Fasting
The Ultimate Pollution Solution
"Humans live on one-quarter of what they eat; on the other three-quarters lives their doctor." — Egyptian pyramid inscription, 3800 B.C.
Every time we hear that another five soldiers have been killed in Iraq, we get upset. Yet, every day in the United States over 3,500 people die needlessly from unnatural, and preventable, causes (as well as more than 900 from medically induced causes), and few of us take notice.
From 1900 to 1987, we went from the healthiest nation in the world (out of 100 reporting nations) to the least healthy, as reported by the U.S. Public Health Service.
Famed naturopath Rich Anderson, ND notes: "Since 1900, the basic, sensible theories of health care have changed dramatically [in the United States]. The major change was the shift from natural to unnatural: from using harmless and beneficial herbs to unnatural and harmful drugs. Accompanying this shift was the onset of processed foods; the use of preservatives and other unnatural chemicals sprayed on food, especially herbicides and pesticides (deadly poisons); polluted air; and chlorinated and fluoridated water; and now electronic poisoning [electromagnetic fields]." All this results in a never-before-seen burden of toxins in each and every one of us.
To give you a sense of the toxic load each of us is carrying, consider:
- Over 35,000 pesticides are used in the United States; only 10% have been tested, and 40% of the pesticides used on crops are only applied to make food "look good;"
- It is illegal to claim that a pesticide is safe, even if the label contains a qualifying phrase such as "when used as directed", according to the Code of Federal Regulations 162.10;
- Each year, 17,000 young children are poisoned by home pesticides. Approximately 70 million pounds of pesticides are used around the home and more than 90% of these have not been tested for acute toxicity;
- According to Nancy Sokol Green's book, "Poisoning Our Children," a pesticide that has been previously banned for use in this country can still be used if the EPA grants an emergency waiver;
- Ever see the TV commercial where the wife is excited over the family's new home and then has an asthma attack? The ad tells you to buy and use their drug to control the asthma. What they don't tell you is your new home is extremely toxic and causing the asthma because it is outgassing formaldehyde and PCBs that are found in the resin glues, plastics, foam, carpet, cabinets and furniture. Instead of informing the public that there are safer alternatives to these toxic products, they want to sell you something that forces your body to suppress its natural need to expel the poisons. This is the typical American medical approach to illness;
- According to Colborn, Dumanoski and Myers' book, "Our Stolen Future": "One chemical industry estimate states that chlorinated synthetic chemicals and the products made from them constitute 45% of the world's GNP. This represents 87,000 chemicals suspected as endocrine disruptors. These products have found their way into our food, air, water and our bodies with the result that the average male sperm has dropped 50% between 1940 and 1990. With this trend extrapolated to 2005, the average thirty-year-old man who was born in 1975 would have a sperm count ofÉone-fourth the count of the average male born in 1925. And, testicular cancer tripled over the same time span." Meanwhile, breast cancer rates have soared;
- If you are still eating the Standard American Diet (SAD), you should know that two-thirds of your average exposure to dioxin occurs via eating high-fat dairy and meat products; and
- Virtually anyone willing to put up the $2,000 for the tests will find at least 250 chemical contaminants in his or her body fat, regardless of whether he or she lives in Gary, Indiana or on a remote island in the Pacific, according to environmental scientists Theo Colburn and John Peterson Myers in their chilling book "Our Stolen Future".
Let's Face It: Our Bodies are Living Cesspools of Toxins, and Fasting is the Fastest Way to Get Rid of Them
The founding father of western medicine, Hippocrates, MD, (460-377 BC) said it best: "Everyone has a doctor in him or her; we just have to help it in its works. The natural healing force within each one of us is the greatest force in getting well. Our food should be our medicine. Our medicine should be our food. But to eat when you are sick is to feed your sickness."
Most people are unaware of the benefits of fasting because of the pervasive belief in our society of excess and overabundance, that more is better than less.
According to Penny Warren in a 2000 PLIM Report, "During a fast:
- The natural process of toxin excretion continues, while the influx of new toxins is reduced. This results in a reduction of total body toxicity;
- The energy usually used for digestion is redirected to immune function, cell growth and eliminatory processes;
- The immune system's workload is greatly reduced, and the digestive tract is spared any inflammation due to allergic reactions to food;
- Due to a lowering of serum fats that thins the blood, tissue oxygenation is increased and white blood cells are moved more efficiently;
- Fat-stored chemicals, such as pesticides and drugs, are released; and
- Physical awareness and sensitivity to diet and surroundings are increased.
