I’m in the middle of a five-day fast, which I do monthly for health reasons.  At this point (day 4), there is no hunger — only a calm, peaceful state that many describe as “joyful.”  It’s the point where one has no desire for anything beyond sunlight, clean air, and pure water.

The central purpose of fasting is regeneration, something that all conservatives should care about since it’s closely related to the idea of conserving the best from the past.  I want to conserve and preserve all that is good, including what is good for my own mind and body.  For me, fasting is the best way to do so.  (Important caveat: fasting is not suitable for everyone, and it can be harmful or even fatal if done without medical supervision.)

My understanding of regeneration, I believe, is also what is on the president’s mind when he speaks of the eight military conflicts he has helped to resolve and of the possibility of ending the killing in Ukraine and Gaza.  The president often speaks of wanting to save 7,000 lives every week during the war in Ukraine.  And a peace deal in Gaza would regenerate that region and perhaps the entire Middle East.  (Or if a deal is not reached or does not hold, it will lead to the near total destruction of Gaza.)

Regeneration is also behind Trump’s idea of a Golden Age in America.  The idea of a Golden Age, a time in the past when people lived remarkably well, is one of the ancient and enduring concepts in the history of ideas.  Trump is correct in thinking that a Golden Age once existed in America and that it has been lost, largely due to progressive and liberal politics.  In that Golden Age, which one could date back to before 1990, there was a widespread freedom of thought and expression; there was greater personal safety; there was less woke thinking regarding sex and race; there were lower rates of obesity and chronic illnesses such as diabetes, arthritis, and autism; and America was the world’s dominant economic and military power.

Regeneration was behind Ronald Reagan’s famous “Morning in America” commercial in 1984 — an election in which he would win 49 states and 525 electoral votes (versus Walter Mondale’s 13).  Republicans would do well to consider these results in preparing for the 2028 election.

Regeneration is not easy, either for a nation or for an individual, but it can be accomplished.  According to standard markers of aging, I have reversed my biological age by something like five years.  This is the result of monthly fasting combined with daily intermittent fasting, a strict vegan diet, daily exercise, and outdoor meditation throughout the year.  Not easy at first, but a source of joy and happiness once it becomes habitual.

I wish that same joy and happiness for America as a whole.  Everyday life in America is not free, safe, or healthy at present, and economic opportunity has lagged under the Bush II, Obama, and Biden presidencies.  President Trump is addressing these weaknesses and attempting to restore the Golden Age in which ordinary Americans could speak freely without fear of censure and in which their earnings would not stagnate, as they have for a quarter-century now.

Under President Trump’s leadership, the United States may at last be on a course of regeneration.  This is evident from the September 25 final read of second-quarter GDP, which, despite years of constriction under the Biden administration, registered an annualized 3.8%.  Many economists are predicting even better numbers for the rest of 2025 and 2026.

If GDP were to grow after inflation at an annual 4% for the next ten years, compounded real growth over this decade would be nearly 50% (48.024%, to be exact).   If that level of growth were to continue for an entire century, GDP would be some 50 times what it is today.  Even with sustained real GDP growth of 3%, GDP would compound to 19 times what it is now.  Either way, even accounting for population growth, Americans on average would enjoy a quality of life much better than what they do today.

But regeneration does not just mean wealth.  In the past, physicians have attempted to treat diabetes, atherosclerosis, cancer, dementia, and other chronic diseases with drugs, and that approach has been partially successful.  But a great deal of illness could be prevented in the first place, and perhaps treated and reversed, via lifestyle and diet changes.  There are signs that Americans are beginning to realize this.

The popularity of Dr. Catherine Shanahan’s book Dark Calories is evidence of a growing awareness of the importance of diet in human health.  In two books and numerous articles and online videos Shanahan has warned that excessive consumption of vegetable oils is causing dangerous levels of inflammation, insulin resistance, weight gain, and disease.  It is important to understand that today’s vegetable oils are not naturally occurring; they are industrial products that were not often used for food before about 1900.

In a May 2025 report entitled “The MAHA Report: Make Our Children Healthy Again,” the President’s MAHA Commission, chaired by RFK Jr., issued initial guidelines for improving children’s health.  These include “asking the National Institutes of Health to fund new trials on whole-food diets and on potentially harmful ingredients in the food supply,” including vegetable oils.

These potentially harmful ingredients include artificial food dyes, which, according to a new survey, “a strong majority of U.S. adults (79%) at least ‘somewhat’ support the FDA’s plan to phase out.”  Likewise, there has been little opposition to the ban of trans fats, which came into full effect in 2020.

As a conservative, I am generally opposed to expanding governmental powers, but food safety is one area in which government has a legitimate role to play.  There is evidence, for example, that artificial trans fats contribute to heart disease, several cancers, and lower birth weighs in newborns.  The 2020 ban (though it does not apply to foods with less than one half-gram per serving) is expected to prevent thousands of heart attacks, protect newborns, and lower rates of prostate and other cancers.

President Trump is serious about making America healthy again. There is nothing “natural” about childhood obesity rates of 20%, heart disease rates of 48% in American adults, lifetime cancer rates of 50% in men and 40% in women, widespread drug use and fatal overdoses, and large numbers of murders and suicides (the U.S. has the 10th highest murder rate in the world and more murders by number than any other country).  Trump understands this, and he has a vision of a very different country, in which there is near universal prosperity, health, and security.

I believe, based on my own experience and on many years of research, that regeneration is possible in terms of personal health.  I also see that the nation as a whole, especially after the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the mounting response to it, is turning to conservative and religious solutions.  President Trump is reducing the size and cost of the federal government, cleaning up our major cities, deporting hundreds of thousands of criminal aliens, boosting our national defense, and attempting to make Americans healthy again.

This week, as I complete my monthly fasting, I think often of the Golden Age that President Trump promises.  According to the most recent figures, we have taken our first steps toward that future of wealth and well-being, but it must be sustained after Trump leaves office.

I’m realistic enough to know that the future will hold plenty of challenges, including wars, recessions, and epidemics.  But still, I believe the president when he speaks of a new Golden Age.  Regeneration is possible: I have  accomplished it myself, at least in a modest way, and the nation can accomplish it as well.  It requires discipline, knowledge, and determination, but with the president’s help, we can become great again.

Jeffrey Folks is the author of many books and articles on American culture including Heartland of the Imagination (2011).

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.