Netflix’sApple Cider Vinegarthrusts viewers into the controversial world of alternative cancer treatments, raising complex questions about hope, desperation, and the seductive allure of wellness culture. WhileApple Cider Vinegaris dubbed fictional and “true-ish”, it draws heavily from the real-life experiences of notable proponents of the Gerson Therapy, the real-life“Hirsch”.
Although thepithily-titledApple Cider Vinegarrenames key characters to“protect the innocent”, it is far from subtle in its references to the late Jessica Ainscough withApple Cider Vinegar’s Milla Blake. Conversely, it renames Gerson to Hirsch, failing to name this pervasive and unregulated alternative therapy.
The Hirsch Institute In Apple Cider Vinegar Is Based On Gerson Therapy
The Real Alternative Therapy Is Similar To Hirsch
Apple Cider Vinegar’s true storycalls Milla’s juicing and enema regimen“Hirsch”,but in real life, this approach is called Gerson Therapy. This was developed by a German-born American physician, Max Gerson, who was active between 1909 and 1958. During this time, after using his own treatment for his migraine headaches, he began to use it on cancer patients in the late 1920s. He published a book,A Cancer Therapy: Results of 50 Cases, in 1958. He died of pneumonia a year later. His therapy still has many proponents today and remains the subject of controversy.
Like“Hirsch”onApple Cider Vinegar,the Gerson focuses on“detoxing”with regular juices, along with dangerous coffee enemas. Its specificity is no exaggeration on the show; the Gerson requires the patient to use organic, light-to-medium roasted coffee for the procedure. According toCancer Research,Gerson demands“one glass of juice hourly, 13 times each day”and“up to 5 coffee enemas and perhaps also castor oil enemas”. It also states thatafter multiple reviews, there is no research to support its efficacy- apart from a study done by the Gerson Institute with a flawed, unreliable methodology.
Milla Blake’s Real-Life Counterpart Chose The Gerson Route
The Real-Life Influencer Felt Her Options Were Bleak
Milla Blake inApple Cider Vinegaris based on an amalgamation of wellness influencers, but most prominently Jessica Ainscough, author ofMake Peace With Your Plate,who tragically passed away in 2015. Faced with the urgency of a forequarter amputation at her shoulder, Ainscough decided the medical options she was offered were“not good enough”(perWayback Machine) and ultimately chose the Gerson Therapy.She lived on a strict regimen for two years before continuing with a less intense versionof the program, which was still several juices and a daily enema.
Jessica’s mother Sharyn also really did Gerson, although her husband claims it was to improve her quality of life with her late diagnosis, not cure it (perDaily Mail). Jess also frequently discussed“healing”, rather than“curing”, her cancer. Her mantra, which is still in her Instagram bio, was,“Be kind. Be brave. Be well.”Chanelle McAuliffe, areal-lifeApple Cider Vinegarcharacterwho knew Jess, expressed what a lovely person she was - someone who tried to live by these core values and genuinely thought she was doing what was best for herself and her family (perThe Briefingpodcast).
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The self-professed“Wellness Warrior”was also described by her loved ones as highly intelligent and, despite her lack of due diligence like Milla inApple Cider Vinegar,this is honored in the show. This is important in how the message succeeds because intelligent people are not immune to medical quacker; Gerson Therapy itself has been irresponsibly backed by people with much more education and influence than her.
The extremity of her belief in the unregulated, pseudoscientific method shows how entrenched in its ideology she was…
On herarchived blogThe Wellness Warrior, she tells herself and others that she regretted attempting chemotherapy, and even advised one commenter with stage three breast cancer to forego chemo and go straight on Gerson. However, her blog had a disclaimer advising her readers to always consult with their doctors. The extremity of her belief in the unregulated, pseudoscientific method shows how entrenched in its ideology she was. Inspirational quotes such as“surrender and expect a miracle”and“if I can breathe through it, I can survive it”from 2014, a year before her passing, are heartbreaking.
Belle Gibson Also Claimed To Incorporate Gerson Therapy
Gibson Namedropped Gerson On Her Instagram
AsApple Cider Vinegarportrays, Milla/Jess followed the Gerson protocol in good faith as someone thrown into an unimaginably difficult situation in the prime of her life. While she certainly had accountability as an influencer, shown by Milla’s statement at the end of the show,her plight is starkly contrasted withBelle Gibson inApple Cider Vinegar. Belle is not naïve about the effect she has on others and never truly faced a terminal illness. Mimicking Milla,Belle also claims to have tried Gerson Therapy. This, too, is true in real life.
According toPeople,Belle Gibson claimed the following:“I have been healing a severe and malignant brain cancer for the past few years with natural medicine, Gerson therapy and foods […] It’s working for me and I am grateful to be sharing this journey.”Unlike Jess Ainscough, however, it is unclear whether or not Belle ever tried Gerson Therapy, which is reflected by Milla’s skepticism inApple Cider Vinegar.While Belle’s app and recipe book point to a typically 2010s“clean”eating approach, it is possible she simply copied the Gerson aspect from Ainscough’s story.
Gerson Is Not The Only Controversial Treatment Based On A Real Product
Apple Cider Vinegar Also Shows A Suspicious Black Salve
InApple Cider Vinegar,Milla is preyed upon by a salesperson who sells her a tin of“Black Salve”. While at the beginning of Milla’s cancer journey, she takes a fairly holistic approach to her epithelioid sarcoma in agreeing to localized chemo, throughout six episodes, she becomes more and more desperate to keep her arm and seems to be in deep denial of the reality of her disease. By the time she buys Black Salve, she is in an even more vulnerable mindset, emphasized by her partner doing some basic reading on it later and advising her to“chuck it”.
Apple Cider Vinegarshows a physician’s grave expression when Milla admits to using the salve…
According toPubMed, Black Salve is:“a dangerous compound that has long been used as an alternative and complementary medicine despite clear warnings of its hazards from the medical community and governmental agencies.”It is unclear whether her real-life counterpart used Black Salve, butApple Cider Vinegarshows a physician’s grave expression when Milla admits to using the substance, emphasizing its wellness culture critique. The painful and disfiguring effects of Milla’s worsening lesions drive her to dangerous lengths to battle them. As shown inApple Cider Vinegar, the corrosive bloodroot product can cause secondary infection and even tissue necrosis.
