many
of these are synthetic substances as well, meaning they were artificially created
in the laboratory and are unknown to our bodies, which have great difficulty
integrating them into our biological circuitry.
Substances like these can actively oppose enzymatic activity and greatly
disturb the body’s normal biochemical functions, including autolysis. This
obstruction property is known as damming in homeopathy, and it is joined by yet
another form of blocking: a number of chemical pollutants, both metals and
other substances, have been found to exert an “anti-vitamin” effect, or a
chelation of trace elements. In other words, these substances block and
neutralize the activity of vitamins and trace elements. How, under these

conditions, can autolysis proceed unhindered?
These obstacles do not make it impossible to follow diets, but they do make
diets more difficult to handle. The lack of physical resources mandates a shorter
cure duration and thus more repetitions over time. However, beneficial results
can be achieved with this approach.

INDICATIONS OF THE CURE
Indications for the Grape Cure flow logically out of its contraindications. Any
individual who does not suffer from a metabolic weakness for dealing with acids
can take the cure and draw great benefits from it. By interpreting the healing
crises correctly, by distinguishing a true crisis from a false one, an individual
following the cure can stop at the right time and gain the full benefit.
Trying to pinpoint the type of patient for whom this cure is recommended may
be wasted effort. The Grape Cure is not specific; it is not indicated more for one
disease than for another; it acts on illnesses of all kinds with purifying and
regenerative effects. The questions to ask are whether the individual enjoys
grapes and whether that person’s body can tolerate them. What has made the
Grape Cure so popular is that many people enjoy and will continue to enjoy the
flavor of grapes, even during the long weeks of the cure.

7

A Practical Guide to the Cure

To the extent that people can take responsibility for their own health and strive to
follow a cure, persevere in their efforts, and surmount the inherent obstacles,
they can derive optimum benefits from a cure by educating themselves about it.
Unfortunately, too often this does not happen. Many people follow cures, but
they follow them ineffectively. They are unaware of some details and they leave
out other aspects that—if they were included—would enable greater success in
the search for healing and well-being.
The practical guide that follows remedies these shortcomings by summarizing
the most important points of the cure and demonstrating how it can be most
effectively put into practice. The recommendations provided here are not only
valid for the Grape Cure, but are transferable to other mono diets as well.

PREPARATION FOR THE CURE
Preparation must precede the cure. Over the course of a fast or a mono diet,
copious wastes will be extracted from tissues and these will seek an exit from the
body. They must find a route to the outside. To effect this, the excretory organs
—the body’s exits—must be open and functioning correctly. If the intestines are
blocked, the liver congested, the kidneys fatigued, and the skin sealed, wastes
will be unable to leave. Consequently, they will merely change location inside
the body. The internal cellular environment will not be cleansed and healing will
not occur. To the contrary, the patient might feel even worse. Opening the
excretory organs at the start of a fast or mono diet—even before the start—is
critical. A slight reduction of food intake prior to launching the diet also is
helpful, preparing the body for the diet. This will be discussed further under
Beginning a Restricted Diet.

Opening the Excretory Organs
Opening the excretory organs simply means freeing them of wastes that burden
their tissues and maintaining their proper function by stimulating them to begin
work. Brandt talks primarily about the opening of the intestinal tract. To provide
a complete picture, we will also discuss opening the liver, kidneys, skin, and
lungs.
INTESTINES
The intestinal excretory organ can be opened and kept that way with the use of
enemas, colonic irrigations, purges, and gentle plant laxatives.
Enemas
An enema consists of introducing water into the colon, where it dissolves solids
and eliminates them with the expelled liquid. An enema kit can be purchased in
health stores, pharmacies, and other specialty shops to assist in introducing this
liquid. Kits include a half-gallon container for the water, a long rubber tube, and
a cannula (tube suitable for insertion into the anus) fitted with a stopcock valve
for regulating the flow of liquid.
Bring a half gallon of water to a boil in which you will then steep five
chamomile tea bags or a dozen dried flowers. Let this infusion cool until it has
reached a temperature of 95–98°F (35–37°C). Remove tea bags and filter any
leaves before filling the half-gallon container with the liquid. Place the bag
higher than the body so that gravity will provide enough water pressure to help
the liquid enter the intestines.
The cannula is introduced into the anus with the stopcock closed. Kneel on all
fours and lean head and torso forward and down.
Open the valve and let the water enter the intestines. Breath deeply and
slightly alter position—or even massage the abdomen along the path of the colon
—to help the liquid penetrate.
If the water pressure in the intestines is too strong or painful, close the valve
for a minute or two.
Once the water has been introduced, the cannula is removed. The liquid
should be retained for several minutes to allow the stools to liquefy. Then
evacuate the intestinal contents. This is generally achieved in several waves.
Half-gallon enemas can be performed on a daily basis during a fast or mono
diet, per Brandt’s suggestion, or twice a week over a period of two to three

weeks. After several enemas have been administered, they can be replaced by
ingestion of plant laxatives (see Gentle Laxatives section on page 88). During
the mono diet, neither enemas nor laxatives should be employed if the food
chosen for the diet is sufficiently laxative.
Colonic Irrigations
A colonic irrigation is similar to an enema, the difference being that the cannula
contains two conduits, one allowing liquid to flow in and the other for it to leave
without delay. Liquid is first introduced and held until it fills the entire colon.
Then a valve on the outgoing tube is opened to permit evacuation of the fluid
and materials from the colon while continuing to introduce additional water
through the in-valve. This creates a current that constantly renews the fluid base
for evacuation and also sets up a slight current that has a scouring effect on
wastes affixed to the intestinal walls.
Colonic irrigations are a highly effective method for cleansing the colon, but
they are not to be done at home; they require specialized equipment and the
supervision of a medical practitioner.
Purging
Before initiating enemas, a purge is recommended to free the intestines of the
bulk of their waste. Many purging formulas are available, with a number of
commercial variations sold ready to use. As the procedure is physically rigorous,
it is recommended only for people with strong intestines and it should be
employed only at the start of the cure. For people with sensitive intestines, it is
better to use gentle laxatives. (Those with sensitive intestines will generally be
aware of the fact because they will have pains immediately after eating certain
foods, such as spicy meals and too many fruits.)
Dr. Ed. Bertholet, of Lausanne, Switzerland, who was famous for his book on
fasting (Le retour à la santé par le jeûne) recommended the following purgative
formula: Blend 40–55 grams of magnesium citrate and 10–15 grams of sodium
citrate in approximately 1 pint of lukewarm water. Drink within a half an hour.
The effect will be felt within several hours.
Gentle Laxatives
A variety of medicinal plants can gently stimulate intestinal function and
encourage them to empty. As these substances are neither irritating nor rigorous
for the intestines, they can be used daily during the cure. As noted previously,

