Alan Goldhamer

What Alan says, topic by topic

Vitamin B12

Describing his ideal day of eating in 2022, Goldhamer said TrueNorth Health Center supplements 1,000 micrograms of methylcobalamin a day as the B12 source¹. In 2025 he said vegans need B12 because, in his view, it comes from bacterial contamination, which washing and peeling plant food removes².

He said that in about 40 years of practice he had seen more B12 deficiency than most doctors, especially in fruitarians and others on extreme vegan diets, with anemia and nerve damage that supplements put right³. He prefers oral B12 to injections and calls it low risk, since excess leaves the body in urine⁴.

What all the experts say about vitamin B12

Vitamin D

In a 2017 Q&A Goldhamer called vitamin D a hormone the body makes from sun exposure, and said a blood test shows whether a person needs more sun or a supplement⁵. Because it is fat soluble, unlike B12, he said supplemented patients are tested every year, and most need 2,000 to 4,000 units of D3 a day⁶. For vegans who object to D made from sheep’s wool lanolin, he noted that a vegan form exists⁷.

In his 2022 outline of a day of eating he again listed vitamin D only for people who do not get enough sun to keep normal levels⁸.

What all the experts say about vitamin D

Omega-3 fats

In 2017 Goldhamer said TrueNorth usually allows up to an ounce of nuts or seeds a day, which he called rich sources of omega-3⁹. For people who cannot eat nuts or seeds, or who convert omega-3 to DHA poorly, he said a DHA supplement may be needed, but not by everyone¹⁰.

In 2025 he described algae DHA as an option for people who cannot eat nuts, seeds or avocado and test low, not as a routine, and warned that supplements can do more harm than good¹¹. Asked in 2026 about omega-3 blood tests, he said what counts as normal is disputed, that the center first adjusts the diet¹², and that it offers vegan DHA only now and then¹³.

What all the experts say about omega-3 fats

Oil

In a 2025 talk Goldhamer said salt, oil and sugar are not foods but concentrated parts of foods, added back to stimulate dopamine in the brain and drive overeating¹⁴. He said frying turns foods such as potatoes into sponges for grease, raising their calorie density several times over¹⁵.

He said in 2026 that TrueNorth advises eating only whole plant foods, free of added salt, oil and sugar, a standard he said government guidelines do not meet¹⁶. In 2025 he said most plant based doctors would agree with that diet in principle but doubt it is practical, since it makes eating out and social life harder¹⁷.

What all the experts say about oil

Protein

In 2025 Goldhamer put the target at about 10% of calories from protein, a share he said barely changes with age and rises on its own as active people eat more; he said he would not use protein powders for anyone¹⁸. In another 2025 session he said the real risk on a whole plant diet is too much protein, not too little, as beans, nuts and seeds are rich in it¹⁹.

His 2022 outline of a day gives about 10% of calories from protein, 15 to 18% from fat and the rest from complex carbohydrates²⁰.

What all the experts say about protein

Calcium, dairy and bones

Asked in 2022 about bone density, Goldhamer said he would not generally recommend supplements for bone health, and pointed to a mineral rich whole plant diet and weight bearing exercise²¹. He listed coffee, soda, alcohol and animal foods high in sulfur amino acids, dairy among them, as things that pull calcium from bone²². He added that vitamin D levels are worth checking, since low D can hinder calcium absorption²³.

In a 2025 talk he also named excess salt as a contributor to osteoporosis²⁴.

What all the experts say about calcium, dairy and bones

Iodine

His 2022 outline of a day includes sea vegetables such as nori once a week for iodine⁸. In 2025 he said routine iodine pills should not be needed, since sea vegetables like nori or kelp are very rich in it²⁵. He said varied plant foods grown in soils with enough iodine usually supply it, and that plant sources are better than a supplement²⁶.

What all the experts say about iodine

Calorie density

Goldhamer explains overeating mainly through calories per pound. In a 2025 talk he put salad at about 100 calories per pound, so that living on it would take about 20 pounds a day²⁷. Cooked starches such as potatoes, rice and beans have about 500, he said²⁸, while bread has about 1,500 and sugar about 1,800²⁹.

