The Secrets of Fasting - How to do it right.

For the last few weeks I have been including a 24 - 36 hour fast as part of my spiritual and nutritional disciplines, so today I thought I would take a few moments to talk with you about fasting and its many physical and spiritual benefits.

There seems to be many wide ranging views on fasting, it's benefits and how it should ideally be done and for how long.

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*** Medical Disclaimer ***

If you consider doing a fast, please seek proper qualified Medical advice, as I am NOT a Medical Doctor or Healthcare Specialist. If you follow the information in this blog post, then you assume full responsibility for your own actions.

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According to the Bible both Jesus and Moses both fasted for 40 days so that they could strengthen their spiritual connection, the fathers of medicine Plato, Socrates and Hippocrates all suggested that fasting should be done for ones own health to be renewed. The Oahspe also talks about fasting and the type of diet that we are supposed to follow to live in peace with each other and Mother Earth.

Professor A J Carlson of Michigan University stated that a healthy man can easily fast for 50 - 75 days without any adverse effects as long as he isn't exposed to harsh elements and emotional stress. Most people carry with them enough fat reserves to handle a fast, considering that a pound of human fat contains 3,500 calories, each pound of fat would enable a fully grown adult male to perform a full days hard labour without any problems. Most people have enough fat reserves to sustain us for many weeks.

Fasting can be used to help people recover from mild to severe health conditions, some of the more common complaints that can be helped by fasting are as follows:

* High blood pressure
* Asthma
* Allergies
* Chronic headaches
* Inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease)
* Irritable bowel syndrome
* Adult onset diabetes
* Heart disease
* Degenerative arthritis
* Rheumatoid arthritis
* Psoriasis
* Eczema
* Acne
* Uterine fibroids
* Benign tumours
* Systemic lupus erythematosus

Benefits of appropriate fasting for the individual:

* More energy
* Healthier skin
* Healthier teeth and gums
* Better quality sleep
* A clean and healthy cardiovascular system
* A decrease in anxiety and tension
* Dramatic reduction or complete elimination of aches and pains in muscles and joints
* Decrease or elimination of headaches
* Stabilization of blood pressure
* Stronger and more efficient digestion
* Stabilization of bowel movements
* Loss of excess weight
* Elimination of stored toxins
* Improvement with a wide variety of chronic degenerative health conditions, including auto-immune disorders
* Mental clarity is improved
* Spiritual balance is improved/restored

One day weekly fast:

The benefits of a weekly fast can't be under estimated, both as a physical and a spiritual discipline. How many people can honestly say that they follow a perfect diet all week, or don't over eat?

The weekly fast is a perfect time to give your digestive system a rest and burn a bit of fat. It is also a good time to spend in silence contemplating the Creator if you feel that is right for you.

When performing a one day fast you should consume a light meal the evening before, so that you don't spend the whole fasting day digesting the heavy meal you had the night before. When breaking the fast you should ideally do it in the same manner as when you started the fast, i.e a light meal such as fruit or something easy to digest and then move on to heavier food throughout the day if needed.

You can follow a simple water fast or you can do one of the following:

* Fresh fruit juice
* Fresh vegetable juice
* Raw fruits and vegetables

When you perform a fast you will generally discover that you will lose on average 3 - 4 pounds of weight during the first few days, and if you fast for more than a day or so your weight loss will start to reduce down to about half a pound per day. If you are taking juices or raw fruits and vegetables then this will reduce how many pounds you will lose because your body will get some calories from the food/juices that you are consuming instead of using your fat reserves.

If you would like to use the weekly fast as part of your spiritual disciplines, as I do, then please take this time to spend it in an enviroment that is both spiritually and emotionally uplifting for you. If you can find the time to relax fully and meditate, maybe perform some gentle stretches, or go for a walk in nature, then you should find yourself being able to release some of your emotional baggage. The more regulary you perform this spiritual discipline, the more benefits you will receive, both spiritually and physically.

FAQ's - Answers provided by Dr Ben Kim

Q. How do I know if I need to fast?

A: The answer to this question depends on your health status and goals. For many people, adopting an unprocessed, whole food diet, engaging in a sensible exercise program, acquiring restful sleep, and living in a relatively unpolluted environment will provide the necessary conditions to recover and maintain vibrant health. If a person is having a difficult time making necessary dietary and lifestyle changes, fasting can be a powerful way of accelerating health recovery. Fasting can also reset the sensitivity of the nervous system, providing an effective way of overcoming dependencies on caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, other recreational drugs, salt, sugar, and other stimulants. After fasting, many people marvel at how sweet romaine lettuce is, how refreshing apples are, and how wonderfully delicious baked potatoes are – without sour cream and butter! Many of us have been eating rich, salty, and sweetened foods for so long that we are unaware of how good foods taste in their natural, unprocessed states.

Some people choose to fast in the absence of overt symptoms of disease, knowing that a period of complete physiological rest can allow the body to rejuvenate itself from the toxins that build up in our tissues despite our efforts to live healthfully.

