This weekend, I took the opportunity of my rare blank calendar to do a three-day fast.
When I tell people about this, I always get the same reactions: “I could never do that,” or “No way–I’m hypoglycemic,” or “I’m miserable if I even skip one meal,” or the questions: “But you’re not overweight, why fast?” or “You’re so healthy already; why do you need to fast?”
I believe that almost everyone would benefit from fasting occasionally.
According to Dr. Joel Fuhrman, “Health is the normal state. Most chronic disease is the inevitable consequence of living a life-style that places disease-causing stressors on the human organism. Fasting gives the body an interlude without those stressors so that it can speedily repair or accomplish healing that could not otherwise occur in the feeding state . . .Fasting stops the continual work of the digestive tract, whose activity can drain the body of energy and divert the healing processes.” He has personally seen so-called incurable diseases reversed and chronic conditions completely go away simply from fasting.
And it’s not just for those who have chronic conditions or disease.
We all can use a break to flush out the toxins we take in every single day regardless of how clean your diet is. But fasting isn’t just about detoxifying. It also allows the body to breakdown unneeded tissues such as fat, abnormal cells, plaque in our arteries, and tumors. Our body’s natural inclination is to heal if we give it half a chance. By doing a complete (water only) fast, you’re allowing your body to do what it does best, which is heal and eliminate unneeded and often disease-forming matter from our cells.
There are amazing effects from fasts, from what I’ve mentioned above in the physical, but also psychologically and spiritually. It also allows you to become in touch with your body’s sensations and needs, which is necessary to lead a healthy lifestyle. If you are even slightly interested (and I hope you are), I highly recommend Dr. Fuhrman’s book Fasting and Eating for Health and his inspiration, Herbert Shelton’s Fasting Can Save Your Life.
And for those of you who swear you could never do it, believe me, you can, and you will benefit. A three-day fast is relatively easy, can fit into most people’s lifestyles, and can be done without doctor supervision (of course health and nutrition counselors are good to help you along). Dr. Fuhrman suggests longer ones, especially for those with chronic conditions and diseases. If you should decide to do this, I would recommend having a trusted doctor supervise your fast (and one that supports fasting as healing).
Stay tuned to read about my fast day by day.