Due to these effects, as pointed out in James and Phyllis Balch's book, "Prescription for Nutritional Healing," a fast can help you heal with greater speed; cleanse your liver, kidneys, and colon; purify your blood, help you lose excess weight and water; flush out toxins; clear the eyes and tongue; and cleanse the breath.
Although hundreds of fasting centers and clinics have existed in most European countries throughout the 20th century, Americans are still very far behind the learning curve regarding scientific, therapeutic fasting, as well as in adopting natural and organic food diets.
Please note that fasting is not a cure, but a safe, non-toxic, inexpensive, internal cleansing that creates the most ideal conditions in the body for it to heal and purify itself.
Perspectives from a Few Local Authorities
In preparing to write this article, I found three people who are in a position to speak with authority on the subject of fasting — one, a naturopath; one, a wellness coach; and one, a veteran faster.
From Wellness Coach and NIA Dance Instructor, Martha Iosbaker:
"There are two perspectives in fasting: spiritual and health reasons. It can be a very good thing to do, but one must do it with intention and guidance from either a nutritionist, wellness coach or naturopathic doctor. You must have someone like this know what you are doing in case of an episode due to detoxing.
"One must fast with consciousness, and it can be from 24 hours to one week. Your hunger goes away in about three days and you want to sleep. It is best not to exercise while fasting. It all depends on what you are seeking. Healthwise, you may be focusing on breaking an addiction, such as to sugar, alcohol or caffeine.
"I have done a three-day fast with no water or food for a Shamanic spiritual ceremony. When you are fasting for a spiritual reason, it is much easier to be disciplined. During this time you can have very powerful dreams. However, you should not do it if your immune system is compromised."
From Raw Foodist and Romanian Transplant, Ildi McDonald:
[Note: Ildi spent four months at the Tanglewood Wellness Center in Panama; the first three weeks on a water fast, the fourth week gradually introducing raw fruit and vegetable juices, then the rest of the time eating only raw fruits and vegetables.]
"I have been 'raw' for five years. But, when I arrived here from Romania I went to the 'All You Can Eat' all day with my friend because in Romania we could never afford to go out to eat. The result of this indulging was I needed a laxative. Each of us went to doctors separately and were diagnosed with diabetes. We knew we had to do something. We went online and discovered the raw diet.
"With the raw diet I kept sliding back - especially with bread - and, I wanted to go deeper. Eating bread is a sugar addiction; it alters your pH and affects your thoughts and emotions [in a negative way]. If I eat bread, I exercise to sweat out the toxins. But, why eat bread in the first place?
"Fasting is the most natural thing in the world. In the Bible, Jesus healed people through fasting. The best way to fast is to stay in the tropics and be comfortable - like you would do to recover from an addiction. I don't think it is possible to do it up here [in Portland, Oregon]; you would have a hard time with winter because your body temperature becomes lower. But, in the tropics I had plenty of energy [after the fast] to go on hikes, and when I sweat it smelled like mango!
"You cannot work when fasting because it slows your body down. The first few days the body breaks down muscle, and then realizes food is not coming in and burns fat. Overweight people have more energy [during this process] because they have more fat to burn, but they don't necessarily lose weight. It is best to stay in bed; then you will lose weight. Emotional things come up. The fruit and vegetables give you hydration, which leads to a higher vibration and better thoughts. The Center pushes non-violent communication and appreciation. I used to be introverted and let people take advantage of me. Now I can be honest about my feelings - open and confident.
"How clean is your colon? That is the key to the whole thing."
From Naturopath Ariel Policano, of the Northwest Center for Cleansing
"Fasting is very good if done for a short time — three to five days. One should eliminate the white foods [sugar and flour products] and protein before cleansing. My patients typically go on a three-day juice fast, depending on the person. I try to tell everyone about the living [raw] foods after the cleanse.
"We are living in a very polluted world. One thing you can do is eat raw foods [no animal products] because it leads to a stronger immune system. Raw food is a must at least partially. It is not a religion - 20 to 50 percent of your diet - and, learn one new raw recipe a week.
"The body needs rest [without food] to do housekeeping. However, I do not promote water fasting because most people are so overwhelmed with toxins they will not feel good when they detox unless they are not moving, and in a warm dry climate. During a water fast, all your organs must work overtime to get rid of the toxins and you should sleep ten hours a day. A person doing several juice fasts over six months could make their kidney and liver function well enough so that they could go to a water fast. Most people are working and could not do more than a three-day juice fast.
"We have no idea how much our body is harboring. Many people have mercury and lead (from gasoline, before they made it illegal), and lose bone density. I don't support extended fasts because the body must rebuild and the extended fast could lead to a level of deficiency."