All About Fasting

Fasting, Gluten, MSG, Soy, Blood Type Diet

Some tap water put through a Brita filter, quite a bit of distilled water, and some bottled water. By the last week, I was trying to drink as many different types of water as possible, at many different temperatures, just for some variety!
 
Fasting, Gluten, MSG, Soy, Blood Type Diet

Henry I would love to hear a more indepth review of the states, pro´s and con´s and so on about your fast. I did it not so long ago and I don't know if you could call it a fast as I ate a few vegetables.
*Mental clarity *More focus seems to be my first and foremost gains with fasting (cheating with greens)
 
Fasting, Gluten, MSG, Soy, Blood Type Diet

Henry said:
just finished a 21 day fast. Nothing but water. Now for six days I have been drinking freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices and fresh green salads with olive oil and lime juice, as I ease myself back to eating. I feel like I have some energy for the first time since I am an adult. I lost close to 12 kg.
Can't resist joining club of 'fasters'. Starting with realm of 3 -day.
 
Fasting, Gluten, MSG, Soy, Blood Type Diet

Data said:
Feather said:
I also had my hair checked, and the analysis showed that my hair was loaded with toxins and showed an excess of emotivity (I wondder how they came up with this).
I am O pos. type and suffered from sudden hair loss in the last year also (up to 100 lost hair each day). I wonder if it is also due to lack of iron.
It might be, it often is. It can also be hereditary (maybe there are bald man in your family ?) and for men, most often the hair loss is due to androgens. Women who lose their hair might also have a more than normal sensitivity to androgens.
Acc. to my medicine book, other factors exist : A poor diet (too much meat), a vital energy loss, the use of bad( irritating) shampoo, and a weakening of the small intestine.

I am going to check my last blood picture. Which laboratory offers such an hair analysis? Toxins are very common in hair according to hearsay. Especially interesting would be an analysis of the toxin variations over time/length of hair.
Well it's not a scientific laboratory per se, it's a hair institute in Paris which proposes hair diagnosis. They propose a diagnosis for 10 Euros, you fill in a form and send several hair, and they send you the diagnosis. (Of course they send you a proposition for a treatment with their diagnosis, but it's not an obligation to buy it).
Website (sorry in French only) : http://www(dot)centre-clauderer.com/
 
Fasting, Gluten, MSG, Soy, Blood Type Diet

henry said:
Some tap water put through a Brita filter, quite a bit of distilled water, and some bottled water. By the last week, I was trying to drink as many different types of water as possible, at many different temperatures, just for some variety!
Is your tap water fluoride free? And did you follow any specific instructions (like how long to do each "stage" for etc) for your fast, or did you create your own durations/stages etc? Asking cuz I wanna try it but I'm nervous about getting it wrong.
 
Fasting, Gluten, MSG, Soy, Blood Type Diet

According to most, if not all, text books, you will only gain a destroyed metabolism, if you over a longer period of time follow a fast that consists of water only. Some of the books even say that you are alot more likely to get type 2 diabetes, because your body forgets how to process sugar effectively when starving it.

Of course it also washes out our electrolytes, when dieting on water alone, so one should replenish these ones as well when choosing to do so.
 
Fasting, Gluten, MSG, Soy, Blood Type Diet

the_hammer said:
According to most, if not all, text books, you will only gain a destroyed metabolism, if you over a longer period of time follow a fast that consists of water only. Some of the books even say that you are alot more likely to get type 2 diabetes, because your body forgets how to process sugar effectively when starving it.

Of course it also washes out our electrolytes, when dieting on water alone, so one should replenish these ones as well when choosing to do so.
Don't know if I believe that necessarily. I would need citations for source and try to figure out the agenda of same. Based on what I know about body chemistry and physiology, your body does not forget how to do anything. In fact, the regular and increased release of HGH during a fast literally rejuvenates your organs.

You might want to re-read the article at the beginning of this thread.

