Wednesday, February 08, 2012
GSP Rushfit Home Fitness Review
Had the time recently to work with George St Pierre's Workout, "GSP Rushfit" which so far is going great. I've been doing it for a week and already notice results while I have more energy throughout the days. Check out this awesome review! GSP RushFit Review
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
If you come across Buddha on your path, Kill him.
| If you come across Buddha on your path, Kill him. A somewhat relevant Zen Parable: © Richard West 2007 - Feel free to distribute w/Copyright intact.
|
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
What to Expect after Cleansing the System...
Symptoms to Expect When You Improve Your Diet
by Dr. Stanley S. Bass
3119 Coney Island Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11235
(718) 648-1500
If I were asked which is the area of greatest misunderstanding and confusion in the field of nutrition, I would immediately be forced to reply that it is the failure to properly understand and interpret the symptoms and changes which follow the beginning of a better nutritional program.
What is meant by a better nutritional program?
It is the introduction of foods of higher quality in place of lower quality ones. For example, if a person replaces a protein rich food such as pork with beef, the beef may be considered the superior of the two due to its easier digestibility, lower and less saturated fat content, etc.; chicken is superior to beef and fish is superior to chicken because of its more rapid digestibility and lower saturated fat content. Lima beans, lentils, or chick peas, which are eaten at the same meal with vegetables are superior in all the nutrients needed to rebuild health.
As we go higher on the scale of quality, we begin to include protein rich food which may be eaten in the unfired state, such as cheese which is made from raw milk and unsalted. Then we ascend to the nuts and seeds which are eaten in the natural state (raw and unsalted).
To summarize: the closer the food comes to the natural state in which it occurs, or the closer to its raw, unfired form, the higher its quality. In this condition, all the enzymes are found intact. The amino acids are in their finest form. The minerals, vitamins, trace elements, carbohydrates, and "life force" are present. The life force, in turn, is capable of reproducing healthy tissue.
This same classification of quality which we analyzed in relation to protein rich foods applies to the carbohydrates (the starch and sugar-rich foods), the fats, and the mineral-rich foods.
The quality of a nutritional program is also improved by omitting toxic substances such as coffee, tea, chocolate, tobacco, salt, pepper, etc. from your diet.
What is the relation of quality of foods to recovery from illness? It is this in a nutshell: The higher the quality of food we eat, the quicker we recover from disease, provided we are able to digest and assimilate properly.
To this must be added the knowledge of (a) proper food combining; (b) proper order of eating the different kinds of food at a meal, e.g., the most easily digested food should be eaten first, the more complex one second, and the most concentrated item last; (c) the correct quantity of food to be consumed (of each type) in the meal; and (d) the correct time for eating (when hungry and not by the clock).
The Detox Bible
A large collection of the best detox routines all put together in one place so that you can choose which plan fits you best.
Click here to check out The Detox Bible.
Now, what happens when a person follows these rules and makes a decided improvement in the quality of food consumed? Remarkable things begin to happen to the body as well as the mind. The amazing intelligence present in every cell of the body and the wisdom of the body in its operation immediately becomes manifest. The rule may be stated thusly: When the quality of the food coming into the body is of higher quality than the tissues which the body is made of, the body begins to discard the lower grade materials and tissues to make room for the superior materials which it uses to make new and healthier tissue.
This is the plan of Nature -- the body is very selective and always tries to produce health and always will, unless our interference is too great. Only then do we fail to recover and degenerate further into disease. The self-curing nature of many conditions such as colds, fevers, cuts, swellings, injuries, etc., furnishes endless examples of how the body tends towards health--always--unless we do something to stop the process.
What are the symptoms or signs which become evident when we first begin to omit the lower grade foods and instead introduce superior foods--those which are most alive, more natural than we are accustomed to? When the use of toxic stimulants such as coffee, tea, chocolate, or cocoa is suddenly stopped, headaches are common and a letdown occurs. This is due to the discard by the body of the toxins called caffeine and theobromine which are removed from the tissues and transported through the bloodstream during its many bodily rounds.
Before the noxious agents reach their final destination for elimination, these irritants register in our consciousness as pain--in other words, headache. The letdown is due to the slower action of the heart--the resting phase which follows the stimulation of more rapid heart beat forced upon the body by certain poisons called stimulants. The more rapid heart beat (or pulse) produces a feeling of exhilaration, and the slower action produces a depressed state of mind. Usually, within three days, the symptoms vanish and we feel stronger due to the recuperation which follows.
To a lesser extent, the same process occurs when we abandon lower quality foods and replace them with better foods. Lower quality foods have undergone more preparation. Spices, salt, and other ingredients have been added, as they tend to be more stimulating than less prepared and more natural foods. Animal foods such as meat, fowl, fish, etc. are more stimulating than cheese, nuts, and vegetable proteins.
Consequently, the withdrawal of stimulation which follows the abandonment of animal food produces a slower heart action--a resting phase--which registers in the mind as relaxation or a decrease of energy. This initial letdown lasts about ten days or slightly longer and is followed by an increase of strength, a feeling of diminishing stress and greater well-being.
Now let us return to the symptoms which occur in the process of regeneration. The person who starts a better diet, stays on it for three days to a week, and then quits will say, "Oh, I felt better on the old diet--the new one makes me feel weak." He failed because he didn't give his body a chance to adjust and complete its first phase of action--recuperation. If he had waited a while longer, he would have begun to feel better than before he started.
During the initial stage (lasting about ten days on the average to several weeks in others), the vital energies which are usually in the periphery or external part of the body such as the muscles and skin, begin to move to the vital internal organs and start reconstruction. This shunting of much of the power to the internal region produces a feeling of less energy in the muscles, which the mind interprets as some weakness.
Actually, the power is increased, but most of it is being used for rebuilding the more important organs and less of it is available for muscular work. Any weakness which is felt here is not true weakness, but merely a redeploying of forces to the more important internal parts. Here it is important for the person to stop wasting energy, and to rest and sleep more. This is a crucial phase, and if the person resorts to stimulants of any kind, he will abort and defeat the regenerative intent of the body.
It is important that he have patience and faith and just wait it out, and after a while he will get increasing strength which will exceed by far what he felt before he began the new program.
Success in recovery or improvement of health hinges upon the correct understanding of this point -- realizing that the body is using its main energies in more important internal work and not wasting it in external work involving muscle movements. Be wise, take it easy here, and relax. Just coast in your work and social obligations until you're out of the woods.
Retracing
As one continues on the improved diet and gradually raises the food quality, interesting symptoms being to appear. The body begins a process called retracing. It says to itself, "Now we have a chance to get rid of this old garbage and build a beautiful new house. Let's get started immediately. Let's get this excess bile out of the liver and gall bladder and send it to the intestines for elimination. Let's get the sludge moving out of the arteries, veins, and capillaries. These smelly, gassy, brain-stupefying masses have been here too long--out with them! These arthritic deposits in the joints need cleaning up. Let's get these irritating food preservatives, aspirins, sleeping pills, and drugs out of the way, along with these other masses of fat which have made life so burdensome for us for so long. Let's get going till the job is down--till we have a beautiful house--and from there on we'll keep it a beautiful ideal model house."
During the first phase (called catabolism), the accent is on elimination, or breaking down of tissue. The body begins to clean house--in short, to remove the garbage deposited in all the tissues--everywhere. During this period, the body removes the ashes from the furnace preparatory to getting a better fire. Here the accentuation is on removal of the gross and immediate body obstructions. Wastes are discarded more rapidly than new tissue is made from the new food. This becomes evident as weight loss. This persists for a while and is then followed by the second phase--called stabilization.
Here, the weight remains more or less stable. During this phase, the amount of waste material being discarded daily is equal to the amount of tissue which is being formed and replaced by the newer, more vital food. This occurs after the excess of obstructing material in the tissues has been removed.
This state persists for a while and is then followed by a third phase -- a build-up period called anabolism, wherein weight starts to go up, even though the diet is lower in calories than it was before. At this point, much or more of the interfering wastes have already been discarded -- the tissues which have been formed since the diet was raised in quality are more durable and do not break down easily. Also, new tissues are now being formed faster. This is due to the improved assimilation made possible by the ceasing of wrong food combining. The body's need for the usual amounts of food decreases, and we are able to maintain our weight and increased energies with less food.
Many are able to function very efficiently on two meals a day. As the body progressively increases in efficiency and decreases in tissue breakdown under exercise, so do we gradually need less and less food to maintain life. The higher the percentage of raw food one lives on, the slower the rate of tissue deterioration which one evolves into. A sick body requires a gradual, carefully worked-out entry into this stage, where one is able to live on a 100% unfired (raw) diet, if desired.
Returning to the symptoms which occur on a superior nutritional program, people who have had tendencies in the past to recurring skin rashes or eruptions will frequently tend to eliminate poisons and harmful drugs through the skin with new rashes or eruptions. If they go to a doctor now who is not familiar with this aspect of nutrition, he will diagnose it as an allergy.
They ask, "How come? I'm eating better now than I ever did before, and instead I'm getting worse." They don't understand that the body is retracing.
The skin is getting more alive and active. It's throwing out more poisons more rapidly now that the body is building more power which is saved from those hard-to-ingest meals which have been discontinued. These toxins being discarded are saving you from more serious disease which will result if you keep them in your body too much longer--possibly hepatitis, kidney disorders, blood disease, heart disease, arthritis, nerve degenerations or even cancer--depending upon your hereditary or structural weaknesses. Be happy you're paying your bills now in an easy-payment plan.
With some, colds which haven't appeared for a long time may occur, or even fevers. This is nature's way of housecleaning. Understand that these actions are constructive, even though unpleasant at the moment. Don't, but don't, try to stop these symptoms by the use of certain drugs, or even massive doses of vitamins which will act as drugs in huge concentrations. These symptoms are part of a curing process, and don't try to cure a cure.
These are not deficiency conditions or allergic manifestations -- not if you're eating properly in quality, quantity, combination and sequence. Here is where experienced advice is a great value. Unfortunately, there are few good books present today which give full guidance to the average reader. Try to find guidance through a doctor or teacher who has the requisite experience in this most confusing of all subjects--nutrition in relation to health and disease.
You may be eating perfectly in regard to quantity, quality, and observing all the correct rules, and still symptoms will occur. Those who have lived better lives in the past--who have eaten better foods and who have abused their bodies less with over-eating will have reactions ranging from almost none at all or very mild symptoms which may be uncomfortable or acute. Those who have lived worse lives and poisoned themselves more will experience more severe symptoms if their liver, kidneys, or other important eliminating organs have been damaged. When they have been renovated to the point of fair working order, they will no longer produce symptoms.
