Medically supervised water-only fasting in the treatment of borderline hypertension
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Hypertension-related diseases are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in industrially developed societies. Surprisingly, 68% of all mortality attributed to high blood pressure (BP) occurs with systolic BP between 120 and 140 mm Hg and diastolic BP below 90 mm Hg. Dietary and lifestyle modifications are effective in the treatment of borderline hypertension. One such lifestyle intervention is the use of medically supervised water-only fasting as a safe and effective means of normalizing BP and initiating health-promoting behavioral changes. METHODS: Sixty-eight (68) consecutive patients with borderline hypertension with systolic BP in excess of 119 mm Hg and diastolic BP less than 91 mm Hg were treated in an inpatient setting under medical supervision. The treatment program consisted of a short prefasting period (approximately 1-2 days on average) during which food consumption was limited to fruits and vegetables followed by medically supervised water-only fasting (approximately 13.6 days on average). Fasting was followed by a refeeding period (approximately 6.0 days on average). The refeeding program consisted of a low-fat, low-sodium, plant-based, vegan diet. RESULTS: Approximately 82% of the subjects achieved BP at or below 120/80 mm Hg by the end of the treatment program. The mean BP reduction was 20/7 mm Hg, with the greatest decrease being observed for subjects with the highest baseline BP. A linear regression of BP decrease against baseline BP showed that the estimated BP below which no further decrease would be expected was 96.0/67.0 mm Hg at the end of the fast and 99.2/67.3 mm Hg at the end of refeeding. These levels are in agreement with other estimates of the BP below which stroke events are eliminated, thus suggesting that these levels could be regarded as the "ideal" BP values. CONCLUSION: Medically supervised water-only fasting appears to be a safe and effective means of normalizing BP and may assist in motivating health-promoting diet and lifestyle changes.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
A two-week period of medically supervised, water-only fasting resulted in blood pressure readings below 120/80 mm Hg in 82% of subjects with borderline hypertension.
“A two-week period of medically supervised, water-only fasting resulted in blood pressure readings below 120/80 mm Hg in 82% of subjects with borderline hypertension (Goldhamer et al., 2002).”
From The Search for Antiaging Interventions: From Elixirs to Fasting Regimens (2014) · cites this paper as Goldhamer et al., 2002
Ten days of water-only fasting normalized blood pressure readings in all hypertensive patients who were taking antihypertensive medication.
“Ten days of water-only fasting normalized blood pressure readings in all hypertensive patients who were taking antihypertensive medication (Goldhamer et al., 2002).”
From The Search for Antiaging Interventions: From Elixirs to Fasting Regimens (2014) · cites this paper as Goldhamer et al., 2002
Cites
(1997) · Archives of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/archinte.157.21.2413 · Cited by 6,345 · see citing works
MACMAHON, S. (1990) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/0140-6736(90)90878-9 · Cited by 4,253 · cited 3× · see citing works
“MacMahon et al. (1990) further pointed out that at essentially any level down to at least 70 mm Hg, a diastolic BP increment that is persistently 5 mm higher is associated with at least a 34% increase in stroke incidence and a 21% increase in CHD risk.”
InfluentialBlood Pressure, Systolic and Diastolic, and Cardiovascular Risks
Stamler, J. (1993) · Archives of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/archinte.153.5.598 · Cited by 1,380 · see citing works
Blood Pressure, Systolic and Diastolic, and Cardiovascular Risks: US Population Data
Stamler, J. (1993) · Archives of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/archinte.1993.00410050036006 · Cited by 1,015 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Yet, a patient with a BP of 136/88 mm Hg, for example, is at approximately five times greater risk of stroke than a patient with a BP of 110/70 mm Hg (Stamler et al., 1993).”
