Fasting and Eating for Health: A Medical Doctor's Program for Conquering Disease

When you're suffering from a chronic, degenerative disease, and the doctors you trust are recommending drugs or surgery, it's hard to believe that simply going without food could be of any lasting benefit. This is also compounded by ridicule in medical circles and the media, which mistake fasting for starvation and label it quackery. This book provides an excellent introduction into the natural hygiene (see History of Natural Hygiene and Principles of Natural Hygiene ) view of health through healthy living. Fuhrman explains how health is maintained, how disease occurs, the role of diet, and the physiological effects of fasting. Fuhrman has a solid grounding in natural hygiene as well as knowledge of diagnostics and pathology. If you are new to fasting and suffer from a chronic, degenerative disease, this is the book you need to read to understand how fasting can help you return to health and how proper eating can help you not only remain healthy but rejuvenate your body, increase your energy and improve your mental functioning. Several chapters are devoted to explaining how diseases occur and how fasting can reverse headaches, hypoglycemia, diabetes, heart disease, autoimmune diseases, overweight and other chronic conditions. But fasting isn't a quick fix. Lifestyle changes must follow to prevent recreating the same diseases. What this book is not is a detailed treatment of how to conduct or break fasts. The information given is superficial with the caveat that those wishing to fast over three days should do so under the supervision of a qualified fasting practitioner. I discuss the reasons for this in the comment section. I also do not any longer endorse the vegan dietary model, and Fuhrman is definitely pro-vegan. While I agree that diets high in feedlot beef, confined poultry treated with antibiotics, and farm-raised fish are detrimental, I've come to believe that healthy alternatives (e.g., wild game, grassfed beef) are healthful foods to which our species is biologically adapted (see The Paleo Diet: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Food You Were Designed to Eat or NeanderThin: Eat Like a Caveman to Achieve a Lean, Strong, Healthy Body for alternative views). If you are a vegetarian or vegan, then Fuhrman's your guy. If you're looking for a book on fasting itself, I highly recommend The Science and Fine Art of Fasting or Fasting for Renewal of Life , both written by Herbert Shelton. As a young, injured man, Furhman fasted under the supervision of Shelton and was so inspired by what he witnessed at Shelton's school that he later became a doctor. We can thank Shelton that fasting hasn't been completely buried by the American Medical Association and the pharmaceutical cartel, and we can thank Fuhrman for carrying the torch. Despite these shortcomings, I still think this is an excellent book that offers hope and a path for those who are ready to take control over their health. We need more doctors like Furhman.

I read "Fasting and Eating for Health" a year ago after getting a cold. I have lived healthily my whole life (nutrition, exercise, sleep, lifestyle) and was frustrated that I would nevertheless get a cold a couple times a year. Determined to get to the bottom of this, I spent several hours on the internet researching potential solutions and discovered that none of the traditional medical and alternative health approaches do much more than treat symptoms--with one possible exception: fasting. Having done a 4-day water-only fast years ago when I was seventeen, I decided to try fasting as a cure. Within 36 hours of starting my water-only fast, all my symptoms (runny nose, blocked sinuses, etc.) cleared completely. All that remained was a slight cough which also resolved within a couple days. As you can imagine, that got my attention! So I spent more time researching fasting itself, and came across Dr Joel Fuhrman's books. I place a high premium on scientific evidence and reasoning. Other fasting books rely heavily on anecdotal evidence. Fuhrman's books, by contrast, are solidly based on peer-reviewed scientific studies. His writing style is similarly grounded and balanced. I have learned a tremendous amount about the science behind fasting and nutrition from his books and website. After reading his book "Eat to Live", I adopted a "nutritarian" diet based on his recommendations, and am enjoying its many health benefits. A nutritarian diet means eating high nutrient density foods (nutrients / calories), which means a diet high in unprocessed, unrefined plant foods (vegetables, legumes, fruits, berries, nuts, and seeds) and low in animal foods (less than 10% of total calories) and no processed, refined foods. I have not had a cold (or any other illness) since switching. I have to add that I did a 15-day water-only fast a few months after switching to this nutritional approach. I was supervised by a medical practitioner who took blood tests and a range of other tests at the beginning, during, and at the end of the fast. My blood pressure dropped twenty-five points from 130/85 to 105/60, and has stabilized at around 110/65 since the fast. That is just one example of the many health benefits I am experiencing. My sports performance (weight training, running, swimming) has also improved. In short, science-based fasting and nutrition works! Update 2009-09-19: I now do intermittent fasting (a one-day fast once a week) and a longer multi-day fast once every few years. The current research shows intermittent fasting is at least as effective as calorie restriction in improving health markers and longevity. Other important lifestyle factors include regular intense exercise, good sleep, and a balanced, healthy lifestyle (including nurturing relationships).

