What is the 3-day sardine fast

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The idea of eating nothing but sardines for health reasons goes back to 2012, when Dr Frederick Hatfield tried it after being diagnosed with cancer. He put himself on an extreme plan - eating only one to two cans of sardines per day - with the aim of pushing his body into a strict ketogenic state. The thinking was that by eliminating carbohydrates, he could reduce the sugar available for the cancer to feed on. In more recent years, this approach has gained viral attention, largely due to Dr Annette Bosworth’s promotion of the ‘three-day sardine diet’ as a way to jumpstart metabolism.

This is a companion discussion topic for the original article at https://patient.info/features/diet-and-nutrition/everything-you-should-know-about-the-3-day-sardine-fast
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Why recommend the sardine diet/fast when there are far too many downsides? Mercury is a neurotoxin that can affect your nervous system :open_mouth:, headaches, nausea etc

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Mercury is not a factor. It’s surprising that it was mentioned at all. Sardines are at the bottom of the food chain, so don’t accumulate a significant amount of mercury during their (short) lifetimes. It’s the bigger, longer living fish that build up the mercury (like tuna). A few cans of sardines a day are not going to move the needle.