fasting

Summary: High blood pressure (HBP) is the most common contributing cause of death and disability in populations of industrialized countries. The majority of patients that suffer morbidity and mortality as a consequence of hypertension have blood pressure (BP) in the high-normal range, with systolic BP between 120 mm Hg. and 140 mm Hg. No medication options are available for these patients because the risks of HBP medication clearly outweigh any potential benefit for most patients with BP in this range. 

Fortunately, there are numerous complementary and alternative strategies that have been demonstrated to be safe and effective for treating HBP. One such approach was reported in the October 2002 issue of JACM (Goldhamer et al., 2002). In this study, 68 patients with high-normal blood pressure who underwent a period of water-only fasting (average 14 days of fasting) experienced average blood pressure reductions of more than 20/7 mm Hg. 

Click on the attached file below to read the full letter. [original publication unknown].

Although the notion of electing to go without food for prolonged periods of time to improve one's health has not been something commonly considered in recent times, fasting has a long and important history. In fact, fasting played a vitally large part in early human survival. Fortunately, this ancient knowledge is making a dramatic comeback and is beginning to transform the way modern healthcare providers view their responsibilities to patients.

Human beings have the capability to survive extended periods of fasting. This was certainly known in our hunter-gatherer days, since many humans were forced to live through periods when little or no food was available to them. However, since the advent of agriculture and increasing technological advancement, modern humans have largely lost their awareness of this powerful, innate capability.

For example, the 1937 edition of The New Standard Encyclopedia stated that for humans, "Generally death occurs after eight days of deprivation of food." By 1956, this grim pronouncement inched somewhat closer to reality. That year's edition of the American Peoples Encyclopedia stated that survival time in men during water-only fasting ranged from 17 to 76 days.

In actuality, the "authorities" writing in these encyclopedias had no idea what they were talking about, but their conclusions are consistent with what most people might think. However, if we go back in time to earlier writings, we see that more "primitive" cultures were often more aware of the extent of our fasting capability. In the Bible, for example, Moses, David, Jesus, and Elijah were said to have fasted for up to 40 days.

Physiological Benefits of Fasting

Fasting can be thought of as a period of profound rest, during which time your body is free to rapidly undertake a wide variety of beneficial physiological activities, some of which are described below.

1. Neuroadaptation

Fasting helps your taste sensors adapt to a low salt intake. By allowing your body to "neuroadapt" to low-salt food, fasting rapidly facilitates the adoption of a health- promoting diet. This process of neuroadaptation appears to take place more rapidly during fasting than merely eating a low salt diet.

2. Enzymatic Recalibration

During fasting your body induces enzymatic changes that can affect numerous systems ranging from detoxification of endogenous and exogenous substances to the mobilization of fat, glycogen and protein reserves. These changes seem to persist after the fasting process, which may explain some of the dramatic clinical changes seen in patients after fasting.

3. Weight Loss

Although fasting is not generally recommended as a primary weight loss strategy, weight loss is a predictable consequence of fasting. Most people average a loss of approximately one pound per day over the course of a fast.  (When weight loss is your primary concern, a health- promoting diet coupled with exercise is usually your best approach.)

4. Detoxification

Fasting is generally thought of as a tool to facilitate detoxification, promoting the mobilization and elimination of endogenous substances such as cholesterol and uric acid and exogenous substances such as dioxin, PCBs, and other toxic chemical residue.

5. Insulin Resistance

Fasting appears to have a profound effect on insulin resistance, which is thought to be intimately involved with diabetes and high blood pressure. When your body produces adequate insulin, but it is ineffective due to resistance at the cells in the liver and elsewhere, your blood sugar levels rise. This can lead to serious clinical consequences.  Fortunately, after a period of fasting, this problem is often dramatically improved.

6. Natriuresis

Water-only fasting induces a powerful natriuretic effect, which allows the body to eliminate excess sodium and water from your body. This process allows for the resolution of chronic problems with edema and helps reduce the increased blood volume associated with high blood pressure.

7. Reducing Gut Leakage

When chronic inflammation involves the intestinal mucosa, a condition arises whereby small particles of incompletely digested foods can be absorbed into the blood stream. This introduction of foreign peptide molecules to the blood stream may stimulate an immunological cascade of effects collectively known as gut leakage. In genetically vulnerable individuals, gut leakage may be associated with the aggravation of numerous clinical entities including arthritis, colitis, asthma, allergies, and fatigue.

