World No.1 Fasting Expert: The Link Between Cancer & Fasting That They're Hiding From You!

Steven Bartlett interviews Dr. Alan Goldhamer about the science and practice of water-only fasting as a therapeutic tool. Goldhamer walks through the physiology of fasting, how the brain switches from burning glucose to ketones, and why fasting preferentially mobilizes dangerous visceral fat and reduces inflammation. He shares clinical outcomes on hypertension, type 2 diabetes, autoimmune conditions, PCOS, and even lymphoma, drawing on his published studies. The conversation also covers refeeding protocols, safety, the gut microbiome, taste neuroadaptation, the role of salt/oil/sugar in overeating, and the psychological resets fasting produces. Goldhamer argues that health comes from healthful living rather than pills and previews a major new lifelong study of 2,000-3,000 people.

• Published a BMJ case report of a woman whose follicular lymphoma disappeared after 3 weeks of fasting and who remained cancer-free 10 years later.
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• Claims fasting is the most effective treatment ever shown for high blood pressure, the leading cause of death and disability.
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• In a study of 174 consecutive hypertension patients, all 174 normalized blood pressure without medication.
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• DEXA data shows a 2-week fast can cut visceral fat by 40% while losing only 6% lean tissue, which is fully recovered by 6 weeks.
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• Periodic fasting increased rodent lifespan 30-100%, which Goldhamer reframes as 'overfeeding cuts lifespan in half.'
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• A stage-four metastatic lymphoma patient who failed chemo improved dramatically after 3-week and 39-day fasts.
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• Claims only about 2-2.5% of people who think they are healthy actually measure out as objectively healthy.
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• A dentist with 16 years of constant daily headaches resolved them after a 41-day fast and remains pain-free 12 years later.
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• A 70-kg male could theoretically fast about 70 days because the brain can switch to burning fat (ketones) instead of glucose.
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• Beta-hydroxybutyric acid becomes the brain's main fuel during fasting and raises BDNF, a brain-protective neurochemical also boosted by exercise.
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• Salt, oil and sugar are described as hyper-concentrated non-foods that fool satiety mechanisms and drive passive overeating.
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• An estimated 90-95% of the body's dopamine and serotonin is produced in the gut, linking microbiome to mood.
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• A 2024 study found a 7-day water fast dropped harmful fusobacteria by more than 80% and shifted the microbiome healthier.
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• As much as 90% of stored toxins (PCBs, dioxins, heavy metals) found in fat biopsies come from eating animal foods.
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• Every major religion has a fasting tradition because it changes how people feel about themselves and the world.
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• Refeeding takes about half the length of the fast; rushing it risks dangerous refeeding syndrome.
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• Goldhamer claims fasting reduces insulin resistance, something he says no drug does.
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• Only about 1% of his patients do the 40-day fast; most fast between 2 and 4 weeks.
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