Fasting

K

Krefcenz

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May 24, 2002
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Has anyone done a water fast? Nothing but water or tea for one day to several weeks? Just curious. I've read some materials on theraputic fasting to treat colds, flu, high blood pressure, etc. Some fast for religious purposes. Just curious what your experience is.

Kref
 
Yeap.

Being a muslim we fast from dawn till dusk for the month of ramadhan. No food and no drink for that period. We do this for a whole month. Could also do it on other months but in ramadhan it's compulsory.

I've also seen a martial arts video by vladimir vasiliev who teaches systema (russian martial art) and he recommends going for a 24 hour fast occasionally. No food or drink for 24 hours. Supposedly it kills toxins or viruses or something. Can't remember. 24 hours without water is just too much for me. Oh...and he says everyday to dump a bucket of cold water on your body....twice a day. Supposedly when you're fasting your body will learn how to absorb water better.
 
I've fasted for Ramadan. In my younger days I did 1-3 day water fasts as well. I think that fasting for health purposes is very beneficial. I'm not an expert, but I would recommend occasional 24 hour fasts with longer (3 day) fasts 2-4 times a year (traditionally at the changing of the seasons). For spiritual purposes longer fasts are good. I don't think I would go more than a week on a liquid fast. It is supposed to allow for great clarity of mind.

Jack
 
Do you have to watch what you eat, after fasting for a 2-3 days, like when you have the stomach flu or can you scoff like normal straight away?
 
I just fasted for 44 hours, nothing but water. Not really by choice, I was having a colonoscopy and just by the timing of when I had to stop eating versus when I had dinner it ended up being almost 2 days.

I actually felt great the whole time. I didn't even really get hungy until a couple hours before I ate. Keep in mind that I am way overweight, so it wasn't like I was going hungry here. I don't know if a skinny person might have some issues. Also, I did not exercise during the fast, so don't know if it might have some issues there. I didn't have any spiritual feelings about the whole thing, I was doing it for a medical purpose, but I felt physically very good.
 
I am extremely skeptical of the benifits of fasting. Short periods won't do any great harm, but will confer no benifit whatever. Advocates talk of "deep cleansing" and "removing toxins", but that's twaddle. Your body does an excellent job of removing waste products all the time. Never are the nature of these "toxins" described. No amount of fasting, flushing, or anything else will remove such things as heavy metals from your body.

Longer periods of fasting can be quite hazardous. Your body is set up by long evolution to process food. When none is available, it turns to itself, taking required nutrients from itself to sustain life.
Even minor imbalances in vital substances such as potassium can cause severe damage and even death; common with bulemics and anorexics.

Here's a link to Dr. Barnett's Quackwatch site query on "fasting", with many reviews of various dietary plans and "alternative" medical practices involving the practice:

http://www.quackwatch.org/search/webglimpse.cgi?ID=1&query=Fasting
 
I'm Eastern Orthodox, and we follow the traditional Christian fasts (Roman Catholics used to, as well).

This means, no meat, fish, dairy, wine, or olive oil (although most people nowadays in America ignore the oil bit- we're not Greek, so it's not much of a sacrifice, and besides, it's terribly hard to find out what's got oil and what doesn't, eating in a college cafeteria) for Great Lent before Easter, plus 40 days before Christmas, about a week for the Apostles' Fast in the summer, and about a week in August for the Dormition of the Mother of God. The Greek and Greek-descended (like the Russian) churches allow fish and wine on Sundays during Lent, but the Coptic and related churches don't. Cultural/ethnic/local differences in tradition like that are common in orthodoxy.

Plus, no meat or dairy on Wednesdays and Fridays, except certain weeks that are feasts (like after Easter), and right before Lent (the Church knows people need a little leniance).

It's intended to teach control of appetites, humility, and all those other difficult virtues :D

A better explanation than I can provide is here: http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/prayer_feasts_fasts.aspx

Almost forgot: traditionally, enthusiastic Orthodox (like monks) often abstain from everything but water for the first three days of Lent. My priest does. I tried, but then had to fulfill an important dinner obligation :(
 
Nordic Viking said:
Do you have to watch what you eat, after fasting for a 2-3 days, like when you have the stomach flu or can you scoff like normal straight away?
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It's best to ease back into it.

