Dietary Addictions

If you are holding a copy of Health Science magazine, and know what it is all about, then you are one of the lucky ones. Of the 300 million people who live in our country, most will spend their whole lives confused about what is good for them, and what isn’t. If you are one of the fortunate few who has a good feel for the truth about health, then you are more than halfway there.

The problem is, knowing is only about half of the battle. The other half of the journey is pretty tough. Just knowing doesn’t quite get it done all by itself. For some reason, even after we know just what to do, there is a tendency to go ahead and do self-destructive things anyway. If we listen to a pop-psychology show, we might hear all sorts of dark and complex speculation about why people are often self-destructive. But to doubt any of it is right. We think there are reasons for "self-destructive" behavior that make perfect sense.

To read the entire article, click here.

Optimum health cannot be bought, it must be earned and it comes with a price. The price of health is healthful living. There are many actions that one can choose to take in an attempt to achieve optimum health. This is a brief summary of the actions, that in our experience, really matter.

1. Avoid the use of drugs and exposure to environmental toxins. (Including alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, other recreational drugs, over-the-counter and prescriptions drugs whenever possible, and environmental toxins including radiation, pesticides, herbicides, volatile organic compounds, heavy metals, etc.)

2. Adopt a health promoting vegan diet. (avoid meat, fish, fowl, eggs and DAIRY products.)

3. Avoid the use of highly refined foods. (including added oil, salt, sugar and refined flour products)

4. Engage in regular aerobic exercise (20-60 minutes of moderate aerobic activity most every day)

5. Insure plentiful high quality sleep (7-9 hours of high quality sleep sufficient to allow you to wake spontaneously, feeling refreshed)

6. Obtain appropriate exposure to sunshine and fresh air (20-40 minutes of generous skin exposure while avoiding burning)

7. Create a supportive social network (amongst the people you meet, like and love) 

8. Insure adequate vitamin B12 (test for MMA or supplement)

9. Fast when appropriate (seek guidance from an IAHP certified doctor)

10. Educate and inspire yourself using the best quality materials available. (see reading list below)

1. The use and abuse of "recreational" drugs, including nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, cocaine, methamphetamines, etc. results in the artificial release of the pleasure chemicals in the brain, including dopamine. This can result in a habitual "pleasure trap" (abuse and addiction) that can undermine the health and happiness. In addition, the use and abuse of over-the-counter and prescription medications and environmental toxins and radiation all contribute to a state of toxicity that must be minimized if optimum health is to be achieved.1,22

2. Adopting a health promoting Vegan diet (free of all animal foods including meat, fish, fowl, eggs and dairy products) is one of the most important actions someone can take to promote optimum health and avoid the "diseases of kings." These diseases include cancer (including breast, colon, prostate and lung), heart disease (including heart attack and stroke), diabetes and autoimmune disorders. 1,2,3,5-8,16-24

3. Highly processed foods, including oil, flour, sugar and added salt artificially stimulate the pleasure chemicals of the brain, including dopamine, resulting in an addictive-like pleasure trap analogous to drug addiction. One result is the overconsumption of calories that is a major contributing cause of the epidemic of obesity in industrialized countries. 1,2,3,5-8,16-24

4. In the world of scarcity in which our ancient ancestors survived, vigorous activity was a requirement for survival. In order to get enough to eat, and avoid being eaten, regular "exercise" was unavoidable. In our modern, industrialized world of abundance, the need for vigorous activity has been minimized. We must overcome our innate energy conserving mechanisms and obtain 30-60 minutes, most every day, of aerobic activity, including, walking, hiking, biking, dancing, swimming or similar activity. It is wise to combine this aerobic activity with stretching and strengthening and the use of sound ergonomics in order to maximize fitness and functional capacities so critical to optimum health. 1,22,10,11

5. One of our frequently overlooked health promoting actions is a good night's sleep. Much of the body building and repairing associated with healing are powerfully stimulated during the deepest phases of sleep. Most people sleep best in a cool, dark, and quiet place. How much sleep is enough? In general, it is desirable to get enough sleep (7-9 hours for most adults) such that you wake spontaneously, feeling refreshed. 1,22,21

6. Essential nutrients, including vitamin D are formed when the skin is exposed to sunlight. This is necessary to insure optimum calcium absorption and bone health as well as optimum immune function. By avoiding excess exposure to the sun, particularly at mid-day, we can avoid the damaging effects of sunburn. If adequate sun exposure is not possible, vitamin D supplementation may need to be considered. 1,22,21,13,20

7. Human beings are social creatures who need to effectively deal with 3 kinds of relationships; with the people we meet, the people we like and the people we love. Cultivating emotionally supportive interpersonal relationships can minimize the consequences of social isolation that is common when people step outside the social norms, especially as they relate to dietary and lifestyle issues. 1,22,15

8. Our modern day hygienic practices help to protect us from parasites, toxins and consequent disease. These hygienic practices also minimize our exposure to bacteria, which are the sole source of vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin). Although our need for this essential nutrient is small and it stores well in the human body, whole body depletion can occur in long-term vegans, leading to elevations in homocysteine and increased risk of heart disease. B12 deficiency can also be associated with neurological disorders (neuropathy) and megablastic anemia (pernicious). Periodic testing for methymalonic acid (MMA) and supplementation if indicated will prevent one's health from being compromised by vitamin B12 deficiency. 1,22,20

9. Fasting involves the complete abstinence of all substances except pure water in an environment of complete rest. Fasting gives the body an opportunity to rapidly do what it does best: cleanse and heal itself. Fasting should be undertaken with the guidance of a doctor trained and experienced in fasting supervision (certified members of the International Association of Hygienic Physicians should be your first choice). 1,22,20,4,14

10. Most of the resources listed below are available from the National Health Association at anhs.org or from TrueNorth Health at truenorthhealth.com

1. The Pleasure Trap, mastering the hidden force that undermines health and happiness, by Doug Lisle Ph.D. and Alan Goldhamer, D.C.
2. The Health Promoting Cookbook, by Alan Goldhamer, D.C.
3. The China Study, by T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D.
4. Fasting Can Save Your Life, the video, documentary filmed at TrueNorth Health Center
5. The Pleasure Trap Lectures on DVD, by Doug Lisle, Ph.D.
6. The McDougall Program by John McDougall, M.D.
7. Diet For A New America by John Robbins
8. No More Bull by Howard Lyman
9. The Ultimate Fit or Fat by Covert Bailey
10. Walking by Mark Fenton
11. Stretching by Bob Anderson
12. The Mcdougall Program For Optimum Weight Loss by John McDougall
13. Light by John Ott
14. Fasting and Eating For Health by Joel Fuhrman
15. Feeling Good by David Burns
16. Diet For A New America video by John Robbins
17. Diet For All Reasons DVD by Michael Klapper
18. Health Food versus Healthy Food by Jeff Novick
19. Eating DVD
20. Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease by Shils and Young
21. Power Sleep by Dr. James Maas
22. Various Articles: www.healthpromoting.com
23. Disease Proof Your Children by Joel Fuhrman
24. Eat To Live by Joel Fuhrman

Thanks to countless millions of dollars in advertising, almost everybody thinks they need milk.

Although the notion of electing to go without food for prolonged periods of time to improve one's health has not been something commonly considered in recent times, fasting has a long and important history. In fact, fasting played a vitally large part in early human survival. Fortunately, this ancient knowledge is making a dramatic comeback and is beginning to transform the way modern healthcare providers view their responsibilities to patients.

Human beings have the capability to survive extended periods of fasting. This was certainly known in our hunter-gatherer days, since many humans were forced to live through periods when little or no food was available to them. However, since the advent of agriculture and increasing technological advancement, modern humans have largely lost their awareness of this powerful, innate capability.