8. Sympathictonia

Hypersympathictonia (increased tone of the sympathetic nervous system) is thought to be associated with many problems ranging from digestive disturbances to anxiety disorders. Fasting appears to have a profound normalizing effect on the overall tone of the autonomic nervous system.

In all there are many mechanisms through which fasting may be having its profound effect. Further research into these and other areas should prove illuminating.

A Serendipitous Survival

In light of the clear misunderstanding of fasting by the medical profession, the unexpected, successful fasting experience of Henry Tanner, M.D., is truly remarkable. In 1877, Dr. Tanner was a respected, middle-aged physician living in Duluth, Minnesota. He had suffered for years with rheumatism and had consulted with seven fellow physicians, all of whom considered his case to be "hopeless." He also suffered from asthma, which chronically disrupted his sleep. He spent his waking hours in constant pain.

Tanner had been taught in medical school that humans could live only ten days without food and in this knowledge he found solace. Not believing in suicide, he determined that he would simply starve himself to death. As he stated later, "Life to me under the circumstances was not worth living... and I had made up my mind to rest from physical suffering in the arms of death." But fate had an agreeable surprise for Dr. Tanner. By unwittingly invoking a constellation of health-promoting responses associated with water-only fasting, he rapidly recovered.

By the fifth day of his fast, he was able to begin to sleep more peacefully. By the eleventh day, he reported feeling "as well as in my youthful days." Fully expecting that by this point he should be near death, he asked a fellow physician, Dr. Moyer, to examine him. Not surprisingly, Dr. Moyer was amazed.

According to Tanner's recollection, Moyer told him, "You ought to be at death's door, but you certainly look better than I ever saw you before." Henry Tanner continued to fast, under Dr. Moyer's supervision, for an additional 31 days, a total of 42 days in all.

When fellow physicians heard his story, which was sensationalized in the press, they responded with disbelief and intense criticism. Though widely rebuked as a fraud, Tanner at least had the last laugh. After his fast, Tanner had no symptoms of asthma, rheumatism, or chronic pain and lived a full life until he died at the age of ninety.

Human Fasting Capabilities

Many fasts of longer than 100 days have been documented in recent scientific literature, the longest of which was 368 days. At the TrueNorth Health Center in California, we routinely supervise water-only fasts of up to 40 days, and in certain circumstances, even longer.

In our experience, fasting has never been lethal and is often remarkably helpful. During our 20 years of supervising the care of more than 5,000 patients, fasting has proven to be both safe and effective. It has provided many patients a new lease on life.

Reawakening to an Ancient Truth

Throughout most of the 20th century, which witnessed a period of remarkable medical innovation in surgical techniques, radiation therapies, and new "miracle" drugs, the self-healing mechanisms that are unleashed during water-only fasting were largely unappreciated. 

However, as the century drew to a close, something extraordinary began to occur. After decades of collective awe of modern medicine and its purveyors, a strong undercurrent of disillusionment began to appear. There came the beginnings of a philosophical revolution that would lead health science in a promising new direction.

This new direction centers on the realization that health and healing are best supported when the biological roots of our nature are understood and respected. This new philosophical approach is based on the awareness that health and healing are natural processes. As a result, the focus of attention has increasingly shifted away from the traditional medical emphasis on drugs and surgery toward an exploration of the circumstances and requirements necessary to unleash and enhance these natural processes.

Fortunately, unlike health problems in the past, including such phenomena as water-borne diseases, nutritional deficiencies, and epidemics of tuberculosis and pneumonia that at one time were confusing puzzles - our present day epidemics of obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer are not nearly so mysterious. It is becoming increasingly clear that the majority of present day health problems are the result of modern dietary excesses.

Simply put, most of our health problems are the result of our eating too much of the wrong things. We ingest too much fat and protein (especially animal fat and animal protein); too much refined sugar and other refined carbohydrates; and too many drugs, including tobacco, coffee, tea, alcohol, and soda. It is not surprising that nearly 50% of American teenagers are overweight when you consider that the average teenager consumes 25% of his or her calories from soda pop.

In the face of the current unprecedented epidemics of disease caused by dietary excess, it is understandable that the ancient healing method of water-only fasting is beginning to make intuitive sense to many people. Going without food for a period of time provides the ultimate opportunity for the reversal of the consequences of dietary excess, a chance to let an overfed and overburdened body take steps to restore health.