He said about 500 calories of potatoes fill the whole stomach, while the same calories of bread take only a third of it²⁹. In 2022 he said a stomachful of low density food holds roughly 500 to 700 calories, so most people need two or three such meals a day³⁰.

What all the experts say about calorie density

Nuts, seeds and avocado

TrueNorth allows nuts and seeds in small amounts, about an ounce a day in Goldhamer’s 2017 and 2022 descriptions⁹³¹. In 2025 he grouped nuts, seeds and avocado as concentrated foods to be eaten in limited portions³².

In 2017 he said some people cannot stop once they start on nuts and are told to avoid them, while seeds may still work for them³³.

What all the experts say about nuts, seeds and avocado

Soy

Asked in 2023 whether soy foods could upset estrogen, Goldhamer said the old worry about the plant estrogens in soy had probably been greatly overstated, and that he saw no real evidence against having some soy in the diet³⁴. He added that he regards tofu as a highly processed food that gets about 55% of its calories from fat, so it deserves the same portion control as nuts and seeds³⁵.

What all the experts say about soy

Salt

In a 2025 talk Goldhamer called sodium essential in small amounts, citing an American Heart Association figure of about 500 mg a day against an American average of 3,400 mg or more³⁶. He said salt makes people eat more before they feel full, with salted potatoes as the example³⁷.

In the same session he said a whole plant food diet supplies roughly 500 to 1,000 mg of sodium a day, so added salt is no more needed than added sugar or oil³⁸. He also linked excess salt to high blood pressure and bone loss²⁴.

What all the experts say about salt

Sugar

In a 2025 talk Goldhamer said the average American eats around 150 pounds of sugar a year, a food he described as high in calories but poor at triggering fullness³⁹. He used ice cream as an example: warmed to room temperature it tastes sickly sweet, he said, while the cold hides from the taste buds how much sugar it holds⁴⁰.

Asked in 2026 why TrueNorth asks people to drop sugar, salt and oil entirely instead of using them in moderation, he said moderation only makes sense for things the body has a normal relationship with, which in his view refined sugars, salts and oils are not⁴¹. He compared it with advising alcoholics to drink moderately, while granting that some people can eat a little of these foods without trouble⁴². He also said these substances stimulate the same dopamine response as addictive drugs, stressing that he was not claiming sugar is as strong as cocaine⁴³.

What all the experts say about sugar

Starches

In a December 2025 talk Goldhamer said humans have always lived on some staple starch, and that he did not think it mattered much whether it came from potatoes, rice or another grain or vegetable⁴⁴. In a 2025 Q&A he said he had no problem with people getting all their carbohydrates from starchy vegetables, which some find easier to digest than grains⁴⁵.

He has argued that cooking starchy vegetables to free up their calories is part of what let humans grow such large, glucose hungry brains, and that people have cooked starches far longer than they have used blenders⁴⁶. In his description of a typical TrueNorth day, fruit may fill a third of the plate by volume, but most of the calories come from starchy vegetables⁴⁷.

What all the experts say about starches

Fasting

Goldhamer runs medically supervised water only fasting at TrueNorth Health Center, where, he said in 2025, fasts last 2 to 40 days and most run one to three weeks⁴⁸. He said the center relies on exams, lab tests and twice daily checks to decide how long a fast should go, and has done about 25,000 fasts over 40 years⁴⁹.

For healthy people at home he described in 2025 a daily 12 hour fast⁵⁰; he said he and many staff fast 12 hours each day and for a week once a year⁵¹. In 2022 he said an eight hour eating window, which leaves a 16 hour daily fast, may help people trying to lose or keep off weight⁵².

In 2025 he described a center study on long water only fasts, published in BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, that graded every patient’s symptoms each day⁵³. He also pointed to a study from his own clinic of 174 consecutive patients with high blood pressure, saying fasting and diet brought their pressure down far enough to drop medication⁵⁴. That is his clinic’s reported result from its own series, with no control group, as he summed it up in the talk, not an independent finding⁵⁴.

