The phenomenon of vegetable and fruit fasting
From the perspective of a physician who has observed the effects of a vegetable–fruit fast for nearly 40 years, I can say with full conviction: our body possesses self-healing abilities and naturally strives for health.
Health is a state of balance, that is, harmony of all metabolic processes. Disease, on the other hand, is a signal of imbalance, manifesting as, for example, pain, weakness, hypertension, or elevated levels of sugar, lipids, or hormones. Thus, disease is the way the body informs us of a lack of equilibrium.
Medications—painkillers, antihypertensives, antidiabetics—alleviate symptoms but do not remove the cause. That is why diseases often become entrenched and progress to chronic forms.
In such cases, a vegetable–fruit fast can offer a real hope for healing
Epigenetics and the healing power of lifestyle
Only in the 1990s did a groundbreaking field of science—epigenetics—emerge, studying the impact of lifestyle and environment on gene expression (activation). It was discovered that diet and physical activity can switch genes on or off without altering their structure.
This is a revolution in medicine. We fall ill not at the level of organs, but at the level of genes. Lifestyle can “reprogram” their function—from disease-causing to health-promoting. Fasting is a natural “reset” for the body, which can be compared to rebooting a computer—many functions then return to normal.
Scientific evidence
The effects of fasting are astounding and precisely tailored to the body’s needs. An example: in a study on mice in which brain ischemia was induced, individuals previously subjected to a fasting diet produced new blood vessels, which saved their lives. In the group without fasting, all the animals died.
In another brain tumor experiment, calorie restriction inhibited vascular growth in the tumor and increased cancer cell death threefold compared to mice fed normally.
How does fasting work?
A diet based on vegetables and low-sugar fruits causes a rapid (within just a few hours) depletion of the glucose reserves stored in the liver (glycogen). This signals the body to switch into survival mode.
The so-called second energy program is activated, in which the main fuel source becomes fat and the ketones produced from it.
As a result, body weight decreases and many diseases begin to reverse, thanks to the process of autophagy. This natural self-repair mechanism involves “self-eating,” i.e., the removal of damaged or unnecessary cellular components—such as proteins, viruses, and organelles—from which the body recovers valuable building blocks and creates new, healthy cells.
Autophagy acts like a “surgery without a scalpel”—it removes diseased cells, supports regeneration, slows aging, improves brain function, reduces inflammation, and limits the growth of cancer cells. It also destroys viruses and bacteria.
For his discovery of autophagy and the cellular recycling process, Prof. Yoshinori Ohsumi was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2016.
Youth proteins and stem cells
Under the influence of fasting and plant polyphenols, sirtuins—the longevity proteins—are activated, supporting DNA repair, detoxification, reduction of inflammation, and slowing of aging processes. They trigger numerous regenerative mechanisms.
Fasting also increases the activity of stem cells, leading to astonishing reparative effects. In practice, we have repeatedly observed the regression of tumors, scars, and degenerative changes, and even the rebuilding of joint cartilage or regeneration of a completely destroyed thyroid in Hashimoto’s disease.
Reversing insulin resistance and improving energy
One of the most important effects of fasting is the reversal of insulin resistance—the primary cause of obesity, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver, atherosclerosis, and other metabolic diseases.
During the regimen, a common symptom is a surge of energy, improved physical endurance, and enhanced cardiac function. We owe this to the improved performance of mitochondria—the cellular “powerhouses” responsible for energy production.
Loss of visceral fat and reversal of diseases
Low caloric intake of the diet promotes reduction of particularly dangerous visceral fat, which is a source of hormones causing metabolic syndrome. Thanks to this, it is possible to reverse diseases such as:
- type II diabetes
- hypertension
- coronary artery disease
- thrombosis
- lipid disorders
Natural healing – at your fingertips
This is only part of the self-repair mechanisms activated by fasting. It’s hard to believe that healing can be so close — within reach of our everyday choices.
Although full studies on fasting’s effectiveness for some diseases are not yet available, periodic consumption of vegetables and fruits, in the absence of contraindications, is safe and worth considering.
So why not give it a try?
How did it start?

For many years I worked as an internist at the Department of Internal Medicine at the Medical University of Gdansk, practicing classical academic medicine. Treating patients pharmacologically, I observed positive effects – lowering of blood pressure, resolution of edema, decrease in sugar and cholesterol levels. It seemed that everything was going well.
Over time, however, I noticed that many patients were returning to the hospital – often with more conditions. Medications that helped initially lost their effectiveness over time. It was necessary to increase doses or reach for newer preparations, which often led to side effects.
Intuitively, I began asking patients’ families to bring them freshly squeezed juices from green plants. To my surprise, the patients’ well-being quickly improved. At the time, I was not yet familiar with the effects of nutrition on health, and the medical literature did not address the topic of diet therapy.

