The good news is there are many ways to positively affect your health without requiring a lot of time or money. Intermittent fasting (IF) is free, saves time, and has massive potential to benefit our health. It may be the most beneficial intervention one can implement considering how easy it is to do.

Fasting in general is very good for people and their health, but due to social norms and widespread metabolic dysfunction, many people are resistant or even outright afraid to consider extended fasts. On the other hand, intermittent fasting is much easier and more convenient to do alongside today’s busy lifestyles. It is quite simply an eating pattern that alternates between eating and fasting according to a pre-determined schedule.

Popular versions of IF include 16/8 where you fast 16 hours of every day and eat during an 8-hour window, 18/6 which restricts the eating window down to 6 hours, the 5:2 approach limits calories on 2 non-consecutive days per week to 500 calories, and a modified approach to 5:2 which I call 0:2 completely eliminates any eating at all on those 2 days per week. Adopting intermittent fasting as part of a healthy lifestyle is a great way to get the ball rolling in the right direction, can be done on a daily/weekly schedule, and is much easier for most people than attempting multiple day extended fasts.

The history of fasting goes back millennia and has been a part of human custom since pre-history, however, it is widely attributed to the ancient Greek culture which employed fasts for both physical and spiritual benefits. When done for spiritual reasons it was thought to enable the individual to rise above their food attachments and addictions and spend more time nourishing their spirits and minds.

The ancient Greek doctor Hippocrates who has the unique distinction of being labeled the “Father of medicine” regularly recommended fasting to his patients for various ailments. This notable historical medical figure is quoted as stating, “fasting is the greatest remedy – the physician within.” Other notable historical physicians such as the Greek Galen, and the Persian Avicenna recommended fasting. Greek philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, and Plutarch all utilized fasting as a means to cure illness, optimize physical condition, and sharpen the mind. Of course, modern Christians and Jews are no strangers to fasting for spiritual reasons and to seek favor with God.

The Bible has 19 mentions of fasting found in both the Old and New Testament via the ancient Hebrew word, “tsom” (Strongs concordance: 06685), and the ancient Greek word “nesteuo” (Strongs concordance: 3522). Muslims fast also as a practice of faith during the Islamic holiday of Ramadan.

Fasting in recent years has experienced a significant decline since the advent of modern pharmaceutical medicine as we can now significantly decrease some of the side effects of chronic disease, although we are simultaneously seeing the effects of this strategy fail as the rates of chronic degenerative disease and cancer are exploding.

Fortunately, this trend may be reversing as contemporary doctors like Dr. Jason Fung, author of “The Complete Guide to Fasting” and “Life in the Fasting Lane” among others is re-discovering the power and potential of fasting. Due to this resurgence, hope is on the rise for the future of fasting.

As mentioned above, there are a multitude of health benefits from intermittent fasting that span all organ systems of the body. It has shown potent protective effects which actively work against the possibility of developing cancer. It improves brain function and cognition. It has also been shown to have the ability to protect against neurodegenerative diseases like epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, and multiple sclerosis. In fact, it is even beneficial in preventing or slowing progression once one has a neurodegenerative condition.

Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting also increases HGH or human growth hormone. This hormone which is responsible for the maintenance of muscle and connective tissue throughout life generally declines as we age leading to poor mobility, and keeping naturally increased levels around is related to both extending one’s life, and improved quality of life as we age. It decreases insulin levels and insulin resistance, a major cause of disease in all first-world countries and perhaps the most significant cause of modern chronic disease.

It reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and reduces blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The mechanism behind these is largely improved endocrine/insulin function which has many trickle-down effects. Intermittent fasting also boosts metabolism and enables fat loss for those trying to lose weight.

It also activates many intracellular mechanisms resulting in the creation of natural endogenously produced anti-oxidants designed to fight oxidative stress and inflammation in the body. It likewise speeds up the natural ability to detox; the removal of waste material in the body – a process that is certainly linked to the body’s anti-oxidant status. Finally, intermittent fasting is also known to reduce leptin levels (the obesity protein) thereby increasing healthy production and promoting balance of sex hormones like testosterone and estrogen. These are just a few of the health benefits of intermittent fasting; there are many, many more.

