Fasting

The very word makes people go strange and suggest that you’ve joined a weird cult dedicated to the worship of thin celebrities. They say that ‘if you don’t eat, you die’. The actual truth is, ‘if you don’t eat too much, then you live longer’. I have fasted hundreds of times over the last 30 years, and I have had the most incredible results, both body and mind, from these experiences. In fact I am fasting right now (on day four) as I write this…

Why fast?

When you break a leg, what do you do with it? You rest it so it can heal. When you are exhausted, what do you do? You rest so you can recover. When your digestive and bowel system is clogged, what do you do? You fast, so your engine room, your digestive system and your entire body can rest, recover, rebuild, reboot, refresh, rejuvenate and revitalise. You feel reborn. Fasting is to recovery what sleep is to recuperation. For me, discovering fasting has been one of the key health changing moments in my sickness to health journey. Slowly and INTELLIGENTLY starting to fast, gently at first, and then more rigorously over time, once you are used to it, will for most people, help to completely transform their health (alongside other smart diet, lifestyle and environmental choices of course).

Babies and animals naturally fast when unwell

Fasting is second nature to babies and animals. Human babies, when sick, will immediately fast. Animals automatically avoid food and fast to ease pain, discomfort or disease. When ill, animals will instinctively find a source of clean water, then rest by it and fast. When we get sick, we lose our appetite. This is your body begging you to fast so it can concentrate on fixing the problem. The real problem is not fasting. The real problem is that we never stop eating, and we are generally eating the worst diet in history right now.

Regular Intelligent Fasting®

In my opinion, Regular Intelligent Fasting® (see my first book ‘Eat Less, Live Long’ for the full story), is simply the oldest, most powerful, historically proven and natural rejuvenation process available. This is why you naturally lose your appetite when you are sick. Your body is telling you to take a break from food, rest and recover. Fasting exerts a normalising effect on all physiological functions, be they mental, glandular, and hormonal, biochemical or mineral. Fasting is energising, invigorating and revitalising and is one of the safest and gentlest healing methods known to man or medical science.

I only advise fasting be done when appropriate.

Before fasting, study it and ensure it is the right thing for you

Fasting is not recommended for those pregnant, breastfeeding, underweight, undernourished, severely anemic, hypoglycemic or with kidney disease, or any other serious condition or those under 20, unless under the professional care of a health practitioner. Fasting is NOT APPROPRIATE for those who have an eating disorder, bulimia, anorexia, depression or hypochondria. 

I recommend Regular Intelligent Fasting® as a supportive aspect of a balanced strategy for good health, alongside lifestyle changes (sleep, stress management, not smoking or drinking), and eating a smart, plant-based wholefood diet (mostly plants, mostly wholefoods).

And in this modern age of searching for the instant fix; remember that fasting is one part of a healthy lifestyle; not a single magic bullet.

Written for The Kitchen by Jason Shon Bennett from ExceptionalHealth.com ® & ©.