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What is
fasting?
Eating and not eating are like waking and
sleeping, like tension and relaxation: two opposite poles
between which most human life is lived.
Eating by day and fasting by night are so much
part of life's rhythm that no one gives the matter a second
thought. Only if we eat late at night do we realize in the
morning that we are not hungry. Our body gives us the signal
that the fasting period is not yet over, that it has been
extended.
there is a good reason why the
first meal of the day is called 'breakfast'. It is the meal
that 'breaks the fast'. If we do fast during the night, there
is no real reason to 'break the fast' in the
morning.
People need about twelve to
fourteen hours a day to be awake, to work, to eat, to be in
contact with their environment, to act and react. Therefore
they have ten to twelve hours left during the night for their
metabolism, i.e. the processing of bodily substances. The
energy needed for this process is supplied from the body's own
energy deposits. During the fasting period at night, the body
takes care of itself. We sleep and take still. Rest, comfort
and warmth help[ us to live off own resources. These three
things are the decisive requirements for all fasting: we will
come back to them again and again in this book.
Fasting
and illness
Just as when we are sleeping, we need rest,
comfort and warmth when we are Ill. also need solitude. A
feverish child refuses to eat and asks only for cold drinks; a
sick dog will hide in its kennel and not eat for days.
Instinctively, sick creatures do the right thing; they
fast.
The sick organism need time to
itself in order to get well. The energy necessary to rebuild
its sick cells and to generate new ones is supplied from its
own nutritional resources. By fasting , the saves the
energy required by digestion, which represents 30 per cent of
the total energy expanded. The energy thus made available is
used in the healing process.
This
instinctive fasting during a fever or any other illness is
nature's wonderful self-help method. We know for certain that
fever and fasting are highly effective in healing illness in
an otherwise healthy person.
- destroy
bacteria;
- stop the spreading and growth of
viruses;
- increase the immunity of the blood
and of the cells;
- intensify the elimination of
toxins.
Fasting and physical fitness
Perhaps you
know from experience that strength, speed, perseverance and
concentration are by no means a function of your food intake.
On the contrary, you think better and more quickly and more
when stomach is not full.
What mountain
climber would eat just before his climb? If he leaves at three
o'clock in the morning, he will climb for three, four or even
five hours during the night's extended fasting period. Only
then he eat breakfast. A runner will never reach her peak
performance if she eats just before the start of the
race.
These examples demonstrate that a
person does not normally live from 'hand to mouth', that we do
not get our strength directly from eating. We get our energy
from the nutritional reserves stored i our own bodies. They
can be tapped immediately, contrary to the energy available
from food need time energy to be digested.
Ask yourself
the following questions :
- When am I
particularly energetic?
- When did I last eat
before that?
- Did I eat a lot? A little?
Nothing at all?
- Did I need stimulants such as
coffee, tea, Coca-Cola, nicotine, alcohol?
- When am I at my best
physically?
There is a future
point which helps us preview that energy is not directly
derived from food: not only during, but even after physical
exertion we do not feel the need for food. First of all we
quench our thirst, and only then we feel hungry.
Sportsman are aware of the relationship between
fitness and fasting ; they know they can perform by
drawing on the energy stored in the nutritional reserves of
their own bodies. We repeat: the metabolism during fasting
avoids loss of energy through digestion and makes this saved
energy available to ensure a maximum performance.
It is even possible to go without food for days,
indeed weeks, and still accomplish great feasts. The Swedish
physician Otto Kari Ally reports of a fasting march undertaken
by 20 Swedes who were convinced that not only is it possible
to live off one's own nutritional reserves, but one is also
capable of strenuous exercise during fasting time. The men
walked from Goteborg to Stockholm, covering 500 kilometers in
10 days, i.e. 50 kilometers a day. They lived on a little
fruit juice and about 3litres of water per day. Dr Aly
reports, they despite an average weight loss of 5 to 7
kilograms, the men were in great shape and in high spirits.
Nor were they exhausted, but arrived in Stockholm with
increased energy and perseverance.