For example, the 1937 edition of The New Standard Encyclopedia stated that for humans, "Generally death occurs after eight days of deprivation of food." By 1956, this grim pronouncement inched somewhat closer to reality. That year's edition of the American Peoples Encyclopedia stated that survival time in men during water-only fasting ranged from 17 to 76 days.

In actuality, the "authorities" writing in these encyclopedias had no idea what they were talking about, but their conclusions are consistent with what most people might think. However, if we go back in time to earlier writings, we see that more "primitive" cultures were often more aware of the extent of our fasting capability. In the Bible, for example, Moses, David, Jesus, and Elijah were said to have fasted for up to 40 days.

Physiological Benefits of Fasting

Fasting can be thought of as a period of profound rest, during which time your body is free to rapidly undertake a wide variety of beneficial physiological activities, some of which are described below.

1. Neuroadaptation

Fasting helps your taste sensors adapt to a low salt intake. By allowing your body to "neuroadapt" to low-salt food, fasting rapidly facilitates the adoption of a health- promoting diet. This process of neuroadaptation appears to take place more rapidly during fasting than merely eating a low salt diet.

2. Enzymatic Recalibration

During fasting your body induces enzymatic changes that can affect numerous systems ranging from detoxification of endogenous and exogenous substances to the mobilization of fat, glycogen and protein reserves. These changes seem to persist after the fasting process, which may explain some of the dramatic clinical changes seen in patients after fasting.

3. Weight Loss

Although fasting is not generally recommended as a primary weight loss strategy, weight loss is a predictable consequence of fasting. Most people average a loss of approximately one pound per day over the course of a fast.  (When weight loss is your primary concern, a health- promoting diet coupled with exercise is usually your best approach.)

4. Detoxification

Fasting is generally thought of as a tool to facilitate detoxification, promoting the mobilization and elimination of endogenous substances such as cholesterol and uric acid and exogenous substances such as dioxin, PCBs, and other toxic chemical residue.

5. Insulin Resistance

Fasting appears to have a profound effect on insulin resistance, which is thought to be intimately involved with diabetes and high blood pressure. When your body produces adequate insulin, but it is ineffective due to resistance at the cells in the liver and elsewhere, your blood sugar levels rise. This can lead to serious clinical consequences.  Fortunately, after a period of fasting, this problem is often dramatically improved.

6. Natriuresis

Water-only fasting induces a powerful natriuretic effect, which allows the body to eliminate excess sodium and water from your body. This process allows for the resolution of chronic problems with edema and helps reduce the increased blood volume associated with high blood pressure.

7. Reducing Gut Leakage

When chronic inflammation involves the intestinal mucosa, a condition arises whereby small particles of incompletely digested foods can be absorbed into the blood stream. This introduction of foreign peptide molecules to the blood stream may stimulate an immunological cascade of effects collectively known as gut leakage. In genetically vulnerable individuals, gut leakage may be associated with the aggravation of numerous clinical entities including arthritis, colitis, asthma, allergies, and fatigue.

8. Sympathictonia

Hypersympathictonia (increased tone of the sympathetic nervous system) is thought to be associated with many problems ranging from digestive disturbances to anxiety disorders. Fasting appears to have a profound normalizing effect on the overall tone of the autonomic nervous system.

In all there are many mechanisms through which fasting may be having its profound effect. Further research into these and other areas should prove illuminating.

A Serendipitous Survival

In light of the clear misunderstanding of fasting by the medical profession, the unexpected, successful fasting experience of Henry Tanner, M.D., is truly remarkable. In 1877, Dr. Tanner was a respected, middle-aged physician living in Duluth, Minnesota. He had suffered for years with rheumatism and had consulted with seven fellow physicians, all of whom considered his case to be "hopeless." He also suffered from asthma, which chronically disrupted his sleep. He spent his waking hours in constant pain.

Tanner had been taught in medical school that humans could live only ten days without food and in this knowledge he found solace. Not believing in suicide, he determined that he would simply starve himself to death. As he stated later, "Life to me under the circumstances was not worth living... and I had made up my mind to rest from physical suffering in the arms of death." But fate had an agreeable surprise for Dr. Tanner. By unwittingly invoking a constellation of health-promoting responses associated with water-only fasting, he rapidly recovered.

By the fifth day of his fast, he was able to begin to sleep more peacefully. By the eleventh day, he reported feeling "as well as in my youthful days." Fully expecting that by this point he should be near death, he asked a fellow physician, Dr. Moyer, to examine him. Not surprisingly, Dr. Moyer was amazed.

According to Tanner's recollection, Moyer told him, "You ought to be at death's door, but you certainly look better than I ever saw you before." Henry Tanner continued to fast, under Dr. Moyer's supervision, for an additional 31 days, a total of 42 days in all.

When fellow physicians heard his story, which was sensationalized in the press, they responded with disbelief and intense criticism. Though widely rebuked as a fraud, Tanner at least had the last laugh. After his fast, Tanner had no symptoms of asthma, rheumatism, or chronic pain and lived a full life until he died at the age of ninety.

Human Fasting Capabilities

Many fasts of longer than 100 days have been documented in recent scientific literature, the longest of which was 368 days. At the TrueNorth Health Center in California, we routinely supervise water-only fasts of up to 40 days, and in certain circumstances, even longer.

In our experience, fasting has never been lethal and is often remarkably helpful. During our 20 years of supervising the care of more than 5,000 patients, fasting has proven to be both safe and effective. It has provided many patients a new lease on life.

Reawakening to an Ancient Truth

Throughout most of the 20th century, which witnessed a period of remarkable medical innovation in surgical techniques, radiation therapies, and new "miracle" drugs, the self-healing mechanisms that are unleashed during water-only fasting were largely unappreciated. 

However, as the century drew to a close, something extraordinary began to occur. After decades of collective awe of modern medicine and its purveyors, a strong undercurrent of disillusionment began to appear. There came the beginnings of a philosophical revolution that would lead health science in a promising new direction.

This new direction centers on the realization that health and healing are best supported when the biological roots of our nature are understood and respected. This new philosophical approach is based on the awareness that health and healing are natural processes. As a result, the focus of attention has increasingly shifted away from the traditional medical emphasis on drugs and surgery toward an exploration of the circumstances and requirements necessary to unleash and enhance these natural processes.

Fortunately, unlike health problems in the past, including such phenomena as water-borne diseases, nutritional deficiencies, and epidemics of tuberculosis and pneumonia that at one time were confusing puzzles - our present day epidemics of obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer are not nearly so mysterious. It is becoming increasingly clear that the majority of present day health problems are the result of modern dietary excesses.

Simply put, most of our health problems are the result of our eating too much of the wrong things. We ingest too much fat and protein (especially animal fat and animal protein); too much refined sugar and other refined carbohydrates; and too many drugs, including tobacco, coffee, tea, alcohol, and soda. It is not surprising that nearly 50% of American teenagers are overweight when you consider that the average teenager consumes 25% of his or her calories from soda pop.

In the face of the current unprecedented epidemics of disease caused by dietary excess, it is understandable that the ancient healing method of water-only fasting is beginning to make intuitive sense to many people. Going without food for a period of time provides the ultimate opportunity for the reversal of the consequences of dietary excess, a chance to let an overfed and overburdened body take steps to restore health.

Rest assured that the appeal of fasting is not based solely on mere intuition. With the recent publication of the first-ever large-scale study conducted on the use of water-only fasting with life-threatening illness, what was previously considered intuitive has become scientifically apparent. Water-only fasting offers extraordinary potential for health and healing, and for some conditions it appears to be the most effective treatment available.

Fasting and High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure (also known as hypertension) is the leading contributing cause of morbidity and mortality in industrialized societies, and is the leading reason for visits to doctors and for the use of prescription medication. It is diagnosed when a patient's pressures exceed 140/90 mm Hg. The human and financial costs of this condition are staggering.

In 1984, doctors at the TrueNorth Health Center began to investigate the use of fasting in the treatment of this devastating condition. Our study involved 174 high blood pressure patients, all of whom were admitted to the Center for treatment involving water-only fasting.

