Ketosis:
The process of ketosis is one of the physiological effects of fasting in which the brain (and some other bodily processes) uses ketones produced from fatty tissues as a fuel instead of the usual glucose. This is called "muscle sparing".
When glucose isn't readily available via the diet (in the form of carbohydrates) and the glycogen stores in the liver become depleted, the body could break down muscle to get it. But ketosis is an adaptation that will spare muscle during times of shortage by instead breaking down fat stores and manufacturing ketones for brain fuel. It is said this state is attained at approximately 48 hours of a water fast for women and closer to 72 hours for men.
The effects of fasting ketosis have become a more popular and controversial subject in recent years due to low-carb, high-protein dieters relying on it long-term to "burn the fat".
Where ketosis was once considered a "crisis response" of the body and fine only for short durations, there are some doctors who now contend ketones are an acceptable alternative fuel, produced and used by the body any time glucose is scarce, which can happen even in non-fasting, non-dieting individuals, such as during intense exercise or during sleep. They are considering it a natural metabolic process where ketone production and use fluctuates constantly in response to the body's needs.
What is so controversial about the low-carbers use of ketosis is the long term, artificially produced, use of it. Over long periods of time, their high-protein diet produces excess protein by-products that become a strain on the kidneys to eliminate. Ketosis also creates a mild acidosis of the blood, which, over a long period of time is considered detrimental to our health. One effect being the leaching of minerals from our bones, causing osteoporosis.
Ketosis and fasting
Fasting, on the other hand, is a short-term endeavor. Even a 21 day fast is short compared to a year-long diet. Excess protein by-products are not being created. And ketosis is being entered by a naturally occurring process.Also, in fasting, we listen for the body's signal to end the fast, to tell us when its reserves are too low to continue living off them.
Even during complete water fasting, which puts you in the fullest state of ketosis, there is some muscle loss. Dr. Fuhrman, who has fasted thousands, states that it decreases to less than 0.2 kg per day once full ketosis is reached, usually by the third day. There are other bodily/cellular processes that continue to require glucose and some tissue will be broken down to metabolize it.
Fasting methods that include some carbohydrates, like juice or fruit fasting, can produce various degrees of ketosis, and strive to provide enough carbs to prevent any muscle loss. Some juice fasters (as well as low-carbers) adhere to the theory that 400 calories (carbohydrates) will supply enough glucose to prevent muscle loss and aim for that number in their daily diet.
On the other hand, some proponents of water fasting contend the magic number is 1200 calories, and suggest that only complete abstention from food will produce the level of ketosis desired to safeguard muscle. What they don't tell you is that even in water fasting, there is still some muscle wasting.
As unique as each of our bodies and metabolic processes are, it's doubtful any such magic number actually exists.
Because of the inherent tissue loss in water fasting, Fuhrman suggests individuals of normal weight not fast longer than 21 days, or they "can become so thin that they have a long road back regaining their strength." But, we must remember, therapeutic fasting to treat chronic health issues such as Fuhrman was doing, while it might cause some muscle loss, is a trade-off for the improvement in the condition. We make worse trade-offs every day in traditional medicine--just read the warnings and side effects to prescription drugs or the release form you sign before surgery.
Even if we're not fasting for treatment of a serious chronic condition but for simple detox and general improved well-being, we should remember that part of the concept of detox is the breakdown of inferior materials and the rebuilding of new healthier cells. Any muscle lost to a fast isn't lost forever--it can be built back. Respecting the signs of "true hunger", and ending your fast when it appears, no matter whether you've attained the number of days you wanted or not, is your insurance against going too far.
As to the breakdown of tissue, know that any loss isn't arbitrary; the most expendable are used first. To quote Paavo Airola, a proponent of juice fasting:
"...your body will first decompose and burn those cells and tissues which are diseased, damaged, aging or dead. In fasting, your body feeds itself on the most impure and inferior materials, such as dead cells and morbid accumulations, tumors, abscesses, damaged tissues, fat deposits, etc. Dr.Buchinger Sr., one of the greatest fasting authorities in the world, calls fasting - very pertinently - a "refuse disposal", a "burning of rubbish". These dead cells and inferior tissues are consumed and utilized first. The essential tissues and vital organs, the glands, the nervous system and the brain, are spared.