Fasting and
feasting
What would life be without parties? Eating is
an important element of all celebrations. All over the
world,
feasts do not just satisfy our hunger; indeed they
are characterized by gluttony, exaggeration and are luxury.
They are not a response to the need for food, but rather for
social contents and enjoyment, for sensual pleasures and the
appetite for the unusual. Feasts become games played with
knives and forks and wine glasses.
Whatever the next day may bring, be it a hangover,
upset stomach or simply a lack of appetite - why not fast on
that day? The body needs a sensible compensation. Why not
listen to it?
It would be good sense not
to eat after the feast until you really feel hungry again, be
it after some hours or even days.
Fasting = life without food
The changeover
from eating to fasting happens by itself. The programs run
automatically. The proper changeover from energy program I to
energy program II is prepared for by :
- the
knowledge that humans are able to fast
- confidence in the
safety of this natural measure
- the voluntary decision
to fast.
The changeover is initiated by a through
cleansing of the bowels. It is the signal for the changeover
and the beginning of the fast.
The real
acceptance of the fast occurs during the fast fasting days,
when first-time fastens make the amazing discovery that they
are not hungry, feel well and are functioning as usual. this
discovery results in growing confidence in the body's ability
to look after itself. the experience that life without food
possible gives fastens the inner security non-fastens
admire.
Hunger is the body's way of signaling: 'I am
expecting food. I am prepared to take in food. I am producing
saliva and stomach juices. My metabolism is switched to Energy
Program I.' If food as energy sources is not forthcoming, the
body's expectations are deceived. The hunger signal turns to
the disagreeable, indeed, torturing experience we call
'hunger'. It is a feeling in the pit of the stomach which
continues and grows until we cannot think of anything else. If
it becomes serious, the metabolism may react with dizziness,
nausea and weakness, sometimes even with shaking and
perspiration. Even a glass of juice can remedy the situation
in five to ten minutes. Solid food has a more lasting
effect.
It should be noted that appetite
or hunger are not necessarily a desire for food. They may
express a longing for love, for comfort, for recognition by
others and a better self-image.
Countless people become obese metabolism goes
wrong, because thy subconsciously try to compensate their
emotional needs by eating, drinking or smoking.
It is now easy to understand why fastens do not
feel hungry. They have changed over to Energy Program ii. They
do not feel hungry because their inner energy sources keep
them well supplied. As long as the inner nutritional stores
are not exhausted, they can fast. In a healthy person, all
organs continue to function as always.
You may now understand why it is so difficult to
skip a meal or eat less than usual, for example on a
1000-calorie diet. the body is switched to Energy Program I,
and does not get sufficient food, so it starves.
Life on Energy Program II, which means not eating
at all, is actually a great deal easier. Everyone has the
ability to change over to fasting, but this ability has to be
practiced. A body that is used to fasting can change over much
faster when there is no food intake than a body unused to
fasting. To forego a meal does not present a problem to
experienced fastens. they even manage to change over to a
half-way position between Energy Program I and Energy Program
II, in other words to live on a reduced diet and cover their
energy needs partly from food and partly from the body's inner
depots without feeling hungry. this happens already during the
past-fasting period after a short fasting week. the rule of
thumb is:
Fasting is not starving. Anyone who starves is not
fasting
It should now have become clear that 'fasting =
life without food' is a natural part of life. it seems strange
indeed that many people do not realize this. The idea of
living without eating, even working during that time, seems
inconceivable to them.t hey are afraid of illness, indeed even
death. Such prejudices die hard. Yet we only have to observe
nature in order to know better.
Fasting in the animal
world
fasting for weeks or even months is a normal part
of the life rhythm of many animals that live in the wild. It
is the ability to survive that is planned by nature. In
autumn, mountain animals such as ibex, chamois, deer and
marmots acquire a heavy layer of fat which allows them to
survive a long time. While the marmot goes into hibernation
and does not expend much energy, the ibex and the chamois’s
well as the deer must fight against snow and ice and the cold.