The results of the study were astonishing. Every patient experienced blood pressure reductions sufficient to eliminate the need for medication, and over ninety percent of patients achieved completely normal blood pressure. A stunning reduction of over 60 points in systolic (upper) blood pressure was noted in those patients with highly elevated pressures (known as Stage III Hypertension), where systolic pressures are greater than 180 mm Hg. These results represent the largest effect size ever shown in lowering blood pressure, and they are estimated to be five times the effect expected from medications alone.

With assistance from our colleagues at Cornell University, our study, "Medically Supervised Water-only Fasting in the Treatment of Hypertension" was completed and accepted for publication by the peer-reviewed and indexed Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. It appeared in the June, 2001 issue of JMPT.

A second study, also conducted at the Center, was recently accepted for publication in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. In this investigation, we evaluated the effect of water-only fasting on 64 patients admitted with so-called "borderline" hypertension. These are individuals who have systolic blood pressures between 120 and 140 mm Hg.

Patients with blood pressures in this range are often led to believe that their blood pressures are "normal." For example, a patient with a systolic blood pressure of 138/88 would be considered "normal" by conventional medical standards, despite the fact that they are five times more likely to die from a heart attack or stroke than an individual who has a systolic blood pressure of 110 mm Hg. Sixty-eight percent of all deaths attributed to the effects of high blood pressure occur in individuals whose systolic blood pressure is in this range.

The patients in our second study had a mean reduction in systolic blood pressure of 20 mm Hg. The average patient in the study, beginning with a systolic blood pressure of nearly 130 mm Hg, ended his stay with systolic blood pressure of just below 109 mm Hg. This represents a very substantial improvement in health. As just stated, he is now five times less likely to die from a heart attack or stroke than he was before.

Fasting Studies Draw Attention

As a result of the publication of these studies, the fasting program at TrueNorth Health Center attracted the attention of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE), a large, national labor union. In March 2001, the Center's residential health education program, including the supervision of water-only fasting, became a fully covered medical benefit for all union members and spouses who have high blood pressure or diabetes.
 
In conjunction with this association with IUOE, the doctors at the Center are conducting a third fasting study. It is a prospective study with long-term follow-up to evaluate the use of fasting in the treatment of high blood pressure and diabetes. We are looking not only at the clinical outcomes of the patients (improved health and reduced morbidity), but also the effect on long-term costs of care for the patients who undergo fasting compared to those who choose conventional medical care.

The initial results are outstanding. Based on data from the first group of subjects with one-year follow-ups, the average cost reduction for fasting patients compared to patients receiving conventional medical care appears to be substantial. Once a large enough number of patients have completed the program and the long-term outcomes are calculated, we expect to publish additional papers documenting what appears to be a tremendously cost effective approach to managing these high risk, high medical cost, high blood pressure and diabetes patients.

Hope for the Future

Hopefully, these results of the TrueNorth Health Center's studies will be a contributing force in both a philosophical and practical revolution in health care. With clear and convincing evidence to guide them, and substantial cost savings to motivate them, other unions and insurance companies may decide to encourage and support the use of fasting for those they serve. In doing so, they could make available to the millions of sick and suffering patients the most profound health rediscovery of our time: the understanding that fasting allows the body to heal itself without the risk and excess cost associated with conventional medical care and drug use.
 

Separating fact from fantasy about this important subject!

Excess consumption of fat is one of the major causes of disease and premature death in modern societies. It is intimately associated with the current epidemic levels of cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer of the breast, colon, and prostate. Though over-consumption of fats clearly presents us with serious health risks, certain types of fat are actually essential for maintaining optimum health. A health-promoting diet must contain an adequate quantity and quality of essential fatty acids, while still avoiding excess intake of fat.

Essential fatty acids

Fatty acids are one of the components that make up fat. Humans require some of these fatty acids, which are appropriately called essential fatty acids. They are considered "essential" because, unlike the other fatty acids which we can synthesize or "manufacture" in our bodies, the essential fatty acids must be obtained through our diet. There are two types of essential fatty acids, called the Omega-3 fatty acids and the Omega-6 fatty acids. The most common of the Omega-3 fatty acids consumed by humans is alpha linolenic acid. The most common of the Omega-6 fatty acids we consume is linoleic acid.

Essential fatty acids serve at least three important functions. They assist in the formation of cell membranes, in the transport and oxidation of cholesterol, and in specialized hormone production. According to some studies, at least 2-4% of total calories should come from dietary intake of Omega-6 fatty acids such as linoleic acid.

Whole natural foods

The best way to get your needed essential fatty acids is by eating a health-promoting diet derived exclusively from whole natural foods. The type of diet recommended by the National Health Association contains well over 5% of calories from linoleic acid (see chart). Essential fatty acids are found abundantly in green leafy vegetables, flaxseeds, soybeans, and nuts and seeds. Eating a health-promoting diet will provide adequate amounts of the essential fatty acids, without the problems associated with animal products, processed oils, and supplements, which are often promoted as sources for these essential nutrients. Walnuts, flax seeds and green vegetables including purslane are a rich source of the desirable Omega-3 fatty acids.

Conventional diet a problem

People eating the standard American diet, with its high concentration of processed foods, including oils, can actually develop essential fatty acid deficiency. There are several ways this can happen.

First, a diet containing large amounts of animal products, hydrogenated vegetable oils (the synthetic fats found in margarine), and other foods low in essential fatty acids can result in an overall dietary intake that is very low in essential fatty acids.

Second, the essential fatty acids in vegetable oils can be inactivated by common processing procedures, such as hydrogenation, which can interfere with the body's ability to use them.

Finally, if you eat products containing these inactivated essential fatty acids, the chemistry of these products can disrupt your use of any active essential fatty acids. Therefore, if you eat processed products with inactivated essential fatty acids, you may actually develop an essential fatty acid deficiency, even if the remainder of your diet contains unprocessed, fully active essential fatty acids!

No alternative solutions

The fact that we need essential fatty acids does not mean that we need animal foods, oils, or expensive supplements. As John McDougall, M.D., author of The McDougall Program for a Healthy Heart, is fond of saying, "People love to hear good news about their bad habits." So, it is not surprising that there is a seemingly endless introduction of fad diets and supplements into the marketplace, promising fantastic benefits to the purchaser wishing to avoid the bother of making meaningful dietary changes. Unfortunately, these products are no substitute for healthful eating.

There are significant health risks associated with deviating from a health-promoting diet. While animal products, including fish, contain essential fatty acids in their tissues, they also contain a biological concentration of mercury and other toxic metals in their flesh. The problems associated with this are well documented.

Likewise, scientific studies of expensive supplementation products containing essential fatty acids have consistently failed to substantiate the spectacular claims made for them by their producers. In addition, taking large amounts of essential fatty acids in supplement form can suppress the immune system, including the suppression of natural killer cells and the production of immune substances called cytokines. These immune functions are important for defending ourselves against viruses, bacteria, parasites, and cancer cells.

As for the health benefits attributed to diets high in olive oil, such as the Mediterranean diet, these benefits are likely due to the fact that this diet is nearly vegetarian. The positive epidemiological observations more likely occur in spite of the olive oil content, rather than because of it. In addition, the heating of all oil, including olive oil, can produce cancer-causing byproducts.

Healthful diet the key

It would be very convenient if health could be bought in a bottle. But health results from healthful living. The best way to get the essential fatty acids you need is by eating a health-promoting diet derived exclusively from whole natural foods.

General dietary analysis of a one-week menu of health promoting recipes

Based on menus from The Health Promoting Cookbook, by Dr. Alan Goldhamer

This chart lists the average daily nutrient content of the recommended daily allowance for an average female 20 to 50 years old. Any specific individual may require more or less total food intake, depending on factors such as height, weight, age, and energy expenditure. This diet is derived exclusively from whole natural foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables, and the variable addition of raw nuts and seeds, whole grains, and legumes. It excludes all meat, fish, fowl, eggs, and dairy products, as well as added oil, salt, and sugar, and dietary drugs such as tea, coffee, alcohol, and tobacco.

