The Health Corner: Fasting

In my earlier posts, specifically the New Years post, I told you all that one of the things I wanted to do was become healthier. Skin, body, and hair wise. I see myself in a few years. Working at a magazine, trying to work my way up to be a Co-Editor in Chief or to have a good enough and trustworthy team to back me up on the magazine I hope to be the Editor in Chief of. I'll be with my boyfriend, both of us making moves. I'll make time for my friends, go get lunch whenever . . . but one of the biggest things that I want for in those next few years is for me to be healthy. Not just now and then I'm done, but so I'm disciplined in the art of getting to a healthier me.

To me, it's vital to focus on yourself because you're the only person that you has at the end of the day. To screw around with your body as if you can duplicate another you in case the you now f***'s up is a bad mentality. I want my life to be great. I want to leave something great behind. I want to be healthy.

So earlier I was looking through my daily blog reads and came across this post from Thank God I'm Natural about fasting. I was instantly intrigued, and after reading this, I hope you all are, too!

Here are some questions that are being answered when it comes to fasting:

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"What are the benefits of fasting?

Fasting is a multidimensional experience in which total body transformation occurs. There are a wide range of metabolic changes and experiences. The benefits of fasting include heightened spiritual awareness and relaxation of the body, mind, and emotions. Many feel a sense of letting go of pain from the past and developing a positive attitude towards the present. During fasting, the body is able to clean out its system because it is not expending energy towards the digestive organs. The blood and lymph are detoxified. When fasting, the release of toxins from the colon, kidneys, bladder, lungs, sinuses, and skin clears out complications that have arisen from a bad diet and unhealthy lifestyle."

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"Who does fasting work for? What are some of the conditions for which fasting is beneficial?

Fasting is a safe preventive method to enhance existing well-being. Short-term fasts (48 hours or less) usually can go unsupervised. For longer fasts or fasts used to treat medical
conditions, medical doctors recommend a physical evaluation by a qualified professional, the prescription of a particular fasting pattern, and monitored physical and biochemical changes. Fasting has been successful treating conditions such as:

Colds diabetes

Flus fever

Bronchitis fatigue

Headaches back pains

Constipation mental illness

Food and environmental allergies cancer

Asthma obesity

Insomnia skin problems

Back pain caused by tight muscles is usually alleviated with juice fasting by unclogging congested organs and the colon area. Fasting is frequently used in the traditional medical system to treat obesity; however, some doctors take issue with whether overweight people should be fasting at all. A change of diet might be the first step to a healthier lifestyle- the fast might be the push that person needs to get their diet started. In cases of severe obesity one needs to be closely monitored by a trained professional Patients with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia may also be helped- not as a cure, but as an indication of what foods and drugs should be used or avoided in the patients treatment plan."

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"Why Fast?

Fasting is one of the most natural, powerful therapies known to humankind and is used to remove accumulated toxins from the body (therefore “Detox”). Periods of abstinence from solid food – a ritual since ancient times – allow the body to “cleanse and purify”, to remove multitudes of toxins, excess fat, parasites, and the like caused by years of fast food, cigarettes, prescription drugs and alcohol. Add to that work and family-related stress, indigestion, illnesses, constipation and sedentary lifestyles, and you have a recipe for an unhealthy colon. Furthermore, the cells, tissues, organs of your body are given a well-deserved and much needed chance to slow down, rest, and heal.

Unfortunately, today’s most diets are heavily loaded with chemical additives, flavorings, coloring agents, toxic pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and other toxic chemicals which overburden our bodies. As this toxic overload accumulates decade after decade, it eventually interferes with normal functioning and our body’s elimination becomes impaired. “The organs of the body can accumulate toxins for years and years without rebelling ….eventually the organs can no longer cope. It is then we experience “disease”. It is the point of overload, and when it has reached this point it is often a chronic state of ill health, or even an acute condition that we will suffer. So often we ignore the warning signs along the way,” say Dr. Norman Walker.

During fasting, large amounts of these accumulated metabolic wastes and poisons are gradually eliminated through the greatly enhanced cleansing ability of all the organs of elimination – liver, kidneys, lungs and skin. With the addition of Colon Cleansing and self-administered Colemas (a cleansing regime whereby the colon is flushed out with natural solutions, in itself a potent detoxification tool) detoxing/fasting can offer a safe and transformative process moving you to much greater states of health and well-being."
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I'm thinking of doing this. Probably every week of every month or every week bi-monthly. It's possible. It's a challenge, since me and food go waaaaay back. But too much of something is never a good thing, right?

To read the rest in you're interested, click here.