The No Breakfast Plan and the Fasting-Cure

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

27128

Title

The No Breakfast Plan and the Fasting-Cure

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

Edward Hooker Dewey presents a revolutionary health philosophy rejecting enforced food and drugs. This 1900 text argues for the 'No-Breakfast Plan' and prolonged fasting as cures for chronic ailments, insanity, and obesity. Written with conviction, it challenges medical orthodoxy, claiming nature heals when the body rests from digestion, offering a radical path to physical and spiritual renewal.

Summary up to 500 words

In 'The No Breakfast Plan and the Fasting-Cure,' Edward Hooker Dewey, M.D., chronicles his professional evolution from a conventional physician to a radical proponent of natural healing. Drawing upon his experiences during the Civil War and a pivotal case of typhoid fever cured without food or drugs, Dewey argues that enforced feeding and medicinal dosing are 'barbarisms' that waste the body's vital energy. He contends that the medical profession's reliance on lancets, bleedings, and 'predigested foods' represents the relics of a darker age, whereas true science requires faith in Nature rather than the 'haze of medical superstition.' Central to Dewey's philosophy is the 'No-Breakfast Plan.' He asserts that abstaining from food in the morning allows the brain to rest and enables the digestive organs to renew their lining. Dewey details the physiology of digestion, emphasizing the importance of slow eating, thorough mastication, and the dangers of unnecessary water consumption, which he claims burdens the kidneys. He suggests that thirst is a morbid condition to be avoided and that water should only be taken when genuinely needed. The text is bolstered by extensive testimonials and case studies demonstrating the efficacy of fasting. Notable examples include Mr. Cowan's forty-two-day fast, which cured his chronic catarrh and resulted in the shedding of old mucous membranes, and a sixty-day fast by a prominent man who recovered from a severe bowel disease. Dewey also addresses serious conditions such as chronic alcoholism, obesity, insanity, and asthma, proposing that protracted fasting allows Nature to radically cure these ills. He critiques the practice of feeding the sick and the insane, labeling it as counterproductive. While acknowledging the opposition from the medical establishment, Dewey frames his work as a return to the 'True Science of Living,' where the body is treated as a landscape to be gardened rather than a machine to be dosed. He dedicates the book to colleagues who supported his views, presenting his arguments as a revolutionary yet practical path to health that empowers individuals to take charge of their own well-being.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

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Categories

• Health
• Nutrition