I did 21 days years ago and it was astonishing how good I felt at the end. I felt literally electric. I've done three and five day fasts now and again since then, fairly regularly and recently, I did 11 days. I am now on day 6 of I don't know how long a fast. I'll break it when I think it is time.

Nothing but distilled water which my chiropractor back in FL said was excellent for drawing out impurities.
 
Fasting, Gluten, MSG, Soy, Blood Type Diet

Laura said:
I did 21 days years ago and it was astonishing how good I felt at the end. I felt literally electric.
That sounds really good! Though i have been avoiding gluten for past 2 months (thanks to this thread), i have one fear about water only diet: loosing weight (which can't afford). From everyones experience, is a three day fast enough for the health benefits? Can't imagine loosing much weight in 3 days.

Laura said:
Nothing but distilled water which my chiropractor back in FL said was excellent for drawing out impurities.
When i looked for distilled water at local supermarket, they had the one used for ironing, but they said it is not potable. Are they just saying this because people are not used to drink distilled water (at least in this country), or is there another form of distilled water available?
 
Fasting, Gluten, MSG, Soy, Blood Type Diet

Laura said:
Nothing but distilled water which my chiropractor back in FL said was excellent for drawing out impurities.
Found in searching the net for distilled water:

Early Death Comes From Drinking Distilled Water

During nearly 19 years of clinical practice I have had the opportunity to observe the health effects of drinking different types of water. Most of you would agree that drinking unfiltered tap water could be hazardous to your health because of things like parasites, chlorine, fluoride and dioxins.

Many health fanatics, however, are often surprised to hear me say that drinking distilled water on a regular, daily basis is potentially dangerous.

Paavo Airola wrote about the dangers of distilled water in the 1970's when it first became a fad with the health food crowd.

Distillation is the process in which water is boiled, evaporated and the vapor condensed. Distilled water is free of dissolved minerals and, because of this, has the special property of being able to actively absorb toxic substances from the body and eliminate them.

Studies validate the benefits of drinking distilled water when one is seeking to cleanse or detoxify the system for short periods of time (a few weeks at a time).

Fasting using distilled water can be dangerous because of the rapid loss of electrolytes (sodium, potassium, chloride) and trace minerals like magnesium, deficiencies of which can cause heart beat irregularities and high blood pressure. Cooking foods in distilled water pulls the minerals out of them and lowers their nutrient value.

Distilled water is an active absorber and when it comes into contact with air, it absorbs carbon dioxide, making it acidic. The more distilled water a person drinks, the higher the body acidity becomes.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, "Distilled water, being essentially mineral-free, is very aggressive, in that it tends to dissolve substances with which it is in contact.

Notably, carbon dioxide from the air is rapidly absorbed, making the water acidic and even more aggressive. Many metals are dissolved by distilled water."

The most toxic commercial beverages that people consume (i.e. cola beverages and other soft drinks) are made from distilled water. Studies have consistently shown that heavy consumers of soft drinks (with or without sugar) spill huge amounts of calcium, magnesium and other trace minerals into the urine.

The more mineral loss, the greater the risk for osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, hypothyroidism, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure and a long list of degenerative diseases generally associated with premature aging.

A growing number of health care practitioners and scientists from around the world have been advocating the theory that aging and disease is the direct result of the accumulation of acid waste products in the body.

There is a great deal of scientific documentation that supports such a theory. A poor diet may be partially to blame for the waste accumulation. Meats, sugar, white flour products, fried foods, soft drinks, processed foods, alcohol, dairy products and other junk foods cause the body to become more acidic. Stress, whether mental or physical can lead to acid deposits in the body.

There is a correlation between the consumption of soft water (distilled water is extremely soft) and the incidence of cardiovascular disease. Cells, tissues and organs do not like to be dipped in acid and will do anything to buffer this acidity including the removal of minerals from the skeleton and the manufacture of bicarbonate in the blood.

The longer one drinks distilled water, the more likely the development of mineral deficiencies and an acid state. I have done well over 3000 mineral evaluations using a combination of blood, urine and hair tests in my practice. Almost without exception, people who consume distilled water exclusively, eventually develop multiple mineral deficiencies.

