followed by most people who feel slightly unbalanced. This has been called prophylactic( disease-preventing) fasting. 8 It is most effective when embarked upon following a deep inner urge. However, please note that anyone with chronic diagnosed ailments such as heart disease or diabetes should consult with a physician, especially if taking prescribed medication, before going on any fast. It is not advisable to fast even for short periods of time if one is taking any kind of medication, or in cases of pregnancy or nursing. It is advisable to discontinue vitamins and other supplements during a fast, as the body is unable to utilize supplements properly unless food is eaten as well. † Medication poses a problem because the body becomes supersensitive while fasting, and side effects can become quite pronounced. Fasting is not advisable during pregnancy or breast-feeding because food-energy supply to the baby will also diminish.( I tried fasting for a day or two at different times when I was nursing my children, to repair some minor cold or dietary indiscretion; invariably the babies protested, although my milk supply itself didn’ t seem to have decreased. They acted as if the same amount of milk didn’ t deliver the usual nourishment. I imagine its nutrient density must have diminished.) d. Any therapeutic fast longer than ten days and embarked on to lose weight or overcome a chronic illness must be followed only under experienced supervision. A prolonged fast can precipitate an intense healing crisis around the fifteenth day, and it is strongly advisable to have someone around who understands the process. It is also advisable that such a fast be conducted away from energy-consuming daily obligations and work, in a supportive, relaxing, natural setting, surrounded by trees, greenery, and lots of sunlight. As there will be no energy input from food, what energy the system will need should come from warmth, light, and oxygen.( Recent theories hold that“ light energy structures matter,” and that we need light as much as food to build our body. 10) A therapeutic fast is a time to direct attention inward, toward healing and reintegration; exercise, walking, and sunbathing will all enhance its effectiveness. A prolonged fast without these precautions can do much damage. One good friend of mine once followed a juice fast for twenty-eight days in the middle of a New York winter, continuing her normally stressful life and work. She wanted to stop at ten days, but the M. D. advising her pushed her to continue. She was freezing, exhausted, unable to walk uphill, and the fast did not cure the chronic cough that was her original problem. Today she estimates that it took her two years to undo the damage and feel normal once again. However long a fast lasts, it involves a reduction not only in the quantity, but also in the quality of food intake. The following are the possible variations of fasts of reduced quality: 1. The Water Fast is what purists consider the only true fast. It consists of taking nothing but water. Healing reactions have been reported by people who have undertaken it, as well as weakness and fatigue. A water fast may have its drawbacks in our industrialized world. As long as twenty years ago it was pointed out that we all carry stores of insecticides, pesticides, strontium, and other poisonous substances in our bodies. These are usually stored in the places where they pose the least hazard: the body fat. A fast that breaks down fat stores also releases these poisons into the bloodstream, and they can cause illness, perhaps even death. Migrating birds have been known to die as a result of the insecticides released into their bloodstream from the breakdown of their body fat during long flights. 11 Not only does the water fast, especially if prolonged, offer no buffers to internally released pollutants, it also provides no minerals needed for continued nerve function. Therefore, only those with a strong constitution and plenty of reserves can safely undertake a water fast of more than two days’ duration; and then it should always be under professional supervision. 2. To avoid the problem of stored pollutants being released internally too quickly, a number of nutritionists recommend the juice fast, that is, the drinking of fruit and vegetable juices instead of water. Cooked vegetable broth may also be used. It appears that as the energy of dissolved nutrients is taken in, whatever noxious substances are being released by the breakdown of body fat are buffered, diluted, or maybe released more slowly, thus causing fewer problems.
A juice or broth fast is also quite alkalizing because of the minerals in the juice or broth. It therefore helps balance the acidifying effects of a diet that has been high in protein, flour, and sugar. It is most effective when combined with exercise and vigorous physical activity. In some health spas, a daily enema is mandatory with fasting to help clean out toxic matter that may remain in the intestines and be reabsorbed.
Because fasting itself is highly contractive, the expansiveness of juices provides quite a good balance; that is one of the reasons for the popularity of this type of fast for countering the effects of overeating. In some cases, however, the juice fast( as well as the water fast) can overtax the kidneys because of the excess liquid intake. One of my students who had been going on regular three-day juice fasts every month, felt that her kidneys were becoming overworked because her back was hurting around the kidney