What all the experts say about fasting

Supplements

In 2017 Goldhamer said that, as a rule, TrueNorth avoids isolated nutrients in pills and powders, using them only for individuals with a specific problem⁵⁵. Asked in 2024 about a combined vegan multivitamin, he said he was not a big fan of packing many nutrients into one capsule, or of supplementing what the diet already supplies⁵⁶.

What all the experts say about supplements

Iron

In a 2024 interview Goldhamer said most men should not take iron supplements, warning that excess iron, even the amounts that add up from multivitamins, can raise men’s risk of heart disease⁵⁷. In men, he said, anemia means blood is being lost somewhere, which iron pills do not fix; for women with low iron he said the answer is usually to correct why iron is being lost or poorly absorbed rather than to supplement it⁵⁸. In a 2024 Q&A he welcomed vegan multivitamins that leave out iron and vitamin A, which he called potentially toxic⁵⁹.

What all the experts say about iron

Fish and eggs

Asked in 2017 about eggs from backyard organic hens, Goldhamer said organic is less bad but not therefore good, since eggs, like all animal products, concentrate contaminants⁶⁰. He said an occasional egg will not kill anyone, but that nothing in eggs is needed, and that chicken meat is no better⁶¹.

On wild salmon he said in 2020 that it may carry fewer harmful components than farmed salmon but still concentrates mercury and other pollutants, so his advice was to leave animal products out altogether⁶². In an article on fats archived on his center’s website in 2011, he wrote that fish do supply essential fatty acids but also carry mercury and other toxic metals⁶³.

What all the experts say about fish and eggs

Fiber

Asked in 2025 whether a person can eat too much fiber, Goldhamer said that is unlikely unless someone takes fiber supplements, and that discomfort usually points to a digestive problem worth checking⁶⁴. He suggests filling up on low calorie density foods rich in fiber, so people feel full before they are stuffed⁶⁵.

In 2024 he described psyllium husk as a bulking agent that may help people who eat too few vegetables, but said it is not part of the TrueNorth diet or his own⁶⁶. He has also said that juicing or otherwise processing fruit strips out its fiber and makes it easier to fool the brain into overeating⁶⁷.

What all the experts say about fiber

Fruit

In a December 2025 talk Goldhamer called the claim that fruit feeds cancer and should be avoided a gross oversimplification⁶⁸. He granted that modern fruit is hybridized, higher in sugar and lower in fiber and minerals than wild fruit, but said that for most people part of their calories from whole fruit can be health promoting⁶⁸. He named diabetics and people in active cancer treatment as groups whose fruit may need limits, and said TrueNorth usually builds one meal a day on fruit and two on vegetables, adding greens to the fruit meal to slow sugar absorption⁶⁹.

In a 2025 Q&A he said his main concern is fruit juice and processed fruit products, and that people should stick to whole fruit as much as possible⁷⁰. In 2026 he said diets that take most of their calories from fruit, as many raw food diets do, end up high in sugar and do not suit everyone⁷¹.

What all the experts say about fruit

Vegetables and greens

In his 2022 outline of an ideal day, Goldhamer said people should fill up on salad and steamed vegetables, as much as they want, with enough complex carbohydrates not to get too thin³⁰. At lunch and dinner he eats a very large raw salad, joking that the bowl is big enough only if the people around him react with shock, followed by a big serving of steamed vegetables⁷².

In a December 2025 talk he said only about 7% of the calories Americans eat come from fruits and vegetables, a third of that potatoes served mostly as fries and chips, so that whole plant foods have become a garnish on the plate⁷³. In 2026 he said diets heavy in fruit need plenty of greens to offset their sugar⁷¹.

What all the experts say about vegetables and greens

Beans and lentils

In a 2020 Q&A Goldhamer said beans are very concentrated in nutrients and among the cheapest foods in the world, but that people who cannot digest them can still eat a healthy diet without them⁷⁴. He suggested some people may tolerate sprouted lentils, or beans soaked, boiled and drained before slow cooking⁷⁵.

In 2025 he again called grains and beans nutrient dense and cheap but not required, and said part of their benefit may come through their effects on the gut microbiome⁷⁶. In 2022 he said people with blood sugar problems might favor beans over grains because beans have a lower glycemic response⁷⁷.