...During fasting, while the old cells and diseased tissues are decomposed and burned, the building of new, healthy cells is stimulated and speeded up... Amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, are not wasted, but are released from the decomposed cells and used again in the new-building of young, vital cells. As you know, your cells are made mostly of proteins and the complete set of all the essential amino acids is needed for the effective building of cells. During fasting the proteins needed for new cell building are resynthesized from the decomposed cells. Thus the body is using and re-using the same proteins and other nutrients over and over where they are needed."
This makes sense. We see it everywhere about us. Nature doesn't waste, but reuses.
While in the state of ketosis
After the initial few days of adaptation, some people experience ketosis as wonderful, with increased energy and loss of appetite. Usually the more overweight an individual, the higher their energy. Thinner people may need more rest than usual. Some fasters show concern that they feel "too good" for anything to be happening.The loss of appetite serves us well during fasting for obvious reasons, but it also allows for the signal to end the fast to be heard. When hunger suddenly returns after being absent for perhaps days, it's the sign the body now requires additional fuel. It is time to break the fast.
If you are interested in testing yourself for ketones, there are urine testers (sticks) available over-the-counter that will determine if there are ketones present in your urine.
These testers are somewhat unreliable since they only measure excess ketones; if your body is under-producing the necessary amount of ketones, there won't be excess ketones thrown off in the urine, nor will they show in urine once the body has stabilized to the new fasting state and the proper amount of ketones are being produced and used up.
Blood tests are much more accurate since they don't rely on an excess being present, but obviously aren't practical as an at-home test.
Science and ketosis
Science hasn't yet been able to answer all the questions we have about the effects of fasting and the process of ketosis. But what we do know is that both ketosis and fasting are common and naturally occurring bodily processes. Remember, they have found ketone bodies in the blood of individuals who were under great physical exertion, as well as those who were sleeping.In generally healthy individuals, the amount of possible muscle loss is considered negligible. But, if you're a 6 foot tall, 95 pound fashion model, this loss may not be so negligible. Nor if you're emaciated by a serious debilitating illness.
Physical bodily reserves are necessary to support the process of ketosis. Most of us have such reserves, but emaciated individuals shouldn't be fasting or, at least, only under the constant care of a physician. (See Who Can Fast.)
If the idea of any muscle loss is highly upsetting to you, if you're an athlete or a body builder, and you're not attempting to treat chronic conditions, you probably shouldn't consider a water fast. You can opt instead for a juice fast, Master Cleanse, or a mono-diet such as a fruit or rice fast. While we don't know the exact number of calories necessary to avoid all tissue loss, the modicum of nutrition in these fasting methods can assist your body in its fuel requirements.
If even these methods concern you, there are always cleansing diets which can provide a full compliment of nutrition, while still allowing the body to catch up on its housecleaning.
The beneficial physiological effects of fasting are well documented. It's been a therapeutic practice for at least 5,000 years that we know of. It doesn't try to manipulate nature, but works with her toward rest and healing. Ketosis is just one of the effects of fasting, all of which come together in leading us toward greater health and vitality.
Below are some of the best fasting quotes from both modern medical and health professionals as well as famous historical figures. History shows us that fasting was considered a natural therapy for so many of the ails of the past.
Modern professionals are telling us the same is still true; that fasting will alleviate a host of ailments that plague us in our modern world.
The fasting quotes are divided into four categories: Historical, Modern M.D.s, Other Health Professionals, and Religious Writers and Figures.
Historical
"Fasting is the greatest remedy-- the physician within."
Philippus Paracelsus, one of the three fathers of Western medicine
"Instead of using medicine, better fast today."
Plutarch, a Greek biographer and moralist
"The best of all medicines is resting and fasting."
Benjamin Franklin
"Everyone has a doctor in him; we just have to help him in his work. The natural healing force within each one of us is the greatest force in getting well. ...to eat when you are sick, is to feed your sickness."
Hippocrates, one of the three fathers of Western medicine
"A little starvation can really do more for the average sick man than can the best medicines and the best doctors."
Mark Twain, in My Debut As a Literary Person
"Nature heals, the doctor helps!"
Paracelsus, writing about activating
the "doctor inside", or our own healing nature
the "doctor inside", or our own healing nature
"Every fool can fast, but only the wise man knows how to break a fast."
G.B. Shaw, writer
"Humans live on one-quarter of what they eat; on the other three-quarters lives their doctor."
Egyptian pyramid inscription, 3800 B.C.
Modern M.D.s
"I believe that fasting is the "missing link" in the Western diet.""From a medical point of view, I believe that fasing is not utilized often enough."