they may replace enemas.
Alder buckthorn: Alder buckthorn is an excellent plant laxative whose gentle
action allows even pregnant women to use it, on the advice of their physician.
Because of its unpleasant taste, it is preferable to take it in drops in the form of a
tincture (rather than as an infusion or decoction): Take 30–50 drops of buckthorn
tincture with water just before bedtime. The laxative will take effect by the next
morning. Alternatively, take 15–30 drops three times a day with water before
meals.
Castor oil: Castor oil can be a laxative or a purgative, depending on the dose.
Whereas many laxatives act primarily on the colon, castor oil acts on the small
intestine. The disagreeable taste is no longer an obstacle; castor oil can now be
purchased in capsules of varying dosage.
LIVER
The liver filters wastes out of the blood, and neutralizes and destroys toxins,
poisons, germs, and diseased cells as well. The liver is stimulated primarily with
medicinal plants.
Dandelion: For a tincture, take 10–50 drops with water three times a day
before meals. In tablet form, take 1–3 tablets with water, three times a day before
meals. As a decoction, steep a large handful of leaves and roots in a half gallon
of water; boil for two minutes, then steep for ten minutes; drink several cups a
day.
Boldo: The leaves of this Chilean tree are effective for draining the liver.
Create an infusion by mixing 1 teaspoon of Boldo per cup of water and steep ten
minutes. For a tincture, take 20–50 drops with water three times a day before
meals.
KIDNEYS
Drinking more water than usual (more than 2 liters a day) and ingesting plants
that stimulate diuresis will help to increase the elimination of toxins by the
kidneys. Thanks to the diuretic action of plants such as pilosella and the leaves
of birch and ash trees, urine is excreted more often and in larger volume. The
urine’s color also gets darker, because of the amount of toxins it carries.
Pilosella: An excellent diuretic. Take 30–50 drops of pilosella tincture in a
little water three times a day before meals.
Birch or ash leaves: Make an infusion with 1 handful of leaves for 1/2 gallon

of water; steep ten minutes and drink as desired.
SKIN
The skin will open more easily with the help of saunas and hot baths. Linden,
borage, elderberry leaves, chamomile, and wild pansies, isolated or in herb-tea
blends, encourage the skin to eliminate wastes and toxins. Create an infusion
with 2–3 teaspoons of an herb in 1 cup of water; steep for ten minutes.
LUNGS
An increase in the elimination of mucus, phlegm, and other waste products by
the respiratory tract can be obtained with plants like thyme and plantain. By
liquefying these colloidal wastes, these plants make them easier to be
expectorated, or coughed, out of the body.
Thyme: Make an infusion with 1 pinch of thyme per cup of water; steep for
ten minutes; drink three cups a day.
Plantain: Create an infusion with 1–2 teaspoons per cup of water; steep ten
minutes; drink three cups a day.
Beginning a Restricted Diet
As newly opened excretory organs (by virtue of the plants previously discussed)
act on circulating wastes that are easy to eliminate, and mono diets and fasts will
work on deeply embedded wastes, a strict diet is not called for during the
preparation stage. Much of the work of eliminating toxins will be performed by
the action of draining before the patient begins the actual cure.
Some small dietary restrictions have their uses, however, given that they can
prepare the body for future dietary restrictions, reduce the shock of changing the
diet, and accustom the body to functioning on reduced intake.
These preparatory restrictions include principally stimulants (coffee, tobacco,
alcohol), meat, and cooked dishes. The preparatory reduced diet will consist
primarily of raw and cooked vegetables, grains, and dairy products. This light
but complete diet will be followed throughout the preparation stage, which can
extend for several weeks if there is no urgency to begin the cure sooner. Brandt
suggested a rapid entry into the diet with a fast included in the preparation stage,
but she directed her advice to gravely ill patients for whom all speed was
necessary.

THE CURE ITSELF
The Practice of the Fast
Although Brandt lists fasting under preparation for the cure, because it is such an
integral part of the Grape Cure or any other mono diet, it is placed here as a main
element of the cure.
As we have seen, by ingesting no nutrients during the fast, the body will find
nourishment in its own tissues. Only water and unsweetened herb teas are
allowed. Liquids ingested this way are not nutritious and serve only as the
essential replacements for the fluids that are used up and eliminated. Herb teas
retain their vitalizing and purifying properties, but do not contribute
nutritionally.
Water—a good spring or mineral water—as well as herb teas can be drunk as
desired, depending on the faster’s thirst. Be certain, however, that enough liquid
is consumed to encourage the transport and elimination of toxins. Drink a
minimum of three liters a day. Drinks can be ingested hot, which may be
advisable to help a faster maintain body heat (in cases of cold sensitivity). This
intake of calories “free of charge” (meaning the body does not need to produce
them from food) is a welcome energy benefit.
KEEPING THE EXCRETORY
ORGANS OPEN DURING THE CURE
To ensure the constant elimination of toxins released by autolysis, the subject
must ensure that excretory organs remain open through the duration of the fast
and mono diet.
This is accomplished by the same means as those employed in the preparation
stage. Use purifying plants and enemas (but not purges) regularly, based on
needs.
STIMULATING THE METABOLISM
Remaining prone, in bed or on a sofa, during a fast or mono diet is not necessary.
To the contrary, avoiding “external movement” brings on an equivalent
slowdown in “internal movement.” Organ functions, blood circulation, and
cellular exchanges are improved by physical activity. Here, too, this activity
must be adapted to the individual’s strength and needs.
We should keep in mind, however, that organ function does tend to slow down

during a fast, given that organs are no longer stimulated by food intake.
Engaging in moderate physical activity is, therefore, all the more important, as
are light hydrotherapy, massage with a brush or loofah, deep breathing, and so
on.
WHEN HEALING CRISES OCCUR
We have learned that these crises are natural. When they occur, support the
excretory organ involved by encouraging its work with medicinal plants and
activities that stimulate it to drain. Take a session in the sauna to induce heavy
sweating, or soak in a hot bath to open the skin; drink infusions made from
plants with expectorant properties to free respiratory passages; drink quantities
of fluid to flush the kidneys and reduce the concentration of urine; use an enema
to further empty the intestines.
If the crisis is too painful, it is also possible to divert wastes toward another
excretory organ. To do this, stimulate one of the eliminatory organs that has not
been overwhelmed by the crisis, and keep that alternate organ fully open to draw
toxins to it. This can be done by employing the opening methods discussed in
the preparation phase of the regimen. For example, wastes of the skin can be
diverted to the kidneys and vice versa. The lungs are relieved by detouring
toxins toward the liver and intestines. If the healing crisis is long and too
arduous, verify that the faster has not reached the malnutrition stage by resuming
slight food intake and observing how the crisis responds.