Those who supplement their distilled water intake with trace minerals are not as deficient but still not as adequately nourished in minerals as their non-distilled water drinking counterparts even after several years of mineral supplementation.

The ideal water for the human body should be alkaline and this requires the presence of minerals like calcium and magnesium.

Distilled water tends to be acidic and can only be recommended as a way of drawing poisons out of the body. Once this is accomplished, the continued drinking of distilled water is a bad idea.

... Disease and early death is more likely to be seen with the long term drinking of distilled water. Avoid it except in special circumstances.

Zoltan P. Rona MD MSc


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

REFERENCES

Airola, P. 1974. How To Get Well. Phoenix, AZ: Health Plus Publishers.

Baroody, Dr. Theodore A. Jr. Alkalinize or Die. California:Portal Books, 1995.

Haas, Elson M. Staying Healthy with Nutrition. The Complete Guide to Diet & Nutritional Medicine. Berkeley, California:Celestial Arts, 1992; p. 22.

Rona, Zoltan P. and Martin, Jeanne Marie. Return to the Joy of Health, Vancouver: Alive Books, 1995.

Rona, Zoltan P. Childhood Illness and The Allergy Connection. Rocklin, California:Prima Books, 1996.
I have not found anything else so far to confirm that article.
 
Fasting, Gluten, MSG, Soy, Blood Type Diet

From my reading, there are three stages to any fast, and the length of each depends upon the individual.

Stage One: "Hunger"

During this stage, you will feel "hungry". It isn't real hunger. It is the effect of your stomach shrinking and the programming you have of eating every so many hours. It passes after 2 to 4 days. Again, how long will depend upon the individual. This stage ends when your body begins living off of your body fat.

Stage Two: Detoxification

You're going to feel awful. Muscle aches, tired, headaches, sluggishness. This is your body eliminating the toxins it is finding stored in your body fat. Enemas will help clean out your digestive track and can eliminate toxins from there. This stage can last from a few days to a week or ten days, again depending upon the state of your body. You'll want to sleep a lot during this stage.

You shouldn't be pushing the physical exercise here, although Gurdjieff claimed that doing a lot of exercise at this stage helps get rid of the toxins. So try it yourself.

Stage Three: Reparation

When the toxins, or layer one of the toxins, are out of your system, that's when you start to feel the mental clarity. You may still have a few bad days from time to time as you hit another pocket of toxins, but it should pass. Ther may be some dizziness if you get up too quickly, but keep drinking the water, and you should be OK.

During this period, as the digestive track is shut down, the body is free to concentrate on repairing itself. There are stories of tumours being "eaten", old problems going away, and the such. How long you continue in this stage is going to depend on how much you have to do in a day. It might be difficult to cotinue in a regular job for a long fast. Dunno. It is probably something to do on your vacation.

But this stage is the one when you feel that mental clarity. Four years ago, I did a two week fast. The first five days were hell, but day 6-13 were great. On this recent 21-day fast, I didn't really start to feel great until day 13. So there aren't any hard and fast rules.

Stage 4: Ending the Fast

Day 22 I was feeling like my battery was completely discharged, so I started eating again. Freshly squeezed fruit juices for the couple of days. Grapefruit, really watered down at first, was the easiest to digest. By day three, I had some tomatoes in the evening. Mistake. Should have stayed on the fruit juices. Day four I tried some carrot juice. That was good. Day five a green salad. Continued with the fruit juices. Never mixing fruit and vegetable at the same meal.

The article below says you should take as long to get back to eating normally as you spent fasting. I am going a bit faster than that, but I am still trying to not mix food types at a meal.

During the fast I only had water, as I mentioned before. No juices or teas.

I got some useful information from here:

http://www.enotalone.com/article/13249.html

Hope this helps.
 