".... fasting is one of the best overall healing methods because it can be applied to so many conditions and people."
"Fasting is the single greatest natural healing therapy. It is nature's ancient, universal 'remedy' for many problems. Animals instictively fast when ill."
all from Elson Haas, M.D. in Staying Healthy with Nutrition
"Due to [the] effects of fasting, a fast can help you heal with greater speed; cleanse your liver, kidneys, and colon; purify your blood; help you lose excess weight and water; flush out toxins; clear the eyes and tongue; and cleanse the breath."
James F. Balch, M.D., in Prescription for Nutritional Healing
"Therapeutic [water] fasting accelerates the healing process and allows the body to recover from serious disease in a dramatically short period of time."
"Fasting, combined with nutritional competence, removes the most significant causes of disease."
"Therapeutic fasting is not a mystical or magical cure. It works because the body has within it the capacity to heal when the obstacles to healing are removed. Health is the normal state. Most chronic disease is the inevitable consequence of living a life-style that places disease-causing stressors on the human organism. Fasting gives the body an interlude without those stressors so that it can speedily repair or accomplish healing that could not otherwise occur in the feeding state."
"The job of fasting is to supply the body with the ideal environment to accomplish its work of healing."
"The body's wondrous ability to autolyze (or self-digest) and destroy needless tissue such as fat, tumors, blood vessel plaque, and other nonessential and diseased tissues, while conserving essential tissues, gives the fast the ability to restore physiologic youth to the system. By removing or lessening the burden of diseased tissue, including the fatty tissue narrowing the blood vessels, fasting increases the blood flow and subsequent oxygenation and nutrient delivery to vital organs throughout the body."
all from Joel Fuhrman, M.D., in Fasting and Eating for Health
"Man is the only 'animal' who persists in eating when he is sick, even though he may have no appetite and food makes him nauseous."
"Fasting is a calming experience. It is restful. It relieves anxiety and tension. It is rarely depressing and it is often downright exhilarating."
Alan Cott, M.D., from Fasting: The Ultimate Diet
"Fasting is the strongest appeal to the human being's natural powers of healing and self-rejuvenation, on both a spiritual and corporeal level."
Heinz Fahrner, M.D.
"I often observe in the fasting participants that by four days of fasting, concentration seems to improve, creative thinking expands, depression lifts, insomnia stops, anxieties fade, the mind becomes more tranquil and a natural joy begins to appear. It is my hypothesis that when the physical toxins are cleared from the brain cells, mind-brain function automatically and significantly improves and spiritual capacities expands."
Gabriel Cousins, M.D. (psychiatry)
"Although beginning my practice in fog-covered medical superstition, I came to the conclusion that only nature can practice medicine."
"I contend that during illness feeding becomes a burden to the sick. It uses energy that otherwise would be used to fight the illness."
both from Dr. Edward Dewey
"I must say in all seriousness that fasting when combined with a properly selected diet is the nearest approach to a 'cure-all' that is possible to conceive-- profoundly simple and simply profound!"
John Tilden, M.D.
"Religious ascetics, who led their lives abstaining from food, came to the conclusion that fasting improved not only their spiritual state, but also their physical condition, and through fasting many diseases could be cured."
Dr. Inamura Motoo
"I assert that fasting is the most efficient means for correcting any disease."
Adolph Mayer, M.D., from his book Fast Cures - Wondercures
"Fasting creates a condition of low concentration of toxic wastes in the circulatory system. This is sensed by the plasma membrane of each cell and each cell will then let go of its load of toxic wastes."
Ron Kennedy, M.D.
Religious Writers and Figures
"Fasting is a natural method of healing. When animals or savages are sick, they fast."
Paramahansa Yogananda
"The purpose of fasting is to loosen to some degree the ties which bind us to the world of material things and our surroundings as a whole, in order that we may concentrate all our spiritual powers upon the unseen and eternal things."
Ole Kristian O. Hallesby, in Brief Biography
(courtesy of dailychristianquote.com)
(courtesy of dailychristianquote.com)
"Fast because it is good for you...[it can be an] exercise to get the body in shape to be alive to itself. This process frees the self to be more sensitive to the Creation, to ourselves, and to our histories."
Christian Century magazine
"Prayer brings us halfway to God, fasting takes us to the gateway of heaven."