The fact that fasting has been utilized for all of recorded history and is and has been promoted and personally utilized by some of the most influential physicians of all time is without question. Modern medicine experts may tell us there are no panaceas in treating disease, but the truth is that this simple, easy, free intervention has been used as such and is likely one of the closest things we will ever get to a cure-all. The real question is, why aren’t you doing it yet?

For more information about fasting and intermittent fasting, check out the links below:

• https://www.doctorjasonfung.com/
• https://www.doctorjasonfung.com/life-in-the-fasting-lane
• http://www.greekmedicine.net/hygiene/Fasting_and_Purification.html

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The reality of Nutrition guidelines

In our current post-modern state, ultra-processed foods represent 60-70% of the average American’s diet. To make things worse, conventional nutrition recommendations from many organizations such as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) have been demonstrably wrong since the 1950’s leading many people to overconsume processed carbohydrates and artificial “shelf-stable” fats leading to predictable health outcomes like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disease, digestive disorders, and neurological/cognitive disorders which are widespread health epidemics.

Even today in first-world countries with modern food supply chains. The health crisis that we find ourselves in is directly related to poor nutrition and lifestyle which has been compounded by propaganda campaigns from the food industry to promote foods which are highly profitable but promote and manifest chronic disease.

In 1968, U.S. Senator George McGovern formed the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs. The resulting guidelines came out in 1977 and were heavily influenced by Ancel Keys, a promoter of the “Lipid Hypothesis” blaming fat consumption for cardiovascular disease and heart attacks. This hypothesis was presented for the first time on January 7^th, 1953, when Keys presented a graph during a symposium at the Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City supported by studies he had done based on statistical data from 6 countries during 1948-1949 correlating cardiovascular disease to fat intake.

He reported this correlation as, “…it must be concluded that dietary fat somehow is associated with cardiac disease mortality at least in middle age.” He gave a similar presentation to a World Health Organization expert panel in November of 1955. The largest problem with his presentation of the data was its narrow scope. When looking at a much wider range of data from 22 countries, the correlation between fat consumption and cardiovascular mortality did not look convincing at all. While there was an indistinct loose correlation, it appeared that there was a certain “cherry picking” style of statistical manipulation at the core of his presentation.

In contrast to Keys work, another scientist named John Yudkin published a study analyzing the relationship between various nutrient intakes and coronary mortality in men aged 55-64 in 15 different countries for the year 1952. This study revealed that the relationship with coronary mortality appeared closer with sugar intake than to animal fat, total fat, percentage of fat, or vegetable fat.

As an interesting side note, in the decades of the 40’s and 50’s close to 50% of Americans smoked cigarettes which continued to climb to 60% of Americans by 1960 and neither study attempted to incorporate this confounding variable which is widely known to be a primary factor. In fact, cigarettes were still being promoted as healthy, with health claims such as “They don’t get your wind” (Camel 1935), “gentle on my throat” (Lucky Strike 1937), “Fresh as mountain air” (Old Gold 1946), and even “More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette” (Camel 1946).

Ultimately, the post-World War 2 period of nutrition science, as with most other fields of science, is marred with conflicting interests between governments, industry, and the health and well-being of the population at large. It should be no surprise at this point that the average person lost in this battle of money and power.

The truth is that science at large has become corrupted, and is now used as a manipulative tool of governments and industry which rarely represents truth. Nutrition is very complex, and cardiovascular mortality is a result of poor lifestyle choices including smoking, being sedentary, increased availability of sugar in the diet, artificial ingredients including fats/sugars/colors/preservatives, and the fact that the majority of American’s diets consist of processed and ultra-processed “shelf-stable” foods which are not compatible with health.

There is also a growing list of harmful chemicals in our environment which has been steadily growing since WW2. I generally recommend taking a “God food, not man food” approach which simply avoids processed foods, added sugars, and artificial ingredients. Returning to God’s provision and avoiding dependence on man’s is never bad advice.

The most familiar nutritional recommendation to many Americans in my generation is the food pyramid. The food pyramid most of us remember from childhood first evolved in Sweden in the early 1970’s in response to high food prices. Soon after this, similar food pyramids were made in other Scandinavian countries, Germany, Japan, and Sri Lanka.

