Fasting is one of the oldest and most powerful healing techniques.
There is a saying; "Most people dig their graves with their spoons." And they are not using little tiny teaspoons, either.
We are blessed to be a society of great abundance. In the case of food, that abundance can overwhelm the body. Flooded with rich foods day after day, the body struggles valiantly to process it all. Sooner or later, the body falls behind. Byproduct build up, and this triggers inflammation. Then all the chronic degenerative diseases of our civilization set in.
The liver is like a warehouse that receives all the excess nutrition from the gut. The liver becomes inflamed when the body is chronically in a state of "over-nutrition." This inflammation is easy to diagnose on an ultrasound ("fatty liver disease") In the general US adult population, about 25% of people have this type of inflammation in the liver. Among the seriously overweight, 90% have this fatty liver disease.
Western medicine is good at slowing down all the chronic diseases that result. Doctors are good at people less uncomfortable. They call that “palliative therapy.” In other words, being sick is a bitter pill to swallow, but we can do things to make it more palatable. But why get more comfortable in illness when you can head on out toward health?
"Why get more comfortable in illness when you can head toward true health?"
Fasting is one of the oldest and most powerful healing techniques known to us. Digesting food takes a great deal of energy. When we lighten the task of constantly digesting food we don't need, it frees up energy needed for healing. The healing that can come from fasting is well-documented in the medical literature.
But so powerful a tool as fasting has to be used properly. One size does not fit all. The long fasts of just drinking water are for the young and strong. For the less robust person, such a fast could be damaging. We can fast in many ways and for many different lengths of time. One could just eat steamed vegetables, or just drink fresh juices, or take the classical rice and mung bean fast used in India. One could do intermittent fasting, which sets forth a period in each day during which one doesn't eat.
You need to be careful about fasting if you are on medications. People need less medicine for high blood sugar when they fast. Blood pressure medicine may also need adjusting. It's important to talk to your doctor before doing any serious fasting if you are on medications.
There are places one can go to fast. For example, Optimal Health Institute in Southern California offers a vegan, raw food fast and a complete educational program to go with it. True North Health Center in Northern California offers fasting under medical supervision. There are many other possibilities.
Fasting also has a powerful spiritual aspect. "Fasting and prayer" naturally go together. For whatever reason, the mind clears during fasting, the senses sharpen, and we feel more strongly the presence of the Mystery. Conversely, the more the spirit is directed toward the Mystery, whatever word you might use for it, the more the intense addiction to eating too much food eases. Your appetite gets reset.
So whether you would just like to dip your toe in the ocean of fasting possibilities or really jump in, there is a way that is right for you.
Take the highway to health
How to start?
Pick out a reasonable fast, given your schedule and your constitution. It could be just one day where you only eat fruits and vegetables. It could be a few days of not eating between the hours of 6:00 pm and 8:00 am. You have to find out what is right for you. Play with it. Fast with friends. Have one day a week of fasting.
Try to fast when the pressure from other areas of your life is not intense. With fasting we go inward. When there is stress the energy is drawn outward. When you fast, fill your other senses with healing and beauty. Spend a some quiet time. Go in nature.You may be surprised!
The hardest part of any fast is returning to normal eating. There is a tendency to binge, which leaves us right back where we started. Be alert, take it slow, be kind.
So many of us come from a heritage of not enough. If our ancestors starved in a famine, we might inherit a vision of heaven which includes all-you-can-eat buffet. With the abundance of rich food that now comes to us, we get to learn a different lesson – moderation in the face of affluence. Fasting can help us find balance.