Prospective Studies Collaboration, & Kromhout, D. (1995) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(95)92836-7 · Cited by 851 · see citing works
Lifetime Cost of Stroke in the United States
Taylor, T. N., Davis, P. H., Torner, J. C., Holmes, J. S., Meyer, J. W., & Jacobson, M. F. (1996) · Stroke · doi:10.1161/01.str.27.9.1459 · Cited by 806 · see citing works
Blood pressure, cholesterol, and stroke in eastern Asia
Xu, Z., Sasaki, R., Wang, S., Ling, Y., Wu, X., Wu, Y., Lam, T., Xie, J., He, Y., Zhou, B., et al. (1998) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(98)03454-0 · Cited by 532 · see citing works
(1979) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.242.23.2562 · Cited by 503 · see citing works
Sever, P., Beevers, G., Bulpitt, C. J., Lever, A. F., Ramsay, L. E., Reid, J., & Swales, J. D. (1993) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.306.6883.983 · Cited by 355 · see citing works
Changing epidemiological features of cardiac failure
Kannel, W. B., Ho, K. K. L., & Thom, T. (1994) · Heart · doi:10.1136/hrt.72.2_suppl.s3 · Cited by 330 · see citing works
Fat preference and adherence to a reduced-fat diet
Mattes, R. D. (1993) · American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1093/ajcn/57.3.373 · Cited by 141 · see citing works
Whelton, P. K., Appel, L. J., Charleston, J. B., Dalcin, A., Ewart, C. K., Fried, L. P., Kaidy, D., Klag, M. J., Kumanyika, S., Steffen, L. M., et al. (1992) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.267.9.1213 · Cited by 121 · see citing works
Body weight, sodium intake and blood pressure
Staessen, J. A., Fagard, R. H., Lijnen, P. J., & Amery, A. K. P. C. (1989) · Journal of Hypertension · doi:10.1097/00004872-198902001-00006 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Medically supervised water-only fasting in the treatment of hypertension
Goldhamer, A. C., Lisle, D., Parpia, B., Anderson, S. V., & Campbell, T. C. (2001) · Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics · doi:10.1067/mmt.2001.115263 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Self-citationDoes drug treatment improve survival? Reconciling the trials in mild-to-moderate hypertension
Hoes, A. W., Grobbee, D. E., & Lubsen, J. C. (1995) · Journal of Hypertension · doi:10.1097/00004872-199507000-00013 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Overton, J. M., VanNess, J. M., & Casto, R. M. (1997) · Journal of Nutrition · doi:10.1093/jn/127.4.655 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Goldhamer, A. C. (2002) · The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine · doi:10.1089/10755530260511694 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Self-citation
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Fasting: molecular mechanisms and clinical applications
Longo, V. D., & Mattson, M. P. (2014) · Cell Metabolism · doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2013.12.008 · Cited by 1,425 · see citing works
Fasting, Circadian Rhythms, and Time-Restricted Feeding in Healthy Lifespan
Longo, V. D., & Panda, S. (2016) · Cell Metabolism · doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2016.06.001 · Cited by 1,013 · see citing works
The Search for Antiaging Interventions: From Elixirs to Fasting Regimens
de Cabo, R., Carmona-Gutierrez, D., Bernier, M., Hall, M. N., & Madeo, F. (2014) · Cell · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2014.05.031 · Cited by 345 · see citing works
- Authors
- Goldhamer, A. C., Lisle, D. J., Sultana, P., Anderson, S. V., Parpia, B., Hughes, B., & Campbell, T. C.
- Affiliations
- TrueNorth Health Center, Rohnert Park, CA.
- Cornell University (US)
- Paracelsian, Inc., Ithaca, NY
- Venue
- The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2002-10
- Volume
- 8
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 643-650
- ISSN
- 1075-5535 (ISSN-L)
- 1557-7708
- OpenAlex
- W2130460031
- Cited by
- 62
- References
- 17
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 6 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 0.80
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Dietary Effects on Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Blood Pressure and Hypertension Studies
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Sodium Intake and Health
- Keywords
- water-only fasting, borderline hypertension, blood pressure reduction, refeeding, vegan diet, sodium restriction, low-fat diet, lifestyle intervention, stroke prevention
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Blood Pressure, Drinking, Fasting, Female, Humans, Hypertension, Male, Middle Aged, Time Factors, Linear Models, Treatment Outcome
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