The United States adopted its own version in 1992. The USDA food pyramid was initially divided into six horizontal sections with depictions of foods from each section’s food group and the recommended daily serving. At the bottom of the pyramid is the largest group consisting of bread, cereal, rice, and pasta, recommending 6-11 servings daily. Above grains are vegetables with recommendations for 3-5 servings, followed by fruits with recommendations for 2-4 servings.

The next group is meats, dry beans, eggs, and nuts with recommendations for 2-3 servings. Dairy is the next group including milk, yogurt, and cheese with recommendations for 2-3 servings. Finally, at the very top of the pyramid in the section that should be restricted the most according to the recommendations, there are fats, oils, and sweets that should be “used sparingly”.

The problem in these recommendations is obvious to anyone who has ever dabbled in nutrition, especially in the last 20 years with the widespread knowledge of the ketogenic and paleogenic diets which are essentially the opposite of the food pyramid at the extremes. What the food pyramid recommended is essentially the opposite of the ketogenic or paleo style diets with a high consumption of processed refined grains and very low levels of fat (and with an emphasis on the artificial “healthy” fats).

It should be no surprise with these recommendations that the average American has low levels of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K which are necessary for a healthy metabolism and immune function. Interestingly, artificial hydrogenated, trans-fats like margarine were popular at the time as they were mistakenly thought to be health foods, and they were listed on the original food pyramids in the fat section. Limiting or eliminating altogether these unhealthy artificial fats should be seen as a good thing in reality.

Another interesting point in the development of food pyramids is that while on the surface it seems like governmental bureaucracies giving practical guidelines on nutrition to its citizenry, behind the scenes these same agencies are engaged in a massive conflict of interest. This controversy surrounding the food pyramid focuses on the conflict between the federal protection of the rights of food lobbyists to act in their own self-interest, and federal responsibility to promote the nutritional health of the public.

What has become clear is that governmental agencies like the USDA, CDC, and FDA have sided with large corporations and become increasingly captured by industry through a process called regulatory capture. They therefore no longer serve the interests of the governed to any substantial degree, so buyer beware.

Ultimately, what all this means is that we are on our own when it comes to nutrition, wellness, and health, so we must educate and care for ourselves to the degree we can. A favorite quote of mine is from an ancient Japanese samurai named Miyamoto Musashi. He states, “Truth is not what you want it to be; it is what it is, and you must bend to its power or live a lie.”

If we take this quote to heart and apply it to this topic, it means that we must take responsibility for our health personally, rather than delegate that role to any outside agency since they have become corrupted and no longer serve their intended purposes of protecting the public. We should all become warriors of truth and health in the coming age, and if we do so we will be better served.

If you want to learn more about nutrition and its relation to health, I highly recommend reading an old classic by Weston A. Price – Nutrition and Physical Degeneration.

• https://www.amazon.com/Nutrition-Physical-Degeneration-Weston-Price/dp/0916764206

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Intermittent Fasting in a Nutshell

I can testify that finding the right cancer treatment can be an overwhelming decision. There are treatments available in other countries that really do work. However, there are a lot of scammers that prey upon the venerable. The best tip I can give you is to make sure the organization has an oncologist on staff.

I am not a doctor and am not qualified to give medical advice, but I am qualified to share my story. The organization I used is located in Cancun, Mexico. I am forever grateful that I received a cutting-edge new cancer treatment. It is currently in clinical trials in the United States, but it is only FDA approved in USA trials for a few types of cancer. The scientist from the USA opened a clinic in Mexico, where he uses this cutting-edge treatment to treat all solid tumors (not able to treat blood cancers).

It is my understanding that the reason cancers manifest in the body because the immune system is not recognizing the threat and dealing with it like it does when it recognizes and deals with a virus and other illness. I believe this cutting-edge new treatment got my immune system involved in the battle far greater than the immunotherapies that I received as standard care in the USA. My understanding is that conventional immunotherapies rev up the immune system, but they do not train your immune system to recognize the threat.

The treatment I received trained the commander cells of my immune system to recognize my cancer and fight it. This is the most effective way I have found to get the immune system aimed at the target, after you are aimed at the target, I believe revving up your immune system with conventional immunotherapy treatments will make them much more effective. Before I received this new cancer treatment, I was experiencing rapid progression, so I chose to take chemo after this treatment trained my immune system, and my disease became no longer detectable on my signatera report within a few months.