Average daily nutrients from 2100-calorie menu

Footnotes:

1. Percentage of calories: protein 12%, fat 15%, carbohydrates 73%

2. Approximate weight of food consumed each day throughout the week is 3339gm.

3. N/A = not applicable or no standard established

4. Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is produced only by bacteria. A strictly vegan diet (no animal foods) contains only trace amounts of vitamin B12 from bacterial contamination. Some vitamin B12 is produced by the bacteria in our mouth and intestinal tract, but it has not yet been proven that this is adequate for all people. To ensure that internal production and recycling of vitamin B12 is adequate, I recommend that vegetarians have a simple blood or urine test every one to three years for methylmalonic acid. This is the most sensitive indicator of vitamin B12 status. If the test for methylmalonic acid is positive, inclusion of vitamin B12 fortified foods or oral supplements can be undertaken. Pregnant and lactating mothers should ensure themselves of a reliable, vegetarian source of vitamin B12 in their diet, such as vitamin B12 fortified foods or oral supplementation.

The role and need for protein is a much misunderstood topic in our society. In this article you will learn how to better understand the role of protein in your diet.

First, let me provide you with a rather technical definition of a protein. A protein is any one of a group of complex organic, nitrogenous compounds, which form the principal constituents of the cell protoplasm. In other words, proteins make up the "guts" of the cells that are the building blocks of our body.

Many of the structural and functional components of our cells are made up of various proteins.

In man, proteins function in many capacities. They act as organic catalysts in the form of enzymes, as messengers such as peptide hormones, as antibodies that protect us from the effect of microorganisms, and as carrier agents in our blood to transport oxygen and other gases, as well as forming structural components of the cell.

The exact human needs for dietary protein are not known. According to The New England Journal of Medicine: "As for human protein requirements, the pendulum is still swinging because our knowledge of precise human requirements and the inter-relationships among them is far more fragmentary and tentative than generally realized."

Amino Acids

All proteins are composed of amino acids. An amino acid is any one of a class of organic compounds containing a certain amino and carboxyl group. The amino acids are the chief building blocks of proteins; that is, proteins are made by putting various amino acids together into specific combinations.

Although there are dozens of naturally occurring amino acids, the proteins in our body are derived from just twenty. Of these twenty amino acids, our body is able to adequately synthesize twelve internally. The other eight amino acids must be derived externally; that is, we must get them in our diet. These eight amino acids that we must get in our diet are called essential amino acids.

Although our body can recycle the essential amino acids, it cannot produce them. Therefore, the diet must provide a supply of them so that the body has enough raw materials in the form of essential amino acids to replace the normal, everyday losses.

These obligatory losses involve the use of amino acids in the production of products that are not recycled, such as purine bases, creatine, and epinephrine. These are degraded to uric acid, creatinine, and epinephrine - and excreted.

Without an outside source of amino acids, the body's reserves of protein would become depleted, and this starvation process would eventually lead to death.

We get these essential amino acids by eating foods that contain them. But eating is not the only consideration. The proteins of plants and animals are useless to us unless our digestive system is able to break them down into their constituent amino acids and absorb them.

Our digestive systems are not designed to absorb the very large protein molecules, only the smaller amino acids and peptides. Once absorbed, these amino acids become the raw materials from which our body can synthesize the many proteins that serve so many vital functions.
 
Protein Metabolism

Let's look at the actual metabolism of protein. The digestion of dietary protein begins in the stomach with exposure to the enzyme pepsin, which is secreted in the digestive juices and is activated by hydrochloric acid. Contrary to popular opinion, hydrochloric acid does not digest protein, it merely creates an appropriate media in which pepsin can work.

This secretion of hydrochloric acid is followed by the production of other protein digestion factors or proteolytic enzymes by the pancreas and the mucosal cells of the small intestine.

Once the large dietary protein molecules are broken down to their constituent amino acid components, absorption can take place through the mucosal cells of the small intestine.

Amino acids from dietary digestion are not alone, because the ingestion of food-even non-nitrogenous food-stimulates the digestive tract to secrete endogenous protein, derived from the sloughing of intestinal cells and used up digestive enzymes. These recycled proteins are a rich source of essential amino acids.

Studies by Nasset show that regardless of the amino acid mix of the meal, the intestinal tract maintains a remarkably similar ratio of essential amino acids.

This mixing of endogenous and dietary protein is a key concept. Until this was discovered, it was generally believed that in order to absorb and utilize the essential amino acids in the diet, the diet must contain all the amino acids in certain proportions and presented all at the same time.

This mistaken belief dates back to 1914 when Osborn and Mendel studied the protein requirements of laboratory rats. They found that rats grew faster on animal sources of protein than on vegetable sources. This was followed up by studies by Elman in 1939 using purified and isolated amino acids in rats.

We have learned a lot since 1939. But even today many so-called nutrition experts continue to advance this ancient concept, and many of the protein combining and protein quality arguments are based on this misconception.

According to Nasset, writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, this mixing of endogenous protein is the body's way of regulating the relative concentrations of the amino acids available for absorption.

We now know that the body is quite capable of taking incomplete proteins and making them complete by utilizing this recycling mechanism. It is now clear that more than 200 grams of endogenous protein is added to the 30 to 100 grams of daily dietary protein.

I would like to point out that the earlier research, which is still so often used to support the mistaken idea that all the essential amino acids must be present at the same time at each meal for amino acids to be absorbed, did not even deal with amino acid absorption. It falsely stated that the essential amino acids must be present at the site of protein synthesis, within the cells of the liver, kidney or muscle. Since the recycling effect of the body's amino acids was not yet understood, the assumption was made that the only source of protein was from the diet.

Not only do we get the majority of our amino acids from recycling, but in 1961 Bender showed that an animal was able to maintain slow growth with proteins completely lacking one essential amino acid.

These concepts have been confirmed by Monroe and are reported in the 1983 edition of Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease by Goodheart and Shills.

The important fact here is that the majority of amino acids absorbed from the intestinal tract are derived from recycled body protein. We are in a sense all flesh eaters, a form of self-cannibalization.

Once absorbed, this combination of endogenous and dietary protein passes by way of the portal vein to the liver. The liver monitors the absorbed amino acids and adjusts the rate of their metabolism according to bodily needs.
 
How Much Protein Do We Need?

We must have a source of protein to replace the amino acids that are not recycled. The question is, "How much?"

This question has been a hotbed of scientific-and not so scientific-debate since 1830 when a Dutch scientist named Mulder coined the term protein.

In 1865 Playfair in England presented studies that led him to believe that the diet of the average healthy man should contain 119 grams of protein a day.

Later a man named Voit studied Munich brewery workers and found they consumed 190 grams of protein a day. Based on his studies of these brewery workers, Voit advocated 125 grams of protein per day. It was not until 1913 that Hindhede looked up the mortality rates of Voit's brewery workers and discovered that most of these individuals died very young.

In 1947 the University of Rochester laboratories had a project to establish the essential amino acid requirements of the adult male rat. In order to keep the intake of calories and nitrogen constant, the animals were fed a synthetic diet by means of a stomach tube. Attempts to relate extrapolations made from this type of study to humans are obviously questionable.

More recent studies of protein metabolism in man have been made using nitrogen balance data as a parameter. Nitrogen balance studies measure the total amount of nitrogen in the form of dietary protein that is consumed and compares that with the total amount of nitrogen excreted in the urine, feces, integumental losses, sweat, hair as well as semen, menstrual fluid and even the breath. The idea is that if the amount of protein eaten is as much as that given off, the body must be getting enough to maintain balance.