Muhammad
"Fasting is the soul's nourishment, it reins in language and seals one's lips, it tames desire and calms the choleric temperament. It awakens consciousness, renders the body docile, dispels nightly dreams, cures headaches and strengthens the eyes."
John Chrysostom, one of the early founders of the Christian Church
"Seek the angel of fresh air, the angel of water, the angel of sunlight, and the angel of the earth, and invite them to stay with you throughout the fast!"
from the writings of the Essenes
"When you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrits." "Be honest, be sincere. Fast for honest and truthful purposes."
Book of Matthew
Andrew Weil, an M.D. and popular author on the subject of natural healing and holistic medicine, has spelled it out succinctly in his book Spontaneous Healing. His advice:
that conventional medicine cannot treat, and do not rely on
an alternative provider for a condition that
conventional medicine can manage well."
How to know the difference? This is Weil's breakdown:
Conventional medicine CAN:
Without eating though, how are we fueling our body? Ketosis is a complex metabolic process used by the body when there is insufficient glucose--the body's main fuel. This is said to be "muscle sparing" as without it, the body would breakdown muscle to provide the components necessary to produce the required glucose. Instead of breaking down muscle tissue, your body will break down fatty deposits, producing ketones for fuel.
After about 3 days of water fasting, you will be in the state of ketosis. This state is usually high energy with a clear mental capability. But a unique facet of it is a total lack of hunger.
Some fasters, not all, can go for weeks without food and yet never feel hungry. As you might expect, those who are overweight can go longer, whereas thin individuals must stop sooner. But don't let a lot of excess weight fool you into thinking you can go any certain length of time.
You don't decide how long to go.
Your body tells you how long it can safely go.
To deny food when true hunger has signaled is to begin the act of starvation. The body is telling you it now needs outside nutrition as it has depleted its reserves, or its ability to rely on those reserves. If it has been operating in the state of ketosis, it is telling you it no longer can safely.
True hunger is a sensation in the mouth and throat, similar to thirst, and not a gnawing pain in the stomach. The way it will get your attention is that comes after many days of experiencing no hunger. Seemingly out of the blue, you'll have an intense desire for food.
When food is taken at this point, it tastes extraordinarily wonderful, a real sensual treat. And the act of eating itself is fulfilling, creating feelings of contentment and pleasure. This is the experience eating is supposed to be.
Having once experienced this "true hunger", you will no longer confuse it with the emotional desire or physical discomfort we usually associate with hunger. Such physical "hunger pains" felt either in the stomach, or as "hunger headaches", are said to actually be withdrawal and detox symptoms from rich foods, chemicals, and stimulants.
The reason they go away when you eat something is because you have stopped the cleansing detox as your body must once again put its energy into digestion and assimilation.
After fasting, when you've returned to a regular (but healthier) diet, you'll be able to tell when you are truly hungry, experiencing "real hunger", versus when you just think you're hungry because you feel like eating.
Rapid heart rate, drop in heart rate, or irregular heart beat are all signs to end the fast. During a water fast, general weakness developing over time is considered normal as the body seeks to conserve energy, but sudden and extreme weakness should be taken seriously by ending the fast.
If any of these conditions present themselves, break the fast with some fresh juice or a small piece of fresh fruit. Watermelon is frequently used to break a fast because of the high water content, but any juicy fruit will do. If using juice, drink 6-8 ounces of diluted juice, sipping slowly. Do this every 2 hours.
Side effects such as those above are more common during fasts of longer duration. Shorter fasts of 2-3 days won't usually be accompanied by such symptoms.
Listen to your intuition as well. If you're feeling like something may be wrong or something feels "off" to you, maybe you should stop. You can always fast another day.
See Guidelines for Breaking a Fast for greater understanding of the breaking process.
If we want to have a safe fasting experience, we need to make the space to listen to our bodies. And educate ourselves as much as possible before beginning. Consider getting professional supervision for longer fasts or for treating chronic conditions.
http://www.rawfoodexplained.com/when-to-employ-fasting/part-iii-how-long-how-often.html
Conventional medicine CAN:
- "Manage trauma better than any other system of medicine.
- Diagnose and treat many medical and surgical emergencies.
- Treat acute bacterial infections with antibiotics.
- Treat some parasitic and fungal infections.
- Prevent many infectious diseases by immunization.
- Diagnose complex medical problems.
- Replace damaged hips and knees.
- Get good results with cosmetic and reconstructive surgery.
- Diagnose and correct hormonal deficiencies."
