What to Expect
Residential Health Education Program
Our residential health education program is designed to support you on your healing journey. This program offers a unique health-promoting environment with medical supervision for safe and effective fasting. We provide a clean, supportive, and restful environment as well as medical supervision for our water-only fasting patients, but please note that we are not a traditional resort, hotel, or medical facility.
We want to ensure a positive experience for all concerned, and so we have general policies in place to which all residents must agree. Most importantly:
- Participants undergoing fasting are requested to remain on the Center's property at all times throughout their stay, for their own safety, unless attending a scheduled medical appointment. Refusal to comply will result in the termination of the participant from the program.
- The following substances are prohibited on our premises:
- Tobacco and any substances that create smoke or vapors
- Alcohol
- Recreational or illegal drugs
- Aerosol sprays
- Nail polish or remover
- Perfumes or other scented products
- Outside food, snacks, or drink of any kind
Daily Rounds
During your stay at TrueNorth Health, you will be visited daily by one of our staff clinicians on their daily rounds. There is no additional charge for these services.
Our patients receiving medical management (this includes all patients undergoing water-only fasting, juice fasting, and all medicated patients on healthy eating programs) will be seen every day by staff clinicians for daily rounds.
During our daily visit with you, we will take your vital health measurements, record your daily history, and answer any questions you may have.
All data is reviewed each day by an attending doctor at TrueNorth, who will be supervising your care.
How Long Should I Stay?
Participants determine their length of stay. Our affiliated doctors can discuss your length of stay with you and provide advice on how to best utilize our program. Our experience shows that our fasting program is most successful when participants remain at the Center for a period of re-feeding of no less than half the length of the fast. For example, a patient fasting 14 days should stay at the Center for a total of at least 21 days.
What to Bring
As you plan your trip, here are a few items you should bring with you.
Personal Items
Feel free to bring personal items, such as unscented personal toiletries, books, puzzles, knitting, and materials for writing letters, etc. The Center provides unscented body wash and shampoo and has hair dryers for your use.
Medications
Bring all your current medications and/or supplements that you have been instructed to take by licensed health care professionals. Also bring the bottles or at least the labels and copies of your prescriptions so that we may check dosing and manufacturer information. Do not discontinue your prescription medications without discussing it with the prescribing physician or with our medical consultants.
Clothing
Please bring casual, warm, layered clothing, including a robe, slippers, etc. Fasting participants may feel cold, even in the warmest months.
Warm-up suits and walking shoes would be appropriate. The Center staff provides complimentary laundry service.
Before You Arrive
Complete Your Registration Forms: Prior to admission, all participants must REGISTER with us. If you have questions about the admissions forms, our phone number is (707) 586-5555.
Recommended reading: We recommend you read our books, The Pleasure Trap, Mastering the Hidden Force that Undermines Health and Happiness and Can Fasting Save Your Life? We also invite you to review our library of articles about fasting.
Appropriate dietary preparation prior to arrival at TrueNorth can help make your stay a more tolerable experience. We typically recommend eating only raw fruits and vegetables and cooked vegetables, including starchy vegetables such as potato, sweet potato and squash for 2-3 days prior to your arrival at TrueNorth Health Center. The exclusion of all other substances including all animal products, refined carbohydrates including bread, crackers, chips, sugar, and oil as well as soda, coffee, tea, alcohol, nicotine etc. can help you make the transition to healthful eating and/or fasting much less miserable.
We are able to accommodate visitors to guests on a limited basis. This may change and you should contact us to understand the most current status. Please inform your visitors that smoking of any kind is not permitted in or around the Center.
Book Your Stay
If you haven’t already done so, please first read our short section called Is Fasting Right For You? and watch the accompanying video about Booking Your Stay. As described on that page, the first step in booking your stay is to REGISTER with TrueNorth Health. Your registration will help us be as effective and helpful as possible in our phone, online, and in-person sessions with you. We will then reach out to you to discuss whether water-only fasting is right for you, and if appropriate, to help you book your stay.