All natural foods-from lettuce to nuts-contain varying amounts of protein.

If a varied diet sufficient in calories is consumed, it is virtually impossible to get an inadequate protein intake. Even a diet devoid of concentrated sources of protein such as animal products, nuts and legumes will meet optimum protein needs.

Most conventional nutritional thinking ignores the tremendous contribution of plant foods to our protein needs. Most conventional diets contain only token amounts of these foods, relying instead on high fat, high protein animal products and a conglomeration of refined carbohydrates.
 
Are We Built to Eat Meat?

Even a brief look at comparative anatomy illustrates quite clearly that man is not designed to be a carnivore. And just because our bodies have a vital need for a substance does not mean that twice or three times our need is even better. In the case of protein, the concept that more is better is dead wrong.

It is interesting to note that most of our teeth are flat for grinding grains and vegetables-and that our hands are better designed for gathering than for tearing flesh apart. Our saliva contains alpha-amylase whose sole purpose is the digestion of carbohydrates. Alpha-amylase is not found in the saliva of carnivorous animals. Carnivores have the capacity to eliminate large amounts of cholesterol, whereas our livers can excrete only limited amounts. Like herbivores, we sweat to cool our bodies rather than pant like carnivores.

Of all animals that include meat in their diet, man is the only animal that is unable to break down uric acid to allantoin. This is due to the fact that man does not possess the necessary enzyme uricase. This leads to an increased possibility of an accumulation of uric acid in the body when animal products are eaten. (Uric acid is an intermediary product of metabolism that is associated with various pathological states, including gout.)

Problems with Meat

Compared to vegetarians, meat eaters have been shown to have massively increased levels of bile acids.

Animal products are a source of parasites and contamination. Uncooked or improperly cooked meat, fish, fowl and dairy products are the source of parasites such as Trichinosis found in pork and pork-contaminated beef, bacterial infection from Salmonellosis found in milk products and other contaminated animal products. There are multitudes of chemical agents such as carcinogenic nitrates, etc. that are added to animal products to slow down their decay, improve their color and alter their taste. Most animal products undergo significant heat treatment before consumption.

The use of heat presents serious problems. For example, a one-kilogram charbroiled steak contains as much of the cancer-causing benzopyrene as from 600 cigarettes. Methyl choanthrene is another example of a carcinogenic substance derived from heated meat. The heating of any fat, including the fats in animal products, can cause peroxidation and the formation of free radicals.

Free radicals are extremely reactive molecules that are capable of damaging almost any cell of the body. Free radicals have been shown to cause alterations to collagen and elastin tissue leading to premature aging of the skin and connective tissue. They contribute to the accumulation of intra-cellular debris such as lipofuscin and creoid and are thought to be an important component in the aging process.

In addition to parasites, bacterial infestation, toxic poisons, carcinogenic agents, and free radicals, animal products all suffer from the problem of biological concentration. Animals consume large quantities of grain, grass, etc., which are to a greater or lesser extent contaminated with herbicides, pesticides, and other agents. In addition, animals are often fed antibiotics and treated with other drugs and toxic agents. These poisons concentrate in the fat of the animal and are present in highly concentrated amount in an animal's milk and flesh. This biological concentration of poisons poses significant threats to the health of humans who consume these concentrated sources of poisons.

As if this weren't enough, animal products are completely devoid of fiber and are extremely high in protein and in spite of what millions of dollars of meat and dairy industry advertising would have you believe it is excess, not inadequate protein, that is the threat to health. Excess protein intake has been strongly implicated as a causal agent in many disease processes including kidney disease, various forms of cancer, osteoporosis and a host of autoimmune and hypersensitivity disease processes.

If animal products are included in the diet in significant quantities, it is virtually impossible to design a diet that is consistent with the overwhelming bulk of evidence in the scientific literature dealing with nutrition.

It is ironic that the chief argument used to promote the use of animal products-that is, the purported need for large quantities of protein-is the greatest reason for avoiding them.

A diet of sufficient caloric intake derived from fresh fruits and vegetables with the variable addition of nuts, whole grains and legumes will provide an optimum intake of protein and other nutrients, 30-70 grams per day, depending upon the particular foods eaten.

IN THIS ARTICLE YOU WILL learn about some of the tremendous benefits that can be derived from a properly conducted fast.  When properly utilized, fasting is a safe and effective means of maximizing the body's self-healing capacities.  The results can be truly amazing. Before going on to describe some of the many advantages of fasting, let's define it.  Fasting is the complete abstinence from all substances except pure water, in an environment of total rest.  Let's also keep in mind that fasting is only one part of the total health-supporting program we call Natural Hygiene.

Health results from healthful living. No matter how successful a fasting experience might be, it needs to be followed by a consistently healthy lifestyle.  The requirements of health must continue to be provided, especially in the areas of diet, environment, activity and psychology.

The examples that follow are just a few of the many beneficial uses of fasting.

An aid in transition

During the past seven years I've worked with thousands of patients from all over the world who had a wide variety of disorders and health concerns.  A great many of these patients required a period of supervised fasting to achieve their health goals.  Virtually all of them needed to make lifestyle changes to achieve improved health.  Fasting made the transition easier!

My observation is that the best motivating factor in helping people adopt healthful living practices is often the positive reinforcement that comes with feeling good and healthy.

Fasting, for as few as five days to as many as 40 days, will often dramatically shorten the time it takes for  an individual to make the transition from a conventional diet and lifestyle (with all the associated addictions, pains, fatigue and disease) to the independent and energetic state associated with healthful living.

People who undertake a  fast in a supervised setting, tend to achieve health more quickly than those who attempt changes without a fast.  The intensive health education, plus the emotional support they receive during their stay, result in increased compliance with dietary and lifestyle recommendations.

A speedy recovery

When individuals try to make major dietary changes without the benefit of a fasting experience, they often become frustrated.  The transition to a healthful eating pattern can make you feel sick.  Symptoms such as fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and bloating, joint pain, headaches, skin rashes, irritability, depression, etc. are just a few of the common problems that can arise as the body attempts to eliminate toxins, metabolic byproducts, etc., and adjust physiologically to a health promoting diet.

It is difficult to get people to practice new healthful living habits for long unless they begin to experience some benefits quickly.  Changes that may take months (or even years) with careful eating may occur much more quickly if a properly supervised fast is utilized.  This is an important consideration because once people begin to realize their health potential, they become a likely candidate for a lifelong commitment to healthful living.

Overcoming addictions

Addictions to drugs such as alcohol, cocaine, nicotine and caffeine are examples where fasting can dramatically reduce the often protracted withdrawal symptoms that prevent many people from becoming drug-free.  Most people are surprised at how easy it is to quit smoking or drinking with the help of fasting.

Uterine fibroid tumors

Fasting can often be especially important in situations where drugs or surgery have been recommended.  When uterine fibroid tumors contribute to pain and excess bleeding, a hysterectomy, removal of the uterus, is often recommended.  A proper fast will often dramatically reduce the size and effect of these tumors.  I have treated numerous women who have been able to successfully avoid hysterectomy using conservative methods.  Ovarian cysts and cervical dysplasia also often respond favorably.

Back and neck problems

Back and neck pain are remarkably responsive to conservative care.  In my institution I utilize fasting, rest and exercise, improved posture and body use, and when appropriate, chiropractic manipulation and physical therapy.  It is interesting to note that often patients with chronic pain who have received extensive treatment, including drugs, surgery and manipulation, will experience dramatic improvement through the use of fasting.

A case history

I recently treated a young man, a Natural Hygienist since birth, who had been in a severe automobile accident four years ago.  He had suffered with constant neck pain and headaches since the accident.  His greatest concern was his tendency to pass out unexpectedly.  Apparently the dysfunction in his neck had interfered with the autonomic portion of his nervous system altering blood flow to his brain.