What all the experts say about beans and lentils

Whole grains, bread and flour

In a December 2025 talk Goldhamer said boiled wheat berries have about 500 calories a pound, but grinding them into flour and baking bread with salt, oil and sugar brings that to around 1,500⁷⁸. Take out those additions and the yeast, he said, and what is left is matzah, which nobody overeats; in his view bread mostly serves as a carrier for salt, oil and sugar⁷⁹.

TrueNorth serves no wheat, rye or barley, he said in 2020, but does use rice, millet, quinoa and other grains, and people who do not do well with grains can leave them out and eat more starchy vegetables⁸⁰. In 2025 he recommended rotating a variety of grains without gluten, beans, fruits and vegetables, aiming at 30 or more different foods a week⁸¹.

What all the experts say about whole grains, bread and flour

Potatoes

In 2017 Goldhamer said a person could lose weight living on potatoes, rice and beans, and might even do quite well on potatoes alone, but that leaving out fruits and vegetables would cost nutrients and the variety that helps people stick with the diet⁸². In a December 2025 talk he said potato chips have about five times the calorie density of plain potatoes⁸³, and described ordering five plain baked potatoes in a restaurant, about the same calories as a steak sandwich, to the staff’s amazement⁸⁴.

Asked in 2025 to choose between sweet potatoes and grapes, he called both healthy foods but said he would pick sweet potatoes if he had to live on only one⁸⁵.

What all the experts say about potatoes

Meat

Commenting in January 2026 on new US dietary guidance that treats animal foods as whole foods, Goldhamer agreed they are whole foods but said that does not make them healthy⁸⁶. He said animals accumulate contaminants over their lifetimes, so a calorie of animal food can carry 2 to 1,000 times the chemical load of a calorie of plant food, and he disagreed that adding lard and other animal foods is a net gain⁸⁷.

In a 2025 Q&A he said that, for weight, ultra-processed foods do far more harm than small amounts of animal food, since 100 calories of meat registers in the body roughly as 100 calories while refined carbohydrates do not; still, he said, the less animal food the better⁸⁸. In a December 2025 talk he said diets built on meat, fish, eggs and dairy feed gut microbes that produce TMA, which he linked to heart disease and cancer⁸⁹.

What all the experts say about meat

Low-fat eating

Asked in 2024 why he still talks about low fat, Goldhamer said TrueNorth does not technically prescribe a low fat diet: its diet takes 15 to 18% of its calories from fat, supplied by seeds, nuts and avocado, rather than under 10%⁹⁰. He said the high fat diets now promoted work mostly as fasting mimicking diets that blunt hunger, and that he knew of no science backing high animal fat diets for long term health⁹¹.

In a December 2025 talk he called the 15 to 18% level a compromise: low enough, he said, to reverse heart disease, with enough fat to avoid the dry skin and DHA problems he associates with very low fat diets⁹². He has said it takes almost three months for people to adapt to a lower fat diet before it feels naturally satisfying⁹³. In his article on fats, archived on his center’s site in 2011, he linked excess dietary fat to heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancers of the breast, colon and prostate⁹⁴.

What all the experts say about low-fat eating

Saturated fat

Asked in December 2025 about T. Colin Campbell’s view that saturated fat is largely neutral and mostly a stand-in for animal protein, Goldhamer said he completely agreed with Campbell, whom he called one of his heroes and a co-author of some of TrueNorth’s studies, while noting that not all the data agree and the question is still debated⁹⁵.

What all the experts say about saturated fat

Cholesterol

Asked in 2017 why cholesterol can rise after switching to a plant diet, Goldhamer said that is often fine at first, since fat being cleared from the body passes through the blood, and fasting can push cholesterol up by as much as 100 points for a while⁹⁶. He called cholesterol more of a population marker than a precise individual risk factor, noting that in Dean Ornish’s study the diet predicted artery changes better than cholesterol levels did⁹⁷.