Headaches may occur at the beginning; fever and/or colds may also appear; the skin may break out; there may be a short interval of bowel sluggishness, occasional diarrhea, feelings of tiredness and weakness, disinclination to exercise, nervousness, irritability, negativity or mental depression, frequent urination, etc. However, the great majority of people find their reactions tolerable and are encouraged to bear with them because of the many improvements which have already occurred and are becoming more evident with each day. This acts as an inspirational force to them.
The symptoms will vary according to the materials being discarded, the conditions of the organs involved in the elimination, and the amount of energy you have available. The more you rest and sleep when symptoms are present, the milder they are and the more quickly they are terminated.
Be happy you are having symptoms. Realize deeply that your body is becoming younger and healthier every day because you are throwing off more and more wastes which would eventually have brought pain, disease, and much suffering. Those who have the worst symptom-reactions and follow through to their successful termination are thus avoiding some of the worst diseases which would eventually have developed had they continued their careless eating habits.
Don't expect to go on an ascending scale of quality, that improving your diet will make you feel better and better each day until you reach perfection. The body is cyclical in nature, and health returns in a series of gradually-diminishing cycles. For example, you start a better diet and for a while you feel much better. After some time, a symptom occurs--you feel nauseous for a day and have diarrhea with a foul-smelling stool. After a day, you feel even better than before and all goes fine for awhile. Then you suddenly develop a cold, feel chills and lose your appetite. After about two or three days (assuming you don't take drugs or do anything else about it), you suddenly recover and feel better than you did for years.
Let us say this well-being continues for two months, when you suddenly develop an itch or rash. You don't take anything special for it. This rash flares up, gets worse and continues for ten days, and suddenly subsides, immediately after this you find that your hepatitis is gone and your energy has increased more than ever before. The rash became an outlet for the poisons in the liver which produced the hepatitis.
This is how recovery occurs--like the cycles in the Dow-Jones Average at the beginning of a bull market recovery. You feel better, a reaction occurs and you don't feel as well for a short while. You recover and go even higher. Then another reaction occurs, milder than the last. You recover and go even higher. And so it goes, each reaction milder than the last as the body becomes pure--each becoming shorter in duration and being followed by a longer period of feeling better than ever before, until you reach a level plateau of vibrant health. Here you become relatively disease-free.
We must learn to obey the laws of Nature. We must learn to eat simple, pure, and natural foods, properly prepared and combined, and our bodies in return will cast off all the poisons we have taken in during our lives. The mysteries of the body, the operations of nature, the vital forces working in nature are far beyond what our minds are prepared to understand at present. Every great physician or scientist who ever lived marvelled in awe and humility at the wonders of nature. Yes--we are "fearfully and wonderfully made!"
by Dr. Stanley S. Bass
3119 Coney Island Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11235
(718) 648-1500
If I were asked which is the area of greatest misunderstanding and confusion in the field of nutrition, I would immediately be forced to reply that it is the failure to properly understand and interpret the symptoms and changes which follow the beginning of a better nutritional program.
What is meant by a better nutritional program?
It is the introduction of foods of higher quality in place of lower quality ones. For example, if a person replaces a protein rich food such as pork with beef, the beef may be considered the superior of the two due to its easier digestibility, lower and less saturated fat content, etc.; chicken is superior to beef and fish is superior to chicken because of its more rapid digestibility and lower saturated fat content. Lima beans, lentils, or chick peas, which are eaten at the same meal with vegetables are superior in all the nutrients needed to rebuild health.
As we go higher on the scale of quality, we begin to include protein rich food which may be eaten in the unfired state, such as cheese which is made from raw milk and unsalted. Then we ascend to the nuts and seeds which are eaten in the natural state (raw and unsalted).
To summarize: the closer the food comes to the natural state in which it occurs, or the closer to its raw, unfired form, the higher its quality. In this condition, all the enzymes are found intact. The amino acids are in their finest form. The minerals, vitamins, trace elements, carbohydrates, and "life force" are present. The life force, in turn, is capable of reproducing healthy tissue.
This same classification of quality which we analyzed in relation to protein rich foods applies to the carbohydrates (the starch and sugar-rich foods), the fats, and the mineral-rich foods.
The quality of a nutritional program is also improved by omitting toxic substances such as coffee, tea, chocolate, tobacco, salt, pepper, etc. from your diet.
What is the relation of quality of foods to recovery from illness? It is this in a nutshell: The higher the quality of food we eat, the quicker we recover from disease, provided we are able to digest and assimilate properly.
To this must be added the knowledge of (a) proper food combining; (b) proper order of eating the different kinds of food at a meal, e.g., the most easily digested food should be eaten first, the more complex one second, and the most concentrated item last; (c) the correct quantity of food to be consumed (of each type) in the meal; and (d) the correct time for eating (when hungry and not by the clock).
A large collection of the best detox routines all put together in one place so that you can choose which plan fits you best.
Click here to check out The Detox Bible.
Now, what happens when a person follows these rules and makes a decided improvement in the quality of food consumed? Remarkable things begin to happen to the body as well as the mind. The amazing intelligence present in every cell of the body and the wisdom of the body in its operation immediately becomes manifest. The rule may be stated thusly: When the quality of the food coming into the body is of higher quality than the tissues which the body is made of, the body begins to discard the lower grade materials and tissues to make room for the superior materials which it uses to make new and healthier tissue.
This is the plan of Nature -- the body is very selective and always tries to produce health and always will, unless our interference is too great. Only then do we fail to recover and degenerate further into disease. The self-curing nature of many conditions such as colds, fevers, cuts, swellings, injuries, etc., furnishes endless examples of how the body tends towards health--always--unless we do something to stop the process.
What are the symptoms or signs which become evident when we first begin to omit the lower grade foods and instead introduce superior foods--those which are most alive, more natural than we are accustomed to? When the use of toxic stimulants such as coffee, tea, chocolate, or cocoa is suddenly stopped, headaches are common and a letdown occurs. This is due to the discard by the body of the toxins called caffeine and theobromine which are removed from the tissues and transported through the bloodstream during its many bodily rounds.
Before the noxious agents reach their final destination for elimination, these irritants register in our consciousness as pain--in other words, headache. The letdown is due to the slower action of the heart--the resting phase which follows the stimulation of more rapid heart beat forced upon the body by certain poisons called stimulants. The more rapid heart beat (or pulse) produces a feeling of exhilaration, and the slower action produces a depressed state of mind. Usually, within three days, the symptoms vanish and we feel stronger due to the recuperation which follows.
To a lesser extent, the same process occurs when we abandon lower quality foods and replace them with better foods. Lower quality foods have undergone more preparation. Spices, salt, and other ingredients have been added, as they tend to be more stimulating than less prepared and more natural foods. Animal foods such as meat, fowl, fish, etc. are more stimulating than cheese, nuts, and vegetable proteins.
Consequently, the withdrawal of stimulation which follows the abandonment of animal food produces a slower heart action--a resting phase--which registers in the mind as relaxation or a decrease of energy. This initial letdown lasts about ten days or slightly longer and is followed by an increase of strength, a feeling of diminishing stress and greater well-being.
Now let us return to the symptoms which occur in the process of regeneration. The person who starts a better diet, stays on it for three days to a week, and then quits will say, "Oh, I felt better on the old diet--the new one makes me feel weak." He failed because he didn't give his body a chance to adjust and complete its first phase of action--recuperation. If he had waited a while longer, he would have begun to feel better than before he started.
During the initial stage (lasting about ten days on the average to several weeks in others), the vital energies which are usually in the periphery or external part of the body such as the muscles and skin, begin to move to the vital internal organs and start reconstruction. This shunting of much of the power to the internal region produces a feeling of less energy in the muscles, which the mind interprets as some weakness.
Actually, the power is increased, but most of it is being used for rebuilding the more important organs and less of it is available for muscular work. Any weakness which is felt here is not true weakness, but merely a redeploying of forces to the more important internal parts. Here it is important for the person to stop wasting energy, and to rest and sleep more. This is a crucial phase, and if the person resorts to stimulants of any kind, he will abort and defeat the regenerative intent of the body.
It is important that he have patience and faith and just wait it out, and after a while he will get increasing strength which will exceed by far what he felt before he began the new program.
Success in recovery or improvement of health hinges upon the correct understanding of this point -- realizing that the body is using its main energies in more important internal work and not wasting it in external work involving muscle movements. Be wise, take it easy here, and relax. Just coast in your work and social obligations until you're out of the woods.
Retracing
As one continues on the improved diet and gradually raises the food quality, interesting symptoms being to appear. The body begins a process called retracing. It says to itself, "Now we have a chance to get rid of this old garbage and build a beautiful new house. Let's get started immediately. Let's get this excess bile out of the liver and gall bladder and send it to the intestines for elimination. Let's get the sludge moving out of the arteries, veins, and capillaries. These smelly, gassy, brain-stupefying masses have been here too long--out with them! These arthritic deposits in the joints need cleaning up. Let's get these irritating food preservatives, aspirins, sleeping pills, and drugs out of the way, along with these other masses of fat which have made life so burdensome for us for so long. Let's get going till the job is down--till we have a beautiful house--and from there on we'll keep it a beautiful ideal model house."
During the first phase (called catabolism), the accent is on elimination, or breaking down of tissue. The body begins to clean house--in short, to remove the garbage deposited in all the tissues--everywhere. During this period, the body removes the ashes from the furnace preparatory to getting a better fire. Here the accentuation is on removal of the gross and immediate body obstructions. Wastes are discarded more rapidly than new tissue is made from the new food. This becomes evident as weight loss. This persists for a while and is then followed by the second phase--called stabilization.
Here, the weight remains more or less stable. During this phase, the amount of waste material being discarded daily is equal to the amount of tissue which is being formed and replaced by the newer, more vital food. This occurs after the excess of obstructing material in the tissues has been removed.
This state persists for a while and is then followed by a third phase -- a build-up period called anabolism, wherein weight starts to go up, even though the diet is lower in calories than it was before. At this point, much or more of the interfering wastes have already been discarded -- the tissues which have been formed since the diet was raised in quality are more durable and do not break down easily. Also, new tissues are now being formed faster. This is due to the improved assimilation made possible by the ceasing of wrong food combining. The body's need for the usual amounts of food decreases, and we are able to maintain our weight and increased energies with less food.
