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The No Breakfast Plan and the Fasting-Cure

Written by Edward Hooker Dewey

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About this book

"The No Breakfast Plan and the Fasting-Cure" by Edward Hooker Dewey is a health and wellness guide written in the early 20th century. This work focuses on revolutionary ideas concerning dietary practices and fasting as essential components of natural healing, advocating for a no-breakfast regimen. Dewey argues that the conventional medical approach to sickness, which emphasizes regular feeding and drug treatment, is fundamentally flawed, and instead promotes reliance on natural bodily functions to recover from ailments. The opening of the book introduces Dr. Dewey's professional journey, reflecting on his experiences in the military hospitals during the Civil War, where he observed that the outcomes of patients did not significantly improve with traditional medicinal practices. He describes an epiphany he had while treating a particularly severe case of typhoid fever, where the patient thrived without food. This experience led Dewey to delve into the physiological principles underlying sickness and recovery, ultimately concluding that withholding food during illness can often yield better results than forced feeding and medication. This narrative sets the stage for his advocacy of the no-breakfast plan, emphasizing both its practical benefits and the importance of allowing the body to heal itself naturally.

Reading guide

Themes, characters and key ideas in The No Breakfast Plan and the Fasting-Cure, written by Chaptra AI.

  • about 7 hours
  • intermediate
  • didactic
  • challenging
  • empowering

Edward Hooker Dewey's "The No Breakfast Plan and the Fasting-Cure" is a foundational early 20th-century health guide advocating for radical dietary reform, primarily the elimination of breakfast and the therapeutic use of fasting. Drawing on his observations from Civil War hospitals, Dewey critiques conventional medicine's reliance on drugs and forced feeding, proposing instead that the body possesses an innate ability to heal itself when given proper conditions, including periods of abstinence from food. The book chronicles his professional journey, highlighting a pivotal experience with a typhoid patient who recovered remarkably without food, which solidified his conviction in natural healing principles. Dewey's work emphasizes physiological self-regulation and promotes a revolutionary approach to health and disease that challenges established medical practices of his era.

“It is not food that cures the sick, but rest – rest from food.”

Key themes

Natural Healing and the Body's Wisdom
This is the cornerstone of Dewey's philosophy. He posits that the human body possesses an inherent, self-regulating intelligence capable of healing itself, provided it is not burdened by external interventions like excessive food or drugs. He views disease as a disruption of this natural order and recovery as a return to it, facilitated by rest and abstinence.
Critique of Conventional Medicine
Dewey launches a strong critique against the prevailing medical practices of his era, specifically targeting the reliance on drug treatments and the practice of forced feeding the sick. He argues that these methods are often counterproductive, suppressing symptoms rather than addressing root causes, and interfering with the body's natural recuperative processes.
Dietary Reform and Simplification
Central to Dewey's practical advice is the concept of simplifying the diet, most notably through the elimination of breakfast and the practice of therapeutic fasting. He argues that over-nutrition, particularly frequent eating, burdens the digestive system and contributes to illness, while periods of abstinence allow for digestive rest and systemic cleansing.

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