The fact that this fasting period is also their mating period,
with the males" fierce battles against their rivals and the
females" period of fertility, should convince that fasting
does not mean diminished vitality, quite the contrary.
There is a similarity in the lives of
birds and fish. the salmon does not take food during its long
journey upstream, nor during the subsequent spawning time
Migratory birds eat more than they need during the second half
of summer. they often have their twice their normal weight
when they fly south. Thanks to their energy stored as fat,
they are able to fly up to 500 kilometers non-stop. After this
top performance, their weight is back to normal.
Wolves are known to live without food for days and
months and still cover long stretches. Almost all predatory
animals eat when they find food; when they don't manage to
find their prey, they live on the nutritional reserves stored
in their own bodies.
Origins of human fasting
In
the same way as animals, humans in the distant past depended
on their innate ability to survive on nutrients. It was a
biological necessity for survival.
Without this ability,
whole peoples would have disappeared.
Survival is still possible if the lack of food
exists over a long period of time, even if important
substances have been exhausted. It takes a long time to die of
starvation.
Indigenous peoples in Africa
and Australia still have to adapt to their sparse environment
just as they did thousands of years ago. times during which
they can eat their fill store food in their bodies give way to
times where there is no food at all.
The
history of the Huns is a good example of the fact fasting can
mean more than the possibility of survival. This small group
of about 10000 people lives in the high valley of the central
Himalayan mountains. Until a few decades ago, the Huns were
completely cut off from the outside world. In his book, The
Hunza, Dr Ralph Bircher tells an amazing tale. The fields of
the high valleys did not yield enough food to supply the
people the whole year round , so until they could harvest
the barley in March, the whole population fasted for weeks,
sometimes for as long as two months. The Hunza remained
content and cheerful. they accomplished most of the work for
the whole year. They tended their fields and drainage ditches
which had been destroyed by avalanches. the Hunza knew no
medical doctors and had no need for policemen; their lives
were lived according to the lawa of nature.
Nowadays, the valleys become accessible. the Hunza
men serve as soldiers in India, or they work there. Staples
such as sugar, flour and tinned are imported; the people are
no longer 'starving'. The country of the Hunza now suffers
from the typical illness of civilizations : tooth decay,
appendicitis, gall bladder trouble, obesity, colds, diabetes,
to name just a few. Not only do the people need doctors, they
also need policemen. the health of their bodies as well as of
their behavior and their thinking has been
destroyed.
This example may allow us to
understand the origins of religious fasts. People give thanks
for the God-given ability to survive and for not starving. the
fast is experienced as a way to gain inner peace, to find
one's way to maturity. the great religious founders Moses,
Christ, Buddha and Mohammed found the basic key to existence
during long, voluntary fasts.
Is there
anyone today, continuously surrounded by food, who can
understand the deeper meaning of such a solitary fast, a
voluntary renunciation of food? As soon as we are forced to
fast, we react with hunger and rebellion. Even the Christian
church has not been successful in its fasting rules
: prescribed fast days or rules for Lent were
circumvented or ignored, leading to more and more
dispensations on the meaningless canons.
We should strive for an unprejudiced rediscovery
of fasting. The best way to do so is to experience the fast
yourself. It is a personal experiencethat is available to
everyone.
The prerequisites for a
successful fast are openness to new experiences, readiness to
try fasting and the perseverance to stick to
it.
Fasting is :
- a natural form of
living
- life based on the body's own
nutrients
- the body's ability to function
normally based on its inner resources
a way of
life for independent people able to make their own decisions
something that affects the whole person, each
single cell, soul and spirit
- the best
opportunity to stay physically fit or to get back in shape.
Furthermore, it helps us to change our way of life if this is
necessary.
The five basic rules of
fasting :
Rule 1. Do not eat for one or two or more
weeks. Only drink tea, vegetable broth, fruit or vegetables
juices and water, more than you need to quench your
thirst.