Fasting, Gluten, MSG, Soy, Blood Type Diet

Thanks for the post, I was wondering about the "stages".
I was actually looking into it, but now I see that it will be extremely difficult to fast along with maintaining "normal" life - waking up in the morning every day and going to work. From my personal experience, if I don't get my daily meal (and I don't eat it with wheat bread but rice cakes) - I get headaches and become very cranky, so apparently no fast for me. :D I can do juices and vegetables only stuff, for a limited time only ;)
 
Fasting, Gluten, MSG, Soy, Blood Type Diet

Namaste said:
Early Death Comes From Drinking Distilled Water
I have not found anything else so far to confirm that article.
I've been drinking distilled water almost exclusively for years now mainly to help with osteoarthritic spurs on the spine. I can say that it has helped enormously. I also prefer the "taste" way over anything else. Water with stuff in it tastes "dirty" to me.

Now, for another perspective:

Distilled Water
versus
Mineral, Carbon Filtered, and Reverse Osmosis Water

There is circulating a point of view about distilled water, undoubtedly promulgated by producers and sellers of mineral water. This point of view is that water should be mineralized in order to have health benefits and that distilled water somehow leaches out minerals from the body.

To understand the truth about this matter one must know a little about mineral chemistry in living systems. In order for a mineral to be of any use to the body it must be presented in a form in which it can be used. That form involves an association with an organic (carbon based) molecule. Carbon based molecules are to be found in living systems, and are not found in the ground which is where mineral water comes from. Water from the ground comes with minerals alright, but these minerals are in salt form. When salt is presented to the body (with rare exceptions such as sodium chloride) it must be either stored or excreted. A good example is CaCO3 (calcium carbonate). Carbonate is not a sufficiently complex organic molecule and therefore cannot properly contribute its calcium to living systems. The calcium comes out instead in ionic form (with a positive charge) and precipitates by forming other salts. Common locations for precipitation of calcium are the lens of the eye (cataracts), the kidneys (kidney stones) and the walls of arteries (arteriosclerosis). Unbound minerals must be excreted, which is extra work for the kidneys) or stored. This makes dust of the argument that healthy water is mineralized, and dust is of course the source of minerals in mineral water.

Incidentally, CaCO3 comes from lime stone and comprises the bulk of most calcium supplements, including that in "calcium enriched orange juice." If you want cataracts, kidney stones, and arteriosclerosis, be sure to eat and drink "calcium enriched" foods.

Now as to the argument that distilled water leaches out minerals. This is true, and this is exactly what we want it to do. The minerals it leaches out are of the unusable, ionic form and we want these to leave the body rather than be deposited and cause disease. Distilled water does not leach out significant amounts of biologically available minerals because these are quickly taken up by the body on an as needed basis. If they are present in excess then they are filtered through the kidneys and this is exactly what needs to happen with all things which are in excess in the circulation. Distilled water cleanses the body through promoting healthy kidney function.

Finally, if mineral water is not a good source of biologically available minerals, then what is? Think about it. Minerals are present in the ground and must be biologically bound in order to be used by the body. Where would that come from? Plants, or course! Your mineral source should be plants not water. The purpose of water is to cleanse the body. To do the best job of that, it must be free of everything else. Only distilled water fits that bill.

As to carbon filtered and reverse osmosis water, these are better solutions than tap water or mineral water, however they still fall far short of the standard set by distilled water.

Nature knows best and nature supplies distilled water in the form of rain. However, rain water is no longer pure due to atmospheric pollution. The only remaining option is for us to distill our own water. To that end, I have found no equal of the WaterWise 9000 for up to five people in a home or office.

If you would like to read more I recommend two books: The Truth About Water and Your Body’s many Cries For Water.

Ron Kennedy, M.D.
And another:

The Importance of Pure Water:

Only oxygen is more essential than water in sustaining the life of all living organisms. Human beings can live for several weeks without food, but only a few days without water. The quality of your tissues, their performance, and their resistance to disease and injury are linked to the quality and quantity of water you drink. Experts agree that in order to maintain optimum health one needs to drink 8-10 glasses of water per day. The daily cleansing of wastes from each cell, the flushing of the alimentary canal and the purifying of the blood are all dependent on our water consumption.