Rest assured that the appeal of fasting is not based solely on mere intuition. With the recent publication of the first-ever large-scale study conducted on the use of water-only fasting with life-threatening illness, what was previously considered intuitive has become scientifically apparent. Water-only fasting offers extraordinary potential for health and healing, and for some conditions it appears to be the most effective treatment available.

Fasting and High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure (also known as hypertension) is the leading contributing cause of morbidity and mortality in industrialized societies, and is the leading reason for visits to doctors and for the use of prescription medication. It is diagnosed when a patient's pressures exceed 140/90 mm Hg. The human and financial costs of this condition are staggering.

In 1984, doctors at the TrueNorth Health Center began to investigate the use of fasting in the treatment of this devastating condition. Our study involved 174 high blood pressure patients, all of whom were admitted to the Center for treatment involving water-only fasting.

The results of the study were astonishing. Every patient experienced blood pressure reductions sufficient to eliminate the need for medication, and over ninety percent of patients achieved completely normal blood pressure. A stunning reduction of over 60 points in systolic (upper) blood pressure was noted in those patients with highly elevated pressures (known as Stage III Hypertension), where systolic pressures are greater than 180 mm Hg. These results represent the largest effect size ever shown in lowering blood pressure, and they are estimated to be five times the effect expected from medications alone.

With assistance from our colleagues at Cornell University, our study, "Medically Supervised Water-only Fasting in the Treatment of Hypertension" was completed and accepted for publication by the peer-reviewed and indexed Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. It appeared in the June, 2001 issue of JMPT.

A second study, also conducted at the Center, was recently accepted for publication in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. In this investigation, we evaluated the effect of water-only fasting on 64 patients admitted with so-called "borderline" hypertension. These are individuals who have systolic blood pressures between 120 and 140 mm Hg.

Patients with blood pressures in this range are often led to believe that their blood pressures are "normal." For example, a patient with a systolic blood pressure of 138/88 would be considered "normal" by conventional medical standards, despite the fact that they are five times more likely to die from a heart attack or stroke than an individual who has a systolic blood pressure of 110 mm Hg. Sixty-eight percent of all deaths attributed to the effects of high blood pressure occur in individuals whose systolic blood pressure is in this range.

The patients in our second study had a mean reduction in systolic blood pressure of 20 mm Hg. The average patient in the study, beginning with a systolic blood pressure of nearly 130 mm Hg, ended his stay with systolic blood pressure of just below 109 mm Hg. This represents a very substantial improvement in health. As just stated, he is now five times less likely to die from a heart attack or stroke than he was before.

Fasting Studies Draw Attention

As a result of the publication of these studies, the fasting program at TrueNorth Health Center attracted the attention of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE), a large, national labor union. In March 2001, the Center's residential health education program, including the supervision of water-only fasting, became a fully covered medical benefit for all union members and spouses who have high blood pressure or diabetes.
 
In conjunction with this association with IUOE, the doctors at the Center are conducting a third fasting study. It is a prospective study with long-term follow-up to evaluate the use of fasting in the treatment of high blood pressure and diabetes. We are looking not only at the clinical outcomes of the patients (improved health and reduced morbidity), but also the effect on long-term costs of care for the patients who undergo fasting compared to those who choose conventional medical care.

The initial results are outstanding. Based on data from the first group of subjects with one-year follow-ups, the average cost reduction for fasting patients compared to patients receiving conventional medical care appears to be substantial. Once a large enough number of patients have completed the program and the long-term outcomes are calculated, we expect to publish additional papers documenting what appears to be a tremendously cost effective approach to managing these high risk, high medical cost, high blood pressure and diabetes patients.

Hope for the Future

Hopefully, these results of the TrueNorth Health Center's studies will be a contributing force in both a philosophical and practical revolution in health care. With clear and convincing evidence to guide them, and substantial cost savings to motivate them, other unions and insurance companies may decide to encourage and support the use of fasting for those they serve. In doing so, they could make available to the millions of sick and suffering patients the most profound health rediscovery of our time: the understanding that fasting allows the body to heal itself without the risk and excess cost associated with conventional medical care and drug use.
 

An Introduction to the Benefits of a Professionally Supervised Fast

When the body is provided with the requirements of health, including appropriate diet, environment, activity and psychology, optimum health can be maintained.  If these requirements are not adequately provided, health will be compromised.

