Fasting is a period where we abstain from food and sometimes drink, to give our body, the digestive system and our organs a break. Energy saved during a fast is used to focus on the repair and maintenance of the body’s essential functions and to restore homeostasis.
Fasting often occurs in a religious or spiritual context, where a fast can bring about mental clarity and physical wellbeing and lightness – and ultimately, more meaningful, clearer and intuitive thought processes.
Fasting can involve the drinking of pure water or of freshly pressed raw organic vegetable and fruit juices. It can also involve dry fasting or not drinking any liquid, although this is practised by experienced fasters in controlled settings. Intermittent fasting is the practice of not eating past a certain hour each afternoon and eating again after a 14-hour fast the next morning. Fasting is an essential part of nutritional therapy and food as medicine. The two work well hand in hand.
Detoxification is a general term for when the body sets into motion a process of eliminating waste substances. This is usually done by stimulating and cleansing the organs responsible for the elimination of waste, such as the kidneys, liver, lungs, gall bladder, pancreas and intestines.
Fasting is one tool in the process of detoxification. Colonic cleansing is another, which employs the use of an enema or intestinal flush to remove waste from the body. There are many opinions on whether this is an effective method, especially over a long period, but has been used with success by Dr. Max Gerson, Dr. Bernard Jensen, Arnold Ehret and Norman W. Walker, and many others. Fasting and enemas should ideally be used together to remove the build up of waste activated by fasting, so that the body can focus on homeostasis.
Other methods include using a combination of healing clays, charcoal, psyllium, linseed, MSM, Zeolite, natural medicinal herbs and pre/probiotics to encourage regular elimination and balance of digestive enzymes and intestinal flora, as well as changing one’s diet to include only wholefoods in their unadulterated state. The Yoga practice of Shatkarma is the practice of six purification kriyas whose aim is to eliminate waste from the body in preparation for asanas, pranayama and beyond.
Some health problems today arise from overeating and overloading the digestive system with, among other things, too much food, drink, medication and goodies such as alcohol, sports drinks, sugar and cigarettes. This can contribute to the slowing down and dysfunction of our digestive and eliminative processes. When this happens, disease can take hold.
A fasting and detoxification regime needs to be based on safe, realistic and effective guidelines and tailored specifically to your body, constitution and health status. It can form an essential part of an enduring long term health plan.
Any questions, please feel welcome to contact me on +61 (0)448 381 306 or by email.
Go to Top ↑