Urgent Signs to Stop Fasting
In addition to the return of authentic hunger, the following signs are indications that a fast should
be interrupted:
The breath has an acetone odor (like apples or ether). This signifies that the body is no
longer breaking down fats and is threatened by an acetone crisis. You should quickly begin
to eat sweet foods.
Sudden, substantial weight loss, accompanied by a loss of vitality.
Total, persistent depression.
Total, persistent exhaustion.
Insomnia or nightmares, night after night.

The Mono Diet in Practice
CHOOSING THE FOOD

Given that a mono diet can last for weeks, the food it is based on must be chosen
with care. Several criteria should be considered: the beneficial properties of the
food itself; its availability during the season when the cure is used; and, most
importantly, the preference of the person following the cure.
As we have seen, the grape is an excellent food for mono diets because it is a
pleasure to eat, and it possesses valuable nutritive substances and important
healing properties. Other foods can be used; these are among the most beneficial.
Vegetables: artichokes, beets, cabbage, carrots, celery, fennel, lettuce,
potatoes, pumpkin, turnips
Fruits: apples, apricots, bananas, cherries, melons, peaches, pears,
strawberries, watermelon
Dried fruits: dates, figs, raisins
Nuts: almonds, hazelnuts
Grains: barley, corn, rice
Light dairy products: curdled milk, whey
Fruits and vegetables can be consumed raw, cooked, or as juice. Grains are
always consumed cooked, with slight salt permitted. People who metabolize
acids poorly should not choose fresh fruits or tomatoes.
It is extremely important that the foods are ripe, untreated, and organically
grown. Foods contraindicated for these diets are meat, fish, eggs, beans, and
sweets.
QUANTITIES
The selected food is to be eaten at every meal. It is preferable to eat at the
accustomed mealtimes, as the stomach will expect nourishment at these times.
Small snacks—always of the same food—can be eaten as needed.
Food should be eaten until hunger is satisfied, taking care not to overeat.
There is little chance of extreme overindulgence, though, as eating only one food
causes the body to feel quickly satiated. Obviously, dates or almonds will be
eaten in smaller quantities than grapes, given the richness of these fruits and
nuts.

IN THE EVENT OF APPETITE LOSS
When the food becomes boring, the person following the mono diet can wait for
appetite to return or try cooking the food if it has been consumed raw, or vice
versa. Another food in the same category (replacing a fruit with a fruit, a
vegetable with a vegetable) can also be substituted. The value of the diet will be
somewhat less because the digestive tract will have more work to do adapting to
the change in food, but it will permit the person following the cure to remain on
the diet and will still elicit a good result.
In fact, some mono diets change the food each day, some at every meal.
Understanding the principles of the restriction imposed by a mono diet is critical.
It can then be adapted to the particularities of the person who is following the
cure.
LENGTH OF THE MONO DIET
The length of a mono diet is based on its therapeutic purpose and the person’s
physical capacities, willpower, and so on. There is no fixed duration. Each diet
must be adapted on a case-by-case basis, and most often the duration will be
determined over the course of the cure itself.

COMING OFF THE CURE
Resumption of a Regular Diet
Ending a cure correctly by gradually introducing the standard diet is important.
The digestive tract cannot be called on suddenly to resume normal activity after
a long period of repose. A transitional period must be provided so it can
gradually recover a working rhythm. The length of this transition will be
proportionate to the length of the cure: a transition of two or three meals works
for a cure of several days, but two to three days are needed to transition out of a
cure that lasted several weeks.
The resumption of a regular diet starts with light and easily digested foods
(fruits, vegetables, soups, gruels, potatoes). Later, dairy products, meats, and
eggs can be reintroduced. If foods like meat or a cooked meal are eaten as soon
as the cure ends, indigestion will result. The digestive mucous membranes will
become irritated and inflamed by insufficiently digested foods. The individual
coming off the cure will need nutrition but be unable to eat because he or she
feels ill.

The Gradual Halt of Drainers
When resuming a regular diet, drainers should not be stopped suddenly. The
body has become accustomed to functioning with their help during the cure, and
now needs time to get used to functioning without their aid. It will do so, but it
needs time to adapt gradually. The plant doses recommended should be reduced
slowly and the frequency with which they are taken can be spaced out over the
course of two or three days, depending on the length of the cure that preceded it.
The excretory organs will be revitalized and fortified by draining during the
cure.

Practical Guide Summary
Preparation for the Cure
Opening the excretory organs
Intestines: enemas, colonic irrigation, purges, or gentle laxatives
Liver: hepatic medicinal plants
Kidneys: diuretic medicinal plants and drinking large amounts of fluid
Skin: sauna or hot baths, sweat-inducing medicinal plants
Lungs: expectorant-acting medicinal plants
Beginning a restricted diet
Reduce intake of caffeine, tobacco, alcohol, meat, and cooked dishes
The Cure Itself
The fast and the mono diet
Keep the excretory organs open
Stimulate the metabolism with physical exercise, oxygenation, and light hydrotherapy
Coming off the Cure
Gradually and gently reintroduce food
Gradually stop the use of drainers

Part Two
THE GRAPE CURE
By Johanna Brandt

Note: In 1928 Johanna Brandt wrote The Grape Cure based on the discoveries she had
made experimenting on her body in search of a cure for the stomach cancer from which
she suffered. Her book is reproduced here, reformatted and abridged. Her text was resequenced to increase understanding of the material. Where it was necessary, clarifying
information has been added to make the information as accessible as possible. There is
much to be learned from the remarkable healings that have resulted from this cure;
however, Brandt was not a doctor and many advances have been made in the field of
medicine since the 1920s. As with any remedy, it is advisable to consult a qualified health
care professional before beginning treatment. —C.V.