Often, the best means of facilitating the restoration of health is therapeutic fasting. It allows the body to create a unique physiological healing response that is unparalleled.

Therapeutic fasting is defined as the complete abstinence from all substances except pure water in an environment of complete rest.

There are no substitutes.  When therapeutic fasting is indicated, nothing else can be considered "just as good."

Going without food, even for a few days, while working, exercising, worrying, etc. is not therapeutic fasting.  A noisy, high stress and/or non-supportive environment will not provide the body the opportunity to maximize the self-healing mechanisms.  To maximize the benefits of therapeutic fasting, complete rest is essential.

Eating only certain foods or drinking only juices is not therapeutic fasting.  The physiological and clinical impact and benefits are different.  This is not to say that juice diets or so-called elimination diets do not have a role.  But they are not the same as therapeutic fasting.

When properly applied and conducted, therapeutic fasting is one of the most potent tools available for assisting the body in healing itself.  When abused or applied injudiciously, harm can result.  The most important advice I can give anyone regarding fasting is this.  If you are going to undertake a fast, do it right or don't do it.

Is Fasting Indicated?

The most clear cut indication for therapeutic fasting is the lack of appetite that characterizes acute disease.  When the body generates a healing crisis in acute disease, it is generally best to eliminate the intake of food until the crisis has resolved and hunger returns.  That might mean skipping a meal, or two.  It might mean skipping many meals.

Fasting is extremely effective in helping the body to quickly resolve the problems that create the need for the symptoms that we know as acute disease.  These symptoms include things like fever, inflammation, pain, etc.  It is in acute disease that we see the most dramatic results from short term fasting.

Fasting is also effectively utilized in chronic disease.  Chronic disease often has its origin in acute diseases that never resolved or were suppressed.  Fasting allows the body an opportunity to generate an acute response in a chronic condition.           

It is in the fasting state that the body is given the opportunity to purify its tissues, to eliminate undesirable tissue accumulations, growth, etc. It also allows the body an opportunity to let stressed and abused tissues heal.

The scientific and medical literature contains literally hundreds of papers dealing with the therapeutic use of fasting.  It has been extensively used in the treatment of a variety of conditions, including obesity, diabetes, epilepsy, atherosclerotic vascular disease, congestive heart failure, cancer, autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia, and as a desensitization tool in the treatment of hypersensitivity and allergies.

Fasting is also used for what might be termed rejuvenescence.  It provides an opportunity for the organism to "clean house," physically and mentally; for accumulated debris to be eliminated; and to allow for the introspection that is so often lacking in the rush of modern day life.
 
Contraindications

There are individuals who are not good candidates for therapeutic fasting.  But there are few conditions per se that contraindicate its appropriate use.        

The greatest contraindication to fasting is fear.  A lack of understanding of the fasting process can present insurmountable problems.  Extreme weakness in various diseases associated with muscular wasting may also contraindicate fasting.

There are numerous medications that can complicate the fasting process.  Inadequate nutrient reserves would be another potential contraindication to fasting. Certain types of cancer and severe kidney disease may also make an individual a poor fasting candidate.
 
Professional Supervision

With proper supervision and careful clinical monitoring, therapeutic fasting is safe and effective as a means of helping the body heal itself.  But as with any activity there are inherent risks.  I advise anyone contemplating a therapeutic fast to consider utilizing a certified IAHP professional who is trained in its use.

The International Association of Hygienic Physicians is an association made up of primary care physicians who specialize in the supervision of therapeutic fasting.  Each certified member is a licensed medical doctor, chiropractor or osteopath who has completed a minimum six-month residency program in an accredited institution specializing in therapeutic fasting.

The IAHP has established standards of practice for fasting supervision and is currently conducting fasting research.  With the recent increase in number of certified professionals, a safe and effective fasting experience is more readily available than ever before.
 
Where to Fast

Whatever the indication for therapeutic fasting, it is essential that the individual be placed in an environment conducive to complete rest.  The body needs to adjust to the fasting physiology.  The importance of rest should not be underestimated.  Unnecessary mobilization of nutrient reserves must be avoided.

Here again we see the benefits of fasting in a Natural Hygiene facility under the supervision of a certified IAHP professional.  You will be in a setting that is designed for the purpose of providing a quiet, peaceful and emotionally supportive environment in which to fast.  You will be separated from the well-meaning interference of friends and family. And you will have 24-hour access to a doctor trained and experienced in the use of fasting.
 
