The 20-Day Rejuvenation Diet Program

Dr. Jeffrey Bland is a pioneer scientist and master teacher of how diet can help prevent the scourge of toxins in your body from aging you prematurely and debilitating your health. Here is a book of careful science, effective suggestions, and even some very tasty recipes.

If you're skeptical about the many possible benefits that detoxification can provide, or if your friends, relatives, co-workers or neighbors warn you that there's no scientific basis underlying the premises of "detoxing for health," then Dr. Jeffrey Bland can provide the scientific ammunition to quiet the critic(s). Jeffrey Bland, Ph.D. has been involved in cutting-edge nutritional research for more than 20 years. He is widely regarded as one of the foremost researchers in the field. With a doctorate in biochemistry, he served (among several other important positions) as director at the Nutritional Research Laboratory at the Linus Pauling Institute of Science of Medicine from 1982 through 1985. Then, Dr. Bland went on to found and direct what later became HealthComm Clinical Research Center -- the only privately funded clinical research center in existence whose exclusive focus is the impact of nutrition on human function.




This book (and Dr. Bland has written several others) does many things and it does them very well. The book's basic premise is the concept of rejuvenation. It addresses the question of why some people age faster than others, and why some people are able to withstand disease and others are not. It provides a questionnaire by which you, as an individual, can determine how badly you might need a "20-Day Rejuvenation Diet Program," and by which you can determine how old you are biologically versus your chronological age. Are you older than your years, or younger? Are you willing to take personal responsibility and change your life, especially your diet, in order to be years younger biologically? Dr. Bland cites research to prove it's possible, and then shows you how to proceed.

The book also provides referenced explanations for why a process of detoxification works to improve the functionality of your body. Function is a key word with Dr. Bland. He describes his approach to health as "functional medicine."

"The search I began more than two decades ago eventually led to development of what has come to be known as functional medicine, the field of health care that employs assessment and early intervention to improve physiological, emotional/cognitive and physical function.

"Functional medicine evolved from the integration of a number of medical philosophies, including allopathic medicine, complementary medicine, holistic medicine, preventive medicine, wellness medicine, alternative medicine and environmental medicine... Functional medicine is exactly what its name implies: it integrates diverse health-care practices, either 'conventional' or 'alternative,' to improve the functional health of the individual patient." (The 20-Day Rejuvenation Diet Program, Page 6-7)

Dr. Bland provides an 800 number for locating a health-care practitioner in your geographic area who is familiar with functional medicine, functional testing, or the clinical application of the Rejuvenation Program. The number is 800-245-9076. The names of practitioners in your area will be sent to you at no charge.

Here are the 10 principles on which the Rejuvenation Diet Program is based:

  1. Each person is biochemically unique.
  2. The absence of disease does not guarantee the presence of health.
  3. A personally tailored diet can help individuals overcome their unique health problems.
  4. Plant foods and their constituents (phytonutrients) have health-giving properties.
  5. Diet and lifestyle can help reverse the aging process.
  6. There are ways to use diet to overcome the effects of living in a toxic world.
  7. Diet and nutrients can help overcome oxidant stress.
  8. Many major diseases are diet-related––and diet-modifiable.
  9. Illness is related to problems of the digestive and liver detoxification systems and their influence on immune, nervous and endocrine function.
  10. You are your own best health insurance provider.

The book also presents the diet program along with ways to adapt the plan to your personal needs. A lot of trouble has obviously been taken to find really tasty recipes. (We're testing many personally and will report back.) For those who are not ready to do a strictly vegetarian thing, it does include chicken and fish recipes. Dr. Bland's book also provides guidelines for nutritional supplementation during the Rejuvenation Diet Program.

And it provides numerous anecdotes of what the program has accomplished for a number of representative individuals.

Exercise and Oxidative Stress

One of the most fascinating aspects of the book was its presentation of the bodily process of "oxidative stress," and its relationship to exercise. Bland states, "Exercise increases the risk of oxidative stress, because when the body exercises it creates more oxygen free radicals, and if it is not protected by antioxidants the reactive forms of oxygen can cause damage. This explains some of the damage individuals suffer after long-term heavy exercise... Research in Scotland found that marathon runners with a depleted blood level of antioxidant nutrients prior to a race sustained much more oxidative damage to their tissues than adequately antioxidant-nourished runners." (Pg. 99).

I believe this to be an extremely important book. It is easy to read and I found it easy to understand. The book's information seems to me to be a goldmine of well-researched health preservation information. For anyone who has taken or is willing to take the step toward greater health that significantly improved diet and nutrition can provide, this book is a "must-read."

This book by Dr. Bland forms a cornerstone of current detoxification literature. The philosophical approach of the "corner" covered in the book is an almost exclusive emphasis on diet with some added supplementation. It makes very little reference to herbal supplements and other detoxification techniques such as saunas, dry-skin brushing, yoga, etc. We recommend you consider all potential detox methods in putting together a detoxification program, relying on your individual preferences as the guiding light. Nevertheless, diet is central to any successful detoxifying. For information on the nutritional side of detoxification -- both theoretical and practical -- you can't do better than this book.