I have to start by saying that I'm a huge fan of Dr. Fuhrman and have most of his books, from Eat to Live: The Revolutionary Formula for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss which is how I was introduced to him to begin with, to Eat For Health: Lose Weight, Keep It Off, Look Younger, Live Longer (2 book set) and Eat Right America Food Scoring Guide . I've heard him speak in person at a couple of conferences and on DVD for some that I missed. He's a brilliant doctor. But this book just wasn't what I expected. It was packed with good information and success stories about people who have fasted to cure many diseases and conditions but it doesn't really give you a blueprint for doing a fast yourself which was what I was looking for and why I purchased this book. Instead it has the disclaimer stating that your doctor should conduct the fast and that this book will not cover how to do it. This is in spite of the cover stating "Precise diet and fasting programs to relieve headache, hypoglycemia, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, etc." The only reason I didn't give this book a rating of one or two stars is that it's packed with valuable information on reasons for fasting and effects that can be expected. I did and still do have questions about fasting. Do you include and vegetable or fruit juices or do you just stop eating? How much water should I drink? How do I determine the amount of time the fast should continue? How do I find a doctor who is experienced in this subject? If my doctor knew anything about fasting I wouldn't have purchased this book. If you're considering this book, buy it to be convinced of the benefits of fasting, but not as a list of instructions on how to do it yourself.

I am interested in learning more about fasting, and have read several non-medical books on the subject. By the time I got this book, I was looking for a book on fasting that could back up its claims as well as making them freely. I bought this book looking for a well researched overview of fasting with case studies, and I got what I paid for, in spades! Not only did Dr. Fuhrman present his conclusions in easy-to-read language, he footnoted every conclusion he presented with the study (many times, multiple studies) he used to form those conclusions. The studies are primarily current and from major medical publications (JAMA, NEJM, etc) with little reliance on anecdotal or dated information. I was highly impressed, and that's pretty hard to do. Whether you agree with his conclusions or not, the one charge that *cannot* be reasonably levelled at this book is a lack of fact, citations, or research. The studies he cites are definitely out there and available for anyone who wants the raw data and is willing to do the further research. I did find the book a little light on dietary recommendations; in other words, a healthy diet is stressed and some general guidelines are given, but he doesn't lay out specific do's and don'ts, perhaps thinking that is best left up to the reader. I would have liked to see more of that, but since that's not why I bought the book I didn't miss it much. One thing I did like very much was that he consistently and squarely lays the responsibility for one's own health at one's own feet. After having personally dealt with too many doctors who are threatened by patients who think, this was incredibly refreshing. Dr. Fuhrman makes it clear that he is not the healer; the patients are. The patients do the work and the patients heal themselves -- he presents his role as that of a facilitator. In my opinion, that is the only healthy view of medicine there is, so he's definitely made a fan of me! One last word: anyone who doubts the validity of fasting as a healing modality is likely someone who never fatsted. It's not just Dr. Fuhrman; this is centuries old and richly documented. Unless you've got a clear medical reason not to fast, it's definitely worth trying. I have, and my limited experience is that Dr. Fuhrman is right on the money with his recommendations and observations. Excellent book! Thank you, Doc!

All I can say is that it works. Five years ago, I did a two week fast. It was like turning back the clock. I was 49 years old at the time. By the time I had finished the fast, I felt like someone in their early 30's. My acid-reflux heartburn was gone, my bloodpressure dropped from 150/100 to 114/75, my short term memory improved dramatically and so on. It really works. Fuhrman accurately describes what happens in a fast. It is very surprising that you don't feel hungry, but you don't. Additionally - and contrary to what one would expect - you don't sleep. You would think that you would sleep all the time but actually you are lucky if you can get an hour or two of sleep a night. The lack of sleep does not affect your cognitive functioning. Fuhrman accurately describes all of that in his book and more. The only thing that I felt was inaccurate was his all-vegetarian diet. After you get off the fast, he wants you to stay on an all-vegetarian diet. I could not stay with that. I felt hungry all the time. The book says that you won't feel hungry but I did feel hungry. I could have eaten every vegetable east of the Mississippi and still felt hungry. I do better with a mainly - but not totally - vegetarian diet. Still the book is valuable. If you are looking for a way to rejuvenate yourself, this is a good book to read.