Pre-Fast Evaluation

Before therapeutic fasting is undertaken, a pre-fasting evaluation should be completed.  This includes a complete health history, including an evaluation of previous illnesses, injury and treatment.  An assessment is made of the current symptoms and current treatment being undertaken.  A family history is also of interest.

Next, a comprehensive physical exam should be performed.  Appropriate laboratory procedures such as the utilization of urinalysis or blood evaluations should also be performed.

These procedures provide the practitioner with the information needed to determine if therapeutic fasting is indicated as well as providing a base line that can be used to establish each individual's norms.

Without a good base line, it can be very difficult to differentiate a positive healing crisis from a physiological compromise.  For example, a person who develops an arrhythmia on the fourteenth day of a fast might be treated very differently from an individual who starts the fast with the same condition.

How Long to Fast

Once the evaluation has been completed and it is determined that fasting is in fact indicated, the next question usually concerns the duration of the fast.  How long will it last?

It should be understood that the fast itself is an important diagnostic tool in determining duration.  The signs and symptoms that occur during the fast provide the trained observer with important information about the nature of the underlying conditions.

Although an experienced practitioner can estimate the length of a fast needed, none of us have crystal balls.  It is important to go into the fast with a willingness to allow the body to tell us what is indicated.  The idea is to fast as briefly as possible, but as long as necessary to allow the body to generate and resolve any possible healing crises that might result.

In the past, the concept of fasting "to completion" was often promoted.  This meant fasting until the tongue cleared and hunger returned.  But experience has shown that these factors are unreliable indicators.  Some people would not develop a clear tongue even if they fasted far beyond their bodily reserves.  The mere absence of hunger does not ensure that adequate reserves remain.
 
Understanding the Fast

The physiology of fasting has been extensively studied, and three phases of fasting have been identified.

The first phase can be called the gastrointestinal phase, and lasts approximately for first six hours following the last meal.  During this phase the body uses glucose, amino acids and fats, as they are absorbed from the intestinal tract.      

Phase two lasts for more or less the next two days.  During this time the body will use its glycogen (sugar) reserves that are stored in the muscle and liver cells.  These glycogen reserves are mobilized to provide the central nervous system, including the brain, with its normal fuel, glucose.  Within a few hours the body begins to convert adipose (fat) tissue into fatty acids.

Were it not for the body's ability to switch fuels and enter phase three, where the body switches from glucose to fat metabolism, therapeutic fasting could not take place.  The body's protein reserves would be quickly depleted.

Fortunately, this is not a problem.  In fact, within ten hours from the last meal approximately 50% of muscle fuel is coming from fat.  Even the brain itself begins to shift over the fat metabolism.  The consumption of protein reserves decreases from 75 grams per day at the beginning of a fast to just 20 grams a day by the end of the second week.

As you can see, excess activity including excess emotional stress could increase the body's fuel needs, interfering with the optimum adaptation to the fasting state.

Body reserves differ from individual to individual.  But a "typical" 155-pound male at normal weight has enough reserves to fast for between two to four months.  If the fast were allowed to continue beyond the individual's reserves, starvation would ensue and serious damage and eventually death would occur.
 
Breaking the Fast

As with all aspects of fasting, proper termination of the fast is a highly individual matter.  The decision to terminate a fast is based on an evaluation of numerous factors, including the patient's history, symptomatic presentation, examination results, laboratory results, as well as their psychological state and personal circumstances.

One of the characteristics of therapeutic fasting is the healing crisis.  It is important to understand the healing crisis and avoid interfering with this necessary and productive process.  We always try to terminate a fast during a period of stability.

Most fasts will be terminated with fresh fruits or vegetables or their juices.
 
After the Fast

The most important period of the fast is the initial re-feeding.  Too rapid a return to food and activity can spell disaster.  Materials that have been mobilized during the fast must be eliminated.  Improper feeding or activity after the fast can seriously disrupt this process.

It is during the re-feeding program that good dietary and lifestyle habits are reinforced.  The body must be given an opportunity to develop a preference for whole, natural foods, appropriate physical activity, etc. No matter how successful your body is at resolving problems with a fasting process, long-term dietary and life-style compliance will be necessary.

