The Grape Cure by Johanna Brandt

Johanna Brandt was a South African naturopath who cured herself of stomach cancer by living on grapes alone for a number of weeks. This book is a biographical account of her sickness and recovery in addition to being a DIY kit.

If you are a practitioner of naturopathy or someone wanting to test the effects of a grape diet on yourself, this book is for you. This is a great example of a mono diet, where a person is kept on just one food item for days, grapes in this case. Mono diets are a way of using food as medicine in naturopathy.

What I like best about this book is that it is a practitioner’s manual. The author has given enough direction for someone to try the grape diet themselves with detailed instructions about what types of grapes to use, how much to eat, and for how many days.

However, the treatment laid out is for those with long term chronic disease, especially cancer and not for someone who just wants to do a 3–5 day grape cleanse.

Written in the first person, the simplicity of language makes it an easy read. You can finish it in a few hours (it’s just 168 pages). However if your intent is to follow the prescribed treatment then it is best to pause frequently. Slowly take in the information, making sure to understand the principles of naturopathy, cancer and grapes, all of which she covers.

There is some good information on why grapes work both as solvent and builder of the human body. It is sometimes also referred to as the ‘Cancer Cure’ because of Johanna’s own experience with cancer and her explanation on why grapes might be especially useful in treating cancers.

It is a reference book I will keep for life, and return to it whenever grapes are in season!

Some of my favourite quotes:

“I learned that cancer thrives on every form of animal food.”

“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.”

“Keep the cooked and uncooked foods apart. In the process of digestion, Nature always disposes of the most digestible foods first. If you have mixed the raw with the cooked, the raw will digest first while the rest of the conglomeration will ferment.”

Another book in this genre:  The Grape Cure: A Living Testament by Basil Shackleton