Fasting for three days can regenerate entire immune system, study finds

3 days? That sounds like a weekend of non-stop partying back in the days... Wasn't healthy though that's for sure. LOL

a reply to: Watchfull

Here's a full version of the documentary

originally posted by: MichiganSwampBuck
ETA: I like the beer reference. The "what if you were stranded with only beer, how long would you survive?" question has been discussed with my friends and our conclusion was about one week then you died from the hangover.

VICE News recently did an article where one man decided to drink only beer, and not eat food, during the entire religious holiday of Lent. Here is the link, it's an interesting read.

www.vice.com...

a reply to: samsamm9

Fasting during Ramadan seemed to me to be one of the
features of Islam that most made it seem false to me. When
I was in Morocco, people would fast all day including no water, then
feast at night, even getting up in the middle of the night for another meal. People
who had no business fasting, were essentially coerced.

I notice your whirling dervish avatar, samsamm9, are you a sufi? I found
during my stay in Fez that the sufis were the most trustworthy. Everyone
else were thieves.

Indigent thank you so much for this post, because it kind of goes along with something I've been meaning to do myself, only it incorporates some metaphysics also. If you don't mind I'll start a new thread suggesting we give this theory a test. I figured we could see who would be willing to participate in this experiment of fasting between 1-3 days on the next full moon phase June 13th coming friday, and see how people respond to it. As there is too much talking and very little action being taken vis a vis. It will be named Ok let's do it! Cheers a reply to: Indigent

originally posted by: marg6043

I have eliminated processed foods, carbs and added sugars from my diet, I have to say that I am doing great so hey it doesn't hurt adding a fast to the routine also.

This is one of the most beneficial reasons for fasting; detox. As you get older your body accumulates many toxins. It is one of the greatest factors to aging. If done properly, you'll come out of the fast without anymore addictions to processed and sugary foods. The healing at a cellular level starts during the fast but as you begin eating a more nutritious diet after, you'll find most of your health ailments will all but disappear.

This is not something you can just dive into however since you can actually do more harm than good if done improperly. It takes a good deal of preparation and knowledge to prepare yourself. This will be especially difficult for diabetics, chronically ill persons, prescription medication users and people with physical addictions.

Do do it properly, before fasting you should try to reduce as much as possible processed food, sugar and pharmaceuticals/chemicals two weeks prior. One week prior your diet should be very light consisting of light soups or home made vegetable/fruit juices. For the actual fast you are to drink only water. It is strongly encouraged to take time away from work during the fast since you will be very weak mentally and physically.

To get the best results you need to water fast for a minimum of three days. One to three weeks is recommended for full mind and body rejuvenation. After fasting it is very important to note one should eat again, very light foods for a few days such as soups and juices. After a week you can go back to eating solid food. You'll notices at this time the cravings for all the junk food you had prior to the fast will not exist. Take this time to learn about proper nutrition and exercise and you will look and feel better immediately.

I have yet to try it since my job prevents me from going through the full cycle. You need a good three weeks off from any type of work since the juice fast before and after the actual fast is straining as well. You need a quiet location preferably a wilderness setting. The hard part is not the lack of food, but the physical and mental draining you will experience during the fast. You will not be able to think about much at all and doing any mild form of labor will seem excruciatingly difficult. Many people who can pull it off however, make fasting a staple part of their life and continue the tradition at least once a year. It wouldn't surprise me that those people you see who are 80 years old and look and act like they are half their age have incorporated fasting into their lives in one way or another.

For anyone considering the path, I would start with the very informative read by Stephen Buhner, The Transformational Power of Fasting.

Peace.

originally posted by: Aleister
a reply to: Indigent


This is slightly off-topic but then again, is on topic. I've done a 14 hour fast every day (from my last food of the day until the first of the next) ever since I read in one of Swami Satchidananda's books that the same organs we use to digest are the same organs that do toxic cleansing, and if we do a 14-hour fast then we have at least seven hours of toxic cleansing a day. As soon as I read that I started that routine, and haven't missed a day. Good old Swami Satch.

This right here has peeked my interest greatly! I have a couple of questions. As being someone with a high metabolism, my only concern with fasting is losing weight. How long does it take for your body to adjust and maintain the weight that you are at? I work 12 hour days, wondering if you any idea if doing that 14 hour fast would still work, I suppose I could eat while at work on those day. At any rate I really dig the information as I think you are spot on! What book by Swami Satch as well, thank you for you time!

I've haven't been to the doctors in over 10 years except for mandatory physicals for employment. I often only eat when I'm hungry and never follow a specific pattern. My mother says that I am not putting enough into my body to stay healthy but I beg to differ.

The same goes for water. I see people all around me lugging a water bottle around all day, constantly drinking water. My belief is sometimes it is good to hold back things from your body and in turn it becomes stronger and more resilient. Kind of like how certain plants adapted to grow in harsh desert like conditions. Or a camel for that matter.

The bottom line is, if you are constantly pumping yourself with food and water, all day every day, then your body will more likely go into shock when you halt this behavior. I tend to push my body to certain extremes and have found that it only makes it stronger. The less you give your body the more it will learn to make the most of what it has. I like to live like a survivalist even when I can afford to keep my fridge stocked.

