Article #2: The No-Breakfast Plan

Note: Sometimes clients cannot accept the No-Breakfast Plan as originally espoused by Dr. Edward Hooker Dewey, M.D., an early Hygienist who lived in Meadville, Pennsylvania. To help them overcome is difficulty, the following true story as related by Prof. Hereward Carrington, Ph.D., in his fine book, Vitality, Fasting and Nutrition, may prove helpful. The story as told related to a Mr. Van R. Wilcox who fasted for 60 days and used no solid food for a total of 70 days.

The result of this fast was that Mr. Wilcox was completely cured of every one of his many infirmities (we counted 10 such depicted in the text!). In so fine a physical condition was he, indeed, such a high state of health had he attained—that he set about walking across the American continent—from New York to San Francisco—a distance of some three thousand six hundred miles, as walked—which remarkable feat Mr. Wilcox performed in 167 days—an average (taking into account the fact that Mr. Wilcox could not walk as the "crow flies") of slightly more than twenty-two miles per diem—he carrying, throughout, from twenty to thirty pounds of baggage! During this period, Mr. Wilcox was exposed to dangers and hardships galore; the temperature being at times 125° F. in the sun; at others 13° F. below zero. During all this time, though the physical exertion was as great as it was, not once did he eat a breakfast.

... Surely this should explode once and for all the fallacy that a hearty breakfast is required by those doing hard muscular labor—since there is no exercise more taxing than walking, or one that arouses more keenly the appetite.

Note: If Mr. Wilcox had walked at a consistent pace of 4 miles an hour, he would have had to walk for almost eight hours every single day! Apparently, he did just that!