Preface

You are not on a Grape Cure when you are eating other foods at the
same time. The Grape Cure is the exclusive ingestion of these fruits. No
one expects you to live on grapes for the rest of your life. When the
grape has done its work, you can go back to your normal habits, but
make sure that they are not abnormal. You do not change your religion
when you go on the Grape Cure; it’s simply a change of diet.
No one tries to give a drowning person a swimming lesson. Study the
Grape Cure while you are well. Be prepared.
JOHANNA BRANDT
In the present desperate need of the world, I am offering this book as my
contribution toward the solution of the cancer problem. It is founded on personal
experience and is put forward more as a prevention of cancer than as a cure.
On the eve of the grape season, the time is propitious for verifying what I
claim in these pages—to wit, that the grape is a natural remedy to cancer,
tuberculosis, and other diseases. It would be wrong to give false hope to the sick.
It is not enough to eat grapes to cure cancer, you must do more than that. The
toxins stirred up by the chemical activity of the grape should be eliminated and
this can be done by applying the natural treatment methods I have tried to
explain in these pages.
It is my duty to stress the fact that among those who have reached the final
stages of this terrible disease, very few have a chance of being healed. Their
condition will improve, their suffering will be relieved to some extent, but there
is not enough time for the grape to purify their blood, the essential condition for
stopping the course of the disease.
Under favorable circumstances, advanced cases of cancer have been
pronounced cured by these means. But when patients come to us in a desperate
condition, after having undergone several operations, and what remains is skin

and bones, the Grape Cure and treatments by natural methods can no longer save
them.
I am not giving instructions for the treatment of advanced cases; I cannot
assume more responsibility for those sufferers who treat themselves, but I
seriously recommend the reader to carefully study the following information.
A large part of this information is based on my personal experience, but I have
also drawn from reputable sources in the domain of medicine-free healing, in
both England and America, and in fact all over the world. I have a debt of
gratitude to all the inspired authors of valuable works, a debt that can never be
repaid. The list of their names would be too long to be published here.

8
The Fourth of July 1927

It was midwinter when I left my home in the Transvaal to bring the message of
the discovery of a remedy for cancer to the United States of America.
Nothing could have been more dreary than that dusty little platform of our
provincial town. Something clutched my heart when I looked on the wan faces
of the children who had helped to get Mother ready for her strange expedition.
When would I see them again? Matters were not improved by the fact that my
husband’s face was missing. He was away from home on affairs connected with
our church.
It was the 4th of July—the American Day of Independence. This was a mere
coincidence. The date had not been prearranged because of its significance but
because it fitted in with the lectures I had to deliver in Bloemfontein and Cape
Town before sailing for England by the Windsor Castle.
It was a good omen, I told the children. America was a free country politically,
and an independent, powerful, progressive, rich, and enlightened nation. But it
was not free from disease. I had no doubt whatsoever that this free nation would
accept my message, and, accepting it, be blessed with a new emancipation—a
wonderful deliverance from disease and premature death. I tried to conjure up
visions of the blessed and beautiful state of the world when, through America, a
perishing humanity had been saved from suffering and the poverty that so often
follows the wake of disease.
In Cape Town, after one of my lectures, an astrologer who happened to be
present volunteered the information that the planetary influences were against
my enterprise. I was earnestly advised to cancel my voyage and return to the
Transvaal.
This was discouraging! To hide my depression, I smiled and said:

“I shall overcome all planetary and other evil influences, by the grace of
God!”
The tranquil majesty of Table Mountain enveloped me in a parting
benediction.
Disappointment followed my wake. Every plan was frustrated; my funds ran
low and I was so much delayed in England and Europe that it was the end of
November before I arrived in New York.
Perhaps some day the story may be written of how in the end, by the grace of
God, every obstacle was overcome.
The first three months in America were difficult indeed. I found to my great
disappointment that the Medical Practice Act of the State of New York was
tyrannical in the extreme. Much time was lost in constructing a plan by which I
could demonstrate the efficacy of the Grape Cure.
As a law-abiding citizen of South Africa, I had no desire to come into conflict
with the law of a strange land. There was nothing to do, therefore, but to secure
the cooperation of registered medical men and carry out my healing campaign
under their protection.
But would it be possible to find medical men who would be willing to
supervise test cases under an unknown system of healing?
The time spent in searching for them was not lost. I visited many people and
institutions, presented letters of introduction, delivered private lectures, and
worked up many valuable connections. My main activity, however, was writing.
The little portable Corona typewriter that accompanied me everywhere since
1916 was nearly worn out with letters I wrote to the editors of leading
newspapers and magazines, the heads of healing movements, the pastors of
churches and—last but not least—the most prominent medical men connected
with the campaign against cancer.
But these efforts met with no success. The months went by and I did not get
even an acknowledgment of the receipt of any of my communications.
Two years before, when I was lecturing in Cape Town, I met a fine American
woman who was interested in healing and who still had time, on her trip around
the world, to help me with my work. We became close friends. Her home in
Long Island received me after I landed in New York.
“It is God who built the nest of the blind bird.”
I still have the latchkey of that home. The refuge is always ready.

Those who have drunk deeply of the cup of homesickness will understand.
But this was no ordinary homesickness. It was not longing for home and loved
ones, or a yearning for the “slumbering, sunlit vastness” of South Africa. It was
a state of mental and spiritual anguish charged with unfathomable suffering of all
the ages. It was my utter helplessness.
To hold the key to the solution of most of the problems of life and to have it
rejected, untried, as worthless—that is to pass through the dark night of the soul.
To have a mockery of worldly splendors thrust upon one as a substitute for an
ideal—that is the temptation in the wilderness. To offer the gift of deliverance
from pain, freely, without money, and without price and to see it spurned—that
is crucifixion—Calvary.

THE TURNING OF THE TIDE
Among others, I had a letter of introduction to the father of naturopathy in
America, Dr. Benedict Lust, and when I placed my difficulties before him he
advised me to approach Mr. Bernarr Macfadden, editor of the Evening Graphic
and the famous magazine Physical Culture.
Mr. Macfadden received me very kindly. In spite of the fact that I was still
withholding the secret of the Grape Cure (until it could be brought forward in
such a way that it could never be disputed), he listened attentively to my story
and finally invited me to write an account of the discovery for the Evening
Graphic.
What seemed to impress him most was the fact that I was prepared to undergo
an exploratory operation to prove my claim, for I have always maintained that
the scars of the malignant growth were still present in my body.
This proof of my sincerity touched him and he made a special feature of my
case in a full-page article in the Evening Graphic of January 21, 1928.

9

The Story of the Discovery

In the Magazine Section of the New York Evening Graphic on January 21, 1928,
my article was published as follows:
I was born in the heart of South Africa in 1876. Over fifty years ago, my
forefathers were heavy meat eaters and practically lived on game, as did
most South Africans in those days. I do not know whether this has anything
to do with the fact that cancer is the greatest scourge of our country, but I
think so.
There was a lot of cancer in my father’s family and my mother died of
cancer in 1916. The doctors tell us that the disease is not hereditary. This
may be true, but the predisposing causes of cancer in my mother’s body may
have been present in my own.
It is not unreasonable to assume this. Be that as it may, as long as I can
remember I suffered from gastric trouble, bilious attacks, and stomach
ulcers.
It is cruel, when one is of a highly romantic temperament, to have to turn
one’s internal organs inside out for public inspection.
Why could it not have been something less prosaic? Heart disease, lung
trouble, or a delicate throat? But stomach! A reeking, fermenting stomach,
and a blatantly conspicuous one at that!
After the anguishing spectacle of my mother’s martyrdom, I had one shock
after another. Life became a ghastly nightmare, and through it all I was
conscious of a gnawing pain at the left side of my stomach.
Cancer? I was not afraid of it. In my ignorance, I thought I had reached the
limit of human endurance. I saw in cancer a possible release.
A friend, meeting my husband one day, inquired after my health, and was

