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The Complete Guide to Fasting by Dr. Jason Fung & Jimmy Moore Review: A Clinically Grounded Primer on Fasting Protocols
Published by Victory Belt Publishing in October 2016, The Complete Guide to Fasting brings together Toronto-based nephrologist Dr. Jason Fung and international bestselling author and health podcaster Jimmy Moore to make the case for fasting as a foundational health strategy — covering everything from 16:8 and 20:4 intermittent schedules to alternate-day and extended fasts, and equipping readers with a 7-Day Kick-Start Fasting Plan and 20 healing recipes to get started.
LuvemBooks Verdict
Best for
Adult general-audience readers who have encountered intermittent fasting in health media and want a single, protocol-driven resource that explains the underlying rationale, differentiates between fasting types, and provides a practical starting plan — all grounded in clinical perspective.
Worth it if
Worth reading if you want a structured introduction to fasting — from 16:8 to extended multi-day protocols — backed by a practising nephrologist's clinical experience and a concrete 7-Day Kick-Start Plan to get you going.
Skip if
Skip it if you are already well-versed in metabolic health science and want peer-reviewed research depth, or if you have complex medical conditions that require a more cautious, physician-led approach before beginning any significant fasting regimen.
What readers & critics say
Reader reception has been strongly positive: an Amazon.co.uk reviewer highlights Fung's ability to explain fasting's benefits for insulin resistance "in a non-scientific language" that is easy to follow. A blogger at brettlore.com offers a more mixed take, finding the opening sections — including Moore's lengthy introduction and the "Fasting All-Stars" bios — unnecessarily padded, while still acknowledging Chapter 1 as "quite a good introduction to intermittent fasting."
Sources: Amazon UK, brettlore.com, pecheyponderings.wordpress.com, audible.com4.6from 12,717 Amazon ratings— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
Look inside the book
Preview the actual pages, via Google BooksIn This Review
- What Works & What Doesn't
- What the Book Is and What It Covers
- The Book's Core Argument and Significance
- Practical Structure and Reader Tools
- Reception and Credibility Considerations
- Who This Book Is Best Suited For
What Works & What Doesn't
What Works
- Dr. Jason Fung's background as a practicing nephrologist with extensive clinical experience using fasting protocols gives the book a level of medical grounding uncommon in general wellness titles.
- Covers a wide spectrum of fasting approaches — including 16:8, 20:4, alternate-day fasting, and extended fasts — making it useful for readers across a range of goals and experience levels.
- Includes a 7-Day Kick-Start Fasting Plan and 20 healing recipes, giving first-time fasters concrete, structured tools to begin.
- The pairing of Fung's clinical voice with Jimmy Moore's communicator perspective is designed to bridge scientific explanation and practical, real-world application.
- Positions fasting within a broader nutritional health argument rather than as a standalone trend, giving readers a conceptual framework alongside the protocols.
What Doesn't
- Fung's broader dietary and insulin-focused framework has drawn scrutiny from other clinicians and nutrition researchers, meaning readers should approach some of the book's more sweeping claims with critical attention.
- The confident, prescriptive tone that makes the book accessible to general readers may not adequately convey the caution warranted for readers with complex medical conditions considering extended fasting protocols.
A clinically informed health guide that positions fasting not as a diet trend but as a time-tested physiological tool, this book is among the more substantive general-audience resources on the subject published in the past decade.
What the Book Is and What It Covers
Interior page with quotation about fasting as therapeutic approach, emphasizing proper implementation over caloric restriction.
The Complete Guide to Fasting makes a pointed argument: amid thousands of diet books competing for attention, fasting — an ancient practice with documented metabolic effects — has been underexplored as a mainstream health intervention. Dr. Jason Fung, a nephrologist who completed his medical training at the University of Toronto and a fellowship at UCLA, brings clinical weight to that argument. The book covers a range of fasting protocols in structured detail, including 16:8 (sixteen hours fasted, eight-hour eating window), 20:4, alternate-day fasting, and longer extended fasts. Rather than prescribing a single approach, it presents fasting as a spectrum of options readers can match to their goals and circumstances.
Jimmy Moore, a veteran health podcaster and internationally bestselling author, contributes a complementary perspective throughout the book — offering the practical, lived-context voice alongside Fung's clinical framework. The collaboration is designed to address both the science behind fasting and the real-world questions of how to implement it.
The Book's Core Argument and Significance
Fung's central thesis is that fasting is not synonymous with starvation and that conflating the two has unnecessarily discouraged a practice that can support weight loss, metabolic health, and broader healing. The book is structured to dismantle that conflation directly. Fung draws on his clinical experience applying fasting protocols with more than 1,000 patients in his nephrology practice, lending the argument a grounding in real patient outcomes rather than purely theoretical nutritional science.
The book arrived at a moment when intermittent fasting was transitioning from niche biohacking territory into mainstream health conversation, and it has remained a reference point in that conversation. Its framing — fasting as a "tried-and-true" method that complements rather than replaces sound nutrition — positions it as a foundational text rather than a trend-chasing title.
