Every day we are eating and digesting, eating and digesting, eating more and digesting more. Just like a muscle, our digestive system sometimes needs a break. This constant digestive exercise leads to the build-up of undigested foods in the colon that impede further digestion. Eventually the absorption and breakdown of nutrients becomes so hindered that disease is sure to manifest. Fasting is the perfect method of detoxification to clean your colon, clean your blood, eliminate toxins and restore or maintain perfect health.
The benefits of fasting are endless. If feelings of lethargy, heaviness, bloating, constipation or low energy are plaguing you, then fasting is the perfect option to restore you to an ideal state. Many of these symptoms are caused by nutrient deficiencies and poor digestion that can be cured if your colon is able to maximally absorb nutrients from your foods. Fasting will even cure emotional problems from depression to long-term anxiety. In the end, fasting is the ‘miracle cure’ that will treat almost all ailments from mental to physical.
Digestion takes up a lot of energy. By giving the body a break, the energy that you would have spent digesting is rechanneled into repairing broken cells, improving immune health, and attacking illnesses from bacterial infections to cancer. Also importantly, fasting will sharpen your mental faculties bringing you clarity, self-awareness and higher concentration. Don’t believe me? Dr. Herbert Shelton conducted a 50-year study on over 40 000 people and found that the removal of toxins through fasting dramatically increased mental acuity. In terms of disease, Dr. Shelton believed that fasting gave the body enough energy to break up parasites, destroy bacteria and attack of cancer.
Although not regularly prescribed in modern medical practices, fasting has been used since antiquity to restore health. Most alternative medical practices suggest regular fasting, from once a week to once a year, simply to maintain a healthy disposition. Even the Greek father of contemporary medicine Hippocrates (400BCE) suggested fasting during times of disease to promote healing. Why this simple practice has become forgotten in modern medical terms is both a mistake and a clear reason to why certain diseases are continuously occurring.
There are many different kinds of fasting depending on the level of cleansing that one would like to achieve.
1. The Water Fast is the most severe type of fast where only water is consumed for at least one day or a few days (only for the highly practiced). Water fasting will give the quickest cleansing benefit but the discomfort incurred is the highest. Not a recommended method for the beginner ‘faster’.
2. The Juice Fast consists of only consuming liquid substances preferably extracted from pure organic fruits or vegetables. The type of fruits and/or vegetable you chose is extremely varied depending on desired effect. For example, grapes juice will purify and strengthen the blood while leafy green juice cleanses the skin, cures digestive problems and battles obesity. For a more complete list of popular juices, visit http://www.allaboutfasting.com/juice-fasting.html.
3. The Partial Fasting is the easiest method which involves cutting out only certain kinds of irritable foods like dairy, gluten, meat, and/or sugar. These fasts can be observed for long periods (1 week or 1 month) with mild to no discomfort but they will give your body the necessary time to recover from foods which are difficult to digest.
Take note that fasting is a dangerous treatment and long fasting should not be done without the close supervision of a natural doctor. Many harmful side effects can occur such as headache, dizziness and even unconsciousness. Some unpleasant yet manageable symptoms include foul odour, lethargy, diarrhea, foul stool, weakness and fatigue. A more toxic body will yield more severe symptoms.
Fasting is the secret ‘magic pill’ which doctors have been searching for. Take it upon yourself to start a regular fasting paradigm to maintain health, reduce digestive discomforts, restore mental acuity and bring inner peace.
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