Fasting: Often Referred To As The First Principle Of Medicine

A sure way to spring-clean your body and feel terrific

When I was young I didn’t want to have breakfast. I just didn’t feel hungry. It was a bitter war between me and my mom about whether or not I would go to school without eating, as she believed breakfast was the most important meal of the day.

Given that back in those days, people had been converted to the importance of eating carbohydrates for breakfast, false as it was, there was a whole industry that had to be protected.

Now we know two things.

Carbohydrates are not necessarily our friends, though some are, and time-restricted eating, as in not eating within a given time framework, (also known as intermittent fasting), benefits us in so many ways.

For my husband and me, fasting until 11 or 12 o’clock has become the norm. There are days when we choose to go longer, but mostly mid-day is the sweet spot for us.

If you want to lose weight, if you are insulin-resistant, or have some other health issue, and if you’ve a hankering to live a longer and healthier life, a diet lower in carbohydrates, coupled with fasting, could be something worth considering.

If, on the other hand, you are someone who equates fasting with starvation, let me assure you that this is far from correct.

Starvation is a state where you have no control over your next meal, or piece of food.

By direct contrast, fasting is the voluntary act of avoiding food for a chosen reason.

Fasting is the avoidance of food for spiritual, health, weight loss, or other reasons. It should be done by someone who is not underweight and has enough stored body fat to live off.

When done correctly, fasting should not cause suffering.

Dr Jason Fung, a Canadian nephrologist says, ‘he’s prescribed intermittent-fasting diets, which restrict eating to a fixed schedule, to thousands of patients at his company, Intensive Dietary Management, where he serves as cofounder and medical director. Variations on intermittent fasting include alternative-day fasting, in which people eat normally one day and under 500 calories the next; 18:6, referring to fasting for 18 hours a day and eating within a six-hour window; or one meal a day, or OMAD for short.

‘Occasional longer fasts, which should be done under the supervision of a doctor if one is diabetic, for example, would see even more pronounced effects, which in addition to weight loss can include mental clarity and a detox process called autophagy.’

For anyone who has been on a merry-go-round of dieting, and despairs of ever losing weight, this is worth considering. See it not a diet per se, but more as a way of life.

Put aside the idea of dieting.

The negative connotations alone, are enough to put you off before you start.

Instead, look on fasting as something beneficial that you can easily factor into your life for the long haul.

If you want to find a healing solution for your body, or lose weight, there’s no better way than fasting.

Just by simply timing and controlling when you put food into your body, you can effect huge changes in your body.

In sickness and in health…

If you’re not entirely convinced of the benefits of fasting, think about when you have been sick, with a fever.

In that situation the notion of eating is absolutely abhorrent to you. All around you will have well wishers imploring you to eat, just a little, because it will help you get better, but, your body says no!

And so you do as your body bids, and take lots of rest. You sleep. And then a few days later you wake up, feel better, and the desire to eat is with you again.

That’s the process of healing.

Fasting is the act of de-stressing (read healing), your body. And if you can do that effectively, all manner of positive things can take place.

Snacking…

Not so long ago, just a few generations, people didn’t engage in snacking. The temptations were simply not there.

Coffee shops were a rarity, as were restaurants, and convenience food had not surfaced.

But all of this changed and in such a sort space of time.

Never have people been so tempted. Everywhere there are enticements to eat, snacks all cleverly packaged and cunningly-described.

It’s marketing at its grandest!

Shopping malls are peppered with places to eat, snacks to buy, and ready-made food is available in supermarkets. The temptation is in your face, and it’s so easy to succumb.

Have a day at the beach. There you will find cafes everywhere.

It’s the same with theaters and cinemas, all offering snacks, and yet, given we are there for such a short time., who would need food?

And as parents, we fill our children’s lunch boxes with a whole bunch of snacks, which essentially means their bodies are under constant food assaults!

That is not good.

The fact is our bodies have no time to recover from the constant eating habits we have embraced.

Looking back…

‘The Romans, for example, didn’t eat it — usually consuming only one meal around midday — breakfast was actively frowned upon. Regular working hours following the industrial revolution brought structure to mealtimes to sustain labourers. And by the late 18th century the pattern of eating three meals a day in towns and cities emerged.

‘But these days, people are eating more frequently than they ever have before — and often outside of meal times. New smartphone app data shows that we now have erratic eating patterns. Many of us are continually snacking rather than eating at defined times — which means we spend up to 16 hours a day in a “fed” state.’

Our bodies are actually designed to store food in times of availability and to release it in times of scarcity. We won’t die if we have to wait for food. So the notion of fasting makes a lot of sense.

Fasting does not need to be a rigid discipline.

In fact there are no particular foods suggested before or after a fast, and you can lock it into your lifestyle as you see fit.

Sure, you may feel deprived initially. The secret is to keep yourself busy, drink fluids, and you will find that any hunger pangs will soon abate, allowing you to continue not to eat.

The interesting thing about fasting, is that given you don’t have any food when you wake in the morning, aside from a cup of coffee, or some home-made bone broth, you simply will not feel hungry.

Short fasts are relatively easy…going without breakfast…or having breakfast/lunch at 1pm, equates to an eighteen-hour fast.

But what about my muscles, I hear you say…

Don’t worry! The reality is that you’re not going to burn muscle. Because your body stores energy as sugar and fat, when you start to need that energy, it will use that rather than your muscles.

Dr Jason Fung explains it perfectly here. ‘The human body has well developed mechanisms for dealing with periods of low food availability. In essence, what we are describing here is the process of switching from burning glucose (short term) to burning fat (long term). Fat is simply the body’s stored food energy. In times of low food availability, stored food is naturally released to fill the void. So no, the body does not ‘burn muscle’ in an effort to feed itself until all the fat stores are used.’

When you get into the mode of regular fasting you will start to see around you, the frenzied snacking habits of others, a habit that you probably didn’t notice before.

At three o’clock, where I worked, there would be a steady stream of yawning people off to the cafeteria to buy their diet coke and snacks.

You, on the other hand, will still be in energy mode, because your insulin readings are in check.

From my perspective that is empowering. You are still energetic, your eating habits are aligned, and your body will love you for it.

So, would you consider fasting?

Contrary to all we have been told, could you imagine life without breakfast?

Would love to read your thoughts.