Many are able to function very efficiently on two meals a day. As the body progressively increases in efficiency and decreases in tissue breakdown under exercise, so do we gradually need less and less food to maintain life. The higher the percentage of raw food one lives on, the slower the rate of tissue deterioration which one evolves into. A sick body requires a gradual, carefully worked-out entry into this stage, where one is able to live on a 100% unfired (raw) diet, if desired.
Returning to the symptoms which occur on a superior nutritional program, people who have had tendencies in the past to recurring skin rashes or eruptions will frequently tend to eliminate poisons and harmful drugs through the skin with new rashes or eruptions. If they go to a doctor now who is not familiar with this aspect of nutrition, he will diagnose it as an allergy.
They ask, "How come? I'm eating better now than I ever did before, and instead I'm getting worse." They don't understand that the body is retracing.
The skin is getting more alive and active. It's throwing out more poisons more rapidly now that the body is building more power which is saved from those hard-to-ingest meals which have been discontinued. These toxins being discarded are saving you from more serious disease which will result if you keep them in your body too much longer--possibly hepatitis, kidney disorders, blood disease, heart disease, arthritis, nerve degenerations or even cancer--depending upon your hereditary or structural weaknesses. Be happy you're paying your bills now in an easy-payment plan.
With some, colds which haven't appeared for a long time may occur, or even fevers. This is nature's way of housecleaning. Understand that these actions are constructive, even though unpleasant at the moment. Don't, but don't, try to stop these symptoms by the use of certain drugs, or even massive doses of vitamins which will act as drugs in huge concentrations. These symptoms are part of a curing process, and don't try to cure a cure.
These are not deficiency conditions or allergic manifestations -- not if you're eating properly in quality, quantity, combination and sequence. Here is where experienced advice is a great value. Unfortunately, there are few good books present today which give full guidance to the average reader. Try to find guidance through a doctor or teacher who has the requisite experience in this most confusing of all subjects--nutrition in relation to health and disease.
You may be eating perfectly in regard to quantity, quality, and observing all the correct rules, and still symptoms will occur. Those who have lived better lives in the past--who have eaten better foods and who have abused their bodies less with over-eating will have reactions ranging from almost none at all or very mild symptoms which may be uncomfortable or acute. Those who have lived worse lives and poisoned themselves more will experience more severe symptoms if their liver, kidneys, or other important eliminating organs have been damaged. When they have been renovated to the point of fair working order, they will no longer produce symptoms.
Headaches may occur at the beginning; fever and/or colds may also appear; the skin may break out; there may be a short interval of bowel sluggishness, occasional diarrhea, feelings of tiredness and weakness, disinclination to exercise, nervousness, irritability, negativity or mental depression, frequent urination, etc. However, the great majority of people find their reactions tolerable and are encouraged to bear with them because of the many improvements which have already occurred and are becoming more evident with each day. This acts as an inspirational force to them.
The symptoms will vary according to the materials being discarded, the conditions of the organs involved in the elimination, and the amount of energy you have available. The more you rest and sleep when symptoms are present, the milder they are and the more quickly they are terminated.
Be happy you are having symptoms. Realize deeply that your body is becoming younger and healthier every day because you are throwing off more and more wastes which would eventually have brought pain, disease, and much suffering. Those who have the worst symptom-reactions and follow through to their successful termination are thus avoiding some of the worst diseases which would eventually have developed had they continued their careless eating habits.
Don't expect to go on an ascending scale of quality, that improving your diet will make you feel better and better each day until you reach perfection. The body is cyclical in nature, and health returns in a series of gradually-diminishing cycles. For example, you start a better diet and for a while you feel much better. After some time, a symptom occurs--you feel nauseous for a day and have diarrhea with a foul-smelling stool. After a day, you feel even better than before and all goes fine for awhile. Then you suddenly develop a cold, feel chills and lose your appetite. After about two or three days (assuming you don't take drugs or do anything else about it), you suddenly recover and feel better than you did for years.
Let us say this well-being continues for two months, when you suddenly develop an itch or rash. You don't take anything special for it. This rash flares up, gets worse and continues for ten days, and suddenly subsides, immediately after this you find that your hepatitis is gone and your energy has increased more than ever before. The rash became an outlet for the poisons in the liver which produced the hepatitis.
This is how recovery occurs--like the cycles in the Dow-Jones Average at the beginning of a bull market recovery. You feel better, a reaction occurs and you don't feel as well for a short while. You recover and go even higher. Then another reaction occurs, milder than the last. You recover and go even higher. And so it goes, each reaction milder than the last as the body becomes pure--each becoming shorter in duration and being followed by a longer period of feeling better than ever before, until you reach a level plateau of vibrant health. Here you become relatively disease-free.
We must learn to obey the laws of Nature. We must learn to eat simple, pure, and natural foods, properly prepared and combined, and our bodies in return will cast off all the poisons we have taken in during our lives. The mysteries of the body, the operations of nature, the vital forces working in nature are far beyond what our minds are prepared to understand at present. Every great physician or scientist who ever lived marvelled in awe and humility at the wonders of nature. Yes--we are "fearfully and wonderfully made!"
A large collection of the best detox routines all put together in one place so that you can choose which plan fits you best. Click hereto check out The Detox Bible. |
Friday, August 11, 2006
Detox - Fast Track to Fasting.
Because of our mechanized and industrialized society we find toxic chemicals such as lead, mercury and arsenic polluting our food, air, water and soil. The human body works hard to eliminate toxins, but as exposure increases, the body is less able to detoxify. One way we can help eliminate these toxins is to have periodic fast days.
Fast days are very beneficial to help the body cleanse and heal. It is recommended that you fast twice a month for a couple of days or better yet, fast one day a week. Try to fast at least one day a month to start. [ article on The After Effects of the Cleansed Body. ]
Because most of us are filled with toxins, it is much harder on the body to fast by consuming only water. A juice fast is recommended over a water fast for people beginning fasting for the first time. The juice of fruits and vegetables is filled with healing, cleansing properties, which allow the body to gently and safely detoxify. Juice is packed with vitamins, minerals, living enzymes, antioxidants and phytochemicals. The nutrients go into the body and the toxins come out.
Juice fasting can include fresh juice, herbal teas sweetened with honey or Sucanat, vegetable broth, Barley Green, wheatgrass juice, and supplements helpful to your specific condition.
You may consider modifying the fast by including slices of avocado or banana to slow the cleansing process. Modified juice fasting is good for those with health restrictions such as diabetes or hypoglycemia. Bananas and avocados are slow to digest and maintain a stable blood sugar level. Their high calorie content slows the intensity of the fast and, because they are easy to digest, the body still devotes energy to cleansing.
If you are concerned about the levels of toxins you may have in your body, a simple hair mineral analysis can determine stored tissue levels of toxic metals. Hair analysis should be done every 3 to 6 months to check metal levels.
Periodic fasting is a great way to get your body on the fast track to detoxification, and feel all the great Benefits.
~~Get the Detox Bible! (An excellent, easy to use Detox Guide)
Fast days are very beneficial to help the body cleanse and heal. It is recommended that you fast twice a month for a couple of days or better yet, fast one day a week. Try to fast at least one day a month to start. [ article on The After Effects of the Cleansed Body. ]
Because most of us are filled with toxins, it is much harder on the body to fast by consuming only water. A juice fast is recommended over a water fast for people beginning fasting for the first time. The juice of fruits and vegetables is filled with healing, cleansing properties, which allow the body to gently and safely detoxify. Juice is packed with vitamins, minerals, living enzymes, antioxidants and phytochemicals. The nutrients go into the body and the toxins come out.
Juice fasting can include fresh juice, herbal teas sweetened with honey or Sucanat, vegetable broth, Barley Green, wheatgrass juice, and supplements helpful to your specific condition.
You may consider modifying the fast by including slices of avocado or banana to slow the cleansing process. Modified juice fasting is good for those with health restrictions such as diabetes or hypoglycemia. Bananas and avocados are slow to digest and maintain a stable blood sugar level. Their high calorie content slows the intensity of the fast and, because they are easy to digest, the body still devotes energy to cleansing.
If you are concerned about the levels of toxins you may have in your body, a simple hair mineral analysis can determine stored tissue levels of toxic metals. Hair analysis should be done every 3 to 6 months to check metal levels.
Periodic fasting is a great way to get your body on the fast track to detoxification, and feel all the great Benefits.
~~Get the Detox Bible! (An excellent, easy to use Detox Guide)
Juice Fasting - Detoxify, and Rejuvenate!
A wise man once said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst, for they are sticking to their diets.”
What a fit description of the seemingly endless battles that we fight to lose weight and to stay healthy and vital for as long as humanly possible!
Up and down, up and down, your metabolism bounces between walking pace and light speed; you have nightmares about celery sticks; you can work out the exact calorie count of every meal in 2.5 seconds; and the wheels on your exercise bike spontaneously combusted months ago.
In short, you wear yourself out and end up landing on a bottom that, despite all your best efforts, still looks like a pair of bowling balls.
Juice fasting is a great way to get off the dieting rollercoaster and see real results quickly. Safe and effective when carried out correctly, juice fasting benefits your entire being:
Your physical wellbeing increases as the body is rid of toxins and excess fat.
Your mind benefits because fasting creates a stillness that brings mental clarity and helps you to develop will power and to better control your senses.
As you lose weight and feel much better about yourself, self-esteem improves and sets you on the road to what could be a life changing experience, connecting you to your spirit and helping you to achieve balance in your life.
Juice Fasting and Weight Loss
A juice fast is a great way to shed some extra pounds, especially when you’re in a hurry. During the fast the body uses its own stored substances and, at the same time, detoxifies. A healthy combination of juices squeezed from fresh fruits and vegetables adds vitamins, minerals and trace elements to the body.
Because your only source of nourishment during the fast is water and the juices that you drink, it’s imperative that the juices you drink contain the maximum possible amounts of enzymes, vitamins and other nutrients in the fresh produce.
Many of the juicers on the market process the fresh fruits and veggies in a way that destroys many of the nutrients in the food. A top quality juicer such as the Oscar VitalMax juicer is an excellent tool for the job because it serves up living juices. The food is processed in such a way that it retains as many nutrients and essential enzymes as possible.
Juice fasting is a much better diet option than fad diets. Fad diets literally starve the body of nutrients. On the other hand, juice fasting provides the body with the nutrients it needs for vibrant health, helping to fix any chemical imbalances in the body – even those created by fad diets.
Juice Fasting and Detoxification
Juice fasting for detoxification is probably the most well-known usage of this particular type of fast. Juice fasting allows the organs of the body to rest, cleansing and revitalising them. The organs’ functioning is much better, which in turn aids in the digestion of food and production of energy for day to day life.
