Fasting

Is it good or bad to go on a fast for a few days? There's a lot of debate about fasting, and if you do go on a fast you need to be clued up about what not to do and how to get benefits from it. Here are the pros and cons of fasting.
 

Fasting has existed for centuries in many different forms.
- Religious fasting. All religions in their origins have advocated periods of fasting, whether for penance, mourning or at certain times of the year, around religious festivals.
- Therapeutic fasting. According to history, fasting as a therapy has been around for more than 10,000 years.
- Philosophical fasting. Plato, Socrates and even Pythagorous often fasted to sharpen their minds.
- Political fasting. People have resorted to fasting to make their causes and voices heard (hunger strikes). 

Today, fasting linked to religion and medicine is far less common. However, there is a current trend from Scandinavia for hiking and fasting trips to special retreats. Fasting and meditation are said to help participants on a journey to spiritual discovery. 

 

According to some, there are many benefits to be gained from fasting:
- Anti-cancerous? Specialists in natural therapies claim that they see tumours disappear with fasting.
- Weight loss boost. Fasting and dieting are two different concepts, but fasting can help kick start weight loss and see you lose 500g a day on average.
- Better quality blood. During a fasting period, levels of red blood cells increase, while white blood cells decrease slightly.
- Beauty. By cleansing the body internally, fasting improves the quality of the skin, teeth, nails and hair.
- Better cardio-vascular health. Depriving yourself of food lowers heartbeat and pressure, cleans the arteries and reduces cholesterol.
- A clearer mind. In addition to cleansing the body, fasting cleanses the brain and heightens the senses.
- Serenity. Fasting relieves stress, can make sleep more productive and make you more optimistic as secretion of serotonin increases.
- Improved resistance to infection. By activating the elimination of waste and improving the quality of the blood, mental state and general vitality, fasting strengthens immunity.

 

Most doctors advise against fasting for many reasons:
- It creates bad habits. Not eating, even for short periods of time, disrupts eating patterns and could lead to long-term eating problems.
- It can weaken the body. From the start, the body suffers from low blood sugar, and can suffer confusion, headaches, fatigue and even fainting as a result.
- It encourages storage. The body's reaction to brutal deprivation is to go into slow mode and burn less to save energy. The metabolism slows down and when you start eating again, what you eat is stored more.
- It can cause deficiencies. There are some nutrients, such as Vitamins C and D, that the body needs every day. In the long term, a lack of these nutrients alters the functions of the organs.
- It encourages muscular meltdown. After several days of fasting, when food can no longer be used as fuel, the body acidifies and draws from its muscles.
- It creates waste. In other words, it actually has the opposite effect to the cleansing effect desired: the combustion of fat reserves and muscular meltdown creates toxins. 
 

There are some cases when fasting is not recommended. If you're pregnant, breastfeeding, on medication or underweight, you should not fast. Fasting is not intended to make you lose weight, but to purify the body.
- Choose the right time. Fasting is tough and has side effects (headaches, stomach ache, hunger, nervousness, a funny taste in the mouth, bad breath, sweating etc.). Prepare yourself mentally and physically and do it at an appropriate time.
- Drink lots. Some fasts advise broths and juices, others just water. Whatever you drink is essential to hydrate yourself and eliminate waste.
- Be reasonable about the duration. Never fast for more than 10 days and never fast for more than a few days to start with.
- Start eating again gradually. You can't go straight back to eating normally again as soon as your fast is over. You need to reintroduce food gradually back into your diet, in terms of both quality and quantity.