Fasting and Eating for Health

Fasting and Eating for Health: A Medical Doctor’s Program for Conquering Disease by Joel Fuhrman

I started reading this book on a plane, beginning our recent vacation. I started to take notes about all the gems of wisdom in here. It’s fascinating. Even if you have absolutely no interest in fasting, I highly recommend this book.

A few things Dr. Fuhrman says were ideas I had put together myself but I had nothing to back them up. I’ve always thought that we shouldn’t force food on someone that doesn’t feel well and we shouldn’t take medicine to lower a fever. This is our body trying to fix itself.

Dr. Fuhrman talks about when we are sick and we don’t have an appetitie, we should not force ourselves – or our children – to eat. We so want our kids to be well, we push them to eat because we want to know they are better. He says, (paraphrased) “If we have no appetite when we we are sick our body has a lowered capacity for digestion and eating will result in the absorption of partially and improperly digested food which will impede a quick and complete recovery.”  He says we should look at animals. “Animals instinctively fast when sick or hurt… find a warm secluded spot where it can lie quiet and undisturbed to rest and fast until health is restored.. only sips of water.”

He also says, “Almost every medical treatment offered for the chronic disease sufferer today attempts only to control symptoms. There are no cures. We are taking a band-aid approach here. We are relieving symptoms but without addressing the cause, people are still dying from preventable diet and lifestyle-induced illnesses.”

I originally picked up this book because a few years ago, I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia. After reading his book, I don’t even believe that diagnosis. He discusses how many of the feelings we have that are summed up as a part of hypoglycemia are actually your body detoxing. He also addresses migraines, asthma, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, colitis, lupus, uterine fibroids and quite a few others.

Dr. Fuhrman goes in depth about too much protein in the diet and the slew of problems it causes. He says that one of the reasons we got so jazzed about a high protein diet was because it makes us grow faster and bigger. He goes on to say that the quicker we grow big, the faster we die. He talks about how ridiculous the government food pyramid is, why it is that way and suggests another model.

I think Dr. Fuhrman is brilliant.  His recommendation for eating: Natural, unrefined plant based foods with little, if any foods of animal origin. If you want to understand your body better, pick up this book and read it!

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