so much struck by his reply that she repeated it to me: “What must I say
about my wife? The hope of death is keeping her alive, and the fear of life is
nearly killing her.”
The hope of death! That was it. But I was puzzled to know how my secret
had been discovered.
My plan of action was carefully prearranged. I would allow nothing to be
done that could prolong life. If it were really cancer, no medicines would be
taken to check the disease. No injections. No drugs to alleviate pain. And,
under no circumstances, the application of the surgeon’s knife.
At this time, a little book was put into my hands, The Fasting Cure, by
Upton Sinclair. It thrilled me. A new hope surged through me, the hope of
relief from suffering. Here was something that appealed to my common
sense. Something constructive—Nature Cure.
The book set the fasting ball rolling in our house. I fasted for seven days.
The result was disappointing.

STARTED FASTING CLASS
Undaunted, I fasted again and persuaded everyone else to fast. In time, I set
up a fasting business, free of charge. Any one and every one could fast for
nothing under my supervision. I became highly experienced and seemed to
cure every one, except myself.
The study of one system of healing led to another. Our home was stacked
with the best American books and magazines on the science of spinal
adjustment, German water cures, Swiss sun bathing, Russian fruit cures, and
Oriental works on the science of deep breathing.
A flame had been lighted that nothing could extinguish. It was a pleasure
to see our large family of sons and daughters growing tall, strong, and
athletic. I once overheard the following fragment of a good-humored
argument between two small sons:
“You talk more nonsense in a day than Charlie Chaplin does in a week. Eat
more fruit, man! You will feel much better.”
“Fruit! What you want is a jolly good fast.”
We chewed raw carrots and peanuts until our jaws ached. We began the
day with spinal exercises and finished it by sleeping outside.

The whole family joined hands with me in the campaign against disease.
Our fortune was spent in building up a system of natural healing so perfect
in its simplicity and economy that it would meet the needs of the farming
population in the remotest regions of South Africa.
I wrote books and answered thousands of letters, but under it all I knew
that my own internal trouble was not responding to Nature Cure.

NINE YEAR BATTLE FOR LIFE
My battle for life lasted nine years. I fasted myself to a skeleton. I fasted
beyond the starvation point, which is a most unusual proceeding, consuming
my own live tissues in the effort to destroy the growth. With every fast, the
growth was unmistakably checked. But it was not destroyed. On the
contrary, it seemed to take a new hold on me whenever I broke the fast.
Because I took the wrong foods.

HOW CANCER THRIVES
I knew exactly what was taking place. I knew that it was wrong to
undermine the system by injurious fasting and then to nourish the growth by
wrong feeding.
What was I to do? There was no one to advise me, but while
experimenting on myself, I was learning something new every day.
Among other things, I learned that cancer thrives on every form of animal
food—the more impure, the better. I suffered from horrible and disgusting
cravings for blood—for beef and pork and rich blood-sausages—for
stimulating and highly seasoned foods.
The growth was now pushing its way through the diaphragm, toward the
heart and left lung. I seemed to see it like a red octopus feeding on the
impure blood at the base of the lung. Breathing became difficult. I spat blood
occasionally.
One night in August, 1920, I had a terrible attack of vomiting and purging,
with excruciating pain. Toward morning, I brought up a quantity of halfdigested blood.

IN SERIOUS CONDITION
Matters were becoming serious, and the thought of the death certificate and
possible complications troubled me. I sent for our family physician.
He ordered me to lie still in bed for three months. Under his supervision, I
fasted twelve days. Plenty of time now to write glowing accounts of the
wonders of Nature Cure to distant correspondents.
More than ever, I realized the importance of saving my own life in order to
convince and try to save others.
It was under this fast that I first noticed an ominous sign, the presence of
digested blood—known in medical circles as “coffee grounds”—in the stools
after the use of the enema. Still more disconcerting to find that I no longer
put on weight on breaking the fast.
Toward the end of 1920, I seemed to be fasting chronically, four, seven,
ten days, and finally three weeks in December.
Nothing has been said in this article about the mental aspect of healing.
The subject is too big. It forms the most thrilling story of my life, but I must
be now content to state that I became super-conscious. I had unerring
“hunches” and cultivated a bowing acquaintance with my subliminal self—
whatever that may be.
All this fasting brought about a slight improvement and I dragged through
1921 somehow. Then in November, I was persuaded by my doctor to go into
the General Hospital in Johannesburg for an x-ray examination.
Many plates were taken, and a noted surgeon pronounced his verdict—the
stomach was being divided in two by a vicious, fibrous growth. An
immediate operation was recommended as the only means of prolonging my
life. This I refused.
The famous doctor who was operating in the x-ray department was much
interested in my experiences and invited me to his house for another x-ray
examination if I found myself still in the land of the living after six months.
Encouraged by the mark of sympathy, I fasted three weeks in December,
drinking pure water only and lying in the morning sun. When, after six
months, I went under the x-ray again, no trace of the growth could be found!

BUT PAIN REMAINED
I assured the doctor, however, that the pain was still there and told him that I
was looking for a food that would answer a threefold purpose, i.e.: destroy
the growth effectually, eliminate the poison, and build new tissue.
The three years that followed were years of great suffering, but I kept on
fasting and dieting alternately, and in 1925, after a seven-day fast, I
accidentally discovered a food that had the miraculous effect of healing me
completely within six weeks.
The publication of this discovery will be of more value after the particulars
set forth in this article have been proved to be facts.
I therefore call upon the medical council to have an exploratory operation
performed. The gravity of the disease can only be estimated by an
examination of the extent of the damage done, and then only can the efficacy
of the cure be established.
A method that may cure cancer may cure almost any other disease. What is
more, it may prevent cancer and almost every other disease.
While I was experimenting on myself, I was often discouraged by the
thought that very few people would be able to undergo such rigorous
treatment.
But it is the sum total of my experience that I hope to bring before the
public. Fasting for such a long period was unnecessary. The mistakes I made
need not be made by other patients. Our system of healing has been greatly
modified by the discovery of the food cure. And while the patient is
undergoing the cure for his or her own particular complaint, nature is
secretly restoring and rejuvenating every part of the body.
The senses become abnormally acute; dim eyes brighten; faded hair takes
on new gloss; the lifeless, hopeless voice becomes vibrant, magnetic; and the
complexion clears.
I have seen beautiful sets of teeth, loose in their suppuration sockets,
become steady and fixed within a few weeks, the gums free of pyorrhea
within a few months.
I have watched our old people getting young and our young people
becoming superbly beautiful, and with every new entrancing revelation of
the wonders of Nature Cure I have dedicated my life anew to this joyous

