Fasting Ourselves Out of the Pleasure Trap: Dr. Alan Goldhamer (vegan), Part 1 of 3

To encourage the public to return to a healthier life, Dr. Goldhamer co-authored the book “The Pleasure Trap: Mastering The Hidden Force That Undermines Health and Happiness” to share his insightful observations on removing barriers to wellness and the practice of water fasting. In 1984, Dr. Goldhamer established the Santa Rosa, California, USA-based TrueNorth Health Center that provides medical, chiropractic, naturopathic, massage, and acupuncture services. The center is now the largest facility in the world that specializes in medically supervised water-only fasting. For more than 35 years, it has assisted over 20,000 people in regaining their health. He has followed a plant-based diet for more than 40 years and believes this healthy lifestyle is the key to reaching optimal health. His recommendations for well-being include eating whole plant foods, a SOS- (salt, oil, sugar) free diet, exercise, and sleep. As most people today are drawn to processed foods, Dr. Goldhamer considers them a pleasure trap leading to overconsumption and that this eating habit can lead to conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and auto-immune disorders. Dr. Goldhamer provides his opinion on why people are attracted to flavorsome food that is unwholesome. “This is one of the most difficult things you can ever ask a person to do - adapt a health-promoting diet in a world designed to make them fat, sick, and miserable. These are the causes of the heart disease, cancer, and stroke that are the leading causes of death and debility. And because people are addicts, it's very difficult for them at first to see it.” For people who want to back away from the pleasure trap, the TrueNorth Health Center has an effective method to help make the switch to healthy, vegan whole foods. Dr. Goldhamer explains. “That's one of the real benefits of fasting. Because during fasting, the body neuro-adapts; It's like rebooting the hard drive in a computer that's corrupted. Whole natural foods begin to have a natural appeal and the artificial stimulation that comes from essentially drugged foods if you would or foods that have these chemicals added to them, become less and less appealing.”