Big Pharma

Why is this treatment not available to all cancer patients? I believe I have the answer. My Cabometyx and immunotherapies cost about $25,000 to $30,000 a month, and that is just money from me, a single cancer patient. Imagine how much money that is for all cancer patients in America. The CDC said there were about two million new cases in just 2022. If all new cancer cases are receiving the same conventional treatment as I did, that would mean Big Pharma makes at least $720 billion on new cancer patients each year.

That number is a bit inflated because the older Chemotherapies are not as expensive as the treatments I was taking, but the bottom line is Big Pharma would be losing big money if an effective treatment for cancer were available to every cancer patient in America.

There is plenty of evidence that proves the Big Pharma corporations have knowingly developed extremely addictive opioid drugs that can easily kill people. Big Pharma marketed the drugs to doctors and provided financial incentives for them to prescribe the addictive substances. This business has boomed from 1990’s to present day. Hundreds of thousands of people died because of the opioid epidemic. According to the CDC, from the years 1999-2021, nearly 645,000 people lost their lives due to an overdose involving an opioid.

It is no secret that Big Pharma has a long history of unethical behavior. Behavior that makes them rich, and creates suffering for the people. I can tell you from my own experience that Big Pharma is also not behaving ethically in the arena of cancer care. I want to be clear; I have received the conventional treatments and I am very grateful they have worked well for me, but there are some excellent new cutting-edge treatments that are not getting enough attention.

The Future of Cancer Treatment

At Immunocine Cancer Center, I received Immunocine Dendritic Cell Treatment (IDCT) utilizes a vaccine that is made using the patient’s tumor tissue and dendritic cells. Scientists discovered in the 1990’s that dendritic cells function as the commanders of the immune system. These cells tell your immune system how and when to deal with an issue. No one could figure out how to get the dendritic cells to recognize a problem and deal with it until 2004. Scientists soon discovered how to train dendritic cells to kill cancer.

Doctors harvest the patient’s dendritic cells from their blood. After that, they double load the dendritic cells in the tumor tissue’s DNA, meaning they load dendritic cell on the inside and also on the outside of the cancer DNA they want to destroy. This double loading technique is what makes the dendric cells recognize and attack the cancer cells. After the dendritic cells are trained, they are injected back into the patient’s body close to a healthy draining lymph node. This placement allows the trained dendritic cells to travel throughout the entire body and teach the rest of the immune system how to attack the cancer DNA.

Despite the fact that this treatment is effective with any solid tumor types of cancer, only cancers of the brain and pancreas are being explored in FDA clinical trials. Patients with other types of cancer cannot be treated in the United States. I had to flee the United States and the regulatory reach of the FDA to receive IDCT for my advanced stage unclassified kidney cancer. The treatment is not covered by insurance, and it cost about $100,000 to pay for the travel and medical expenses.

The CDC says annual cancer cases will increase by 49% in the years between 2015 and 2050. IDCT can work for almost any kind of cancer, and the positive response rate is much better with far less side effects when compared to chemotherapy and other conventional treatments. My opinion is this should be the first treatment for all solid tumor cancer cases because I believe conventional treatments will work better after the immune system is trained to join the fight.

The United Party invites you to take responsibility for coming together and bringing healing to our country. The United Party is raising money to bring cutting edge new cancer treatments to as many cancer patients as possible. We the people are responsible for coming together to heal our toxic culture. Be Golden is our path to unity and resolution. One third of your donations to The United Party go towards our cancer mission.

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Ways to Contribute

One of the most popular web search terms in recent years has been “weight loss”. When checking Google trends, it is obvious that this search term explodes every January with well-intentioned folks desiring to apply healthy New Year’s resolutions. When looking at related topics and queries, it’s easy to see that many people are interested in medicines to help them with weight loss.

Stimulant medications with high levels of adverse side-effects like Fen-Phen in the 90’s era have been used consistently at weight-loss clinics around the country. The Phen part of this, an amphetamine drug called phentermine is still used widely, and from my personal experience is used incorrectly and dangerously for profit at a high percentage of weight loss clinics.

