# The Oldest Cure in the World: Adventures in the Art and Science of Fasting - Hardcover

by **Steve Hendricks** (Author)

**A journalist delves into the history, science, and practice of fasting, an ancient cure enjoying a dynamic resurgence.**

When should we eat, and when shouldn't we? The answers to these simple questions are not what you might expect. As Steve Hendricks shows in _The Oldest Cure in the World_, stop eating long enough, and you'll set in motion cellular repairs that can slow aging and prevent and reverse diseases like diabetes and hypertension. Fasting has improved the lives of people with epilepsy, asthma, and arthritis, and has even protected patients from the worst of chemotherapy's side effects.

But for such an elegant and effective treatment, fasting has had a surprisingly long and fraught history. From the earliest days of humanity and the Greek fathers of medicine through Christianity's "fasting saints" and a nineteenth-century doctor whose stupendous forty-day fast on a New York City stage inaugurated the modern era of therapeutic fasting, Hendricks takes readers on a rich and comprehensive tour.

Threaded throughout are Hendricks's own adventures in fasting, including a stay at a luxurious fasting clinic in Germany and in a more spartan one closer to home in Northern California. This is a playful, insightful, and persuasive exploration of our bodies and when we should--and should not--feed them.

### Author Biography

**Steve Hendricks** is a freelance reporter and the author of two previous books, one of which, _The Unquiet Grave: The FBI and the Struggle for the Soul of Indian Country_, made several best-of-the-year lists. He has written for _Harper's_, _Outside_, _Slate_, and the _Washington Post_ and lives in Boulder, Colorado, with his wife, a professor of family law, and his dog, a border collie cross.

**Number of Pages:** 448

**Dimensions:** 1.47 x 9.22 x 6.24 IN

**Publication Date:** September 06, 2022

## Details

- **Price:** 30.0 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 30.00 USD | In stock |

## Images

- The Oldest Cure in the World: Adventures in the Art and Science of Fasting - Hardcover

---

> Source: [Smart supply deals](https://smartsupplydeals.com/products/the-oldest-cure-in-the-world-adventures-in-the-art-and-science-of-fasting-hardcover)
> Updated: 2026-07-23