Fasting has long been a spiritual and physical means to purification. Both Moses and Jesus fasted for forty days. Luke denied himself food twice a week. Socrates and Plato fasted for ten-day stretches prior to beginning writing projects. Gandhi fasted as a form of political protest, and Hippocrates as a method of healing. Today Muslims fast annually during their period of Ramadan, and Jews on Yom Kippur, their Day of Atonement; even animals fast. When ill, they instinctively know fasting will provide the rest and relaxation their body craves, helping it return to a more balanced and functional state.
Fasting gives the digestive system, including the stomach, intestines, pancreas, gallbladder, and liver, a chance to minimize its activity. At the same time, abstaining from food increases the release of toxins from the colon, kidneys, bladder, lungs, sinuses, and skin.
As scientific studies show, fasting also boosts the immune system. At the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, researchers discovered an increase in the activity of infection-fighting white blood cells in a group of fasting obese volunteers. The same scientists also found that mice deprived of food for forty-eight to seventy-two hours had better resistance to deadly microorganism than did well-fed animals. The Pittsburgh researchers theorize that fasting stimulates the release of chemical messengers known to spurt the immune system.
Dr. Michael Pariza, of the University of Wisconsin, cites studies in which rats who had restricted food intakes had fewer instances of cancer and lived longer than rates on a regular diet. He suggests that steroid-like hormones produced in response to fasting may be able to repress cancerous cell growth. Fasting has also been shown to improve the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. According to a study on twenty-even patients in Norway, short-term fasting, followed by a vegetarian diet, produced a substantial reduction in disease activity. The study authors suggest that the improvement was due to changes in dietary fatty acids. Fasting is beneficial in the treatment of allergic and inflammatory conditions because it decreases the availability of arachidonic acid a fatty acid found exclusively in animal products which is converted in the body to compounds that promote inflammation. Many of the rheumatoid arthritis patients also benefited from another effect to fasting by eliminating allergy-inducting foods such as corn, wheat, dairy, beef and nightshades eggplant and potatoes.Fasting can also spark an exhilarating burst of energy. During a detox fast, the body increases its production of hormones so that it can facilitate the use of stored body fat in order to meet the increased energy requirement. One hormone is adrenaline which can pump up feelings of vitality. Some people actually feel full of pep during a fast. Still, if you decide to fast, it is not the time to pay three sets of tennis. Instead, its a good time to turn your energy inward and try meditation or writing in a journal.Also, if you decide to fast, make absolutely sure to do it only after speaking with your doctor. Then follow a sensible, slow and short-term (no more than three days) fasting plan that your physician approves. Robin Westen is the author of Ten Days to Detox: How to Look and Feel a Decade Younger (Bantam Dell)See what others have to say about this story or leave a comment of your own.