The newer pharmaceutical trend is the increasingly common off-label use of diabetes drugs for weight loss, especially the GLP-1 agonists like Ozempic/Wegovy (semaglutide), and Mounjaro (tirzepatide). As of 2014, a study published in the American Journal of Public health revealed that national data from web trends suggest that 64% of Americans are trying to lose weight and 48% are following a weight loss strategy. The conclusion of this study was, “The weight loss information that people are likely to access online is often of substandard quality because most comprehensive and quality web sites rank too low in search results.”

It is also clear from more modern studies that as time progresses more and more Americans are struggling with their weight, which in my opinion is the purposeful obfuscation of nutritional guidelines, the deception of promoting pharmaceuticals to treat symptoms for profit, and a lack of clarity on what the actual underlying cause of weight gain is.

There is currently no consensus on the underlying cause of weight gain. It is a very dynamic process, and every individual is unique in the variables that are most influential, however there are 2 main schools of thought on the root cause. The conventional, standard-of-care doctors seem to mostly be on the side of CICO which is an acronym that stands for “calories in, calories out” and is a concept that has been around since the 1920’s and states that creating a calorie deficit leads to weight loss.

We’ve all heard the tag line, “eat less and exercise more” that is a staple of the CICO model leading to weight loss and is employed by major weight loss companies like Weight Watchers. Although this model can work for some people, this approach ignores the importance of diet quality, macronutrients, and other factors that influence health and weight. It generally also utilizes a “low-fat” approach, as fats are more calorie dense macronutrients.

This is easily exemplified by the highly processed, low calorie/low-fat/low nutrition foods that companies like Weight Watchers sell to their clients. The other camp, made up of a cohort of more holistic practitioners not associated with conventional, standard-of-care medicine, seem to be promoting true nutrition by restricting processed foods (especially carbohydrates and sugar) and increasing the amount of healthy fat people consume via a Ketogenic, Paleogenic, or Mediterranean style diet. In practice, it is easy to see that weight is not a function of caloric intake alone. We have all known people who fit into the following dichotomy:

• Obese and consume very low amounts of calories.
• Thin and consume high levels of calories.

If the CICO model is true, these circumstances would not exist. There has to be an alternative explanation. The truth is that weight is tied to metabolism, and metabolism can be affected by a variety of different factors. Let’s dive in to see some of the details that can encourage increased metabolic flexibility and weight loss. Holistic Wellness

As I have mentioned in previous blog posts, recent studies show that over 60% of the average American diet (67% among youths) consists of “ultra-processed foods”, leading to dramatic increases in obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, mental health issues, cancer, and all-cause mortality. The reasons for these data is multi-variable and extremely complex including but not limited to:

• They are processed for shelf stability
• They are calorie dense and have low nutritional quality
• They are almost without exception low-fat
• They are made with genetically engineered foods (GMO’s) that are not compatible with health
• They are filled with toxins from commercial agricultural processes as well as the processing facility processes (pesticides/herbicides/preservatives/coloring agents/flavors/bulking agents/thickening agents/etc).

While it is true that some people do lose weight on plans derived from the CICO model such as Weight Watchers, it is also associated with adverse health due to the highly processed nature of the recommended foods. It is common for people engaged in this style of weight loss to be undernourished and have multiple vitamin deficiencies due to the highly processed nature of the food they are eating. Weight Watchers contends that all the vitamins and minerals you need can be obtained through eating enough fruits and vegetables, but the average American only eats 3 servings daily, and 9 would be required to obtain adequate nutrition based on a 2000 calorie diet.

To make things worse, the point-based system does not require you to eat any fruits or vegetables. In clinical practice, I also have made the correlation of gall bladder disease and subsequent gall bladder removal surgery in people who have been on weight watchers, and other low-fat diets at rates significantly above people who have not.

This is due to the function of the gall bladder which is to add bile to the digestive system for the purpose of processing and utilizing fats and fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K. Studies show that in the past few decades, Americans have become more and more deficient in these vitamins leading to increased rates of cancer, type 2 diabetes, immune system disorders, and many other morbidities.