On statins he said in December 2025 that they clearly lower cholesterol, but that the real question is whether they help people live longer⁹⁸. He said he would argue against statins for most people who are willing to change their diet and lifestyle⁹⁹. He described a 78 year old lifelong vegan whose lipoprotein(a) fell 100 points and cholesterol 40 points after five days of fasting, a single case from his clinic¹⁰⁰.

What all the experts say about cholesterol

Carbohydrates and low-carb diets

In 2024 Goldhamer said people who follow high fat, high protein diets for years develop problems such as gallbladder and digestive troubles, and that their short term gains come from dropping refined carbohydrates rather than from the extra animal food¹⁰¹. He said a whole plant, SOS-free diet brings the same hunger blunting, steadier blood sugar and weight loss without those long term costs¹⁰².

In a 2024 podcast he said any diet that puts people into ketosis blunts hunger, but that keto dieters mainly benefit from no longer eating refined carbohydrates, which he put at 86% of the carbohydrates eaten in industrialized countries, mostly flour and sugar¹⁰³.

What all the experts say about carbohydrates and low-carb diets

Gluten and wheat

In an August 2025 Q&A Goldhamer said a significant share of people are sensitive to gluten, especially in modern wheat, which he said differs genetically from traditional wheat and yields about ten times more per acre¹⁰⁴. He also blamed glyphosate, sprayed to dry non-organic wheat, so some people who think they react to gluten may be reacting to the wheat itself¹⁰⁵. About 1% of people have celiac disease, he said, but gluten sensitivity can instead show up as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, sinusitis, arthritis or skin rashes¹⁰⁶.

In December 2025 he said he is not a big wheat fan for many people because gluten triggers problems from Hashimoto’s to vasculitis¹⁰⁷.

What all the experts say about gluten and wheat

Coffee, tea and caffeine

In an August 2025 Q&A Goldhamer said caffeine has a half-life of about seven hours, so even morning coffee can hurt sleep, and poor sleep is in his view a main reason people struggle with weight¹⁰⁸. He called caffeine a highly addictive nervous system stimulant that affects the gut microbiome and hormones, and said TrueNorth uses neither coffee nor tea¹⁰⁹.

He pointed to withdrawal headaches as evidence of addiction¹¹⁰, and said decaffeinated green tea still contains other chemicals of concern, so he prefers plants that can be eaten whole¹¹¹.

What all the experts say about coffee, tea and caffeine

Alcohol

In 2017 Goldhamer said alcohol is not a health food: the resveratrol in red wine comes from grape skins, which can simply be eaten¹¹². He said wine’s blood thinning effect, like aspirin’s, may slightly cut clotting strokes in people on high risk diets but raises the risk of bleeding strokes without lowering overall death rates¹¹³. At seven calories per gram, he said, alcohol works like liquid fat, and it scars the liver, the body’s detoxifying organ¹¹⁴.

In a December 2025 talk he called red wine “cancer juice” and listed alcohol with tobacco, a poor diet and inactivity as the real causes of the leading diseases¹¹⁵. In a 2025 Q&A he said it was becoming accepted that alcohol, organic red wine included, is not a health food, and that wine drinkers in long-lived populations survive in spite of the wine¹¹⁶.

What all the experts say about alcohol

Chocolate

Asked in August 2025 about dark chocolate, Goldhamer said he does not see it as health promoting: TrueNorth removes oil, sugar, salt and caffeine, and chocolate packs about 2,500 calories a pound¹¹⁷. He said cocoa powder naturally contains caffeine and other undesirable substances and is not used at TrueNorth¹¹⁸, and that polyphenols do not make it healthy; cocoa may be less unhealthy than processed chocolate, he said, but it is not a health food¹¹⁹.

In a December 2025 talk he listed dark chocolate with olive oil, red wine and coffee among the products sold to people as health foods¹²⁰.

What all the experts say about chocolate

Juicing and smoothies

Goldhamer separates juice fasting from fasting: in a 2025 Q&A he said true fasting is water only, while juice fasting is feeding on processed fruit or vegetable products¹²¹. A juice fast is slower than a water fast, he said, but safer for some patients, such as people who must stay on medication¹²². TrueNorth’s juices are mostly vegetable with just enough fruit to make them palatable, he said, such as watermelon with celery or carrot, celery and apple¹²³.