Jack
 
As mwerner has suggested, check the SCIENTIFIC material on this subject. What people might think or feel or want to believe is virtually worthless as an objective measure.

Religious reasons for fasting have little or nothing to do with health and whether or not you choose to follow those practices is entirely dependent on what you believe.
 
Gajinoz is right. Enthusiastic little fad groupies can do a lot of harm, influencing someone against good medical advice.

My dad used to fast on the Day of Atonement, until one year he got really wobbly. After that, he had to have at least a piece of fruit and an early, light dinner.

I'm diabetic and on insulin. A good cleansing 24 hour fast could put me in my grave. :rolleyes:
 
Esav Benyamin said:
I'm diabetic and on insulin. A good cleansing 24 hour fast could put me in my grave. :rolleyes:
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Then don't fast. Don't drink and drive. Don't operate heavy equipment on cold medicine. It's just common sense. Fasting has been recommended as a health and spiritual aid for thousands of years in many cultures. Many people have benefitted from it. Millions of Muslims, observant Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, and other "faddists". :rolleyes:

gajinoz-I disagree. Many spiritual disciplines have intentional health benefits as the body is the dwelling place of Spirit. This includes meditation, yoga, prayer, and some martial arts.

Benjamin Franklin - "The best of all medicines are rest and fasting"

But, what does HE know. :D

Jack
 
donovan said:
Then don't fast. Don't drink and drive. Don't operate heavy equipment on cold medicine. It's just common sense. Fasting has been recommended as a health and spiritual aid for thousands of years in many cultures. Many people have benefitted from it. Millions of Muslims, observant Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, and other "faddists". :rolleyes:

gajinoz-I disagree. Many spiritual disciplines have intentional health benefits as the body is the dwelling place of Spirit. This includes meditation, yoga, prayer, and some martial arts.

Benjamin Franklin - "The best of all medicines are rest and fasting"

But, what does HE know. :D

Jack
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This could very rapidly descend into yet another religion Vs science argument so I'll try to phrase my reply to avoid that.

As I said, religious reasons have little to do with health benefits, regardless of how long they have been doing it. Thousands of years ago they knew nothing about nutrition or how the body worked. There MAY be some benefits to fasting in some situations but the only correct answers you will get on that will come from science.

How do you know many people have benefited from it? What were the tests? Where are the results?

As far as I'm aware Benjamin Franklin was not an expert in human nutrition despite any other accomplishments he may have had.

Whether or not the body is the "dwelling place of spirit" comes under the heading of religious reasons, not scientific ones.

The fact that thousands may believe something does not necessarily make it true. Thousands once thought the Earth was flat.
 
I believe there are spiritual and health benefits to fasting. Although fasting for too long would actually harm the body. Short day fasts can help the body recover from the abuse we constantly give them.

Muslims fast by waking up at about 5am in the morning and having something light to eat and drink. Then you refrain from every thing throughout the day until sunset. During the fast you can't even have sex.

When you're fasting, the digestive system slows down and gets a little rest time. Considering the junk people put into their system this is actually a good thing. There're probably other health benefits and what not but fasting can also train the body to work under a different condition which is beneficial especially when you're under a survival situation and out of food. Think about it, you eat in the morning so you have energy throughout the day, and then eat once more at night to keep your body warm. This type of eating is close to ideal in a survival situation where food is limited.

If someone has fasted before, usually he is able to fast without any problems. First time fasters usually have difficulty lasting throughout the day. In a survival situation their bodies would be the first one to break down as it isn't used to this situation at all. You can say adrenaline will kick in or whatever, but the person who's fasted before will be more used to the situation.

However, in Islam you're not supposed to do anything that could harm yourself. So in a case like Esav's it isn't required for them to fast. So there's no problem there.
 
Fasting does have some possible therapeutic benefits when done properly. Fasting will induce improved Phase I Cytochrome P450 detoxification in the liver and bowel, but the problem is that Phase I creates some nasty stuff in your system. This is what Phase II detoxification is for. Phase II requires that you have certain things in your diet that allow the proper detoxification reactions like methylation and sulfation to occur.

In my professional opinion, the main benefit of fasting is that it takes additional stress off your body because you're not having to digest or detoxify additional food. Also, from an anthropological point of view, it is altogether likely that our ancestors didn't eat every day, or sometimes ate very little for a day or two, etc, so I don't think it's necessarily a bad idea.