Juice fasting may also be helpful for the treatment and prevention of fluid retention.
Juice Fasting: How To
Before launching into a fast, it’s a good idea to begin preparing the body a week ahead. Cut out or reduce nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, sugar and wheat. Ideally the diet prior to fasting should consist mainly of fruits, vegetables and beans.
If you’ve never fasted before it might be a good idea to limit your first fast to three or four days. Sometimes abstaining from food entirely is a bit much, so it’s ok to eat fresh fruit or veggies if your stomach is complaining.
Now its time to get juicing! If you can’t make your own juices buy them from a health food shop – the fresher, the better. The GreenPower Kempo juicer is another excellent juicer that produces high quality juices to help you to get the best possible result from your fast.
Mix between one and three parts of pure water with your juice of choice. To get you started, here a few tasty recipes courtesy of Fasting to Freedom, by Tom McGregor:
Jogger’s Paradise
3 oranges
2 hard pears
1 small yam
Mix and add a little crushed ice. Great for energy.
A Taste of Heaven
2 carrots
1 sweet potato
2 apples
Thin slice of Spanish onion
Pinch of Dulse powder
For energy and endurance.
Red Ice
1 beet
1 sweet potato
2 apples
1 lemon
1 tomato
Thin slice of Spanish onion
1 garlic clove
½ can of frozen apple concentrate
Sit back and relax!
With the aid of a good juicer or fresh juice from a health shop, give yourself a power up and try a juice fast. Better than any fad diet, you can stop running yourself ragged. It’s a great way to remove toxins from the body, to lose weight, and to improve your health and wellbeing.
Look better, feel better, be healthier than ever before!
What a fit description of the seemingly endless battles that we fight to lose weight and to stay healthy and vital for as long as humanly possible!
Up and down, up and down, your metabolism bounces between walking pace and light speed; you have nightmares about celery sticks; you can work out the exact calorie count of every meal in 2.5 seconds; and the wheels on your exercise bike spontaneously combusted months ago.
In short, you wear yourself out and end up landing on a bottom that, despite all your best efforts, still looks like a pair of bowling balls.
Juice fasting is a great way to get off the dieting rollercoaster and see real results quickly. Safe and effective when carried out correctly, juice fasting benefits your entire being:
Your physical wellbeing increases as the body is rid of toxins and excess fat.
Your mind benefits because fasting creates a stillness that brings mental clarity and helps you to develop will power and to better control your senses.
As you lose weight and feel much better about yourself, self-esteem improves and sets you on the road to what could be a life changing experience, connecting you to your spirit and helping you to achieve balance in your life.
Juice Fasting and Weight Loss
A juice fast is a great way to shed some extra pounds, especially when you’re in a hurry. During the fast the body uses its own stored substances and, at the same time, detoxifies. A healthy combination of juices squeezed from fresh fruits and vegetables adds vitamins, minerals and trace elements to the body.
Because your only source of nourishment during the fast is water and the juices that you drink, it’s imperative that the juices you drink contain the maximum possible amounts of enzymes, vitamins and other nutrients in the fresh produce.
Many of the juicers on the market process the fresh fruits and veggies in a way that destroys many of the nutrients in the food. A top quality juicer such as the Oscar VitalMax juicer is an excellent tool for the job because it serves up living juices. The food is processed in such a way that it retains as many nutrients and essential enzymes as possible.
Juice fasting is a much better diet option than fad diets. Fad diets literally starve the body of nutrients. On the other hand, juice fasting provides the body with the nutrients it needs for vibrant health, helping to fix any chemical imbalances in the body – even those created by fad diets.
Juice Fasting and Detoxification
Juice fasting for detoxification is probably the most well-known usage of this particular type of fast. Juice fasting allows the organs of the body to rest, cleansing and revitalising them. The organs’ functioning is much better, which in turn aids in the digestion of food and production of energy for day to day life.
Juice fasting may also be helpful for the treatment and prevention of fluid retention.
Juice Fasting: How To
Before launching into a fast, it’s a good idea to begin preparing the body a week ahead. Cut out or reduce nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, sugar and wheat. Ideally the diet prior to fasting should consist mainly of fruits, vegetables and beans.
If you’ve never fasted before it might be a good idea to limit your first fast to three or four days. Sometimes abstaining from food entirely is a bit much, so it’s ok to eat fresh fruit or veggies if your stomach is complaining.
Now its time to get juicing! If you can’t make your own juices buy them from a health food shop – the fresher, the better. The GreenPower Kempo juicer is another excellent juicer that produces high quality juices to help you to get the best possible result from your fast.
Mix between one and three parts of pure water with your juice of choice. To get you started, here a few tasty recipes courtesy of Fasting to Freedom, by Tom McGregor:
Jogger’s Paradise
3 oranges
2 hard pears
1 small yam
Mix and add a little crushed ice. Great for energy.
A Taste of Heaven
2 carrots
1 sweet potato
2 apples
Thin slice of Spanish onion
Pinch of Dulse powder
For energy and endurance.
Red Ice
1 beet
1 sweet potato
2 apples
1 lemon
1 tomato
Thin slice of Spanish onion
1 garlic clove
½ can of frozen apple concentrate
Sit back and relax!
With the aid of a good juicer or fresh juice from a health shop, give yourself a power up and try a juice fast. Better than any fad diet, you can stop running yourself ragged. It’s a great way to remove toxins from the body, to lose weight, and to improve your health and wellbeing.
Look better, feel better, be healthier than ever before!
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Religious Fasting
Bahá'í faith
Main article: Nineteen Day Fast
In the Bahá'í Faith, fasting is observed from sunrise to sunset during the Bahá'í month of `Ala' (between March 2 through March 20). Bahá'u'lláh established the guidelines in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. It is the complete abstaining from both food and drink (including abstaining from smoking). Observing the fast is an individual obligation, and is binding on all Bahá'ís who have reached the age of maturity (fifteen years).
Along with obligatory prayer, it is one of the greatest obligations of a Bahá'í. The Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, Shoghi Effendi explains "It is essentially a period of meditation and prayer, of spiritual recuperation, during which the believer must strive to make the necessary readjustments in his inner life, and to refresh and reinvigorate the spiritual forces latent in his soul. Its significance and purpose are, therefore, fundamentally spiritual in character. Fasting is symbolic, and a reminder of abstinence from selfish and carnal desires."
Buddhism
Buddhist monks and nuns following the Vinaya rules commonly fast each day after the noon meal, though many orders today do not enforce this fast.
Christianity
Fasting is a practice in several Christian denominations or other churches. Other Christian denominations do not practice it because they see it as a merely external observance.
Biblical accounts of fasting
..Moses fasted for forty days and forty nights while he was on the mountain with God.
..King David fasted when the son of his adulterous union with Bathsheba was struck sick by God, in punishment for the adultery and for David's murder of Bathsheba's husband, Uriah the Hittite. Nevertheless, the son died, upon which David broke his fast (2 Samuel 12:15-25).
..King Jehosaphat proclaimed a fast throughout Judah for victory over the Moabites and Ammonites who were attacking them (2 Chronicles 20:3).
..The prophet Isaiah chastised the Israelites in Isaiah 58 for the unrighteous methods and motives of their fasting. He clarified some of the best reasons for fasting and listed both physical and spiritual benefits that would result. [1]
..The prophet Joel called for a fast to avert the judgement of God.
..The people of Nineveh in response to Jonah's prophecy, fasted to avert the judgement of God (Jonah 3:7).
..The Pharisees in Jesus' time fasted regularly, and asked Jesus why he did not.
..Jesus rebuked them, using a parable (Luke 5:33-39).
..Jesus also warned against fasting to gain favor from men. He warned his followers that they should fast in private, not letting others know they were fasting (Matthew 6:16–18).
..Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights while in the wilderness, prior to the three temptations (Matthew 4:2, Luke 4:2).
..The prophetess Anna, who proclaimed the birth of Jesus in the Temple, fasted regularly (Luke 2:37).
..There are indications in the New Testament as well as from the Apocryphal Didache that members of the early Christian Church fasted regularly.
Denominations and groups
Charismatic
For Charismatic Christians fasting is undertaken at the leading of God. Fasting is done in order to seek a closer intimacy with God, as well as an act of petition. Some take up a regular fast of one or two days a week as a spiritual observance. Holiness movements, such as John Wesley, Charles Wesley, and George Whitefield started in the early days of Methodism, often practice such regular fasts as part of their regimen.
Eastern Orthodox Church
For Orthodox Christians, there are four fasting seasons, which include Nativity, Great Lent, Apostles' Fast and Dormition. Fasting during these times refers to abstention from animal products, olive oil (or all oils, according to some Orthodox traditions), wine and spirits -- see Eastern Orthodoxy (Fasting). However, shellfish is allowed in some traditions, though other kinds of meat are not. Fasting can take up a significant portion of the calendar year. The idea is not to suffer, but to use the experience to come closer to God, to realize one's excesses and for alms giving. Fasting without prayer and almsgiving (donating the money saved to a local charity, or directly to the poor, depending on circumstances) is considered useless or even spiritually harmful by many Orthodox Christians.
Those desiring to receive Holy Communion keep a total fast from all food and drink from midnight the night before.
Latter-day Saints
Latter-day Saint fasting is total abstinence from food and water. Adherents are encouraged to fast totally for twenty-four hours (leaving out two meals) once a month, and the first Sunday of the month is usually designated a Fast Sunday; many Latter-day Saints who observe the monthly fast begin the Saturday before this day by not partaking of the Saturday evening meal. The money saved by not having to purchase and prepare meals is to be donated to the church as a fast offering, which is to be used to help people in need. Sunday worship meetings on Fast Sunday include opportunities for church members to publicly express thanks and to bear their testimony of faith.
Because fasting involves exercising control of the physical body, subjugating it to the mind, many Latter-day Saints consider fasting a way to focus on the spiritual body, and use it in connection with prayer to make it more meaningful.
Protestant churches
In Protestantism, the continental Reformers criticized fasting as a purely external observance that can never gain a person salvation. The Swiss Reformation of the "Third Reformer" Huldrych Zwingli began with an ostentatious public sausage-eating during Lent.
On the other hand, churches of the Anglican Communion and some American Protestant denominations, such as the United Methodist Church, affected by liturgical renewal movements encourage fasting as part of both Lent and Advent, two penitential seasons of the Liturgical Year.
Other Protestants consider fasting, usually accompanied by prayer, to be an important part of their personal spiritual experience, apart from any liturgical tradition.