What is the mentioned diet
by Dr. Ewa Dabrowska®
In the case of sudden and serious medical conditions, as well as life-threatening situations, pharmacological treatment or surgical procedures are often the only rescue. However, if these fail and the disease persists, I encourage the use of the vegetable and fruit diet as an effective and non-invasive method of prevention and treatment.
Dr. Ewa Dąbrowska’s® diet is not only associated with the vegetable and fruit fasting stage. The nutritional concept according to Dr. Ewa Dąbrowska’s® diet consists of several stages, which bring about a permanent change in lifestyle. Thanks to them, we can achieve long-lasting beneficial results in both prevention and treatment of various diseases.
Dr. Ewa Dąbrowska’s® diet includes several stages:

Restorative treatment
Vegetable and fruit fasting is not a weight loss diet, it is primarily a cleansing and normalizing treatment. Weight loss is associated with burning mainly fat, not muscle, as this is the property of fasting – activating the same processes as the ketogenic diet (carbohydrate reduction). To perpetuate the favorable results, it is worth making the pro-health lifestyle change already permanent.
It is worth noting that underweight people, too, can also restore their body weight after a cleansing fast during a period of whole-food nutrition. This diet is based on natural plant products, which contain thousands of bioactive substances, including: enzymes, polyphenols, micronutrients, vitamins and others with healing properties, triggering detoxification processes, leveling toxic free radicals, favorably alkalizing. These processes naturally promote a return to health balance.
How can Dr. Dabrowski’s Diet® help you?

Principles of treatment with a fruit and vegetable diet
For a period ranging from a few days to several weeks, depending on the indications, it is recommended to follow a fast based on low-starch vegetables: root vegetables (carrot, beetroot, celery, parsley root, radish), cruciferous vegetables (various types of cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, sprouts), alliums (onion, leek, garlic), cucurbits (pumpkin, zucchini, cucumbers), nightshades (tomato, pepper), and leafy greens (various types of lettuce, parsley leaves, herbs).
At the same time, small amounts of low-sugar fruits such as apples, grapefruits, lemons, and berries can be consumed. Green juices made from leafy plant shoots are particularly valuable. These are a richer source of bioactive compounds than roots and contain chlorophyll, which is chemically similar to hemoglobin. They have active enzymes that cleanse, detoxify, renew the blood, aid digestion, alkalize the body, and provide oxygen, energy, vitamins, and minerals in their most absorbable form. Examples of green shoots for juices include: parsley leaves, celery stalks, beet greens, dandelion, nettle, sorrel, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, kale, lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, and wheatgrass.
Vegetables and fruits are recommended to be consumed mostly raw — in the form of salads, smoothies, and vegetable soups seasoned with herbs, as well as steamed or baked vegetables.
Among beverages, it is recommended to drink water, vegetable and fruit juices, fruit or herbal teas, sugar-free compotes, and vegetable broths.
During the treatment, no other foods should be consumed, such as bread, groats, oil, etc. You should also avoid drinking coffee, strong tea, alcohol, and refrain from smoking cigarettes.
Sample daily menu
(when fasting, it is a good idea to support yourself with publications with ready-made recipes or an app with a ready-made menu and shopping list)
Diet versions
Vegetables and fruits in their raw form are the most valuable, as they have active enzymes and biocatalysts, among them thousands of antioxidants, including polyphenols, lycopene, vitamin C and vitamin E, beta carotene, chlorophyll, micronutrients and fiber, which is why the raw-only version of the diet has proven to be highly effective therapeutically, but also no less effective and most widely used is the classic version of the diet, which contains vegetables and fruits (mostly raw), with the addition of cooked in a ratio of, for example. 3/4 raw plants and 1/4 cooked.
There are cases when the vegetable and fruit diet is poorly tolerated. In case of the appearance of abdominal pain, persistent bloating or aversion to the diet, a juice version (vegetable and fruit juices, water, fruit and herbal teas, vegetable decoctions) or a cooked version (cooked vegetables, vegetable soups, cooked apples) is recommended for a few days, especially at the beginning of the treatment. However, longer periods of use of the cooked version do not give beneficial results.
There are also elimination versions of the fruit and vegetable diet, which exclude certain foods, especially salt and pickled cucumbers in patients with hypertension and edema, since salt retains water, increases blood pressure and aggravates edema, or a version of the diet excluding cooked vegetables and fruits: e.g., carrots, pumpkin, beets. carrots, pumpkin, beets, also apple mousse and carrot juice, mainly in patients with diabetes and obesity, as cooked vegetables have higher glycemic indices than raw ones and can therefore increase c


Supporting the cleansing of the body during a diet
Modern lifestyles are not conducive to health, as evidenced by the alarming number of sick people, as well as premature deaths. Toxins and micronutrient deficiencies are considered the main cause of diseases of modern civilization. Vegetable and fruit fasting can remedy this, as it is a therapy that cleanses the body of toxins (detoxification); at the same time, it supplements micronutrient deficiencies.
To improve the purification processes, it is worthwhile to support such a treatment with increased physical activity, since movement activates the same mechanisms in the body as fasting; it also promotes the elimination of toxins, reduction of body weight, blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol levels, etc. In particular, outdoor walking, such as Nordic Walking, gymnastics, swimming, or moderate exercise at the gym have proven to be particularly valuable. Natural cleansing therapies such as enemas, hydrocolonotherapy, sauna, as well as massages and physical therapy treatments can also be helpful.