Practical Structure and Reader Tools
One of the book's clear design priorities is accessibility for readers who are entirely new to fasting. It includes a 7-Day Kick-Start Fasting Plan intended to give beginners a concrete on-ramp, along with 20 healing recipes written to support readers during and around fasting periods. The protocols are explained with step-by-step structure, and the range of fasting types covered means readers at different commitment levels — from those curious about a daily eating window to those considering multi-day extended fasts — can find a starting point. This breadth of coverage is one of the book's distinguishing features among general-audience fasting guides.
Reception and Credibility Considerations
Reader reception has been notably enthusiastic. Some readers have described the book as genuinely eye-opening in its explanation of fasting's potential benefits, with Fung's clinical background cited as a key source of credibility. The dual-author structure — a medical specialist paired with a health communicator — is positioned as giving the book reach across both clinically minded and general-wellness audiences.
It is worth noting, however, that Fung's broader dietary views — particularly his work on insulin and obesity — have attracted scrutiny from other clinicians and nutrition researchers who dispute aspects of his framework. Readers with existing medical conditions, or those considering extended fasting protocols, are consistently advised in general medical guidance to consult a physician before beginning any significant fasting regimen. The book's confident, prescriptive tone is a strength for motivated general readers but may feel at odds with the more cautious approach some healthcare providers take toward therapeutic fasting.
Who This Book Is Best Suited For
The Complete Guide to Fasting is most directly aimed at adult general-audience readers who want a structured, protocol-driven introduction to fasting backed by clinical perspective. It suits readers who have encountered intermittent fasting in health media and want a single resource that explains the underlying rationale, differentiates between fasting types, and provides a practical starting plan. Readers already well-versed in the science of metabolic health or those seeking peer-reviewed research depth may find the book's general-audience framing familiar ground. But as an entry point that covers both the why and the how of fasting in one volume, it remains a widely referenced title in the wellness space.
Frequently Asked Questions
is The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, by Dr. Jason Fung, Jimmy Moore worth reading
It's worth reading if you want a structured, protocol-driven introduction to fasting backed by real clinical experience — Dr. Jason Fung draws on his work with more than 1,000 patients in his nephrology practice, which gives the book grounding beyond purely theoretical nutritional science. That said, readers already well-versed in metabolic health science may find the general-audience framing familiar ground, and it's worth knowing that Fung's broader views on insulin and obesity have attracted scrutiny from other clinicians and nutrition researchers.
what is The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, by Dr. Jason Fung, Jimmy Moore actually about
The book makes the case that fasting — covering protocols like 16:8, 20:4, alternate-day fasting, and extended fasts — is a time-tested physiological tool that has been underexplored as a mainstream health intervention, not a trend or a synonym for starvation. Dr. Jason Fung handles the clinical framework while Jimmy Moore, a veteran health podcaster and internationally bestselling author, contributes a practical, lived-context voice, with the two perspectives designed to address both the science and the real-world how-to of implementation.
does The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, by Dr. Jason Fung, Jimmy Moore actually work as a beginner guide
It's specifically designed with newcomers in mind — the book includes a 7-Day Kick-Start Fasting Plan as a concrete on-ramp and 20 healing recipes to support readers during and around fasting periods. The protocols are explained with step-by-step structure, and the range of fasting types covered means readers at different commitment levels, from those curious about a daily eating window to those considering multi-day extended fasts, can find a starting point.
can I trust the advice in The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, by Dr. Jason Fung, Jimmy Moore
Dr. Jason Fung is a nephrologist who completed his medical training at the University of Toronto and a fellowship at UCLA, and reader reception has been notably enthusiastic with his clinical background cited as a key source of credibility. However, the review notes that Fung's broader dietary views have attracted scrutiny from other clinicians and nutrition researchers, and anyone with existing medical conditions or considering extended fasting is consistently advised to consult a physician before starting.
is The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, by Dr. Jason Fung, Jimmy Moore good for someone who already knows a lot about intermittent fasting
Probably not the best fit — the review notes that readers already well-versed in the science of metabolic health or those seeking peer-reviewed research depth may find the book's general-audience framing familiar ground. It's most directly aimed at adults who have encountered intermittent fasting in health media and want a single resource that explains the underlying rationale, differentiates between fasting types, and provides a practical starting plan.
what makes The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, by Dr. Jason Fung, Jimmy Moore different from other fasting books
One distinguishing feature is its breadth — rather than prescribing a single approach, it covers the full spectrum from 16:8 and 20:4 daily windows to alternate-day and extended multi-day fasts, which sets it apart among general-audience fasting guides. The dual-author structure pairing Dr. Jason Fung's clinical specialist perspective with Jimmy Moore's health communicator voice is also positioned as giving the book reach across both clinically minded and general-wellness audiences.
is The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, by Dr. Jason Fung, Jimmy Moore too prescriptive or preachy
The review describes the book's tone as confident and prescriptive, which is noted as a genuine strength for motivated general readers who want clear guidance rather than hedged suggestions. The caveat is that this tone may feel at odds with the more cautious approach some healthcare providers take toward therapeutic fasting, so readers who prefer balanced, heavily qualified health writing might find it a bit one-sided.
Sources & Further Reading
The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.
- Cited in this review
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- Further reading
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