As everyday food, he said in 2024 that juicing fruit removes its fiber and makes overeating easier⁶⁷. That year he also said smoothies and more processed foods can help underweight patients gain, but that people trying to lose weight should eat their food whole¹²⁴.

What all the experts say about juicing and smoothies

Organic food and pesticides

In 2017 Goldhamer said organic fruits and vegetables are better than conventional ones, both for lower pesticide residues and to support farmers who grow organically¹²⁵. Still, he said, people living on conventional produce would thrive compared with almost anyone else; those who should worry most about residues are people eating animal foods, which concentrate them¹²⁶.

He made the same two points, lower chemical exposure and support for organic growers, in 2022, adding that Costco now sells more organic produce than any other US retailer¹²⁷. In 2025 he linked glyphosate on non-organic wheat to reactions some people blame on gluten¹⁰⁵.

What all the experts say about organic food and pesticides

Mediterranean diet

In his article on fats, archived on his center’s website in 2011, Goldhamer wrote that the benefits credited to olive oil rich diets such as the Mediterranean diet probably come from those diets being close to vegetarian, and appear despite the olive oil rather than because of it¹²⁸. He also wrote that heating any oil, olive oil included, can create cancer causing byproducts¹²⁸.

He made the same argument in a 2025 Q&A: diets rich in olive oil may do better because they replace some meat and contain more plants, an error of attribution in his view, and olive oil, like all oils, is less bad than some foods but not healthy¹²⁹.

What all the experts say about mediterranean diet

Weight loss

In a December 2025 talk Goldhamer said that, in 40 years and more than 25,000 patients at TrueNorth, people on its diet have consistently lost about 3 pounds a week if male and about 2 if female¹³⁰. These are his clinic’s observations rather than results of a controlled trial¹³⁰.

He argues that ordinary weight loss attempts rarely last: in the same talk he cited a 95% chance of failing to keep off even 5% of body weight for a year, worse odds than for treated alcohol or heroin addiction¹³¹. In 2024 he said his center’s body composition studies found that the weight regained after a fast is water, glycogen, fiber and protein rather than fat, and that fat, especially visceral fat, was still lower six weeks later¹³².

What all the experts say about weight loss

Cravings and food addiction

Goldhamer frames overeating as an addiction he calls the pleasure trap. In a December 2025 talk he said that salt, oil and sugar added to food lead people, like lab animals, to eat too much and build up visceral fat¹³³. He said escaping is as hard as escaping drug addiction, citing relapse within a year for 82% of alcoholics after the best treatment and for about 90% of heroin users¹³⁴.

He says the palate can adapt, and that fasting speeds this up: in December 2025 he cited a TrueNorth study in which people’s response to salt and sugar shifted after fasting, so that whole foods began to taste good and the pull of very salty, sugary and oily foods weakened¹³⁵.

On moderation, he said in 2026 that people need to know their own limits, since most are vulnerable to the pleasure trap and a little leads them to want a lot¹³⁶.

What all the experts say about cravings and food addiction

Exercise

In his 2022 outline of a day, Goldhamer advised delaying breakfast until after some morning exercise, since after a 12 to 16 hour fast, he said, exercise burns proportionally more fat¹³⁷. He said he plays two hours of full court basketball four times a week and eats more to match¹³⁸.

In 2025 he said muscle can be built through walking, hiking, biking, swimming and calisthenics, with resistance training for faster gains, and that enough calories bring enough protein without supplements¹³⁹. He has said exercise and fasting cause many of the same biochemical changes¹⁴⁰, and that both raise BDNF, a protein that shields brain cells from oxidative damage¹⁴¹. During a water fast, though, he advises rest, saying that exercise then burns muscle rather than fat¹⁴².

What all the experts say about exercise

Heart disease

In a December 2025 talk Goldhamer described excess visceral fat as acting like a tumor that releases inflammatory products tied to heart disease, diabetes, autoimmune disease and some cancers, conditions he said medicine wrongly treats as unrelated¹⁴³. He said blood pressure drugs do not lower the risk of heart attack and only slightly lower the risk of stroke¹⁴⁴, and that bypass surgery, stents and powerful drugs do little for overall death rates¹⁴⁵.

