Susan Gregory - The Daniel Cure: The Daniel Fast Way to Vibrant Health

W E ARE IN A CRISIS. A S A NATION, WE ARE IN A REAL MESS WHEN IT COMES to our health and well-being spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Spiritually, many people are alienated from God or refuse to accept Jesus as Lord. Emotionally, many of us struggle with issues such as ongoing depression, relational wounds, or self-defeating behaviors. But it is perhaps the physical aspect of this crisis that is most striking. The sad truth is that the vast majority of us fail to adequately care for ourselves. Some are dangerously unhealthy due to a lack of knowledge about how to live a healthy lifestyle. Others know what to do but cant seem to let go of the sweet, salty, or fatty foods that threaten their health. The overwhelmingly poor state of our physical health is so pervasive, many actually consider it normal to have a lifestyle characterized by inadequate sleep, lack of physical activity, and unhealthy eating habits.

This health crisis has led to an epidemic rise in lifestyle diseases those that can be prevented or controlled in most circumstances by personal choices such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The rapid increase in lifestyle diseases is prevalent across populations, regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, and religious affiliation (or lack thereof). And these conditions have a direct or indirect impact on all of us. First, we are impacted economically by the rising costs of health care and medical insurance. Second and more importantly, we are impacted physically by an impaired quality of life. Even if you dont suffer from one of these diseases personally, its likely someone you care about does. Or perhaps you are living a life free of disease but recognize that your lifestyle choices are not conducive to optimal health. You recognize the need to make changes. In this book, we offer a surprisingly simple solution one we hope you will consider.

In 2007, my coauthor Susan Gregory followed a divine prompting to blog about the Daniel Fast, a plant-based partial fast inspired by the prophet Daniel. To date, her blog (www.daniel-fast.com) has received more than 9 million visits. With so many people interested in learning more, Susan has had the privilege of guiding fasts for tens of thousands of individuals, many of whom have come to know Christ through their experience. Now known as The Daniel Fast Blogger, Susan is the author of the best-selling book The Daniel Fast: Feed Your Soul, Strengthen Your Spirit, and Renew Your Body and continues to coach many who want to explore the spiritual benefits of fasting.

I (Rick) first encountered the Daniel Fast a year later, but in a different way. In the fall of 2007 my wife, Chrissy, was pregnant with our second child, and the twenty-week ultrasound revealed that our soon-to-be-born daughter had spina bifida. From the time of Madisons diagnosis until her birth approximately eighteen weeks later, we learned all we could about the condition. Within her first three days of life, she had two surgeries. The first repaired the spinal defect an open sac on her back that had to be closed to prevent infection and additional damage to her spinal cord. The second placed a flexible tube, called a ventriculo-peritoneal shunt, in the left ventricle of her brain. The shunt allowed cerebrospinal fluid to drain into the abdomen, avoiding a buildup of excess fluid and pressure in the brain a common condition in children and adults with spina bifida.

When Madison was six months old, the shunt stopped working properly and needed to be replaced. She underwent surgery and in the days that followed developed an infection that required hospitalization. She received intravenous antibiotics and after three days was released. On returning home, Chrissy began a twenty-one-day Daniel Fast. She had learned about the fast from a family friend. Her purpose was simple to pray for our daughters health. About a week later, Chrissy took Madison out of the bathtub one night and noticed a one-inch bulge on the side of her neck. We knew from experience and from all of our reading and study what an infected shunt looked like and this was it.

We quickly called the neurosurgeon, who told us to get to the hospital right away. It was about 7:00 p.m. We put Madison down to sleep in our bedroom while we hurriedly packed and made arrangements for someone to come to the house and stay with our two-year-old son, Evan. At one point, Chrissy looked up from packing her suitcase and said, How will I ever comply with this fast in the hospital? We knew from the fourteen days wed spent in the hospital following Madisons birth that hospital food was not remotely Daniel Fast compliant. The last thing Chrissy needed was one more complication. She had enough stress caring for a severely ill child. But after thinking about it, Chrissy felt a strong need to continue the fast. She had made the commitment to dedicate herself to the Lord during her twenty-one-day fast, and she would stick to it. Along with clothing and a toothbrush, she packed rice cakes, natural peanut butter, and fruit.

Within an hour, our friend arrived who was to care for Evan, and we were ready to leave. Chrissy went into our bedroom to wake Madison and suddenly called me. I thought something must be wrong and expected the worst. But when I looked at Madison, I saw that the bulge from her shunt was no longer protruding on her neck. No swelling, no discoloration perfectly and beautifully normal! We called the neurosurgeon, and she suggested we continue to observe Madisons condition and see how things looked in the morning.