Roman Catholicism
Main article: Fasting and Abstinence in the Roman Catholic Church
For Roman Catholics, fasting is the reduction of one's intake of food to one full meal (which may contain meat) and two small meals (known liturgically as collations, taken in the morning and the evening). Eating solid food between meals is not permitted. Fasting is required of the faithful on specified days. Complete abstinence is the avoidance of meat for the entire day. Partial abstinence prescribes that meat be taken only once during the course of the day.
Pope Pius XII had initially relaxed some of the regulations concerning fasting in 1956. In 1966, Pope Paul VI in his apostolic constitution Paenitemini, changed the strictly regulated Catholic fasting requirements. He recommended that fasting be appropriate to the local economic situation, and that all Catholics voluntarily fast and abstain. In the United States, there are only two obligatory days of fast - Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence: those observing the practice may not eat meat. Pastoral teachings since 1966 have urged voluntary fasting during Lent and voluntary abstinence on the other Fridays of the year. The regulations concerning such activities do not apply when the ability to work or the health of a person would be negatively affected.
Prior to the changes made by Pius XII and Paul VI, fasting and abstinence were more strictly regulated. The church had perscribed that Catholics observed fasting and/or abstinence on a number of days throughout the year.
In addition to the fasts mentioned above, Catholics must also observe the Eucharistic Fast, which involves taking nothing but water and medicines into the body for some time before receiving the Eucharist during the Mass. The ancient practice was to fast from midnight until Mass that day, but as Masses after noon and in the evening became common, this was soon modified to fasting for three hours. Current law requires one hour of eucharistic fast.
Hinduism
Fasting is a very integral part of the Hindu religion. Individuals observe different kinds of fasts based on personal beliefs and local customs. Some are listed below-
Some Hindus fast on certain days of the month such as Ekadasi (the eleventh day of each lunar fortnight) or Purnima (full moon).
Certain days of the week are also set aside for fasting depending on personal belief and favorite deity.
Fasting during religious festivals is also very common. Common examples are Shivaratri or the 9 days of Navratri (which occurs twice a year in the months of April and October/November during Dussera just before Diwali, as per the Hindu Calendar). Karwa Chauth is perhaps a form of fasting unique to the northern part of India where married women undertake a fast for the well-being, prosperity, and longevity of their husbands. The Fast is broken after the wife views the moon through a sieve after sunset.
Methods of fasting also vary widely and cover a broad spectrum. If followed strictly, the person fasting does not partake any food or water from the previous day's sunset until 48 minutes after the following day's sunrise. Fasting can also mean limiting oneself to one meal during the day and/or abstaining from eating certain food types and/or eating only certain food-types. In any case, even if the fasting Hindu is non-vegetarian, he/she is not supposed to eat or even touch any animal products (i.e. meat, eggs) on a day of fasting.
Islam
Main article: Sawm
In Islam, fasting starts from fajr (dawn), until maghrib (sunset) is observed during the month of Ramadan. Fasting in the month of Ramadan is one of the Pillars of Islam, and thus one of the most important acts of Islamic worship. By fasting, whether during Ramadan or other times a Muslim draws closer to his Lord by abandoning the things he/she enjoys, such as food and drink. This makes the sincerity of his/her faith and his/her devotion to Allah (God) all the more evident. The believer knows that Allah will love him/her when he/she is ready to abandon worldly comforts for Allah's sake.
Allah informs Muslims in the Qur'an that fasting was prescribed for those before them (i.e., the Jews and Christians) and that by fasting Muslim gains 'taqwa', which can be described as the care taken by a person to do everything Allah has commanded and to keep away from everything that He has forbidden. Fasting helps prevent many sins and is a shield with which the Muslim protects him/herself from jahannam (hell).
Muslims believe that fasting is more than abstaining from food and drink. It also means to abstain from any falsehood in speech and action, from any ignorant and indecent speech, and from arguing and fighting, and sexual intercourse. Therefore, fasting helps to develop good behavior.
Fasting also inculcates a sense of brotherhood and solidarity, as a Muslim feels and experiences what his needy and hungry brothers and sisters feel. However, even the poor, needy, and hungry participate in the fast. Moreover, Ramadan is a month of giving charity and sharing meals to break the fast together.
While fasting in the month of Ramadan is considered fard (obligatory), Islam also proscribed certain days for non-obligatory fasting, such as on each Monday and Thursday of a week, the Day of Arafat (9th of Dhu al-Hijjah in the Islamic (Hijri) calendar, the day the Hajji's reach Mount Arafat), or six days in the month of Shawal (the month following Ramadan).
Jainism
To meet Wikipedia's quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup.
Please discuss this issue on the talk page, or replace this tag with a more specific message. Editing help is available.
This article has been tagged since January 2006.
There are 24 Tirthankers in Jainism. Jains fast for various periods of time. In Jainism, fasting is seen as a must for purification of the soul. Jains may take boiled natural water while fasting or take no water at all (nirjala upvas). Many Jains abstain from food and water from sunset to sunrise, which is considered to be a kind of fasting. While fasting, Jains obeiasance to Navkar Mahamantra on certain days:-Namo Arihantanam,Namo Siddhanam, Namo Ayariyanam, Namo Uvajjhayanam, NamoLoe Savva Sahunam, Eso panch Namukkaro Savva Pava Panasano Mangalanam Cha Savvesim Padhamam Havai Mangalam.
PARYUSHAN PARVA:-The real purpose of the Paryushan is to purify one's soul by staying closer to one's own soul, to look at one's faults, to ask for forgiveness for the mistakes one has committed, and take vows to minimize one's faults. One tries to forget about the needs of one's body and one's business so that one can concentrate on oneself. Swetambers celebrate eight days of Paryushan and the last day is called Samvastsari. In these eight days most Jains fast in many ways and all Jains fast on the Last day of Paryushan. The process of shedding one's KARMAS really begins by asking for forgiveness with true feelings and to vow not to repeat mistakes. The quality of the forgiveness requires humility and suppression of anger.
Judaism
Observant Jews fast on 7 days during the Jewish calendar. Five of these are considered minor fast days, and on these days fasting is observed from sunrise to sunset. Fasting is never permitted on Shabbat. If a public fast falls on the Sabbath, it is either delayed until Sunday, or observed on the Thursday before. The one exception is Yom Kippur, which, based on a verse in the Torah, is observed even if it falls on Shabbat.
On the two major fast days, Jews fast from sunset to sunset the next day. The first major fast day of the Jewish calendar is Yom Kippur. It is also known as the Day of Repentance, and is considered the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. The second major fast day is Tisha B'Av, a 25-hour fast that mourns the destruction of the first and second Jewish Temple, and other tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people.
The minor fast days are:
The Fast of Gedaliah
The Fast of the 10th of Tevet
The Fast of the 17th of Tammuz,
The Fast of Esther, which takes place immediately before Purim
The Fast of the firstborn, which takes place before Passover, and only applies to first-born sons (or their father, if underage).
Fasting in Jewish practice means complete abstinence from all food and drink, including water. On the two major holidays it is also forbidden to engage in any sexual relations, wash or bathe, and even wear leather shoes. Partial or total exemptions apply in many cases for those who are ill, those for whom fasting would pose a medical risk, pregnant women, and nursing mothers. Fasting despite an exemption is prohibited, as endangering one's life is against a core principle of Judaism.
Aside from these official days of fasting, Jews may take upon themselves personal or communal fasts, often to seek repentance in the face of tragedy or some impending calamity. For example, a fast is observed if the scrolls of the Torah are dropped. The length of the fast varies, and some Jews will reduce the length of the fast through tzedakah, or charitable acts.
Main article: Nineteen Day Fast
In the Bahá'í Faith, fasting is observed from sunrise to sunset during the Bahá'í month of `Ala' (between March 2 through March 20). Bahá'u'lláh established the guidelines in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. It is the complete abstaining from both food and drink (including abstaining from smoking). Observing the fast is an individual obligation, and is binding on all Bahá'ís who have reached the age of maturity (fifteen years).
Along with obligatory prayer, it is one of the greatest obligations of a Bahá'í. The Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, Shoghi Effendi explains "It is essentially a period of meditation and prayer, of spiritual recuperation, during which the believer must strive to make the necessary readjustments in his inner life, and to refresh and reinvigorate the spiritual forces latent in his soul. Its significance and purpose are, therefore, fundamentally spiritual in character. Fasting is symbolic, and a reminder of abstinence from selfish and carnal desires."
Buddhism
Buddhist monks and nuns following the Vinaya rules commonly fast each day after the noon meal, though many orders today do not enforce this fast.
Christianity
Fasting is a practice in several Christian denominations or other churches. Other Christian denominations do not practice it because they see it as a merely external observance.
Biblical accounts of fasting
..Moses fasted for forty days and forty nights while he was on the mountain with God.
..King David fasted when the son of his adulterous union with Bathsheba was struck sick by God, in punishment for the adultery and for David's murder of Bathsheba's husband, Uriah the Hittite. Nevertheless, the son died, upon which David broke his fast (2 Samuel 12:15-25).
..King Jehosaphat proclaimed a fast throughout Judah for victory over the Moabites and Ammonites who were attacking them (2 Chronicles 20:3).
..The prophet Isaiah chastised the Israelites in Isaiah 58 for the unrighteous methods and motives of their fasting. He clarified some of the best reasons for fasting and listed both physical and spiritual benefits that would result. [1]
..The prophet Joel called for a fast to avert the judgement of God.
..The people of Nineveh in response to Jonah's prophecy, fasted to avert the judgement of God (Jonah 3:7).
..The Pharisees in Jesus' time fasted regularly, and asked Jesus why he did not.
..Jesus rebuked them, using a parable (Luke 5:33-39).
..Jesus also warned against fasting to gain favor from men. He warned his followers that they should fast in private, not letting others know they were fasting (Matthew 6:16–18).
..Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights while in the wilderness, prior to the three temptations (Matthew 4:2, Luke 4:2).
..The prophetess Anna, who proclaimed the birth of Jesus in the Temple, fasted regularly (Luke 2:37).
..There are indications in the New Testament as well as from the Apocryphal Didache that members of the early Christian Church fasted regularly.
Denominations and groups
Charismatic
For Charismatic Christians fasting is undertaken at the leading of God. Fasting is done in order to seek a closer intimacy with God, as well as an act of petition. Some take up a regular fast of one or two days a week as a spiritual observance. Holiness movements, such as John Wesley, Charles Wesley, and George Whitefield started in the early days of Methodism, often practice such regular fasts as part of their regimen.
