Is Fasting a Good Idea?
Apr 25, 2014
Many of you ask me about fasting. Fasting can be a great way to clear your mind, body, and spirit of any impurities known and unknown that one may be harboring. That said, many of you also know that I hardly ever spontaneously recommend fasting for my patients as part of a general treatment plan. The main reason for this that in order to do a fast ideally one needs to be able to devote all of their time to resting, meditating. and doing as little as possible. As food and nutritional intake is decreased, so is one’s bodily energy, causing many fasters to experience weakness and dizziness. While some people feel a burst of energy and a heightened awareness as they clean out, others experience fatigue and some other uncomfortable symptoms of rapid detoxification.
In our modern world with our crazy overbooked schedules many of my patients can’t afford to set aside enough time completely free from their responsibilities to properly fast without compromising their health and performance in life. So most of my patients aren’t good candidates for a true fast. Other methods of cleansing are available and I often do a long slow gentle cleanse rather than a fast. For those of you who are really interested in fasting, and can devote 10 or so days for it here’s how I recommend doing it. Of course one can do a shorter fast , but here is my 10 day or so protocol.
Day 1 – Eat cooked or raw fruits and vegetables,fruit and vegetable juices, organic bone broths with some meat and water
Day 2 – Cooked or raw fruits and vegetables, juices, organic bone broth and water;
Day 3 -Lightly Cooked or raw fruits and vegetables, juices, organic bone broths and water
Day 4 – Fruit and vegetable juices, organic bone broths and water
Day 5 -water only for as many days as can stand
Day 6- Same as Day 4
Day 7 – Same as Day
Day 8 – Same as Day 2
Day 9 – Same as Day 1
It is very important that foods are introduced back into the body slowly. Please note that fasting will NOT help you lose weight. You may lose it temporarily but will gain it all back once you resume eating. In fact fasting may ultimately cause you to actually gain weight and lose muscle tone as your metabolism slows and your thyroid gland shuts down. Fasting is a good way to give your digestion a rest, and to detoxify. Before starting any fasting program , please check with your doctor (myself or anyone else you are established with) to determine if this is a safe option for you.