After a period of four weeks of care, which included a fast, followed by careful re-feeding and, in his case, spinal manipulative therapy, this individual made an excellent response.  At his three month follow-up he reported complete absence of neck pain and headaches and had not felt faint or passed out since his stay at the Center.

Cardiovascular disease

Most cases of cardiovascular disease are also responsive to conservative care.  In 154 consecutive cases of high blood pressure [hypertension] that I have fasted, 151 (98%) have been able to achieve and maintain normal blood pressure without the use of medications. [Complete details of this study will appear in an upcoming issue of Health Science.]

Angina and intermittent claudication are examples of conditions that will often respond rapidly to fasting.  Often patients can achieve freedom from pain and medications within a few days or weeks.  It is not unusual to see cholesterol levels drop as much as 100 points with diligent effort.

Gastrointestinal disorders

Disturbances of the gastrointestinal system, including esophagitis, gastritis, colitis, constipation, bloating, and the symptoms associated with so-called "candidiasis," usually respond well to conservative care.

My most recent case of gastrointestinal disturbance was a young woman with severe colitis [inflammation of the colon].  She reported severe, constant bleeding through the rectum.  She said that despite continual medical treatment with cortisone, implants, and a wide range of other medication, she had bleeding with every bowel movement for eight years.  Her physician had explained that surgery would have to be performed.

After we had eliminated her medications, a period of fasting was undertaken.  Within a week, the constant pain was resolved. By the 10th day, the passing of blood and mucus had stopped.  After two weeks of fasting we began to carefully feed her.  Her bowel movements were blood-free from the first.  At her three-month follow-up she reported feeling great and completely free of any significant bleeding or problems.

Diabetes

Many chronic degenerative conditions respond well to fasting and a Natural Hygiene lifestyle.  Diabetes is no exception.

Working with diabetic patients is very satisfying because the consequences of the disease are so devastating and the results with conservative care are usually so dramatic.  Most adult onset diabetics can be brought under control and freed from the use of insulin and other medication through the use of fasting and a carefully followed diet and lifestyle program.  Such a program will allow most diabetics to achieve a high level of function and the ability to maintain normal sugar levels without medications.

There are exceptions

Not everyone is a candidate for fasting. There are a number of factors to consider before a fast is recommended.  My procedure is to first review the patient's medical history and perform a comprehensive physical examination including appropriate laboratory or specialized diagnostic tests.  I then review my findings with the patient and make appropriate recommendations.  These may include dietary and lifestyle recommendations.  These may include dietary and lifestyle changes, exercise programs, etc., and, when indicated, fasting.  When fasting is indicated, patients stay at my institution.

Not every individual or every condition will respond to conservative treatment.  Occasionally medical care may be necessary.  When a medical consultation or treatment is indicated, the safest methods available should be utilized.

Where to fast

With the possible exception of very short fasts in acute disease, such as a cold, fever, etc., all fasting should be undertaken in an institution under the direct supervision of a doctor trained in fasting supervision.  A certified member of the International Association of Hygienic Physicians would by far be your best choice.

Fasting in an institution offers several advantages.  The most important is the constant availability of an experienced doctor to guide and advise you.  Most institutions have an educational program designed to help you better understand Natural Hygiene, the science of health.  The benefits of being in a clean, quiet and emotionally supportive environment should not be underestimated.

In addition, a timely and proper termination of each fast is critical to the long-term success of the patient.  Fasting under the supervision of a trained, qualified doctor is your best assurance of a well-conducted, beneficial fasting experience.

A Case Study:

Chronic gastrointestinal disorder

A woman came to the Center recently who had suffered chronic constipation for more than 20 years.  She complained that she had not had a single spontaneous bowel movement during that time without the assistance of enemas, colonics or laxatives.

She fasted with us for a period of 12 days, during which time she experienced mild discomfort and referred low back pain.  On the fifth day of feeding after the fast, she was having spontaneous, normally formed bowel movements, and she had continued to have them since.

The long-term follow-up for people who stay on the Natural Hygiene dietary program is excellent.  Chronic constipation is definitely a problem that people can learn to live without.

Alan Goldhamer, D.C.                     

A natural process

Fasting, or the abstinence from food, is a means used in nature by all creatures from the beginning of time.  Either by instinct or intelligence this means has been used to assist the body to relieve itself from discomfort, pain and disease.

Regulatory and reparative processes of the body are given unimpeded encouragement by the temporary omission of food.  No other form of health care can boast the rewarding and gratifying results in the elimination of disease and the restoration of health.

Fasting, once considered a fad, has gained acceptance not only by a constantly increasing segment of society and has also earned the stamp of approval by many in the scientific community.

Under qualified and experienced supervision, fasting is the greatest gift which can be given to an overburdened, sick body without benefit of any other form of therapy or treatment.

William Esser, N.D., D.C.

An empowering rest

Fasting is simply a process of deep physiological rest.  This rest period helps you rebuild functioning power and recover from the energy dissipation caused by hectic daily schedules and abusive living habits.

When outside stressors, dietary and therapeutic influences are eliminated during the fasting state, fasting reveals the baseline status of your body.  This enables you to become more sensitive and connected to your body.  This connection fosters a greater awareness of the instinctive biological and emotional requirements that are essential for the maintenance of health and wholeness.

Frank Sabatino, D.C., Ph.D.

Unfounded fears about fasting

Unfounded fear is a peculiar state of disease within the imagination, arising largely out of a lack of knowledge.

If we are slaves to unfounded fears, we are also slaves to beliefs and practices and action which are inconsistent with our well-being.  So it is a matter of necessity that we understand fasting and all its facets if we are to overcome the fears that are associated with it.

Many people attempt to solve the problems of life, the distresses of the body and the anxieties of the mind with food and drugs. They have great fear about not eating because they have experienced the headaches, the weakness and distress they associate with it, and they are convinced that food and drugs are the answer to their problems.

How can you convince someone that going further without food is a matter of necessity for the recovery of his health  Only through knowledge and enough suffering to change his attitudes.

The best way to dispel unfounded fear about fasting is with knowledge, knowledge that breeds confidence, confidence that engenders beliefs, and beliefs that result in correct action.

D.J. Scott, D.C.

Making wise decisions

Not everyone is a good candidate for fasting.  Many factors need to be considered before a fast is undertaken.  Not every condition will respond optimally to fasting and conservative care alone.  Occasionally, medical care may be necessary.       

At the Center we have established good working relationships with some of  California's best specialists.  When a medical consultation or treatment is indicated, the safest methods available should always be utilized.

Jennifer Marano, D.C.

Heightening your awareness

A wonderful thing about fasting is that it puts an interval between the behavior that you are accustomed to and the behavior that you aspire to.  We tend to be creatures of habit, and the ways that we are accustomed to eating and living feel as natural to us as breathing.  That is why it is so difficult for people to stop bad habits.  But fasting brings your present lifestyle to an abrupt halt.  It gives you an opportunity to pause, reflect and decide how you are going to conduct your life afterwards.  This enables you to make a break with your past and set off in a new, more positive direction.

There is nothing routine about eating after a fast.  Each meal is a celebration.  After fasting, you tend to be very conscious about what you are eating, and why.  Fasting heightens your awareness, as well as your appreciation for food.  By fasting, we learn to eat with reverence.

It is the non-doing aspect of fasting that enables us to make behavioral stopping and pausing and interrupting our usual patterns, as we learn to take more conscious control of ourselves.

There is no better way to stop a vicious cycle of self-destructive behavior than by fasting.

Ralph C. Cinque, D.C.

Throughout history, people have noticed that when they become acutely ill, they lose their appetites.  The early Hygienic physicians reasoned that there must be some physiological reason for this loss of appetite.  Through observation and experimentation, they discovered that fasting - the complete abstinence from all substances except pure water, in an environment of complete rest - allows the body to make a unique physiological adaptation.