I'm a big fan of Joel Fuhrman--I have several of his books, and I've read "Eat to Live" more than once. In the case of this one, however, I'm not quite sure it knows what it wants to be. At the beginning it seems to be all about fasting and the ways that fasting can be of help in healing and health. But then we leave fasting behind and it seems to turn into a lot of fairly scientific arguments as to how a WFPB diet can be used for preventing and reversing various common "diseases of affluence." Then right in the middle of everything there's an involved section about how to cure headaches with diet...and some of the recommendations seem to go against the standard WFPB advice. I found myself wondering why this section was even in this book--it seems like something that should have been published on its own. Finally we have some fairly cursory advice about how to get started on fasting. It just didn't seem very complete to me. The book is well-written on a sentence-by-sentence basis (either Dr. Fuhrman is getting better at writing or he's gotten a good ghostwriter/editor), but the book as a whole just kinda "fails to cohere" in my opinion. Feels like it's been made up of bits 'n' parts. The emphasis on fasting at the beginning and end of the book appears tacked-on and not really related very strongly to the middle parts of the book. The section on headaches seems like an interlude that was imported from somewhere else...or that ought to exported! Not a bad book by any means, but it wasn't the book about fasting that I thought it would be. Still, it's informative, and reads fairly well despite the overly "textbooky" feel of some of the middle chapters (when it got too technical I found myself skipping). A decent book, but not the best introduction to Dr. Fuhrman's causes or his work in my opinion.

I was relatively familiar with fasting, i usually do a 22 hour fast 4 times a week and have seen incredible results. My father however was recently diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis and was a firm believer in western medicine. I got very tired of hearing my father praise about new drug his doctor gave him and then later having it fail miserably and his symptoms return. My father knows i am vegan and practice intermittent fasting, however he never would come to believe in the healing of fasting, and has continuously tried to discredit me over the years. I ordered this book off of amazon, because it had been in my wishlist for awhile , and i though i would order it for some more insight on IF. The book is great, easy to understand for the average individual and really touches on the benefits of fasting. After i finished this book i left it on my fathers desk so that one day he would pick it up and read it. My father never sleeps because of his RA and is often shuffling through the night trying to get comfortable. But one night he finally picked up the book and started to read it. Low and behold he started fasting the next day. he initially did a 36 hour fast and found himself rejuvenated and less dependent on his prednisone. He was on 20mg and now is down to 7mg. We still have not found the cause of his RA however fasting SIGINIFICANTLY has helped him manage his symptoms and has helped him become less reliant on his medicine. I would definitely recommend this book for someone who is uneducated on the benefits of fasting and just beginning to get their feet wet in the wonders of Intermittent Fasting

OK, let me say this right up front. This is NOT a book about doing a juice fast. A juice fast isn't a real fast (and I have been on one of them for a month so far). This is a book that makes the case for a true (water only) fast. It tells you why (it will resolve a lot of health issues), how, and explains the science. If you are suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes or a heart condition, read this book (more than once if necessary). The information presented just might, if followed, add good years to your life. Having been on the diet plan in Dr. Fuhrman's book "Eat to Live" for 14 months, I was able to eliminate 3 of 4 medications for high blood pressure, as well as a statin taken for high (over 300) cholesterol. My cholesterol dropped to sub-normal levels (130!), and my blood pressure now averages 118/66 (down form an unmedicated 220/110 and a medicated 146/88. So when Dr. Fuhrman says that a TOTAL fast will likely eliminate the need for the last of the medications, I give that statement a great deal of weight. I have checked his footnotes, and the studies he cites are not small, obscure trials. They are peer reviewed, medium to large scale studies published in journals of the medical mainstream. If you are serious about regaining your health; if you have coronary artery disease and are taking medications or considering (or have had) bypass surgery; if you are diabetic or have high blood pressure, read this book with an open mind. It may very well save your life.