Rule 2. Leave out everything not necessary to
living. That means all things that have become enjoyable
habits, but would harm the body during fasting: nicotine and
alcohol in every form, sweets and coffee; medication unless
essential. Diuretics appetite depressants and laxatives should
never be taken.
Rule 3. Free yourself as far as
possible from your everyday routine. Get out of professional
and family obligations. Stay away from the telephone and your
appointment book. Renounce the newspapers, radio and
television. Instead of outside stimuli listen to yourself.
Follow directives that come from within yourself.
Rule
4. Behave naturally : listen to your body and its needs.
If you are tired,get some sleep. If you need exercise, walk,
swim, do sports. Do all the things you like - read,dance,
listen music, enjoy your hobbies.
Rule 5. Keep strict
toilet habits. Empty the bowels regularly, flush the
kidneys, perspire, breathe properly, take care of your skin
and mucous membranes.
Fasting is not
:
- starving
- deprivation or
want
- eating less
- forgoing meat
on Friday : that would only be abstinence
- the fanaticism tied to religious practices.
Ways to
fast
Water fasting - Drinking only good spring or
mineral water, one and half litters per day for people whose
weight is normal, 2-3 litters for people who are
overweight.
Zero diet - is a fast restricted to water
during which vitamin and mineral tablets are taken. It is
usually only in a hospital.
Tea fasting - three times
daily, 2cups of various herbal teas (unsweetened). Water is
taken intermittently. Tea fasting also has zero calories, but
it has an advantage over water fasting in that warm drinks are
consumed with the added benefit of the herbs.
Gruel fasting
- especially suited to people with delicate stomachs or
bowels.
Fresh juice fasting - 3 to 5 times daily, one glass
of freshly squeezed fruit or vegetable juice. Water is taken
intermittently.
Whey fast - one litter of whey spread over
one day, supplemented with herbal teas and fresh
juices.
Buchinger method -with tea, juice and hot vegetable
broth’s. This fast has proved highly effective and has been
used for decades in the renowned Buchinger clinics. We
recommend it as the most suitable form of fasting at
home.
Fasting on one's own
Take advantage of the
many opportunities which will arise almost every
day.
Do not force yourself to eat if you
are not hungry. Many people have no appetite in the morning.
Therefore their first meal should be at noon (morning fast).
Fast after
What we can gain
fasting
- Fasting is the quickest, easier
and safety method of losing extra weight.
- Through fasting we can learn to enjoy eating moderately and to
avoid the excess of over consumption, so typical of our
era.
- Fasting helps fight dependency on alcohol
or drugs.
- Through fasting, the tissues become
decongested and purified of toxic substances making them
supply and no longer painful.
- Fasting tones
all connective tissue and give you a clearer
skin.
- Fasting is one of the few successful
biological measures for detoxification in our polluted
environment.
- Fasting maintains physical and
mental fitness, especially during menopause for women and for
men around forty.
- Fasting cannot stop the
ageing process, but it helps to prevent premature ageing.
- Fasting as an early
therapeutic measure is constantly gaining in importance as
laboratory techniques are now able to identify symptoms of
serious diseases at an early stage.
- Therapeutic fasting in a clinic is the most effective and
safest way to treat diet-related diseases of the metabolism.
Dr. Buchinger called it the 'royal road to health' in many
chronic or acute diseases. Every physician who has fasting
experience will support this theory.
you have
overindulged, after celebrations, when you have an upset
stomach or diarrhea. Fast until you feel hungry again. Fast
when you have a fever, flu, tonsillitis or bronchitis
accompanied by fever.
Plan a short fast
of five days the next time you have a free or relatively easy
week.
Do not confuse this fasting week
(5 day's fast + three days returning to normal eating) with
therapeutic fasting! Therapeutic fasting requires the
conditions outlined in the section on fasting in a clinic. The
5-day fast is the quickest way in which to become familiar
with the phenomenon of fasting and to get some idea of what
results are possible through a therapeutic fast of two to four
weeks. It is best to start off easily and thus be encouraged
to fast for a longer period later on. To begin your
first fast of a few days you need only a little courage and
interest in learning something
new.
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