Q. How long should I fast for?

A. If you choose to fast to recover from acute illness, you can fast until you feel well enough to eat again. In the case of a chronic health challenge, the length of the fast is determined by the progress of the fast. The healing processes that take place during a fast are predictable. Blood levels of cholesterol and uric acid tend to elevate during a fast, a result of the body stirring up stores of undesirable materials and expelling them into the circulation to be eliminated from the body. Shortly after the fast, these levels tend to be lower than they were before the fast, indicating a cleaner system. ESR, a marker for inflammation, tends to decrease during the course of a fast. As a part of the detoxification process, some people experience vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, dizziness, skin rashes, and other uncomfortable symptoms. Fasting under the supervision of a health care professional who is trained to distinguish healing responses from harmful processes can be helpful in allowing a person to "ride out" uncomfortable symptoms of detoxification.

It is not uncommon for people to experience significant improvement in their health from fasting between 3 and 30 days. The idea is to fast as briefly as possible, but as long as is necessary to allow the body to restore health.

Q. Can anyone fast?

A. There are a handful of exceptional circumstances in which it is not advisable to fast. A small portion of the population has an inbo
error of metabolism whereby they lack an enzyme that is needed to process fatty acids. Since fatty acids are needed as an alte
ate source of energy during a fast, it would not be safe for such a person to pursue a fast of significant duration. This disorder can be recognized early in the fasting process by a trained observer.

Intake of certain medications, certain liver and kidney disorders, states of extreme weakness or malnutrition, pregnancy, and certain types and stages of cancer are other examples of conditions that are not conducive to fasting.

Q. Can fasting cure specific conditions?

A: It's important to keep in mind that fasting is not a cure for specific health challenges. Rather, it is an opportunity to give the body a prolonged period of rest to do what it does best – heal and restore itself. The same healing mechanisms that are at work during a fast are also at work while a person is eating. The difference is that during a fast, all of the body's resources are channeled towards its self-healing and restorative mechanisms.

Conditions that tend to respond favourably to fasting and dietary modification include high blood pressure, asthma, allergies, chronic headaches, inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease), irritable bowel syndrome, adult onset diabetes, heart disease, degenerative arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, eczema, acne, uterine fibroids, benign tumours, and systemic lupus erythematosus.

Q. How much weight will I lose if I fast?

A. On average, a typical faster loses approximately one pound per day during a water-only fast. Initially, the loss may approach two or even three pounds per day for the first few days if the person is retaining significant sodium and water. This can decrease to approximately half a pound per day in the later stages of a fast. From day two onward, the body begins utilizing fatty tissues for energy, thereby conserving as much muscle tissue as possible, a mechanism called protein sparing.

Q. What is the difference between water fasting and juice fasting?

A. During a water fast, only water is consumed. During a juice fast, any variety of fruit and vegetable juices are consumed.

People detoxify and heal more quickly with a water fast than with a juice fast. This is because with a water fast, your digestive passageway and organs are able to rest completely, allowing for all of your energy to be used for cleansing and repair of damaged tissues. With a juice fast or a cleansing diet of fruits and vegetables, your body must use energy to digest nutrients, leaving less available energy for detoxification and healing. When a person's health condition is related to a weak or damaged digestive system, recovery may depend on fully resting the digestive passageway and organs through water fasting.

Another significant difference is that more fat tissue is burned during a water fast, as your body must rely exclusively on fat reserves to supply its energy needs after the first 1-3 days of water fasting. Your body stores the bulk of incoming toxins in your fat reserves. As these reserves are burned for energy during a fast, any stored toxins will be released into your circulation, to be eliminated through various eliminative channels like your urine and respiratory tract. This mechanism of detoxification also occurs with juice fasting, but at a slower pace.

All of this considered, both types of fasting can be used with effectiveness, depending on your circumstances and goals. If your situation and goals include wanting or needing to make significant gains in your health in a short period of time, water fasting may be the best route. If a person has a long history of taking extremely toxic drugs like certain chemotherapeutic agents, an intense period of detoxification through water fasting can cause damage to the kidneys. In this type of circumstance, juice fasting or a simple diet of organic vegetables and fruits may be the best first step to recovery.

Finally, a water fast is most effective when you are able to get a lot of physical and emotional rest. If your life circumstances don't allow this, juice fasting is a better choice.

Q. Won't my metabolism slow down during and after the fast, causing me to gain back more weight over the long haul?

A. Metabolic rate fluctuates according to our moment-to-moment physiological needs. When we are active, our metabolic rate speeds up. When we sleep, our metabolic rate slows down. In the same way, when we fast, our metabolic rate slows down because our physiological needs are lower than they are when we are consuming food and going about our regular activities. When a fast is broken and a person returns to eating and more activity, her metabolic rate increases to match her increasing physiological needs.

What does change during a fast is our digestive and assimilative capacity. Fasting provides an opportunity for our digestive organs to heal and make more efficient use of the nutrients in the foods that we consume. Weight gain or loss is always a simple function of how many calories we take in versus how many we expend. If your primary goal is to be at a healthful weight for your unique disposition, the optimal approach is usually to combine an unprocessed, whole food diet with a regular aerobic exercise and strength-training program.