- "Treat viral infections.
- Cure most chronic degenerative diseases.
- Effectively manage most kinds of mental illness.
- Cure most forms of allergy or autoimmune disease.
- Effectively manage psychosomatic illnesses.
- Cure most forms of cancer."
Your Key to Safe Fasting
Knowing when to break a fast is your key to safe fasting. (Assuming you've read Who Can Fast and are sure you're a proper candidate for fasting.) When fasting, our bodies change from normal functioning to that of healing and recuperation. An internal cleansing of toxins and inferior materials can begin because so much energy is now freed up that used to go to digestion.Without eating though, how are we fueling our body? Ketosis is a complex metabolic process used by the body when there is insufficient glucose--the body's main fuel. This is said to be "muscle sparing" as without it, the body would breakdown muscle to provide the components necessary to produce the required glucose. Instead of breaking down muscle tissue, your body will break down fatty deposits, producing ketones for fuel.
After about 3 days of water fasting, you will be in the state of ketosis. This state is usually high energy with a clear mental capability. But a unique facet of it is a total lack of hunger.
Some fasters, not all, can go for weeks without food and yet never feel hungry. As you might expect, those who are overweight can go longer, whereas thin individuals must stop sooner. But don't let a lot of excess weight fool you into thinking you can go any certain length of time.
Your body tells you how long it can safely go.
True hunger
No matter how long you had intended to fast, true hunger is the trigger to end a fast. Among water fasters, the term "true hunger" is used to denote the body's request to end the fast and begin taking food.To deny food when true hunger has signaled is to begin the act of starvation. The body is telling you it now needs outside nutrition as it has depleted its reserves, or its ability to rely on those reserves. If it has been operating in the state of ketosis, it is telling you it no longer can safely.
True hunger is a sensation in the mouth and throat, similar to thirst, and not a gnawing pain in the stomach. The way it will get your attention is that comes after many days of experiencing no hunger. Seemingly out of the blue, you'll have an intense desire for food.
When food is taken at this point, it tastes extraordinarily wonderful, a real sensual treat. And the act of eating itself is fulfilling, creating feelings of contentment and pleasure. This is the experience eating is supposed to be.
Having once experienced this "true hunger", you will no longer confuse it with the emotional desire or physical discomfort we usually associate with hunger. Such physical "hunger pains" felt either in the stomach, or as "hunger headaches", are said to actually be withdrawal and detox symptoms from rich foods, chemicals, and stimulants.
The reason they go away when you eat something is because you have stopped the cleansing detox as your body must once again put its energy into digestion and assimilation.
After fasting, when you've returned to a regular (but healthier) diet, you'll be able to tell when you are truly hungry, experiencing "real hunger", versus when you just think you're hungry because you feel like eating.
Other signs to break a fast
Safe fasting requires we know the other signals to break a fast. Sudden nausea and vomiting after days of feeling comfortable can be a sign of bodily distress. It is usually a sign of dehydration and can sometimes be remedied by ingesting more fluids. But if vomiting is persistent and severe or is accompanied by diarrhea, you should break the fast.Rapid heart rate, drop in heart rate, or irregular heart beat are all signs to end the fast. During a water fast, general weakness developing over time is considered normal as the body seeks to conserve energy, but sudden and extreme weakness should be taken seriously by ending the fast.
If any of these conditions present themselves, break the fast with some fresh juice or a small piece of fresh fruit. Watermelon is frequently used to break a fast because of the high water content, but any juicy fruit will do. If using juice, drink 6-8 ounces of diluted juice, sipping slowly. Do this every 2 hours.
Side effects such as those above are more common during fasts of longer duration. Shorter fasts of 2-3 days won't usually be accompanied by such symptoms.
Listen to your intuition as well. If you're feeling like something may be wrong or something feels "off" to you, maybe you should stop. You can always fast another day.
See Guidelines for Breaking a Fast for greater understanding of the breaking process.
If we want to have a safe fasting experience, we need to make the space to listen to our bodies. And educate ourselves as much as possible before beginning. Consider getting professional supervision for longer fasts or for treating chronic conditions.
http://www.rawfoodexplained.com/when-to-employ-fasting/part-iii-how-long-how-often.html
2.1 The Tongue and the Breath
Soon after entering upon a fast, the tongue coats heavily, and this coat may continue to increase as the fast progresses. This coating will persist during the fast up to a certain point when it begins to spontaneously clean itself up. As long as the body is actively eliminating toxins, the tongue will remain coated, but when this elimination begins to decrease, the tongue will clear up and remain clear. Dr. Hereward Carrington says, “A short while before the return of hunger, this cleansing process of the tongue commences and continues until the tongue is perfectly clean, assuming a beautiful pink-red shade—rarely or never seen in the average man or woman; and the terminus of this cleansing process of the tongue is absolutely coincidental with the return of hunger and of health.”
