Fast track to health

SIR: Gavin Stamp’s account of his experiences with fasting and chemotherapy highlight one of the most neglected ways of improving health, and also one of the most promising approaches to increasing the effectiveness and reducing the unwelcome side effects of chemotherapy.

There are many scientific studies that show that intermittent fasting increases the health and longevity of animals such as rats and mice. For example, in one experiment, mice that lived on an alternate-day fasting regime lived thirty per cent longer than mice fed every day. Intermittent fasting also led to a major reduction in the incidence of cancers. Naturopaths and other alternative practitioners have long been aware of the many benefits of fasting in humans.

I hope the experience of Gavin Stamp and others will lead to a wider recognition of the medical benefits of fasting, which has the great advantage of being free. Rupert Sheldrake, Hampstead, London.