The problem with Barrett's website is that it is completely biased against everything that is not mainstream pharmacological medicine. He isn't even allowed in courts anymore because he's so insane. Furthermore, he writes a lot of "expert" opinion he doesn't know much about, so you have to take it with a grain of salt. Does fasting "remove toxins?" Not really, but it induces the biochemical reactions in the liver, GI tract and cells that do detoxify materials in the body, so one one hand he is correct, on the other hand he only tells the half of the story that meets his agenda.
 
gajinoz said:
As I said, religious reasons have little to do with health benefits, regardless of how long they have been doing it. Thousands of years ago they knew nothing about nutrition or how the body worked. There MAY be some benefits to fasting in some situations but the only correct answers you will get on that will come from science.
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Well, actually thousands of years ago they knew all sorts of things about health and nutrition in China and India and had very sophisticated medical systems. And you will receive health benefits from meditation and yoga whether you believe in a higher power or not. This IS scientifically documented. So, are you telling me that before science studied the effects of meditation on human health that these effects didn't exist? Additionally, the answers you get from science are later proven to be wrong ALL THE TIME.

Look, a lot of where science starts researching things begins as anecdotal evidence. Someone with a headache chews on a piece of willow bark and the headache goes away. Thousands of people do it so someone decides to check it out. Hey, look, willow bark is comprised of salicylic acid and BOOM the aspirin industry is born. Those peoples headaches went away even though you and science may not have believed that willow bark was effective at all. Why should they have waited for scientific confimation? Indeed, there would have been none because science wasn't looking at willow bark (or fasting) as a health remedy.

How do you know many people have benefited from it? What were the tests? Where are the results?
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I haven't done an exhaustive literature search. There are MDs who advocate fasting and there is loads of anecdotal evidence. The western medical community has never had a huge interest in preventative medicine. There is little funding or profit in it. So, I wouldn't be expecting that blockbuster fasting study to be released anytime soon.

As far as I'm aware Benjamin Franklin was not an expert in human nutrition despite any other accomplishments he may have had.
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No, but he was a very wise man with a keen intellect. Hardly a "fad groupie".

Whether or not the body is the "dwelling place of spirit" comes under the heading of religious reasons, not scientific ones.
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My point was meant to be that religion has an interest in the physical health of the body as well as in the spiritual health. So some practices are designed to benefit both.

The fact that thousands may believe something does not necessarily make it true. Thousands once thought the Earth was flat.
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And a couple of guys claiming something doesn't work doesn't invalidate the experience of others. I don't mind you believing or not believing, but why would you be so quick to try to dissuade someone from looking into doing something that may have positive results for him and certainly, if done in moderation, would have no ill effects?

Jack
 
Hey, look, willow bark is comprised of salicylic acid and BOOM the aspirin industry is born. Those peoples headaches went away even though you and science may not have believed that willow bark was effective at all. Why should they have waited for scientific confimation? Indeed, there would have been none because science wasn't looking at willow bark (or fasting) as a health remedy.
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Here's the really interesting thing, since you're on the subject... Studies of white willow bark have shown that a therapeutic dosage of salicylates doeos not make it into the bloodstream, yet in studies it was proven to be as effective as Vioxx and Celebrex withotu the side effects. So, ironically, aspirin is based on one of the compounds in white willow bark, yet it doesn't seem to be the one that makes white willow bark effective as a pain reliever! Weird, huh? This is why herbs are so cool. As whole plants/foods they have complex interaction with the body that you don't get from pharmaceuticals (not that one is better than the other, just different).
 
From Chiro...

"The problem with Barrett's website is that it is completely biased against everything that is not mainstream pharmacological medicine. He isn't even allowed in courts anymore because he's so insane."

Citation, please.
 
I just tried to fast a couple weeks ago I didnt last a day. I am not to big in the will power department.
 
Religious dietary restrictions are good for the soul. They do not harm the body because they are usually reasonable restrictions and do not involve long term fasts. For example, daytime fasting during Ramadan is followed by an evening meal, keeping kosher does not mean starving yourself, Catholics eating fish on Friday during Lent doesn't mean they are headed for a nutritional crisis.

Fasting, on the other hand, has no known health benefits and can be quite harmful or even deadly - especially water fasting. Can you say hyponatremia?
 
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