Carrington stated that this coated condition of the tongue indicates the condition of the mucous membrane throughout the alimentary canal since this membrane is so closely interrelated and connected. I would add that this foul condition of the tongue not only is an indication of the mucous membranes of the intestines but also of the health of the mucous membranes throughout the entire body.
If the fast is broken before the tongue clears, the tongue will become clean after eating has resumed. This indicates that elimination has been halted, but it does not necessarily mean that elimination has been completed. It is always best to fast until completion whenever possible.
The breath is also an indication of elimination of toxic debris. Although the breath may be somewhat foul before the fast, during the fast it becomes more so. This peculiar odor of the breath continues during the fast and only becomes sweet when the fast is ready to be broken after elimination has ceased. Dr. Carrington associates bad breath with elimination via the lungs. He says, “Precisely coincidental with the heavy coating of the tongue—following immediately upon the commencement of the fast—is the greatly increased foulness of the breath, showing unmistakably that the lungs are assisting in the speedy elimination of all corrupt matter from the system with the greatest possible speed.”
The above two conditions serve as a unique and constant guide as to the condition of the tasting patient
3. How Often
As regards to how often to fast, we again must say, rely on instinct. When hunger disappears or acute symptoms appear, a fast is needed. It is important to understand that fasting is a tool that enables the body to redirect its healing powers where needed. It is not a “cure.” You should not use fasting as a crutch to lean upon every time you choose to live unhealthfully between fasts. Fasting is but one part of an entire way of living that will maintain health. In between fasts, the other conditions for health should be adhered to. This includes proper food and water, exercise, sunshine and fresh air, rest and sleep, and emotional poise.
Part III: How Long, How Often
1. Fasting Vs. Starving
There is a difference between fasting and starvation. Starvation results from food being denied to a person whose reserves have been exhausted, and, in its extreme stages, leads to death. Fasting, on the other hand, is a period of rest and renewal with a potential for remarkable benefits with the body using its stored reserves as food.We are not so much concerned with how long it will require a man to die from want of food, but how long he can safely and beneficially abstain from food. A little over three months are the longest fasts that have been recorded in man and these have been in overweight individuals. The man of moderate weight would not fast so long; and he would not need such an extended period of fasting. It has been said that a well-nourished adult can remain alive from fifty to sixty days without food, provided, of course, that he has water. Hundreds of longer fasts have been recorded and most of these have resulted in great benefit to the fasters.
2. Length Of The Fast Is Guided By Developments
The organism requires time to do its “housecleaning.” If we were to arbitrarily set a time limit for this important work, we would stand in the way of recovery. The best way to determine the length of the fast is to be guided by the developments. It is not possible to know how long it will take a stomach ulcer to heal, or for an asthmatic to attain full recovery. Since it is not advisable to break the fast in advance of complete healing, you must be guided by certain signs.When symptoms disappear, it is a favorable sign, but it still does not indicate that the fast is to be broken. One of the surest indications is a clear tongue, sweet breath, and return of hunger. This may occur after two days or two months or longer depending on the individual.
Occasionally, it is necessary to break the fast before these signs manifest themselves. A sudden fall in blood pressure; a rapid, feeble and irregular pulse; a disturbing dyspnea (difficult breathing) may indicate that the fast should be broken. The attitude of the patient and his emotional stability are factors that cannot be ignored. If the patient is unwilling to continue the fast or becomes excessively worried and anxious, the fast may have to be terminated.
Although it is always best to continue a fast until its natural termination, breaking the fast under such conditions will do no harm as long as proper feeding is carried out after the fast. After a while, a second fast may be undertaken with benefit.
Rest while fasting not only provides for comfort but it hastens the processes of recovery. It is important that we keep in mind that the sick man is enervated and that rest is the means of recuperation.
http://personalexcellence.co/blog/fasting-days-18-19/
great info about Celes's personal experience about fasting day to day.
great info about Celes's personal experience about fasting day to day.
No comments:
Post a Comment