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The best of
all medicines are rest
and
fasting.
Benjamin Franklin
We are all familiar
with the concept of fasting. Scientifically, it is the simplest way to give your entire body
system a time to rest, cleanse and rejuvenate. People who have
been chronically ill have been healed by undertaking fasts. We
all know that children, animals, and birds give up eating until
they show signs of recovery. This gives us a clear idea of the
healing effects of fasting. Fasting is one of the most important
of all natural remedies. It is the most efficient method of
relieving the body overloaded with food and consequently toxins.
It is an established fact that people do not die of fasting; on
the contrary, they feel much better. No wonder periodic fasting
is advocated by all religions.
A
real fast is the complete abstinence from all substances except
pure water, in an environment of total rest. It could be for a
day, a week or even 40 days! Why was this done? For
self-discipline, self-control and to improve health. Jainism
advocates eight days a year only on water. Unfortunately, people
treat it as a weight loss tactic.
Dr Otto Buchinger, an internationally famous authority on
fasting, cured himself of severe rheumatic fever by fasting for
20 days. Dr Ann Wigmore cured herself of cancer and many others
after that with wheatgrass therapy. Basil Shackleton tells u s t
h e mi r a c u l o u s s t o r y o f how he adopted a diet of
only grapes and overcame a longstanding kidney disorder. The
Institute of Naturopathy and Yogic sciences advocates
supervised fasting.
There are bacteria in the food we eat, the water we drink and
the air we breathe, leading to diseases. Nature cure dictates
that all treatments should begin with a fast of only water or
lemon water. This gives important organs like stomach,
intestine, liver, and kidney a chance to rest and to cleanse,
overhaul and purify the body. Breaking the fast is even more
important than the fast itself. Wrong methods could affect the
digestive system; therefore we have to resume a normal diet
slowly and gradually after the fast; initially with water,
followed by fruit juice and vegetable juice.
If a purely water fast is too daunting, you could try a fast of
fruits and fruit juices, or of vegetable juices.
If you have the willpower, try a mono fast (i.e. one food item,
like only bananas, papa- yas or grapes) for a minimum of seven
days.
There
are countless cases on record of miraculous cures by fasting. I,
for one, have fasted on apple juice on numerous occasions in the
last decade when I was suffering from gallstones. The pain was
so bad that I literally begged for surgery. It is a decade now
but my gallstone attacks have never returned. I have also
fasted on lime water with rock salt to reduce period cramps and
combat low blood pressure.
It
is amazing how mankind followed the laws of nature by fasting
just before the festive season begins, automatically cleaning
the body of accumulated junk caused by highly salted, sugared,
and processed foods, thereby cleansing the palate, so to speak,
before the feasting begins. Changes that may take months (or
even years) with careful eating may occur more quickly if a
properly supervised fast is undertaken. This is an important
consideration because once people begin to realise their health
potential, they become a likely candidate for a lifelong
commitment to healthful living.
Addictions to drugs such as alcohol, cocaine, nicotine and
caffeine are examples where fasting can dramatically reduce the
often protracted withdrawal symptoms that prevent many people
from becoming drug-free. Most people are surprised at how easy
it is to quit smoking or drinking with the help of
fasting.
Many factors need to be considered before a fast is undertaken.
Therefore, it is important to fast systematically with the help
of a qualified nutritionist.
Your behaviour and attitude changes when you undertake a fast.
You tend to become calmer, and healthier. This immediately makes
you work at optimum levels. Many diseases are cured. Common
colds, coughs, and allergies disappear. Some cancers have been
cured on a fast of wheatgrass.
We tend to be creatures of habit, and the ways that we are
accustomed to eating and living feel as natural to us as
breathing. That is why it is so difficult for people to stop bad
habits. But fasting brings your present lifestyle to an abrupt
halt. It gives you an opportunity to pause, reflect and decide
how you are going to conduct your life afterwards. This enables
you to make a break with your past and set off in a new, more
positive direction.
After fasting, you tend to be conscious about what you are
eating, and why. Fasting heightens your awareness, as well as
your appreciation for food. By fasting, we learn to eat with
reverence.
My advice to everyone is to undertake a fruit fast once a week
and every year, if possible, a fast for eight days. It does not
ensure a longer life, but you will feel healthier and on top of
the world.
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