Food is not a priority, survival is. Most toxins are stored in fat cells, which I have none of, and putting your body through certain extremes forces it not to get lazy.

a reply to: Indigent

Wow amazing! Who would've thought that starving the body actually helps heal it! I'm going to try this out, but I wonder if liquids are ok? Is it just water that you're able to have?

Fasting is great for your digestive system and your other organs. It's good to let them rest every now and then.

Its been fairly well known that short term fasting can be beneficial to your body. You could even theorize that it is a hold over from our hunting gathering days where daily meals were not a guarantee. Fasting for long periods of time however can be extremely harmful and even fatal. Long term fasting (two weeks or longer) results in the body creating more harmful toxins in your body than the ones you were trying to get rid of by fasting.

I have done 3 and 5 day fasts myself and yes they will make you feel alot better for a few months afterward. It is also one of the first things I recommend to my friends when they start contemplating going on a diet. Because at around the three day mark is when your body starts breaking down stored fat and the effect lasts for a few weeks afterwards especially on a diet of healthy portion size.

originally posted by: NiZZiM
a reply to: Indigent

Wow amazing! Who would've thought that starving the body actually helps heal it! I'm going to try this out, but I wonder if liquids are ok? Is it just water that you're able to have?

Water is best, but for me having an extremely physical job. I drink unsweetened juices and glasses of water with lemon squeezed into it when I fast. Also it is generally a good idea to avoid sex and abstain from smoking for the duration.

a reply to: Indigent

The body will only eat fat reserves when fasting up to three days. This will actually give you more energy than you are used to and there is no danger of hurting yourself. The danger of fasting comes from a long delay in getting protein because your body will take protein from every part of your body including your heart.

This can cause a weak heart and in the long run can cause heart disease and failure.

The main thing with a low calorie diet and fasting is to make sure that you get enough protein to avoid this.

Jaden

originally posted by: TheDailyTruther
Fasting is great for your digestive system and your other organs. It's good to let them rest every now and then.

The body never rests. It was designed? to handle nature head on. The fact is, shopping at Stop and Shop isn't exactly considered natures bounty. My opinion is the body actually works harder during fasting but not in the way you would expect. It goes into reserve mode and starts eating itself. This isn't normally a bad thing for most as they can benefit from the short term detox. If you want to let your organs rest, eat organic and drink in moderation. In fact, do everything in moderation. We all can't eat pizza everyday!

I have been fasting on and off since I was a teenager. The longest fast that I have completed is just at 49-50 days, I did drink juice on this fast so it was not strictly water. I of course would not recommend such a long fast to someone who is not used to fasting. I've completed several 3-7 day fasts as well as 30 day ones as well.

As long as one is healthy they should be able to complete a 3 day water fast with no problems whatsoever. I think the first 3-7 days are the hardest, this is when you feel hungry, and if over toxic you may feel pretty sick from candida die-off and toxins leaving your body. I find after 3-7 days I am no longer hungry and can even enjoy meals with my family without feeling like I have to eat everything in sight. I would recommend short term fasting to practically anyone that is healthy, it is a great way to clear away the junk and feel rejuvenated.

As for the body eating itself, this typically doesn't happen, at least from what I have researched. You will lose weight as the body turns to excess fat to fuel the tasks it needs to complete. You will have had to have lost all your excess fat before the body would turn to cannibalism, in which case you definitely would need to stop the fast - but that isn't going to happen on a 3 day fast unless you are already severely underweight. I have also found that some that claim when one fasts they slow down their metabolism permanently to be false as well. It may slow down during the fast, but once one starts eating again their metabolism picks back up. There are lots of myths about fasting, I would encourage anyone who is seriously considering fasting, even a short one to educate themselves about it. Dr. Joel Fuhrman has a great book on fasting - it is meant for doctors, but the lay person can glean quite a bit from it as well.

Just finished a 7 day water fast. Mainly did it wondering if the 7 day theory may have been about fasting.

Day 1 - No real pain
Day 2 - Hunger pains set in but increased water intake and went away, dry heaves
Day 3 - No real pain , but mental hunger , dry heaves
Day 4 - No real pain , but mental hunger
Day 5 - Mind started racing and coming up with several interesting perceptions of life, dry heave due to smelling food
Day 6 - Mind still racing, hunger pain, mental hunger, craving of red meat bloody setting in (I don't eat red meat so probably an Iron warning from body) , ACID REFLUX ..like bad
Day 7 - Mental clarity, feeling of calm and understanding, ACID REFLUX persisted into 8th day.

After the fast I have this feeling like I don't need to eat much at all. Besides the acid reflux I really felt like I could keep going for another 7. I began to feel like food was a lie as if we are Supermen being fed small particles of Kryptonite daily. I felt as if all the people trying to get us to bodybuild etc are leading us to destruction on purpose using our ego against us.

