Patricia Thompson - NUTRITION TALKWITH THE start of the religious season of Lent, many Christians have begun the annual ritual of fasting. Other religions also recognise fasting as an important practice such as Muslims during Ramadan, and Hindus for prayer meetings and Divali. Fasting as a means of cleansing and detoxifying is being increasingly practised by persons for health benefits. Religious 'fasts' during Lent may only involve moderate changes. Some persons give up foods they consider unhealthy such as chocolates and fast foods, or avoid red meat, including chicken and substitute fish. More typically, fasts involve total abstention from foods for periods of one day weekly to a full week or more. Fasting, as used by persons attempting to rid the body of waste substances will be addressed here.
BENEFITS AND NEGATIVES
OF FASTING
It is natural that appetite for food declines during periods of acute illness. This is because by relieving the body from the work of digesting foods, the energy can be redirected to the immune function, cell growth and eliminatory processes. Fasting for thirty-six to sixty hours improves immune function. Elimination of toxins promotes healing and thinking processes are sharpened, facilitating those who use this time for prayer and meditation.
Chronic degenerative diseases are less responsive to fasting and it can be a shock to some persons not used to fasting. Persons with diabetes, heart and kidney conditions should not fast and neither should persons in marginal nutritional health. If vitamin and mineral reserves are low, frank deficiencies can result from improper fasting. Persons with habitually poor diets should build up their nutritional reserves before undertaking fasts. Be prepared for negative symptoms associated with detoxification from the second day of a total fast. These include fatigue, irritability, dizziness, headaches, bad breath, a coated tongue, sore gums, fever chills and other flu-like symptoms.
TYPES OF FASTS
The above symptoms are most evident on a water-only fast. A milder approach is the juice fast, prepared using fresh fruits and/or vegetables. It is wise to enter a fast gradually by decreasing the amount of food eaten the week before the fast and restrict intake to raw vegetables and fruits for two days before. Especially recommended are juices from green vegetables, cabbage, carrot and beet but these should be made and drunk fresh.
Coming off the juice fast should also be gradual and in the reverse order, i.e. first use pureed fruits and vegetables, then complex carbohydrate sources that are easily digested such as provisions, and increase the quantities gradually returning to normal eating by the fourth day. Meals should be frequent and small.
HEALTHY EATING
The primary function of fasting is to give the digestive tract a rest so that the body will have an opportunity to clear itself of unwanted waste. Waste substances accumulate as a result of sub-optimal lifestyles and eating habits. Returning to these habits will be counter-productive to the cleansing process. It is also probably best to prevent the excess accumulation in the first place by healthy habits. One of these is a daily overnight fast where the body is rested from food intake for a period of 12-14 hours. This underlies the advice of not eating after 6 p.m. because breakfast is usually taken between 6-8 a.m. next morning. The wisdom of this advice must, however, be supported by a healthy high fibre, high water diet to allow for a daily cleansing from a good bowel movement. If you insist on eating poorly, then an occasional fast may be your next best solution.
Patricia Thompson M.Sc., Registered Nutritionist, Nutrition and Diet Services.
