MARCH-APRIL 2001

WHY FASTING? Animals fast instinctively when they do not feel well. They stop eating to facilitate self-healing. Certain afflictions react particularly well to fasting. Heart disease, hypertension, allergies, inflammatory diseases and rheumatoid arthritis are all included in this category. Many physicians have a hard time believing that fasting is sufficient to relieve the pain related to chronic polyarthritis. But Dr. Joel Furhman, nutritional medicine specialist, is persuaded that fasting plays a major role. “When a patient affected by this disease starts to fast, he will see results almost instantaneously” affirms Dr. Furhman. But be careful, fasting is not for all diseases, especially for palliative stages of diseases which provoke malnutrition and weaken the body (diseases such as AIDS and cancer). In all cases, it is recommended to seek professional advice before beginning a fast. According to Dr. Évarts G. Loomis, one of the cofounders of the American Holistic Medical Association (AHMA), generally, patients suffering from arthritis can go without their medication after three to four days of fasting, without additional discomfort. After ten days, the pain has generally been reduced by 80 to 90%, except for patients that have taken cortisone derivatives for a long period of time. In a controlled clinical study done in Oslo Sanitetsforening Rheumatism Hospital in Norway, researchers noticed an improvement in cases of rheumatoid arthritis after 7 to 10 days of fasting. This improvement was maintained for three and a half months with a vegetarian diet and for 9 months with a lacto-vegetarian diet (without milk products). Here are three recommendations to fast easily, according to doctors Christian Tal Shaller and Pierre Ruel: 1) Reduce the amount of food gradually 2) Fast 3) Progressively re-introduce food One needs to approach a fast by progressively eliminating these foods from the diet: a) All meat products: meat, eggs, dairy products, fish, etc. b) All stimulants: coffee, tea, sugar, cocoa, alcohol as well as cooked fats c) Fats and cooked oils as well as oleaginous fruits (peanuts, nuts,...) d) Cooked cereals (pasta, rice, barley, etc.) e) Mixed cereals and cooked fruits f) Mixed cereals and raw fruit During the fast, one must avoid all solids while continuing to drink liquids such as water, fruit or vegetable juices, broth, infusions, etc. according to one’s thirst. Generally, hunger disappears after one or two full fasting days. The guidelines for food re-introduction is the same as for fasting preparation but in reverse order. The instinctive body mechanisms function particularly well after a fast. The senses of smell, sight, and taste will instinctively guide you as to what fruit or vegetable to choose. But be careful: eat slowly, bite by bite.. Just enough to feed yourself, no more. At first, the body only supports small quantities of food. In conclusion, numerous studies have demonstrated that fasting is generally beneficial for health. Furthermore, it is probably the only treatment which allows a person to save money. Sonia Faggion References: Délivrez-vous de vos rhumatismes, Dr. Christian Tal Schaller et Pierre Ruel, Proteus, Les Aliments remèdes des médecins, Selene Yeager