Eastern Orthodox Church
For Orthodox Christians, there are four fasting seasons, which include Nativity, Great Lent, Apostles' Fast and Dormition. Fasting during these times refers to abstention from animal products, olive oil (or all oils, according to some Orthodox traditions), wine and spirits -- see Eastern Orthodoxy (Fasting). However, shellfish is allowed in some traditions, though other kinds of meat are not. Fasting can take up a significant portion of the calendar year. The idea is not to suffer, but to use the experience to come closer to God, to realize one's excesses and for alms giving. Fasting without prayer and almsgiving (donating the money saved to a local charity, or directly to the poor, depending on circumstances) is considered useless or even spiritually harmful by many Orthodox Christians.
Those desiring to receive Holy Communion keep a total fast from all food and drink from midnight the night before.
Latter-day Saints
Latter-day Saint fasting is total abstinence from food and water. Adherents are encouraged to fast totally for twenty-four hours (leaving out two meals) once a month, and the first Sunday of the month is usually designated a Fast Sunday; many Latter-day Saints who observe the monthly fast begin the Saturday before this day by not partaking of the Saturday evening meal. The money saved by not having to purchase and prepare meals is to be donated to the church as a fast offering, which is to be used to help people in need. Sunday worship meetings on Fast Sunday include opportunities for church members to publicly express thanks and to bear their testimony of faith.
Because fasting involves exercising control of the physical body, subjugating it to the mind, many Latter-day Saints consider fasting a way to focus on the spiritual body, and use it in connection with prayer to make it more meaningful.
Protestant churches
In Protestantism, the continental Reformers criticized fasting as a purely external observance that can never gain a person salvation. The Swiss Reformation of the "Third Reformer" Huldrych Zwingli began with an ostentatious public sausage-eating during Lent.
On the other hand, churches of the Anglican Communion and some American Protestant denominations, such as the United Methodist Church, affected by liturgical renewal movements encourage fasting as part of both Lent and Advent, two penitential seasons of the Liturgical Year.
Other Protestants consider fasting, usually accompanied by prayer, to be an important part of their personal spiritual experience, apart from any liturgical tradition.
Roman Catholicism
Main article: Fasting and Abstinence in the Roman Catholic Church
For Roman Catholics, fasting is the reduction of one's intake of food to one full meal (which may contain meat) and two small meals (known liturgically as collations, taken in the morning and the evening). Eating solid food between meals is not permitted. Fasting is required of the faithful on specified days. Complete abstinence is the avoidance of meat for the entire day. Partial abstinence prescribes that meat be taken only once during the course of the day.
Pope Pius XII had initially relaxed some of the regulations concerning fasting in 1956. In 1966, Pope Paul VI in his apostolic constitution Paenitemini, changed the strictly regulated Catholic fasting requirements. He recommended that fasting be appropriate to the local economic situation, and that all Catholics voluntarily fast and abstain. In the United States, there are only two obligatory days of fast - Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence: those observing the practice may not eat meat. Pastoral teachings since 1966 have urged voluntary fasting during Lent and voluntary abstinence on the other Fridays of the year. The regulations concerning such activities do not apply when the ability to work or the health of a person would be negatively affected.
Prior to the changes made by Pius XII and Paul VI, fasting and abstinence were more strictly regulated. The church had perscribed that Catholics observed fasting and/or abstinence on a number of days throughout the year.
In addition to the fasts mentioned above, Catholics must also observe the Eucharistic Fast, which involves taking nothing but water and medicines into the body for some time before receiving the Eucharist during the Mass. The ancient practice was to fast from midnight until Mass that day, but as Masses after noon and in the evening became common, this was soon modified to fasting for three hours. Current law requires one hour of eucharistic fast.
Hinduism
Fasting is a very integral part of the Hindu religion. Individuals observe different kinds of fasts based on personal beliefs and local customs. Some are listed below-
Some Hindus fast on certain days of the month such as Ekadasi (the eleventh day of each lunar fortnight) or Purnima (full moon).
Certain days of the week are also set aside for fasting depending on personal belief and favorite deity.
Fasting during religious festivals is also very common. Common examples are Shivaratri or the 9 days of Navratri (which occurs twice a year in the months of April and October/November during Dussera just before Diwali, as per the Hindu Calendar). Karwa Chauth is perhaps a form of fasting unique to the northern part of India where married women undertake a fast for the well-being, prosperity, and longevity of their husbands. The Fast is broken after the wife views the moon through a sieve after sunset.
Methods of fasting also vary widely and cover a broad spectrum. If followed strictly, the person fasting does not partake any food or water from the previous day's sunset until 48 minutes after the following day's sunrise. Fasting can also mean limiting oneself to one meal during the day and/or abstaining from eating certain food types and/or eating only certain food-types. In any case, even if the fasting Hindu is non-vegetarian, he/she is not supposed to eat or even touch any animal products (i.e. meat, eggs) on a day of fasting.
Islam
Main article: Sawm
In Islam, fasting starts from fajr (dawn), until maghrib (sunset) is observed during the month of Ramadan. Fasting in the month of Ramadan is one of the Pillars of Islam, and thus one of the most important acts of Islamic worship. By fasting, whether during Ramadan or other times a Muslim draws closer to his Lord by abandoning the things he/she enjoys, such as food and drink. This makes the sincerity of his/her faith and his/her devotion to Allah (God) all the more evident. The believer knows that Allah will love him/her when he/she is ready to abandon worldly comforts for Allah's sake.
Allah informs Muslims in the Qur'an that fasting was prescribed for those before them (i.e., the Jews and Christians) and that by fasting Muslim gains 'taqwa', which can be described as the care taken by a person to do everything Allah has commanded and to keep away from everything that He has forbidden. Fasting helps prevent many sins and is a shield with which the Muslim protects him/herself from jahannam (hell).
Muslims believe that fasting is more than abstaining from food and drink. It also means to abstain from any falsehood in speech and action, from any ignorant and indecent speech, and from arguing and fighting, and sexual intercourse. Therefore, fasting helps to develop good behavior.
Fasting also inculcates a sense of brotherhood and solidarity, as a Muslim feels and experiences what his needy and hungry brothers and sisters feel. However, even the poor, needy, and hungry participate in the fast. Moreover, Ramadan is a month of giving charity and sharing meals to break the fast together.
While fasting in the month of Ramadan is considered fard (obligatory), Islam also proscribed certain days for non-obligatory fasting, such as on each Monday and Thursday of a week, the Day of Arafat (9th of Dhu al-Hijjah in the Islamic (Hijri) calendar, the day the Hajji's reach Mount Arafat), or six days in the month of Shawal (the month following Ramadan).
Jainism
To meet Wikipedia's quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup.
Please discuss this issue on the talk page, or replace this tag with a more specific message. Editing help is available.
This article has been tagged since January 2006.
There are 24 Tirthankers in Jainism. Jains fast for various periods of time. In Jainism, fasting is seen as a must for purification of the soul. Jains may take boiled natural water while fasting or take no water at all (nirjala upvas). Many Jains abstain from food and water from sunset to sunrise, which is considered to be a kind of fasting. While fasting, Jains obeiasance to Navkar Mahamantra on certain days:-Namo Arihantanam,Namo Siddhanam, Namo Ayariyanam, Namo Uvajjhayanam, NamoLoe Savva Sahunam, Eso panch Namukkaro Savva Pava Panasano Mangalanam Cha Savvesim Padhamam Havai Mangalam.
PARYUSHAN PARVA:-The real purpose of the Paryushan is to purify one's soul by staying closer to one's own soul, to look at one's faults, to ask for forgiveness for the mistakes one has committed, and take vows to minimize one's faults. One tries to forget about the needs of one's body and one's business so that one can concentrate on oneself. Swetambers celebrate eight days of Paryushan and the last day is called Samvastsari. In these eight days most Jains fast in many ways and all Jains fast on the Last day of Paryushan. The process of shedding one's KARMAS really begins by asking for forgiveness with true feelings and to vow not to repeat mistakes. The quality of the forgiveness requires humility and suppression of anger.
Judaism
Observant Jews fast on 7 days during the Jewish calendar. Five of these are considered minor fast days, and on these days fasting is observed from sunrise to sunset. Fasting is never permitted on Shabbat. If a public fast falls on the Sabbath, it is either delayed until Sunday, or observed on the Thursday before. The one exception is Yom Kippur, which, based on a verse in the Torah, is observed even if it falls on Shabbat.
On the two major fast days, Jews fast from sunset to sunset the next day. The first major fast day of the Jewish calendar is Yom Kippur. It is also known as the Day of Repentance, and is considered the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. The second major fast day is Tisha B'Av, a 25-hour fast that mourns the destruction of the first and second Jewish Temple, and other tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people.
The minor fast days are:
The Fast of Gedaliah
The Fast of the 10th of Tevet
The Fast of the 17th of Tammuz,
The Fast of Esther, which takes place immediately before Purim
The Fast of the firstborn, which takes place before Passover, and only applies to first-born sons (or their father, if underage).
Fasting in Jewish practice means complete abstinence from all food and drink, including water. On the two major holidays it is also forbidden to engage in any sexual relations, wash or bathe, and even wear leather shoes. Partial or total exemptions apply in many cases for those who are ill, those for whom fasting would pose a medical risk, pregnant women, and nursing mothers. Fasting despite an exemption is prohibited, as endangering one's life is against a core principle of Judaism.
Aside from these official days of fasting, Jews may take upon themselves personal or communal fasts, often to seek repentance in the face of tragedy or some impending calamity. For example, a fast is observed if the scrolls of the Torah are dropped. The length of the fast varies, and some Jews will reduce the length of the fast through tzedakah, or charitable acts.
Fasting... The Ultimate Remedy ?
Fasting refers to complete abstinence from food for a short or long period for a specific purpose. The word is derived from the old English, ‘feastan’ which means to fast, observe, be strict.
Fasting is nature’s oldest, most effective and yet least expensive method of treating disease. It is recognised as the cornerstone of natural healing. Dr. Arnold Eheret, the originator of the muscusless diet healing system, describes it as " nature’s only universal and omnipotent remedy of healing" and "nature’s only fundamental law of all healing and curing. " Fasting is designed to get to and cure the root of the problem rather than temporarily medicating it.
The practice of fasting is one of the most ancient customs. It is followed in almost every religion.
The Mohammedan, the Buddhists, the Hindus and many others have their periods of strict fasting. The saints of medieval times laid great stress on this method.