I dropped a good deal of weight but I am used to yo-yoing. My skin looks and feels fantastic as does my hair. Having difficulty getting a lot of calories in after the fast because I feel full very quickly. Also sweets are like hyper sweet now, I don't even want them.

Overall I would recommend it to anyone who has the ability to do it and just chill, working especially strenuous work would not be advised as some dizziness and fatigue was present after day 3 and the of course the pain. My other warning would be about the possibility of causing an emotional spike this could have just been me, but I did feel like I was experiencing an emotional rollercoaster for 2 days after. This leveled off but others in my family who have done it said they experienced the same thing and your mind needs some time to settle.

One month ago, I cut processed foods from my diet. I now eat on average once or twice a day. I eat grilled meat and vegetable and fruit. I only drink water or tea. I have not exercised at all and I have lost 20lbs. It doesn't sound like much, but I didn't consider myself very overweight. 5'11 and 200lbs but muscular build from athletics when I was younger (now 33)...so now I'm at 180 and I feel much more energetic. I've also eliminated my acid reflux and joint pains. The key is don't put garbage in your body, and don't eat more than you need. It takes a change in perception because we are trained to eat so much.

I'm going to try this fasting idea.

I have fasted for 14 days on my 1st attempt and I'm doing my next water fast in the next week. It is amazing what it does for your body.
The process of eating takes up 80% of the energy intake, leaving the 20% for all other functions. When we fast we give the body 100% of it's internal energy reserves available into repairing the body. Fasting I believe can cure almost all conditions that aren't physically beyond repair.
What happens is food is stored in your digestive tract for up to 48hrs, after that time the body realises that it's not getting any glucose to feed the brain and goes into a survival mode called ketosis. What happens at this time is that it starts pulling nutrients from dead, fat and muscle tissue and converts these into the essential nutrients and minerals we require. But uniquely it starts feeding the body not with Glucose but using Ketones, that's why while fasting you often have to not move your brain so fast like standing up quick as the ketones feed the brain in a slower manner.
I follow a video channel on youtube from Loreen Lockman who runs a facility in south ameria. He has very good information regarding fasting. But always always slowly build into food as your stomach shrinks, so starting with soup and then working up using healthy greens etc.. after 1 week I was back to eating normal.
But after the experience it has made me realise that we don't need much food to survive and if you have body fat anything over 10% you could quite easily water fast for 21 days on that amount of fat.
A great point in one of the videos I watched and it challenges the idea that breakfast is the main meal of the day.

When you have your main meal at night most people just relax for the night and head for bed, when you wake up more often than not people feel the hunger pangs and go have breakfast but they are not hunger pangs, they are dehidrqation pangs. Every morning I would drink a 1/2 litre of water straight away and a litre before I leave for work. I keep hydrated and hunger usually comes around 11:15am when I have a light lunch, I have tea at 6 and don't eat after that.
What this does is gives the body after digesting my tea to start on repairing the body, it does this better during the night and by leaving breakfast until late morning I'm giving my body more time to repair itself.

Fasting is also brilliant if you have an old injury that's been niggling for a lot of years because during Ketosis it 1st breaks down scar tissue, so you feel the injury again and then it's gone for good. It's a great body reset tool and for all those religious out there fasting for 40 days and 40 nights will bring you much closer to Jesus as Jesus fasted for that length of time.

I cannot praise the process enough but I would always give caution, make sure you prepare by remineralising yourself through good fresh vegetables, supplements etc.. Because if you are wanting to cure a symptom but that symptom is poor nutrition you may not have the mineral stores required. And drink lots of water at least 3 to 4 litres a day and use dry saunas as your body will be detoxing and it comes out every which way and loose.

a reply to: XGodofWar

Nice detailed experience, I didn't find the 1st 3 days too hard but I found I had a condition I never knew I had on the 3rd when the Ketosis process kicked in and now I am aware of this condition which has effectively ruined my life over 15 years, I am so greatful for it. In case anyone was wondering it was Candidas which is systemic Candida Albicans which was causing a 6"2 confident guy to have serious anxiety and panic attacks, losing job after job because of agorophobia.
Trust me it was like my soul was finally set free. You can see from my posting history since I joined in 2003 has gone from maybe 0.01 post per week to about 100 per week because the anxiety has finally been lifted and I no longer fear expressing how I feel. It's liberating but always do it with as much knowledge about it as you can because do it wrong and suddenly just eat a burger after a week of fasting could cause serious damage and people have died because of it.

Like you I am also free of the burden of food, I now only eat when I'm truly hungry which on some days maybe nothing at all. I am exactly the same weight as I was because although a lot of weight drops off initially that's due to water retention and so once refeeding the weight loss can sometimes not be so significant on people who are already in the lower than 10% body fat which I am.

a reply to: UMayBRite!

Ramadan fasting is not fasting in real terms, people get fatter during Ramadan because of the feasting after starving themselves during the day. It's like my regime of if I eat a main meal I will eat it 6pm and then lunch next day at 11:15 but I have a very light lunch to sustain optimal energy levels because a big lunch requires much more of the bodies energy and why people feel lethargic after a big lunch. But at Ramadan they feast afterwards and that's not good for the body imo.