work of spreading the good news.
The above article created widespread interest. An afflicted nation stirred to the
chord of hope that had been struck. I was overwhelmed with correspondence and
visits.
This led to unexpected developments.
That Saturday morning was a landmark. I had an informal luncheon party in
my hotel to celebrate the publication of an article that I believed would
revolutionize healing throughout the world. It was amusing to listen to the outcry
of my friends against the proposed operation. It had gone out in the form of a
challenge to the medical fraternity and, if they accepted it, I would be bound in
honor to submit to it.
On the 21st day of January, a stranger called at my hotel—a medical man and
a surgeon! The Evening Graphic was only a few hours old and already a
prospective executioner had arrived on the scene.
But this kindly, enthusiastic man had no designs upon me. The purpose of his
visit was to encourage me, to urge me to be steadfast, not to be dissuaded from
my plan. Nothing could be finer than such evidence of devotion to a cause, he
said.
Afterward I found out that he was a member of the medical profession of
exceptionally high standing, and when letters came pouring in from every part of
the United States and Canada, in response to my article, I consulted him.
From other medical men, there was no response to my challenge. One month I
waited and then, as no surgeon had volunteered to examine my claims, I
formally withdrew my challenge.
Another and better way had in the meantime been found of demonstrating the
efficacy of my discovery. If others afflicted with cancer could be cured, then my
theory would be proven.
The many heartbreaking appeals for relief could not be ignored. As the laws
of the land did not forbid me to tell the story of how I cured myself, I simply
related my experiences and described the procedure I had adopted. People
treated by my methods recovered. They in their turn told their relatives and
friends—always with the same results.
Correspondents clamored for information about the “Grape Cure.” At first we
sent out typed copies, but when the demand became excessive, we had a fourpage leaflet prepared. Five editions of this were printed. Newspapers in distant

states reproduced it and inquiries came pouring in thick and fast. This leaflet,
which was distributed free of charge, became famous.
When it became necessary to have a secretary, a woman with great executive
ability stepped forward and offered her services. Her rooms were placed at my
disposal for the reception of visitors. Our surprise may be imagined when we
found that the physician, who had called at my hotel, had his office in the same
building.
The cancer patients who came to us were referred to him.
Other doctors appeared to try the cure on their cancer patients. These
experimental treatments were given for free.

10
Directions for the Grape Cure

FIRST STAGE: IMPORTANT PREPARATION FOR THE CURE
Fasting means only drinking water. Enemas help to quickly eliminate harmful
substances from the body. This way you can avoid hunger and mainly prevent
the released toxins from being absorbed into the circulation.
Don’t eat foods that are difficult to digest before beginning preparations for
the cure. To prepare the system for the change of diet, fast for two or three days,
drinking plenty of pure water and taking a daily enema of lukewarm water. This
preparation is essential.
This fast can avoid complications, for the stomach is cleared of poisons and
fermentation. In this way grapes can begin their work more quickly. This fast is
even more necessary if the patient has been taking a lot of medicines. It is better
to abstain from taking any medication during the cure if considered safe to do so
by a qualified health care professional.
When going on any detoxification cure for any illness, you will experience
elimination crises. These can cause headaches, nausea, diarrhea, and the illness
itself seems to get worse. It is recommended that you get a lot of rest during the
first days.
If the patient is unaccustomed to enemas or is too ill to do them, he can ask for
the help of a nurse or other third party. Half-gallon containers can be found at the
pharmacy or drugstore, where you can also learn how to use enemas.
No exceptions should be made when fasting because even a morsel of sugar
can cause the gastric juices to start working and cause hunger pangs and
fermentation.

If someone says that she cannot tolerate the fast or the grapes, it means she
does not understand the reactions, or she started the Grape Cure without taking
the necessary preparation.
Enemas
You have to learn how to use enemas correctly. Ingesting water through the
rectum is almost as natural as it is through the mouth, provided neither salt nor
soap is used. The use of enemas will not paralyze the rectum or the intestines
like artificial purgatives can do.
Fasting
The best natural medicine is the fast. Because this subject requires some study, I
can give only a brief overview of its principles.
Fasting means purifying the blood, which causes the germs of illness and
death to perish. These germs cannot survive in pure blood, because they live on
impurities.
A sensible fast is not synonymous with agonizing privation.
For the patient, this is a change of diet. The vital organs are nourished by the
blood, by the supplies Mother Nature holds in reserve for such circumstances,
more specifically the fat layers collected between the internal organs and beneath
the skin. These reserves are used to maintain the functions of the heart, the brain,
the lungs, and other organs while toxins are eliminated. A fasting cure, practiced
scientifically, magnificently activates the excretory organs.
The Quickest Relief
I used to think that fasting was the quickest relief we knew. But how much I
have learned since 1921! There is no comparison between the fasting method
and the Grape Cure. I believe that nothing can take the place of the complete fast
in acute disease, but the fast only partially eliminates the inorganic deposits by
which chronic diseases are often caused. Perhaps that is the reason why we
cannot be cured by fasting only. So fast, but finish the process by the purification
offered by the Grape Cure.

SECOND STAGE: THE EXCLUSIVE GRAPE DIET
Finally the real Grape Cure begins. You will be amazed to see how the wastes of

the intestines are still abundant and often black. A large portion of this has been
surely glued in the folds of the intestines for years.
The First Grape Meal
After the fast the patient drinks one or two glasses of pure, cold water the first
thing in the morning. Half an hour after drinking water, the patient has his first
meal of grapes. Wash them well, even leaving them under running water if the
grapes have been treated, or let them sit in the water for several hours, then wash
them with fresh water. Chew the skins and seeds, if possible, thoroughly and
swallow a few of them as food and roughage. (See Why Eat the Skins? for
further guidance.)
Timetable
Starting at 8 am and having a grape meal every two hours till 8 PM would give
seven meals daily. This is kept up for a week or two, even a month or two in
chronic cases of long standing.*1 Not longer under any circumstances.
Why Eat the Skins?
The skins—not only of grapes, but of many other fruits, such as apples and pears
—contain immensely valuable elements. To throw away the peels would be to
deprive the system of the very substances required to build a new and healthy
body.
But the skins also form the bulk and roughage that are needed to promote the
peristaltic action of the stomach and bowels.
Until the system has learned to utilize the grape, it is advisable to be careful
with the seeds and hulls. A normal digestion suffers no inconvenience when the
whole grape is used; on the contrary, it is benefited by the valuable properties
contained in the seeds and skins apart from the bulk and roughage they provide.
But if you have been in the habit of discarding them, they may at first
accumulate in the digestive tract and cause constipation. I therefore advise all
who are experimenting with the Grape Cure for the first time to begin with the
juice and pulp; later add a few of the skins. Chew the skins well in order to
extract their essences, but swallow only a few until you are sure that your
digestion is able to take care of them. The same applies to the seeds.
When a patient knows that he is suffering from a stomach or intestinal ulcer,
he should not swallow grape seeds or skins.