The Present Condition of Water:

Most people get their water from the household tap. This water originates from lakes, rivers, streams, and underground sources. The majority of water goes through a cleaning system at a local water treatment plant. However, many harmful pollutants and water borne diseases are present in the finished treated water

Fifty percent of the US population uses water that, in part, is made up of recently discharged wastewater. And like the treatments for drinking water, wastewater treatments do not remove many of the toxic substances. Prevention Magazine

According to scientists from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), it has been estimated that between 60 to 80 percent of all cancer is caused by chemicals in the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink. The NCI expressed concern over 20 years ago that increases in carcinogens in water and our inability to remove them could result in serious exposure of the general population.

What is distilled water?

Distilled water is water which has been heated to the boiling point so that impurities are separated from the water which itself becomes vapor or steam. It is then condensed back into pure liquid form. The impurities remain in the residue which is simply thrown away. Distilled water contains no solids, minerals or trace elements, and has no taste. Distillation removes the debris, bacteria, and other contaminants.

Distilled Water and Your Health:

"Do I need to tell you why drinking plenty of good quality water is as essential to health as eating properly? In a nutshell: one of the main activities of the body’s self-healing system is filtration of the blood, a job performed mostly by the kidneys which a little help from the mechanism of perspiration. Kidneys are such efficient, compact and miraculous filters that they put to shame the dialysis machines used the maintain the patients with renal failure. The heart, blood, and kidneys are a single functional unit the constantly cleanses and purifies itself, removing all the toxic wastes of metabolism and the breakdown products of harmful substances that get onto our bodies one way or another. This purification system can operate efficiently only if the volume of water flowing through it is sufficient to carry away the waste. Further, as good quality steam distilled water enters the body, it has the ability to pick-up mineral deposits accumulated in cells, joints, artery walls, or wherever such deposits occur and begin to carry them out. Gallstones and kidney stores then decrease, and it also lessens arthritic pain as joints become more supple and movable." Dr. Andrew Weil, Natural Health, Natural Medicine

What about minerals?

There are two forms of minerals, organic and inorganic. Inorganic minerals refers to non-vegetable or non-animal matter, i.e. not living. This includes carbonate and lime compounds, calcium, iron and magnesium. Because these components are non-living, our bodies can no make use of these minerals and our cells reject them. The result of ingesting these minerals is an accumulation of debris in our bodies. Organic minerals living and are found in vegetables, fruit, seeds, grains, meats, and nuts. These are easily assimilated by our cells and are essential for good health. If your rely on water as the source of your required minerals, you are sadly lacking. The minerals in water are inorganic, and the body cannot make use of them. The body continually assimilates the much needed minerals from the food we eat.

Does distilled water rob the body of essential minerals?

No, this is physiologically impossible. Some have been lead to believe that because distilled water is so pure, it will leach healthy minerals and trace elements from the body. In our bodies distilled water cleans out our impurities and replenishes the essential nutrient required for human life: pure, clean, healthy water. Our cells use the organic minerals for body growth and maintenance; however, the impurities that the body cannot make us of are flushed out with distilled water. Distilled water flushes out all the inorganic minerals and pollutants which would otherwise be retained in the body and accumulate in vital organs such as the liver, kidneys, and intestines. These minerals and pollutants are gradually increased by drinking impure water. A continuous or prolonged exposure to these minerals and pollutants may cause carcinogens to form within tissues. The cancer may only manifest itself months, years or even decades after such contacts have ceased. And often the causative agents may have totally disappeared from the tissues.

Distilled Water and Disease:
It has become apparent that pollution and contamination exist within our drinking water. With the amount of sewage dumped into drinking water sources, many water borne diseases are present in the so-called "treated" drinking water. This leaves our bodies vulnerable to infection and disease.