In the fasting state, the duration and intensity of the symptoms of illness, such as inflammation, mucus production, fever, diarrhea, etc., are often dramatically reduced.  Fasting has been found to be the most efficient and powerful means available to facilitate self-healing.

Further experimentation and observation found that fasting is also effective in the resolution of chronic disease.  Chronic disease, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, respiratory illness, autoimmune disease, etc., can be the result of several different factors. These factors include inappropriate diet, such as the consumption of animal products and refined foods, the use of drugs, including tobacco, alcohol, coffee, etc., a lack of adequate sleep or exercise, or exposure to environmental stressors such as pollution, radiation, excess noise, etc., or excess psychological stress and hereditary factors.

Fasting is an important tool in resolving the symptoms of acute illness and chronic disease, but its benefits are not limited to dealing with symptoms.

Making the transition to healthful living

It is difficult to break habits and patterns of behavior established over many years. The typical Western lifestyle leads to taste buds acclimated to stimulating foods, muscles that are flabby, and a nervous system that depends on stimulatory drugs (such as caffeine) to keep it going despite a lack of sleep. Often, as people attempt to change their diets and lifestyles, they find healthful foods unappetizing, exercise painful, and the symptoms of withdrawal from stimulants unbearable. The slow process of detoxification that accompanies the cessation of bad habits can cause unpleasant symptoms that persist for weeks or months.

Speeding up the process

Fasting is a method of speeding up the detoxification process.  It can be an intense and sometimes unpleasant experience, but it is highly effective. After fasting, healthful foods often taste delicious, and pernicious habits often have much less appeal.  Fasting is the most efficient means available to overcome dependencies of a variety of drugs, including caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, marijuana and others.  Educational programs available at institutions specializing in fasting supervision help people to develop the skills necessary to select and prepare healthful foods, develop a sensible exercise program, and find emotional support.

Overcoming signs of illness

Some individuals appear and feel healthy but still manifest abnormal signs, such as high blood pressure, elevated blood levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, uric acid, or liver enzymes, etc.  Fasting is often extremely effective at allowing the body to eliminate the signs associated with disease.

Prevention

Many individuals have adopted a health-promoting diet and lifestyle to overcome disease. They may be completely free of all signs and symptoms of disease but choose to use fasting as a preventive measure to allow the body to eliminate the metabolic products that can accumulate within the cells of the body despite our best efforts. Fasting may offer its greatest potential in the prevention of disease.  Fasting also can be used as a diagnostic tool in uncovering sub-clinical pathology that may exist.

Doing it right

Whether fasting is used in the transition to a healthful diet and lifestyle, to overcome the signs and symptoms of disease, or as a preventive measure, it is a powerful tool for helping sick people to get well and healthy people to stay healthy.

The most important advice about fasting is: Do it right or don't do it.  Complete rest, a supportive environment, and professional supervision are required to ensure that fasting will be a safe and effective experience.

Case studies

The following case studies will give some insight into the many ways people can benefit from fasting.

J.W., a 36-year-old female, 5 feet 4 inches tall and 215 pounds, decided that she wanted to quit smoking, lose weight, overcome her "food addictions," and resolve a 15-year history of chronic constipation.  She also suffered from severe back pain and sciatica.  She had, in her own words, tried "everything," and in desperation came to the Center for Conservative Therapy's residential health care program on the advice of a friend who had undertaken a fast there two years earlier.

After her initial examination and two days of preparatory feeding, J.W. underwent a fast of 12 days.  She experienced numerous symptoms during her fast but did not experience any significant craving for cigarettes despite her one-pack-per-day habit of over 20 years duration.  She also did not experience any hunger after the second day of fasting.  She did experience nausea, a foul taste in her mouth, headaches, and low back pain.  After 12 days of fasting, J.W. underwent a 14-day re-feeding program.  By the fourth day of re-feeding, she was having normal bowel movements for the first time in many years.  She lost a total of 31 pounds.  During her re-feeding time, she received chiropractic manipulation and physiotherapy for her joint dysfunction, in conjunction with instruction on stretching and proper body use.  At the time of her release, she was free of sciatica and felt prepared to face the "real" world.

At her six-month follow-up, J.W. had managed to lose an additional 15 pounds, had successfully become an ardent non-smoker, had completely normal bowel function, and had remained free of back pain and sciatica.

M.T., a 46-year-old male, was suffering from macular degeneration [loss of central vision], high blood pressure, joint pain, and fatigue.  Despite his efforts at making dietary changes, his symptoms continued to progress, which was upsetting to him.  Blood pressure medications were only successful at reducing his blood pressure to 180/110, and they seemed to be interfering with his sexual function.

After three weeks of fasting and two weeks of re-feeding, M.T. was a "new" man. His blood pressure normalized without medications at 114/74, and his joint pain completely resolved.  At his follow-up a year later, he reported no return of the visual problems from macular degeneration, and his blood pressure was 120/74.

S.S., a 34-year-old female, had been ill for several years. She had been previously diagnosed as having chronic fatigue immune deficiency syndrome, Epstein-Barr viral infection, and chronic candidiasis.  She reported a history of depression, panic attacks, palpitations, and sleep disruption.  She seemed sensitive to everything she ate, including fruits and vegetables.

S.S. underwent a fast with the hope of reducing her extreme hypersensitivity.  Her fast was quite difficult, and after just 12 days it had to be discontinued due to extreme emotional volatility.  She had a slow recovery, but within four months of her fast she reported substantial improvement.  She was much less fatigued, was sleeping better, and could tolerate a wider variety of whole natural foods. S.S. will undergo another fast soon.

A.S., a 74-year-old female, had been diagnosed as having breast cancer 10 years ago.  She had undergone a lumpectomy, but had refused all other medical treatment.  Since then, she has been totally committed to healthful living and has been absolutely compliant with all the diet and lifestyle recommendations.

Once each year she comes to the Center for "preventive" fasting.  She usually fasts for 10 days without significant symptoms.  On her most recent fast, although she arrived feeling great, by the second day she had a fever of 101 degrees and was in extreme discomfort.  It was not until the eighth day that her fever broke and she felt wonderful again.  I believe that this represented a significant healing crisis, since all her laboratory results were within normal limits.  She has had no recurrences of cancer and continues to do well.

An Introduction to the Benefits of a Professionally Supervised Fast

When the body is provided with the requirements of health, including appropriate diet, environment, activity and psychology, optimum health can be maintained.  If these requirements are not adequately provided, health will be compromised.

Often, the best means of facilitating the restoration of health is therapeutic fasting. It allows the body to create a unique physiological healing response that is unparalleled.

Therapeutic fasting is defined as the complete abstinence from all substances except pure water in an environment of complete rest.

There are no substitutes.  When therapeutic fasting is indicated, nothing else can be considered "just as good."

Going without food, even for a few days, while working, exercising, worrying, etc. is not therapeutic fasting.  A noisy, high stress and/or non-supportive environment will not provide the body the opportunity to maximize the self-healing mechanisms.  To maximize the benefits of therapeutic fasting, complete rest is essential.

Eating only certain foods or drinking only juices is not therapeutic fasting.  The physiological and clinical impact and benefits are different.  This is not to say that juice diets or so-called elimination diets do not have a role.  But they are not the same as therapeutic fasting.

When properly applied and conducted, therapeutic fasting is one of the most potent tools available for assisting the body in healing itself.  When abused or applied injudiciously, harm can result.  The most important advice I can give anyone regarding fasting is this.  If you are going to undertake a fast, do it right or don't do it.

Is Fasting Indicated?

The most clear cut indication for therapeutic fasting is the lack of appetite that characterizes acute disease.  When the body generates a healing crisis in acute disease, it is generally best to eliminate the intake of food until the crisis has resolved and hunger returns.  That might mean skipping a meal, or two.  It might mean skipping many meals.

Fasting is extremely effective in helping the body to quickly resolve the problems that create the need for the symptoms that we know as acute disease.  These symptoms include things like fever, inflammation, pain, etc.  It is in acute disease that we see the most dramatic results from short term fasting.