In all cases, use the enema if Nature fails to do her work.
Do not depend on faith for this. The development of faith takes time and there
is no time to lose—if it really is a cancer. Throw out the vile poisons. Employ
every material means of ridding the system of its gross impurities and you will
be surprised to find that in doing this you are developing the more spiritual
powers of mind and soul.
Obedience to the dictates of common sense—harmony—has its own rewards.
Bowel Movements
Distressing symptoms occur during the Grape Cure, through the poisons that
have been stirred up by the actions of the grape and thrown into the bloodstream.
These symptoms may be aggravated in cases in which there is poor elimination.
Sufficient stress cannot be laid upon keeping the bowels free by using enemas up
to two or three times a day, if necessary.
Many patients complain of becoming constipated under the grape diet; they
should not eat the skins of their grapes.
As using laxatives is generally not advised, one can swallow a spoonful of
olive oil just before eating grapes. In extreme cases a little olive oil can be
introduced into the rectum with a cannula. Some laxatives are not strictly
contraindicated as long as they are plant based.
The Enema
It is my belief that the body of the cancer patient contains the most virulent
poison, and cancer is the death and disintegration of a given part of a living
body.
Under the grape diet, that decomposition is arrested—checked. But the danger
is by no means over. The poisons have now been thrown into the bloodstream
and carried to every part of the body. Everything must be done to expel them and
expel them quickly.
Since the alimentary canal is the main avenue of excretion, the bowels must
be attended to first. We recommend the daily use of the enema unless the grapes
act as a laxative. In some cases they cause constipation until the system has
learned to use the skins of the grapes as roughage. Such patients should take an
enema of one quart of lukewarm water once or even twice a day, until there is a
natural movement of the bowels.

Variety
Any good variety of grapes may be used effectively—purple, green, white, or
blue. Hothouse grapes are better than none, and the seedless varieties are
excellent. The monotony of the diet may be varied by using many varieties. As
they contain distinct elements, it is recommended to eat as many kinds of grape
as you can find. Some prefer sour grapes while others like sweet.
The best time for the cure is when the grape season is at its height. If—when
you are reading this book—the grape season is at its height, make it a
memorable one by converting it into a Festival of Grapes. Perhaps your effort
will contribute to a vast movement of regeneration by the Grape Cure, made
universal thanks to the many translations that will make it accessible to
everyone.
Grape Juice and Raisins
It seems too good to be true, but it is a fact that something has at last been found
that effectively solves the problem of what to do when fresh grapes are not
procurable.
We have been experimenting with unsweetened, unfermented bottled grape
juice and concentrated grape juice to take the place of whole grapes during the
winter months. So far, the results have been most gratifying.
Even during the period when whole grapes are abundant, there are times when
the patient becomes tired of grapes; frequently also he is too weak to chew them.
It therefore gave me double satisfaction to learn that grape juice may take the
place of whole grapes.
In critical cases, the patient should fast on water only for a few days or a week
or two, using the enema daily as recommended, and then he should live
exclusively on grape juice for another short period.
A glassful (one-half pint) is usually given at a meal but more may be taken, if
the patient desires.
It has been found that the patient can get along almost as well on grape juice
alone as on whole grapes, although whole grapes are preferable when they can
be procured. The stomach is accustomed to bulk and is more likely to feel the
pangs of hunger when only juice is taken.
As a pleasant variety, raisins (dried grapes) can also be eaten for a while, as
something solid to chew. For example, one can drink a glass of grape juice on
rising; two hours later, eat a cup or more of raisins; and continue like that at two-

hour intervals for the rest of the day. Do not eat raisins at the same meal you
drink juice. Raisins can be eaten as is or soaked for several hours in cold water;
you can eat the raisins and drink the soaking water at one meal (you can use any
kind of unsulfured raisin). In cases where it was impossible to procure fresh
grapes or grape juice, patients have taken only raisins and drunk this soaking
water.
Raisins and fresh grapes need to be taken at two-hour intervals. If the raisins
that have been soaked in water are too sweet, a little lemon juice can be added.
An analysis of grape juice shows that the grape loses none of its healing
properties during the process of double sterilization at 194°F (90°C). Health
food stores have a number of good brands of unsweetened, unadulterated grape
juice.
Quantity
This varies according to the condition, digestion, and occupation of the patient.
It is well to begin with a small quantity of one, two, or three ounces of grapes
per meal, gradually increasing this to double the amount. In time, about half a
pound can be taken at a meal. To make this point quite clear, a minimum of one
pound should be used daily and the maximum should not exceed four pounds.
Patients taking larger quantities at a meal should allow at least three hours for
digestion and should not take all the skins. Invariably, the best results have been
effected when grapes have been taken in small amounts.
Some overzealous patients eat too many grapes. Two pounds a day, or if the
patient is active and out of doors, three pounds, is usually enough. If the patient
is not hungry, it is not necessary for him to force himself to eat. Seven meals a
day is not compulsory nor is it necessary. Each case dictates its own conditions.
We have observed that the best results are obtained when the patients are
given small quantities of grapes. Some patients are forced into eating too many
grapes by anxious relatives. Sometimes one’s loved ones are one’s worst
enemies at this stage of the diet. For that reason, it is well for the patient to go to
a sanatorium,*2 if it is possible. Even though the patient should lose
considerable weight, it does not mean that he is in danger of starving. The grape
contains most of the food elements necessary to sustain life; many have been
known to live many months on grapes, but this is not deemed advisable.
Prudence and wisdom are essential; ill-timed zeal poses a serious threat to the
patient.