The viruses of major concern in relation to drinking water are those of intestinal origin, excreted by infected animals or humans, which reach water sources by way of the soils unlimited potential for serious disease and contamination of the human body.

Canadian Nutrition Guide
So, maybe the thing to do is to read the books?
 
Fasting, Gluten, MSG, Soy, Blood Type Diet

Relying purely on logic one can come to the conclusion that drinking distilled water is likely good for you. It's sufficient to realize how difficult it is to purchase potable, distilled water bottled in 'safe' plastic to get an inkling of an idea. The psychos in power are actively suppressing anything that can improve our quality of life. If it were bad for you, chances are it would be readily available like aspartame, pharmaceutical drugs, sunscreen, soy, etc.
 
Fasting, Gluten, MSG, Soy, Blood Type Diet

There's an article on the difference between calcium found in supplements and food sources here: http://v.mercola.com/blogs/public_blog/The-Best-Way-to-Get-Enough-Calcium-24719.aspx, which seem to support the article Laura posted.

I did a search on waterwise 9000 and found that it is also available in the EU at: http://www.keimling.eu/.cms/raw_food_juicers/2

I'm really pleased to have this new info about distilled water and the waterwise 9000. I think it's just the solution I've been looking for. Thanks.
 
Fasting, Gluten, MSG, Soy, Blood Type Diet

Miss Isness said:
Relying purely on logic one can come to the conclusion that drinking distilled water is likely good for you. It's sufficient to realize how difficult it is to purchase potable, distilled water bottled in 'safe' plastic to get an inkling of an idea. The psychos in power are actively suppressing anything that can improve our quality of life. If it were bad for you, chances are it would be readily available like aspartame, pharmaceutical drugs, sunscreen, soy, etc.
Yup, good point. I'm even wondering about getting a distiller of some type.

As for "what" we are using right now, it is the water sold for irons and other appliances that says "non-potable." In other words it is not being marketed to drink, but rather to protect the iron! After a few years of drinking it, I can say that there is no problem with it. I guess the assumption is that distilled water ought not to be drunk because the supermarkets have HUGE sections devoted to all the mineral waters which taste like used bathwater to me. I also wonder if the interior of our bodies can get like the inside of an iron if you use non-distilled water? Like crusty and corroded?

In FL we had a whole house system: water softener and then an RO system for cooking with a separate spigot on the kitchen sink. It wasn't bad, but to me, it just wasn't quite the same as distilled which I COULD get at the supermarket for about 75 cents a gallon. What I noticed about the water softener was that it pulled all the undissolved minerals out of the water and REALLY made a difference in my dishwasher, washing machine and water heater (not to mention the bathtub and shower). Before, we had had to replace the heating element in our water heater about four times over 6 years because the tank would get so full of precipitated minerals that there was a layer of sludge in there about 6 inches deep. The calcium buildup on the inside of the washer, dishwasher and bathtub and shower would be so bad that you could observe it building over a period of just days. I spent a small fortune on products to dissolve calcium deposits.

We don't seem to have so severe a calcium problem here in France. There is some, but it builds up very slowly, over a couple of months instead of just days. I still have to use anti-calcium cleaners now and again, but not nearly so often.

Since calcium buildup in the body is a serious problem for me (and other members of my family, and people I know), I suspect that this is one of the chief evils of water that has not been seriously purified. Before I started drinking distilled water, I was in constant, intractable pain from the spurs on the spine. I had friends (several of them) who had gone as far as surgery to remove such things - and it wasn't a simple job in some cases. So, when the chiropractor suggested distilled water, I was ready to try anything. Now, after drinking it almost exclusively for about ten years, I guess I can say that either I no longer have the spurs, or they are greatly reduced.

There are some "hot spring spas" in France that "promote a cure" of some sort by drinking their waters. What these waters seem to have mostly is sulphur! The water reminds me of the water in Sarasota FL when I was a kid. Smelled like rotten eggs! Now, while I would not be averse to going to one of these places and getting packed in hot mud, followed by a good shower and a massage or something, I don't think I want to drink their water!
 
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