Fasting is also effectively utilized in chronic disease.  Chronic disease often has its origin in acute diseases that never resolved or were suppressed.  Fasting allows the body an opportunity to generate an acute response in a chronic condition.           

It is in the fasting state that the body is given the opportunity to purify its tissues, to eliminate undesirable tissue accumulations, growth, etc. It also allows the body an opportunity to let stressed and abused tissues heal.

The scientific and medical literature contains literally hundreds of papers dealing with the therapeutic use of fasting.  It has been extensively used in the treatment of a variety of conditions, including obesity, diabetes, epilepsy, atherosclerotic vascular disease, congestive heart failure, cancer, autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia, and as a desensitization tool in the treatment of hypersensitivity and allergies.

Fasting is also used for what might be termed rejuvenescence.  It provides an opportunity for the organism to "clean house," physically and mentally; for accumulated debris to be eliminated; and to allow for the introspection that is so often lacking in the rush of modern day life.
 
Contraindications

There are individuals who are not good candidates for therapeutic fasting.  But there are few conditions per se that contraindicate its appropriate use.        

The greatest contraindication to fasting is fear.  A lack of understanding of the fasting process can present insurmountable problems.  Extreme weakness in various diseases associated with muscular wasting may also contraindicate fasting.

There are numerous medications that can complicate the fasting process.  Inadequate nutrient reserves would be another potential contraindication to fasting. Certain types of cancer and severe kidney disease may also make an individual a poor fasting candidate.
 
Professional Supervision

With proper supervision and careful clinical monitoring, therapeutic fasting is safe and effective as a means of helping the body heal itself.  But as with any activity there are inherent risks.  I advise anyone contemplating a therapeutic fast to consider utilizing a certified IAHP professional who is trained in its use.

The International Association of Hygienic Physicians is an association made up of primary care physicians who specialize in the supervision of therapeutic fasting.  Each certified member is a licensed medical doctor, chiropractor or osteopath who has completed a minimum six-month residency program in an accredited institution specializing in therapeutic fasting.

The IAHP has established standards of practice for fasting supervision and is currently conducting fasting research.  With the recent increase in number of certified professionals, a safe and effective fasting experience is more readily available than ever before.
 
Where to Fast

Whatever the indication for therapeutic fasting, it is essential that the individual be placed in an environment conducive to complete rest.  The body needs to adjust to the fasting physiology.  The importance of rest should not be underestimated.  Unnecessary mobilization of nutrient reserves must be avoided.

Here again we see the benefits of fasting in a Natural Hygiene facility under the supervision of a certified IAHP professional.  You will be in a setting that is designed for the purpose of providing a quiet, peaceful and emotionally supportive environment in which to fast.  You will be separated from the well-meaning interference of friends and family. And you will have 24-hour access to a doctor trained and experienced in the use of fasting.
 
Pre-Fast Evaluation

Before therapeutic fasting is undertaken, a pre-fasting evaluation should be completed.  This includes a complete health history, including an evaluation of previous illnesses, injury and treatment.  An assessment is made of the current symptoms and current treatment being undertaken.  A family history is also of interest.

Next, a comprehensive physical exam should be performed.  Appropriate laboratory procedures such as the utilization of urinalysis or blood evaluations should also be performed.

These procedures provide the practitioner with the information needed to determine if therapeutic fasting is indicated as well as providing a base line that can be used to establish each individual's norms.

Without a good base line, it can be very difficult to differentiate a positive healing crisis from a physiological compromise.  For example, a person who develops an arrhythmia on the fourteenth day of a fast might be treated very differently from an individual who starts the fast with the same condition.

How Long to Fast

Once the evaluation has been completed and it is determined that fasting is in fact indicated, the next question usually concerns the duration of the fast.  How long will it last?

It should be understood that the fast itself is an important diagnostic tool in determining duration.  The signs and symptoms that occur during the fast provide the trained observer with important information about the nature of the underlying conditions.

Although an experienced practitioner can estimate the length of a fast needed, none of us have crystal balls.  It is important to go into the fast with a willingness to allow the body to tell us what is indicated.  The idea is to fast as briefly as possible, but as long as necessary to allow the body to generate and resolve any possible healing crises that might result.

In the past, the concept of fasting "to completion" was often promoted.  This meant fasting until the tongue cleared and hunger returned.  But experience has shown that these factors are unreliable indicators.  Some people would not develop a clear tongue even if they fasted far beyond their bodily reserves.  The mere absence of hunger does not ensure that adequate reserves remain.
 
Understanding the Fast

The physiology of fasting has been extensively studied, and three phases of fasting have been identified.

The first phase can be called the gastrointestinal phase, and lasts approximately for first six hours following the last meal.  During this phase the body uses glucose, amino acids and fats, as they are absorbed from the intestinal tract.      

Phase two lasts for more or less the next two days.  During this time the body will use its glycogen (sugar) reserves that are stored in the muscle and liver cells.  These glycogen reserves are mobilized to provide the central nervous system, including the brain, with its normal fuel, glucose.  Within a few hours the body begins to convert adipose (fat) tissue into fatty acids.

Were it not for the body's ability to switch fuels and enter phase three, where the body switches from glucose to fat metabolism, therapeutic fasting could not take place.  The body's protein reserves would be quickly depleted.

Fortunately, this is not a problem.  In fact, within ten hours from the last meal approximately 50% of muscle fuel is coming from fat.  Even the brain itself begins to shift over the fat metabolism.  The consumption of protein reserves decreases from 75 grams per day at the beginning of a fast to just 20 grams a day by the end of the second week.

As you can see, excess activity including excess emotional stress could increase the body's fuel needs, interfering with the optimum adaptation to the fasting state.

Body reserves differ from individual to individual.  But a "typical" 155-pound male at normal weight has enough reserves to fast for between two to four months.  If the fast were allowed to continue beyond the individual's reserves, starvation would ensue and serious damage and eventually death would occur.
 
Breaking the Fast

As with all aspects of fasting, proper termination of the fast is a highly individual matter.  The decision to terminate a fast is based on an evaluation of numerous factors, including the patient's history, symptomatic presentation, examination results, laboratory results, as well as their psychological state and personal circumstances.

One of the characteristics of therapeutic fasting is the healing crisis.  It is important to understand the healing crisis and avoid interfering with this necessary and productive process.  We always try to terminate a fast during a period of stability.

Most fasts will be terminated with fresh fruits or vegetables or their juices.
 
After the Fast

The most important period of the fast is the initial re-feeding.  Too rapid a return to food and activity can spell disaster.  Materials that have been mobilized during the fast must be eliminated.  Improper feeding or activity after the fast can seriously disrupt this process.

It is during the re-feeding program that good dietary and lifestyle habits are reinforced.  The body must be given an opportunity to develop a preference for whole, natural foods, appropriate physical activity, etc. No matter how successful your body is at resolving problems with a fasting process, long-term dietary and life-style compliance will be necessary.

Fasting is not a cure.  It is a process that facilitates the body's healing mechanisms.  It is up to each individual to ensure that the requirements of health are provided on a continuing basis.

People who succeed with Natural Hygiene are those who cooperate long enough that they feel so good that "feeling good" becomes their motivation.  Lifestyle changes based on discipline alone or coupled with negative motivation such as fear of pain, disease or death will only last so long.  But the ecstasy of optimal health is lasting.

Summary

Therapeutic fasting means taking pure water while ensuring complete physical and emotional rest.  This unique process maximizes the healing potential of the body, allowing it to "clean house" and quickly restore a state of higher health.

Therapeutic fasting should be supervised by a properly trained hygienic doctor and should be followed by appropriate dietary and lifestyle modifications.

When properly implemented, therapeutic fasting is extremely effective in creating an internal environment in which the body can do what it does best - heal itself.