Fasting is not a cure.  It is a process that facilitates the body's healing mechanisms.  It is up to each individual to ensure that the requirements of health are provided on a continuing basis.

People who succeed with Natural Hygiene are those who cooperate long enough that they feel so good that "feeling good" becomes their motivation.  Lifestyle changes based on discipline alone or coupled with negative motivation such as fear of pain, disease or death will only last so long.  But the ecstasy of optimal health is lasting.

Summary

Therapeutic fasting means taking pure water while ensuring complete physical and emotional rest.  This unique process maximizes the healing potential of the body, allowing it to "clean house" and quickly restore a state of higher health.

Therapeutic fasting should be supervised by a properly trained hygienic doctor and should be followed by appropriate dietary and lifestyle modifications.

When properly implemented, therapeutic fasting is extremely effective in creating an internal environment in which the body can do what it does best - heal itself.

As Printed in HEALTH SCIENCE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1998 updated 2005
Alan Goldhamer, D.C., is the president of the International Association of Hygienic Physicians. He is also the director of the TrueNorth Health Center. The Center, which is located in Penngrove, Calif., specializes in fasting supervision, and is one of only two in-patient facilities in the world that trains and certifies physicians in that specialty. Dr. Goldhamer completed his chiropractic studies at Western States Chiropractic College in Portland, Oregon, and completed his internship in fasting supervision at the Arcadia Health Center in Australia, under the direction of Dr. Alec Burton. Dr. Goldhamer is the author of The Health Promoting Cookbook, co-author of The Pleasure Trap, and he recently participated in the production of two new videos on vegan cuisine and fasting.

How did you first become interested in Natural Hygiene? In 1976, after reading several of Dr. Herbert Shelton's books, I met Dr. Gerald Benesh of Escondido, Calif., who, along with Dr. Shelton, was one of the founders of the American Natural Hygiene Society. I was very impressed with the health philosophy of Natural Hygiene. Dr. Benesh told me that a doctor who used Hygiene-the science of health-as the basis of his or her practice had the best job in the world. He said, "That's because the body does all of the healing, the patient does all of the work, and the doctor gets all of the credit." I decided then and there that that was the job for me.

What is involved in becoming a Hygienic physician? Any licensed primary care physician [medical doctor, chiropractor, osteopath, or naturopath] is eligible to undertake an internship in fasting supervision under the auspices of the International Association of Hygienic Physicians. Successful completion leads to certification in fasting supervision.

What is a fasting internship like? Mine was an exciting and enriching experience. I worked very hard and was continually amazed at how effective fasting was-in even the sickest of patients. I remember saying to myself, "If this patient gets well, I'll really be convinced." I must have said that two dozen times during my internship. I am grateful to Drs. Alec and Nejla Burton for the opportunity to learn from them how to help sick people get well.

When did you open the Center for Conservative Therapy? My wife, Dr. Jennifer Marano, and I opened the Center in 1984. With our recent remodeling, it has grown to a 22-bed facility. We now have a staff of 22-including a medical director, Peter Sultana, M.D.; a clinical psychologist, Douglas Lisle, Ph.D.; and three IAHP certified Hygienic physicians-Alec Isabeau, D.C., Erwin Linzner, D.C., and Fani Alexandrakais, D.C.-in addition to Dr. Marano and myself. We specialize in the supervision of fasting and in the use of diet and lifestyle modification to achieve and maintain optimum health. We also are excited about our internet website that describes the Center-www.healthpromoting.com.

Is the Center involved in conducting scientific research? Yes, with the help of Dr. Lisle, our new director of research, we just completed a major retrospective analysis of the use of fasting and a health promoting diet in the treatment of hypertension (high blood pressure). We worked with Dr. T. Colin Campbell at Cornell University, and have seen two papers published in the scientific literature.

What are the biggest health challenges that people face? We live in a world that does not promote health, and despite an abundance of credible scientific evidence that points the way, most people seem more interested in pursuing short-term, pleasure-seeking, self-indulgent behavior. Even people who are convinced about what to do find it difficult to "stray too far from the social norm." Pressure from family, plus the difficulty of breaking bad habits, can hold people back. For many people, the most effective way to make the dietary and lifestyle changes necessary to recover and maintain health often occurs in conjunction with a properly supervised fasting and feeding program at a residential health education facility such as the Center. They get started right, and get new patterns established in a supportive environment.