Fasting in disease was advocated by the school of natural philosophy over two thousand years ago. Asclepiades, who established Greek Medicine near the end of the 2nd century BCE believed disease resulted from an irregular or inharmonious motion of the corpuscles of the body. His remedies were, therefore, directed to the restoration of natural harmony. He trusted much to changes of diet, and use of fasting, massages, bathing and exercise. Throughout medical history, it has been regarded as one of the most dependable curative methods. Hippocrates, Galen, Paracelsus and many other great authorities on medicine prescribed it. Many noted modern physicians have successfully employed this system of healing in the treatment of numerous diseases.
The common cause of all diseases is the accumulation of waste and poisonous matter in the body which results from overeating. The majority of persons eat too much and follow sedentary occupations which do not permit sufficient and proper exercise for utilisation of this large quantity of food. This surplus overburdens the digestive and assimulative organs and clogs up the system with impurities or poisons. Digestion and elimination become slow and the functional activity of the whole system gets deranged.
The onset of disease is merely the process of ridding the system of these impurities. Every disease can be healed by only one remedy - by doing just the opposite of what causes it, that is, by reducing the food intake or fasting.
By depriving the body of food for a time, the organs of elimination such as the bowels, kidneys, skin and lungs are given opportunity to expel, unhampered, the overload of accumulated waste from the system. Thus, fasting is merely the process of purification and an effective and quick method of cure. It assists nature in her continuous effort to expel foreign matter and disease producing waste from the body, thereby correcting the faults of improper diet and wrong living. It also leads to regeneration of the blood as well as the repair and regeneration of the various tissues of the body.
Fasting is nature’s oldest, most effective and yet least expensive method of treating disease. It is recognised as the cornerstone of natural healing. Dr. Arnold Eheret, the originator of the muscusless diet healing system, describes it as " nature’s only universal and omnipotent remedy of healing" and "nature’s only fundamental law of all healing and curing. " Fasting is designed to get to and cure the root of the problem rather than temporarily medicating it.
The practice of fasting is one of the most ancient customs. It is followed in almost every religion.
The Mohammedan, the Buddhists, the Hindus and many others have their periods of strict fasting. The saints of medieval times laid great stress on this method.
Fasting in disease was advocated by the school of natural philosophy over two thousand years ago. Asclepiades, who established Greek Medicine near the end of the 2nd century BCE believed disease resulted from an irregular or inharmonious motion of the corpuscles of the body. His remedies were, therefore, directed to the restoration of natural harmony. He trusted much to changes of diet, and use of fasting, massages, bathing and exercise. Throughout medical history, it has been regarded as one of the most dependable curative methods. Hippocrates, Galen, Paracelsus and many other great authorities on medicine prescribed it. Many noted modern physicians have successfully employed this system of healing in the treatment of numerous diseases.
The common cause of all diseases is the accumulation of waste and poisonous matter in the body which results from overeating. The majority of persons eat too much and follow sedentary occupations which do not permit sufficient and proper exercise for utilisation of this large quantity of food. This surplus overburdens the digestive and assimulative organs and clogs up the system with impurities or poisons. Digestion and elimination become slow and the functional activity of the whole system gets deranged.
The onset of disease is merely the process of ridding the system of these impurities. Every disease can be healed by only one remedy - by doing just the opposite of what causes it, that is, by reducing the food intake or fasting.
By depriving the body of food for a time, the organs of elimination such as the bowels, kidneys, skin and lungs are given opportunity to expel, unhampered, the overload of accumulated waste from the system. Thus, fasting is merely the process of purification and an effective and quick method of cure. It assists nature in her continuous effort to expel foreign matter and disease producing waste from the body, thereby correcting the faults of improper diet and wrong living. It also leads to regeneration of the blood as well as the repair and regeneration of the various tissues of the body.
What is Fasting ?
Definition
Fasting is voluntarily not eating food for varying lengths of time. Fasting is used as a medical therapy for many conditions. It is also a spiritual practice in many religions.
Fasting and Detox: Articles & Links:
Origins
Used for thousands of years, fasting is one of the oldest therapies in medicine. Many of the great doctors of ancient times and many of the oldest healing systems have recommended it as an integral method of healing and prevention. Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, believed fasting enabled the body to heal itself. Paracelsus, another great healer in the Western tradition, wrote 500 years ago that "fasting is the greatest remedy, the physician within." Ayurvedic medicine , the world's oldest healing system, has long advocated fasting as a major treatment.
Fasting has also been used in nearly every religion in the world, including Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and Islam. Many of history's great spiritual leaders fasted for mental and spiritual clarity, including Jesus, Buddha, and Mohammed. In one of the famous political acts of the last century, the Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi fasted for 21 days to promote peace.
Fasting has been used in Europe as a medical treatment for years. Many spas and treatment centers, particularly those in Germany, Sweden, and Russia, use medically supervised fasting. Fasting has gained popularity in American alternative medicine over the past several decades, and many doctors feel it is beneficial. Fasting is a central therapy in detoxification, a healing method founded on the principle that the build up of toxic substances in the body is responsible for many illnesses and conditions.
Benefits
Fasting can be used for nearly every chronic condition, including allergies, anxiety, arthritis, asthma, depression, diabetes, headaches, heart disease , high cholesterol, low blood sugar, digestive disorders, mental illness, and obesity. Fasting is an effective and safe weight loss method. It is frequently prescribed as a detoxification treatment for those with conditions that may be influenced by environmental factors, such as cancer and multiple chemical sensitivity . Fasting has been used successfully to help treat people who have been exposed to high levels of toxic materials due to accident or occupation. Fasting is thought to be beneficial as a preventative measure to increase overall health, vitality, and resistance to disease. Fasting is also used as a method of mental and spiritual rejuvenation.
Description
The principle of fasting is simple. When the intake of food is temporarily stopped, many systems of the body are given a break from the hard work of digestion. The extra energy gives the body the chance to heal and restore itself, and burning stored calories gets rid of toxic substances stored in the body.
The digestive tract is the part of the body most exposed to environmental threats, including bacteria, viruses, parasites, and toxins. It requires the most immune system support. When food is broken down in the intestines, it travels through the blood to the liver, the largest organ of the body's natural detoxification system. The liver breaks down and removes the toxic by-products produced by digestion, including natural ones and the chemicals now present in the food supply. During fasting, the liver and immune system are essentially freed to detoxify and heal other parts of the body.
Many healers claim that fasting is a particularly useful therapy for Americans and for the modern lifestyle, subjected to heavy diets, overeating, and constant exposure to food additives and chemicals. Some alternative practitioners have gone so far as to estimate that the average American is carrying 5-10 pounds of toxic substances in their bodies, for which fasting is the quickest and most effective means of removal.
Physiology of fasting
Through evolution, the body became very efficient at storing energy and handling situations when no food was available. For many centuries, fasting was probably a normal occurrence for most people, and the body adapted to it. It is estimated that even very thin people can survive for 40 days or more without food. The body has a special mechanism that is initiated when no food is eaten. Fasting is not starvation, but rather the body's burning of stored energy. Starvation occurs when the body no longer has any stored energy and begins using essential tissues such as organs for an energy source. Therapeutic fasts are stopped long before this happens.
Many physiological changes occur in the body during fasting. During the first day or so, the body uses its glycogen reserves, the sugars that are the basic energy supply. After these are depleted, the body begins using fat. However, the brain, which has high fuel requirements, still needs glucose (sugars converted from glycogen). To obtain glucose for the brain, the body begins to break down muscle tissue during the second day of the fast. Thus, during fasting some muscle loss will occur. To fuel the brain, the body would need to burn over a pound of muscle a day, but the body has developed another way to create energy that saves important muscle mass. This protein-sparing process is called ketosis, which occurs during the third day of a fast for men and the second day for women. In this highly efficient state, the liver begins converting stored fat and other nonessential tissues into ketones, which can be used by the brain, muscles, and heart as energy. It is at this point in the fast that sensations of hunger generally go away, and many people experience normal or even increased energy levels. Hormone levels and certain functions become more stable in this state as well. The goal of most fasts is to allow the body to reach the ketosis state in order to burn excess fat and unneeded or damaged tissue. Thus, fasts longer than three days are generally recommended as therapy.
Weight loss occurs most rapidly during the first few days of a fast, up to 2 pounds per day. In following days, the figure drops to around 0.5 pound per day. An average weight loss of a pound a day for an entire fast can be expected.
Performing a fast
Fasts can be performed for varying lengths of time, depending on the person and his or her health requirements. For chronic conditions, therapists recommend from two to four weeks to get the most benefits. Seven-day fasts are also commonly performed. A popular fasting program for prevention and general health is a three-day fast taken four times per year, at the change of each season. These can be easily performed over long weekends. Preventative fasts of one day per week are used by many people as well.
Juice fasts are also used by many people, although these are not technically fasts. Juice fasts are less intensive than water fasts because the body doesn't reach the ketosis stage. The advantage of juice fasts is that fruit and vegetable drinks can supply extra energy and nutrients. People can fit a few days of juice fasting into their normal schedules without significant drops in energy. Juice fasts are also said to have cleansing and detoxifying effects. The disadvantage of juice fasts is that the body never gets to the ketosis stage, so these fasters are thought to lack the deep detoxification and healing effects of the water fast.
Medical supervision is recommended for any fast over three days. Most alternative medicine practitioners, such as homeopaths, naturopathic doctors, and ayurvedic doctors, can supervise and monitor patients during fasts. Those performing extended fasts and those with health conditions may require blood, urine, and other tests during fasting. There are many alternative health clinics that perform medically supervised fasts as well. Some conventional medical doctors may also supervise patients during fasts. Costs and insurance coverage vary, depending on the doctor, clinic, and requirements of the patient.
Preparations
Fasts must be entered and exited with care. To enter a fast, the diet should be gradually lightened over a few days. First, heavy foods such as meats and dairy products should be eliminated for a day or two. Grains, nuts, and beans should then be reduced for several days. The day before a fast, only easily digested foods like fruits, light salads, and soups should be eaten. During the fast, only pure water and occasional herbal teas should be drunk.
Fasts should be ended as gradually as they are entered, going from lighter to heavier foods progressively. The diet after a fast should emphasize fresh, wholesome foods. Fasters should particularly take care not to overeat when they complete a fast.
Precautions
Fasting isn't appropriate for everyone and, in some cases, could be harmful. Any person undertaking a first fast longer than three days should seek medical supervision. Those with health conditions should always have medical support during fasting. Plenty of water should be taken by fasters since dehydration can occur. Saunas and sweating therapies are sometimes recommended to assist detoxification, but should be used sparingly. Those fasting should significantly slow down their lifestyles. Taking time off of work is helpful, or at least reducing the work load. Fasters should also get plenty of rest. Exercise should be kept light, such as walking and gentle stretching.