A loathing for grapes may indicate the need for a fast—the presence of much
poison in the system. Adding grapes or any other food to such a condition
would, therefore, be injurious. The rule in such cases is to abstain from every
form of food, drinking an abundance of cold water. Unless patients can eat the
grapes with perfect enjoyment, they are better off without them. Skip a few
meals. Let nature regulate this matter. Loss of strength is due to the presence of
poisons in the system. The patient continues to weaken under the Grape Cure and
under the complete fast until the poison has been expelled. Then, without a
change of diet (and in case of a complete fast, without any food whatsoever), the
patient often returns to strength and in some cases even puts on weight.
Ending the Regimen
If we could remove every trace of anxiety from the mind of the patient, the
correct procedure would be to continue the exclusive grape diet until he stops
losing weight. By watching the symptoms—the temperature, the excretions,
eruptions, and so on—we know when the work of purification is complete.
When this point has been reached—and it may last from two weeks to two
months—it is advisable to go on to the second stage.
Reactions will be different in every case. It is therefore impossible to say
beforehand how long it will be necessary to use grapes only. But this may be
stated definitively—the cleansing of the alimentary canal takes time, and until
this has been accomplished, the real relief does not begin. It is safe to say that
the first seven to ten days on just grapes would be required to clear the stomach
and bowels of their ancient accumulations. And it is during this period that
distressing symptoms often appear. Nature works thoroughly. She does not build
on a rotten foundation. The purification of every part of the body must be
complete before new tissue can be built.
I think this is the only explanation of the excessive loss of weight under the
Grape Cure. This question is of so much importance that we shall refer to it in
detail concerning the treatment of cancer.
Meat is ruthlessly banned from this diet. Between meals, you can drink water
or unsweetened herbal teas.
Possible Side Effects
FORMATION OF GAS

A development of which many complain in the Grape Cure is the formation of
gas. When this symptom appears, it is good to stop the consumption of the skins

altogether for a while. If this does not relieve the condition, one of the best
remedies is a high colonic irrigation in the knee-chest position.*3
SORENESS OF MOUTH
When the grape diet makes the mouth sore and raw, it may be because the flesh
is diseased. Grapes do not have this effect on healthy tissue. When the body has
been cleansed of its poisons, the soreness disappears.
OTHER SYMPTOMS
Sometimes, after continuing on the grape diet for several weeks, the feces
become quite black. This is also deemed a temporary symptom and no cause for
any uneasiness.
Caution
Numerous instances have been reported of patients who have been misinformed
as to the duration of the Grape Cure and the quantity of grapes to be consumed.
This is regrettable because it detracts from the value of this wonderful discovery.
The patient should be urged to adhere closely to the instructions given. The
writer does not want to be held responsible for failures due to wrong advice by
professional men who do not know anything about the Grape Cure.
The process of the grape when eaten exclusively tends to cleanse the intestinal
tract and dissolve poisons that may have settled in any part of the body. Taking
healing remedies is not recommended during the cure, unless they are
homeopathic remedies.

THIRD STAGE: THE GRADUAL INTRODUCTION OF LIMITED
FOODS
We do not expect anyone to live on grapes forever. The grape contains many of
the most valuable elements necessary for life, but it does not contain everything.
To live on grapes indefinitely would be to rob the system of some of the
elements essential to life. When we are sure, therefore, that the grape has done
its work by breaking up diseased tissue and purifying the blood, the careful
introduction of other bodybuilding foods is the next step. At the end of the
exclusive diet, the stomach and digestive tube are still sensitive. Great care
should be taken not to eat foods that are too rich.

Grapes should still form the main food and are always taken as the first meal
in the morning and again at 8 PM. But now, during the day, some other fresh
fruit may be used instead of grapes. An endless variety presents itself—a slice of
melon, an orange, a grapefruit, an apple, a luscious pear, the scarlet strawberry,
the golden apricot—one fruit more appetizing than the other.
Only one kind of fruit is to be taken at any meal, but something different
every day.
After a few days, a glass of sour milk or buttermilk may be taken instead of
grapes for dinner. Yogurt, fromage blanc, or cottage cheese can also be
substituted for sour milk. Patients who dislike milk should take a ripe, firmly
mashed banana or some other nourishing fruit.
After a week or ten days, every other meal may consist of different varieties of
fruit or sour milk, taking them, for example, in the following order:
8 AM
10 AM
12 PM
2 PM
4 PM
6 PM
8 PM

Grape
Pear, banana, or peach
Grape
Sour milk or buttermilk
Grape
Orange, grapefruit, plum, or apricot
Grape

At this point, some patients crave something savory. The sweet fruits begin to
pall. There may even be a positive aversion to grapes, in which case they should
be omitted altogether and the other foods taken every three hours instead of
every two.
One or two sliced tomatoes with pure olive oil and a little lemon juice may
safely be included in this diet. The tomato is more of a berry than a vegetable,
containing many valuable properties, and it forms an indispensable part of the
diet in the third stage of the treatment.

FOURTH STAGE: THE RAW FOOD DIET
This includes every food that can be eaten uncooked—raw vegetables; salads;
fruits; nuts; raisins, dates, figs, and other dried fruits; butter, cheese, cream, sour
milk, and buttermilk; honey; and olive oil.

Begin the day as usual with cold water and grapes or some other fruit for
breakfast, but instead of sour milk or fruit for lunch, have a substantial salad of
raw vegetables. Reduce the number of meals, as raw vegetables take longer to
digest.
It is surprising to some people to find that nearly all the vegetables can be
used raw—young green peas and string beans, celery, tomatoes, cucumbers,
lettuce, sprigs of cauliflower, squash, shredded cabbage leaves, grated carrots,
turnips, beets and parsnips, finely chopped onions, and spinach.
After the light fruit diet, it is wise not to start out too soon with a large variety
of vegetables. Choose two or three of the above-named as a foundation for your
salad and mix them with lemon juice and olive oil. Try different varieties the
following day and watch the combination of flavors.
Above all things, this noonday meal should be made palatable. Patients who
have been used to animal food crave something stimulating. There can be no
objection to adding one or two savory ingredients to this salad—some finely
chopped nuts, grated cheese, sour cream, or a good mayonnaise made of eggs,
lemon juice, and cold-pressed olive oil. Occasionally, a finely chopped hardboiled egg can be added to the salad or served as an appetizer.
Time to Digest
Give this meal more time to digest than is required for raw fruits, especially if
nuts, dates, raisins, or other dried fruits have been added to it.
The dinner should consist of sour milk, buttermilk, fromage blanc, or cottage
cheese and fruits, or a highly nourishing and digestible dish may be made of
mashed ripe bananas with sour cream.
Benefits of a Raw Food Diet
Raw foods contain an abundance of organic salts and vitamins. Sufficient stress
cannot be laid upon the importance of the raw diet. If we could only educate the
people about it, disease would be eradicated.
The raw foods digest more easily than the cooked and pass through the system
far more rapidly. The result is that they have no time to decompose in the
alimentary canal. There is no undue fermentation and no fear of poisoning.
I therefore strongly advise patients to abstain from every form of cooked food
during the entire length of the treatment.
The course then consists of the four stages outlined above, and the highest

results are obtained.*4
But it is difficult, indeed, to convince people that they derive more
nourishment from uncooked foods, and so we reluctantly consent to the
introduction of one cooked meal a day. This is the fifth stage.