In his view the real causes of heart disease are tobacco, alcohol, a diet built on refined carbohydrates, added salt, oil and sugar and animal foods, and lack of exercise¹¹⁵.

What all the experts say about heart disease

High blood pressure

In an article archived on his center’s website in 2011, Goldhamer called high blood pressure the leading cause of death and disability in industrialized nations, and wrote that each point of systolic pressure above 90 adds about 1% to the risk of death¹⁴⁶. He wrote that the drugs carry serious risks, so that until pressure is well above 160 in most patients their risks outweigh their benefits¹⁴⁷.

The same article reported the center’s study of 174 consecutive patients, published in 2001, in which water only fasting and then a vegan diet low in fat and salt lowered systolic pressure by an average of 37 points, and by 60 points in those starting above 180¹⁴⁸. A second center study of 68 people with borderline high blood pressure reported an average drop of more than 20 points after about two weeks of fasting¹⁴⁸. Both are the center’s own case series without a control group, as he reported them¹⁴⁸.

What all the experts say about high blood pressure

Diabetes

In his article on the conservative management of diabetes, archived on his center’s website in 2011, Goldhamer wrote that a diet of whole natural foods plus moderate aerobic exercise lets most type 2 diabetics keep normal blood sugar without drugs, and that type 1 diabetics can often stabilize on much less insulin¹⁴⁹. He wrote that fat and oil lower insulin sensitivity, citing a study in which two days of very high fat eating pushed healthy medical students’ glucose tests into the diabetic range¹⁵⁰. For type 2 diabetics with stubborn blood sugar, the center often used supervised water only fasting, he wrote, but not for type 1 diabetics, who make little or no insulin¹⁵¹.

In a December 2025 talk he said type 2 diabetics have more insulin, not less, and that the insulin resistance comes from the diet that makes people fat; blood sugar starts improving as soon as the diet changes, well before the excess fat is gone¹⁵².

What all the experts say about diabetes

Cancer

In a December 2025 talk Goldhamer described rat studies, citing work published by Valter Longo in 2015, in which fasting before and after chemotherapy let all the treated rats survive doses that otherwise killed them, and said human studies are now under way¹⁵³. His explanation is that normal cells adapt to the low glucose, high ketone state of fasting while cancer cells do not, leaving the cancer cells more exposed to chemotherapy and the immune system¹⁵⁴.

Asked in 2026 about lymphoma, he said every form his center had seen so far appeared to respond to fasting, citing published case reports and case series, while noting that no clinical trial had been done¹⁵⁵. Asked that year about prostate cancer, he said diet, sleep, exercise and fasting would be his first choices, pointing to Dean Ornish’s research on diet and the spread of the disease, and said he defers medical management to the center’s physicians¹⁵⁶.

What all the experts say about cancer

Dementia and the brain

In a 2024 Q&A Goldhamer said fasting improves the general health of Alzheimer’s patients but does not reverse the disease¹⁵⁷. Cases his center published of apparent dementia clearing up were, he said, people misdiagnosed whose confusion came from taking many medications, and who recovered once weaned off them¹⁵⁸.

He said healthful living can probably help prevent or slow Alzheimer’s, pointing to rat studies in which exercising rats had much higher BDNF and did not develop dementia, and said fasting raises BDNF too¹⁵⁹.

What all the experts say about dementia and the brain

Longevity and aging

In a 2018 talk Goldhamer said maximum human lifespan seems largely set by genes, so the goal should be healthy life expectancy, which he put at 69.3 years in the US against an average life expectancy of 78.7¹⁶⁰. Narrowing those years of poor health is where he expects diet and lifestyle to have the most impact¹⁶¹.

In a 2024 podcast he said periodic fasting doubles the lifespan of rats and that he expects something similar in people¹⁶². In December 2025 he described a planned Navigator study that would enroll 2,000 people for life, with yearly testing, to learn whether a whole plant food diet, exercise, sleep and periodic fasting help them avoid the last 20 years of disability¹⁶³.

What all the experts say about longevity and aging

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