Holistic Wellness

Medical schools across the country are still teaching students that the gall bladder is a “vestigial” organ, meaning that we have “evolved” away from it being a necessary part of the human body and don’t need it anymore.

This is false. Human beings do not have any parts that do not have a specific function in the body, however there are many things about the body that modern science does not know, a fact that many doctors and scientists are reluctant to admit in their hubris. At the end of the day, there are many other problems with this style of diet, but they are all related to poor food quality which has already been covered, so let’s talk about what you can do!

It’s not rocket science to eat a healthy diet and lose weight. Hypothetically, if overnight the processed food industry vanished and people had to revert to eating real food, the obesity crisis would be over, and my blog wouldn’t be necessary. However, that isn’t likely to happen as this industry spends billions of dollars lobbying congress. To keep it simple, my first recommendation to clients of mine is typically this: “stay hydrated and eat God food, not man food.”  Staying hydrated shouldn’t be too hard. Shoot for 80 ounces of healthy fluids daily and add more if you need more due to being outside in the summer, saunas, exercise regimens, or other factors.

God foods have 1 ingredient, man foods have an ingredient list. God foods are grown organically using natural principles to optimize production, man foods use corrupted science-based chemical strategies. Animals that are God food eat what nature intended them to eat. Cows that are fed GMO grains are not God food.

Cows that eat 100% grass are because that is what their digestive systems are designed to process. Animals that are kept in pins or corrals and not allowed to roam free to forage for food are not God food. Free-range animals are. Animals that are given antibiotics, vaccines, hormones, and steroids are not God food. God food animals that are raised in the right environment do not need these interventions with few exceptions. God food dairy is raw.

Dairy that has been radiated, pasteurized, and homogenized is man food. A good grocery store strategy to keep with God food is shop around the periphery of the store. The man foods that come in boxes, bags, and packaging are commonly found in the center of the stores, and you will find meats, produce, dairy, and other God foods around the outside. Another thing to consider is to avoid eating out as much as possible. When you eat out, you are eating man food. Eating God foods are an essential part of improving nutrition which leads to weight loss due to improved function of the human body.

I’ve already written way too much for this blog but want to also advocate for being outside enough and exercising regularly. We are designed to be outside. Multiple studies show that being outside regularly improves our sense of wellbeing and lowers anxiety, depression, and cortisol levels leading to better metabolic control.

We should be outside at least 30 minutes daily, preferably in a place that looks like nature, not concrete and high-rises. Additionally, the CDC put out pretty good recommendations for physical activity in it’s 2018 guidelines which state that 150 minutes per week of moderate cardiovascular activity, and some form of resistance training to maintain or build muscle mass twice weekly were associated with weight reduction and additionally a 40% reduction in all-cause mortality.

Finally, it’s very difficult to lose weight when you are stressed out due to the cortisol effect which tends to push the human body to have increased glucose and cortisol levels leading to excess weight that is difficult to lose. Some of my most difficult patients/clients have struggled with this issue and it takes a lot of work to open their minds to this possibility (Romans 12:2).

If you are eating right, getting enough outside time, and are exercising and not losing weight, you should strongly consider the amount of stress in your life and its effect. I encourage you to develop regular time for yourself to engage in a hobby or activity that brings you peace and joy and resist the temptation to be overcommitted or a workaholic. Start practicing that dreaded word, no.

Too much stress, even if it doesn’t necessarily feel too stressful for you (something I hear all the time), is a killer. Most people don’t have the introspective ability to know how stressed they are for a variety of emotional/psychological reasons that are too nuanced to be discussed in this context. If you think this isn’t you, ask a spouse or a close friend for their perspective. It might give you valuable insight and prompt a much-needed change for the better.

In conclusion, what all these factors have in common is they encourage homeostasis (maintenance of optimal body function) through improvements in complex intracellular and extracellular communication via endocrine and exocrine hormones, cytokines, neurotransmitters, receptors, and a whole assortment of other mechanisms. This upgraded ability to optimize communication in the body optimizes its metabolic output, the result of which is maintenance of health and a healthy weight. I think one of the most influential quotes I’ve ever seen in relation to this comes from the father of medicine, Hippocrates, who said, “Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.” I encourage you to follow this ancient advice in the modern times we live. and be well.

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Intermittent Fasting in a Nutshell