The No Breakfast Plan and the Fasting-Cure

"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.