Therapeutic Fasting: A Clinical Manual for Metabolic Reset and Renewal

In the right conditions, restoration can begin on the cellular level.

In Therapeutic Fasting, physician and integrative medicine expert Dr. Thomas Lodi, MD, draws on nearly four decades of clinical experience to present a straightforward, medically grounded guide to supervised water fasting. Designed for both practitioners and health-conscious readers seeking natural healing, this guide walks you through the complete science and structure of medically supervised fasting — from first principles to long-term maintenance.

Organized across five parts, Dr. Lodi covers:

The science of fasting and the body's metabolic phases
Preparation protocols, exclusion criteria, and dietary readiness
Sleep, cortisol rhythm, hydration, and movement during the fast
Monitoring vital signs, the glucose-ketone index, and what to expect day by day
A safe, structured refeeding framework
Long-term fasting cycles for sustained cellular health
The manual also includes five practical appendices — required materials, environment setup, support tools, a self-monitoring workbook, and a foundational literature guide — making it a complete clinical reference, not just a reading experience.

Written with clarity, clinical precision, and deep respect for the body's innate intelligence, Therapeutic Fasting invites readers to reconsider fasting as a pathway to biological balance, cellular renewal, and lasting health.

Thomas Lodi, MD, MD(H) is a physician with more than 39 years in medicine and a longtime practitioner of integrative oncology. He is the founder of An Oasis of Healing in Mesa, Arizona, where for more than two decades he has cared for people with cancer by combining conventional diagnostics with nutrition, metabolic therapies, fasting, and lifestyle medicine. He is the author of Therapeutic Fasting: A Clinical Manual for Metabolic Reset and Renewal and co-author of Stop Making Cancer: A Raw Vegan Recipe Book. He also hosts The Dr. Lodi Podcast and a weekly live question-and-answer session on integrative approaches to health and healing.