Side effects
Those fasting may experience side effects of fatigue, malaise, aches and pains, emotional duress, acne, headaches, allergies, swelling, vomiting, bad breath , and symptoms of colds and flu. These reactions are sometimes called healing crises, which are caused by temporarily increased levels of toxins in the body due to elimination and cleansing. Lower energy levels should be expected during a fast.
Research & general acceptance
The physiology of fasting has been widely studied and documented by medical science. Beneficial effects such as lowered cholesterol and improved general functioning have been shown. Fasting as a treatment for illness and disease has been studied less, although some studies around the world have shown beneficial results. A 1984 study showed that workers in Taiwan who had severe chemical poisoning had dramatic improvement after a ten-day fast. In Russia and Japan, studies have demonstrated fasting to be an effective treatment for mental illness. A few years ago, fasting was featured on the cover of the New England Journal of Medicine, although mainstream medicine has generally ignored fasting and detoxification treatments as valid medical procedures.
The majority of research that exists on fasting is testimonial, consisting of individual personal accounts of healing without statistics or controlled scientific experiments. In the alternative medical community, fasting is an essential and widely accepted treatment for many illnesses and chronic conditions.
Training & certification
The International Association of Professional Natural Hygienists (IAPNH) is an organization of healthcare professionals who specialize in therapeutic fasting. It certifies doctors who have completed approved residencies in therapeutic fasting, including conventional medical doctors, naturopaths, and osteopathic doctors.
Key Terms
Ayurvedic medicine
A traditional healing system developed in India.
Toxin
A substance that has poisonous effects on the body.
Fasting is voluntarily not eating food for varying lengths of time. Fasting is used as a medical therapy for many conditions. It is also a spiritual practice in many religions.
Fasting and Detox: Articles & Links:
- Fasting and Religion
- The Ultimate Remedy?
- Detox - The Fast Track to Fasting
- Juice Fasting - Detoxify and Rejuvenate
- What to Expect after Cleansing the System
Origins
Used for thousands of years, fasting is one of the oldest therapies in medicine. Many of the great doctors of ancient times and many of the oldest healing systems have recommended it as an integral method of healing and prevention. Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, believed fasting enabled the body to heal itself. Paracelsus, another great healer in the Western tradition, wrote 500 years ago that "fasting is the greatest remedy, the physician within." Ayurvedic medicine , the world's oldest healing system, has long advocated fasting as a major treatment.
Fasting has also been used in nearly every religion in the world, including Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and Islam. Many of history's great spiritual leaders fasted for mental and spiritual clarity, including Jesus, Buddha, and Mohammed. In one of the famous political acts of the last century, the Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi fasted for 21 days to promote peace.
Fasting has been used in Europe as a medical treatment for years. Many spas and treatment centers, particularly those in Germany, Sweden, and Russia, use medically supervised fasting. Fasting has gained popularity in American alternative medicine over the past several decades, and many doctors feel it is beneficial. Fasting is a central therapy in detoxification, a healing method founded on the principle that the build up of toxic substances in the body is responsible for many illnesses and conditions.
Benefits
Fasting can be used for nearly every chronic condition, including allergies, anxiety, arthritis, asthma, depression, diabetes, headaches, heart disease , high cholesterol, low blood sugar, digestive disorders, mental illness, and obesity. Fasting is an effective and safe weight loss method. It is frequently prescribed as a detoxification treatment for those with conditions that may be influenced by environmental factors, such as cancer and multiple chemical sensitivity . Fasting has been used successfully to help treat people who have been exposed to high levels of toxic materials due to accident or occupation. Fasting is thought to be beneficial as a preventative measure to increase overall health, vitality, and resistance to disease. Fasting is also used as a method of mental and spiritual rejuvenation.
Description
The principle of fasting is simple. When the intake of food is temporarily stopped, many systems of the body are given a break from the hard work of digestion. The extra energy gives the body the chance to heal and restore itself, and burning stored calories gets rid of toxic substances stored in the body.
The digestive tract is the part of the body most exposed to environmental threats, including bacteria, viruses, parasites, and toxins. It requires the most immune system support. When food is broken down in the intestines, it travels through the blood to the liver, the largest organ of the body's natural detoxification system. The liver breaks down and removes the toxic by-products produced by digestion, including natural ones and the chemicals now present in the food supply. During fasting, the liver and immune system are essentially freed to detoxify and heal other parts of the body.
Many healers claim that fasting is a particularly useful therapy for Americans and for the modern lifestyle, subjected to heavy diets, overeating, and constant exposure to food additives and chemicals. Some alternative practitioners have gone so far as to estimate that the average American is carrying 5-10 pounds of toxic substances in their bodies, for which fasting is the quickest and most effective means of removal.
Physiology of fasting
Through evolution, the body became very efficient at storing energy and handling situations when no food was available. For many centuries, fasting was probably a normal occurrence for most people, and the body adapted to it. It is estimated that even very thin people can survive for 40 days or more without food. The body has a special mechanism that is initiated when no food is eaten. Fasting is not starvation, but rather the body's burning of stored energy. Starvation occurs when the body no longer has any stored energy and begins using essential tissues such as organs for an energy source. Therapeutic fasts are stopped long before this happens.
Many physiological changes occur in the body during fasting. During the first day or so, the body uses its glycogen reserves, the sugars that are the basic energy supply. After these are depleted, the body begins using fat. However, the brain, which has high fuel requirements, still needs glucose (sugars converted from glycogen). To obtain glucose for the brain, the body begins to break down muscle tissue during the second day of the fast. Thus, during fasting some muscle loss will occur. To fuel the brain, the body would need to burn over a pound of muscle a day, but the body has developed another way to create energy that saves important muscle mass. This protein-sparing process is called ketosis, which occurs during the third day of a fast for men and the second day for women. In this highly efficient state, the liver begins converting stored fat and other nonessential tissues into ketones, which can be used by the brain, muscles, and heart as energy. It is at this point in the fast that sensations of hunger generally go away, and many people experience normal or even increased energy levels. Hormone levels and certain functions become more stable in this state as well. The goal of most fasts is to allow the body to reach the ketosis state in order to burn excess fat and unneeded or damaged tissue. Thus, fasts longer than three days are generally recommended as therapy.
Weight loss occurs most rapidly during the first few days of a fast, up to 2 pounds per day. In following days, the figure drops to around 0.5 pound per day. An average weight loss of a pound a day for an entire fast can be expected.
Performing a fast
Fasts can be performed for varying lengths of time, depending on the person and his or her health requirements. For chronic conditions, therapists recommend from two to four weeks to get the most benefits. Seven-day fasts are also commonly performed. A popular fasting program for prevention and general health is a three-day fast taken four times per year, at the change of each season. These can be easily performed over long weekends. Preventative fasts of one day per week are used by many people as well.
Juice fasts are also used by many people, although these are not technically fasts. Juice fasts are less intensive than water fasts because the body doesn't reach the ketosis stage. The advantage of juice fasts is that fruit and vegetable drinks can supply extra energy and nutrients. People can fit a few days of juice fasting into their normal schedules without significant drops in energy. Juice fasts are also said to have cleansing and detoxifying effects. The disadvantage of juice fasts is that the body never gets to the ketosis stage, so these fasters are thought to lack the deep detoxification and healing effects of the water fast.
Medical supervision is recommended for any fast over three days. Most alternative medicine practitioners, such as homeopaths, naturopathic doctors, and ayurvedic doctors, can supervise and monitor patients during fasts. Those performing extended fasts and those with health conditions may require blood, urine, and other tests during fasting. There are many alternative health clinics that perform medically supervised fasts as well. Some conventional medical doctors may also supervise patients during fasts. Costs and insurance coverage vary, depending on the doctor, clinic, and requirements of the patient.
Preparations
Fasts must be entered and exited with care. To enter a fast, the diet should be gradually lightened over a few days. First, heavy foods such as meats and dairy products should be eliminated for a day or two. Grains, nuts, and beans should then be reduced for several days. The day before a fast, only easily digested foods like fruits, light salads, and soups should be eaten. During the fast, only pure water and occasional herbal teas should be drunk.
Fasts should be ended as gradually as they are entered, going from lighter to heavier foods progressively. The diet after a fast should emphasize fresh, wholesome foods. Fasters should particularly take care not to overeat when they complete a fast.
Precautions
Fasting isn't appropriate for everyone and, in some cases, could be harmful. Any person undertaking a first fast longer than three days should seek medical supervision. Those with health conditions should always have medical support during fasting. Plenty of water should be taken by fasters since dehydration can occur. Saunas and sweating therapies are sometimes recommended to assist detoxification, but should be used sparingly. Those fasting should significantly slow down their lifestyles. Taking time off of work is helpful, or at least reducing the work load. Fasters should also get plenty of rest. Exercise should be kept light, such as walking and gentle stretching.
Side effects
Those fasting may experience side effects of fatigue, malaise, aches and pains, emotional duress, acne, headaches, allergies, swelling, vomiting, bad breath , and symptoms of colds and flu. These reactions are sometimes called healing crises, which are caused by temporarily increased levels of toxins in the body due to elimination and cleansing. Lower energy levels should be expected during a fast.
Research & general acceptance
The physiology of fasting has been widely studied and documented by medical science. Beneficial effects such as lowered cholesterol and improved general functioning have been shown. Fasting as a treatment for illness and disease has been studied less, although some studies around the world have shown beneficial results. A 1984 study showed that workers in Taiwan who had severe chemical poisoning had dramatic improvement after a ten-day fast. In Russia and Japan, studies have demonstrated fasting to be an effective treatment for mental illness. A few years ago, fasting was featured on the cover of the New England Journal of Medicine, although mainstream medicine has generally ignored fasting and detoxification treatments as valid medical procedures.
The majority of research that exists on fasting is testimonial, consisting of individual personal accounts of healing without statistics or controlled scientific experiments. In the alternative medical community, fasting is an essential and widely accepted treatment for many illnesses and chronic conditions.
Training & certification
The International Association of Professional Natural Hygienists (IAPNH) is an organization of healthcare professionals who specialize in therapeutic fasting. It certifies doctors who have completed approved residencies in therapeutic fasting, including conventional medical doctors, naturopaths, and osteopathic doctors.
Key Terms
Ayurvedic medicine
A traditional healing system developed in India.
Toxin
A substance that has poisonous effects on the body.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
